Baseball America No. 6 Nats prospect: Wilmer Difo

It was unfortunate to see second baseman Wilmer Difo go down with a hand injury in his first professional start when the Nationals took on the Mets in the final weekend series at Citi Field in 2015. Difo broke his left hand in the third inning of Max Scherzer's second no-hitter of the season and a Nationals 2-0 win.

The 23-year-old Difo underwent hand surgery three weeks later and is expected to make a full recovery for the 2016 campaign.

The 6-foot, 195 lbs., Dominican Difo played 106 games last season in the Nationals system and had two stops up in D.C. with the big league club. He has been in the Nationals organization since making his debut in the Dominican Summer League back in 2010. In 2015, he slashed at .286/.325/.412, hitting 28 doubles, six triples, five homers with 53 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in the minors. He swiped 49 bases in 2014.

Difo is rated as the No. 6 overall prospect in the Nationals system, according to Baseball America.

No. 6 Wilmer Difo

Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel said they believe Difo is improving his power stroke as he gets closer to the majors.

"I used to think he was more of the kind of guy who makes contact, good player, but maybe not necessarily an impact guy," Manuel said. "I think he's got a little bit more pop than I thought he had. Whether he's going to be a regular or not is going to be totally up to him now."

As with any player who is on the cusp of making that next big jump to a major league regular, Manuel said Difo may need to find ways to contribute to his club even when he maybe isn't the star of the game.

"I mean, he's really got tools-wise, everyday regular tools, but doesn't seem like he has made that next step from being a good prospect to translating that necessarily to consistency," Manuel said. "That's really the biggest separator between being a prospect that can slash those tools and being an everyday big league regular is about helping your team even when you don't have a great game."

Manuel said Difo can be a second baseman, but also could be a regular at shortstop in the bigs. And when you are the shortstop, you need to be the leader of the team, like we saw Ian Desmond demonstrate for so many seasons in D.C. How many times was Desmond on the mound calming his pitcher down or just being a shoulder to rely on when things got difficult in a game?

"That's where the other parts come in as far as running every ball out hard as often as you can," Manuel said. "You can't do it all the time. Making the routine play when the ball is hit to you so the pitcher's trust you, so your manager trusts you. All those things can be challenging for young players.

"That's the biggest issue a lot of young players have to figure out. Do we know what to expect out of you every day? Knowing what you can do in Double-A in 2015 and knowing what to expect from you in 2016 in the big leagues (is a big step)."

Manuel said Difo is still on the right track, he is just another example of several of the prospects on this top 10 list that needs to make that next big leap. For Difo, a leap in leadership and consistency because he certainly has the tools to play.

"He's on the 40-man roster, that's a good place to start," Manuel said. "I do think there is a potential for him to be a regular there."