No. 9 Nats prospect: Pedro Severino

The Nationals lost starting catcher Wilson Ramos to a devastating ACL injury at the very end of the 2016 regular season. Ramos is recovering well and was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays to a two-year deal.

The Nationals quickly re-signed veteran backstop Jose Lobaton and reacquired Derek Norris, who began his career as a Nationals draft selection in 2007 and went on to success with the Oakland A's and San Diego Padres.

But in 2016, the Nationals also got a chance to see the potential of catcher Pedro Severino, who just two seasons ago was catching at high Single-A Potomac.

Severino, 23, has had only 32 career major league at-bats, but made four appearances in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers.

He is ranked in Baseball America's Top 10 for Nationals prospects.

No. 9: C Pedro Severino

Baseball America national writer Teddy Cahill believes the Nationals are continuing to groom Severino to take over that No. 1 catching spot sometime soon.

"It would seem that way when you look who they have on their roster right now," Cahill said. "They're going to need a defensive handcuff, whether that's (Jose) Lobaton or Severino. That's not a guy that you're looking at catching 150 games a year. It could be Severino this year being that kind of guy, kind of getting acclimated that way, a little less pressure.

"Or he could go back to Triple-A and let Lobaton do that for a while, and see if Severino can work out and see where he can improve. He's essentially big league ready. He went out and caught in the playoffs. He's not going to light the world on fire with his bat, but the way the Nationals are constructed right now, they don't need that. I think he fits what they want really well right now."

Severino will get a lot of playing time with the Nationals this season, and if he shines in spring training, he could make the club keep him on the 25-man roster heading into opening day. Severino showed great poise and athletic ability in stepping in to catch in big games for the Nats in 2016.

Right-hander Max Scherzer knows how important Severino is to the Nationals' future at backstop. After the crushing NLDS Game 5 loss to the Dodgers, Scherzer went over to Severino's locker and put his arms on the young catcher's shoulders. He told Severino how impressive his meteoric rise had been this past season and how his potential is limitless. If Scherzer knows how good Severino can be, the Nationals certainly do, too.