Baseball America No. 8 Nats prospect: Wilmer Difo

There are few Nationals prospects that get more buzz when I talk to coaches, scouts and baseball people in the know than infielder Wilmer Difo.

He splashed on the scene for me last year when I interviewed strength and conditioning coordinator Landon Brandes on the Nationals prospects annual strength and conditioning camp.

Brandes said Difo was the top total points leader in the camp in three competitions: team conditioning, team weight lifting and individual weight lifting.

Difo played very well in a full season for low Single-A Hagerstown, batting .315 in 136 games, with 31 doubles, seven triples, 14 homers and 90 RBIs. He struck out only 65 times in 559 at-bats, stole 49 bases and walked 37 times. His on-base percentage was .360.

Baseball America has Difo as its No. 8 Nats prospect.

No. 8: shortstop Wilmer Difo

Baseball America editor-in-chief John Manuel had a comparison for Difo, a former Nationals player who hit very well early in the team's D.C. tenure.

"I think the comparison that we had on him going forward was he is a Cristian Guzman-type body," Manuel said. "Switch-hitter, maybe more of a second baseman than a shortstop long-term, but has a chance to be a shortstop."

Guzman was 6-foot, 180 lbs., while Difo is 6-foot, 175 lbs. Both are switch-hitting Dominican players. Guzman, a 2008 All-Star, hit .271 over 11 seasons, spending four and a half campaigns with the Nationals.

"It's not a cannon of an arm, he's not a physical guy like (Ian) Desmond is," Manuel said of Difo. "But this guy's got some range, he's got above-average arm strength, he's got a nice swing from both sides, he's got some pop. Obviously, he's a speed play on the bases.

"This is where the list really starts perking up. Wilmer Difo's pretty interesting. That's a loud season, where he had that kind of bat control, with a small amount of strikeouts in today's game. That's a really small amount of strikeouts for a middle infielder with that kind of pop. That's pretty exciting.

"Wilmer Difo has an outside shot at being a top 100 guy. He's pretty interesting."

Infield spots are a position of need, especially to build some depth in the minors, and the recent acquisition of N.C. State sensation Trea Turner, the player to be named in the Steven Souza trade, help out in that area. Difo should do quite well in Potomac and could move quickly if he continues to hit well.