Sports Illustrated has seven Nats in its top 100

I always like breaking down the latest top 100 prospects lists, so I was intrigued at the latest Sports Illustrated unveiling of top 100 major league players in its Feb. 26 issue, written by Gabriel Baumgaertner, Jack Dickey, Jay Jaffe and Jon Tayler.

It is always interesting to see how others outside of the D.C. footprint value the Nationals roster. One might be surprised to find out they have tabbed seven Nats on this list, all in the top 84, and maybe even more surprising is that 2015 MVP Bryce Harper comes in 12th on the list.

Angels star Mike Trout is No. 1, followed by the Astros' Jose Altuve and the Cubs' Kris Bryant.

Right-hander Max Scherzer is at the top of the heap for the Nats at No. 4. The Reds' Joey Votto is No. 5.

The publication's reasoning regarding Harper, in part, acknowledges his incredible 2015, but explained that injuries in 2016 and 2017 pushed him out of the top 10.

But when Harper is on, it's hard to argue that he doesn't deserve to be in the top two or three players in baseball, saying the 24-year-old still has loads of potential in front of him in his career.

Honestly, from covering and watching Harper for his entire career, I would not put Votto, the Red Sox's Mookie Betts or the Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt in front of him, as Sports Ilustrated has.

Other Nationals ranked are Stephen Strasburg (25), Anthony Rendon (33), Trea Turner (38), Daniel Murphy (77) and Gio Gonzalez (84).

Let that settle in a bit. The top three starters and three of the four Nats infielders are in the top 84. That's a pretty impressive list. Then, not even mentioned, are veteran first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, up-and-coming outfielder Michael A. Taylor and the returning-from-injury Adam Eaton.

As many have argued, the 1-2-3 punch of Scherzer, Strasburg and Gonzalez is one of the best in all of baseball. Add that to the aforementioned lineup, with four of those stars listed in the article, and one could easily all of them getting All-Star mentions for Midsummer Classic in D.C. in July.

Oh, and unsigned starter Jake Arrieta, who has been rumored to be meeting up with the Nats, comes in at No. 52.