Baseball Prospectus No. 2 Nats prospect: A.J. Cole

This shapes up to be a big season for right-hander A.J. Cole, who continues to excel in the Nationals minor league system and climb the ladder with outstanding pitching.

Cole is the No. 2 Nationals prospect, according to Baseball Prospectus. It's amazing to consider he is at that slot with the Nationals when it looked just a few seasons back like he would continue his career with the Oakland A's after being a key piece in the Gio Gonzalez deal.

No. 2: right-hander A.J. Cole

Chris Mellen, co-director of the Baseball Prospectus prospect team, believes Cole has acutally been a little bit under the radar despite his age and how many times he's been on the transaction wire. The Nationals reacquired him in the three-team deal that sent Michael Morse to Seattle in January 2013.

"He's one of those guys you felt like he's been around for a while," Mellen said. "You highlighted him being traded a couple of times. His name has been mentioned a lot and his name has been on prospect lists for a little while, but he's only 22 years old.

"To me, it's kind of felt like he's been a little bit under the radar and a little overlooked even though we had him comfortably in our top six prospects when we did our midseason updates this past year. He's not a guy who gets a ton of buzz or a ton of mentions and I think he really should be mentioned if you step back and look at the profile. He's a potential power-type arm, he can finesse the ball, he throws a lot of strikes, fastball routine works in the mid-90s, 92 to 95 mph, he can touch a little bit higher."

Mellen said the fastball is very good and now Cole is working to perfect his slider. The 6-foot-5, 200-lb. hurler went 7-0 with Triple-A Syracuse.

"He can repeat his delivery; as I said, he throws a lot of strikes. Fill up the strike zone with him," Mellen said. "He is going to have to work on keeping the ball down and not living up too high. He's around the plate often, which is good from a strike-throwing point of view. But from basic major league hitters, if they know your fastball is around the zone often and your other pitches, like the slider he throws, something that they don't have to respect consistently, then they are going to pick on your fastball quickly. And they are going to get the bat on the ball.

"The slider shows flashes of being above-average at times, and other times it can be slurvy and a little bit loose, (so) hitters don't commit to it. It's close to an average offering right now. I think if he can continue to stay on top of it, then there is real potential in that pitch. His changeup right now plays as a well above-average pitch. He gets good contact off of it. He keeps people out on their front foot.

"It all comes down to the evolution of the slider."

Expect Cole to stay at Triple-A Syracuse and look to make a favorable impression in spring training. Cole is primed to be a part of the next wave of talented starters in the Nationals system who could get a start or more with the big league team in 2015.