Here's some interesting material for all you player development geeks out there to peruse ... Baseball America has unveiled the top 10 prospects in the Nationals' farm system. The overview is available to everyone, but to read the detailed capsules on each player, you need to be a subscriber. Here, though, are the top 10:

1. Chris Marrero, OF/1B
2. Ross Detwiler, LHP
3. Collin Balester, RHP
4. Michael Burgess, OF
5. Jack McGeary, LHP
6. Josh Smoker, LHP
7. Jordan Zimmermann, RHP
8. Glenn Gibson, LHP
9. Justin Maxwell, OF
10. Colton Willems, RHP

A few things immediately jump to mind, most notably that five of the top 10 prospects were 2007 draft picks (Detwiler, Burgess, McGeary, Smoker and Zimmermann). Three were 2006 draft picks (Marrero, Gibson and Willems). The other two (Balester, drafted in 2004, and Maxwell, drafted in 2005) haven't been around that long, either, underscoring just how low the franchise's system was when it arrived in Washington and how far it's come since. It still has a ways to go -- notice there's not a single infielder or catcher in the group -- but it's certainly getting there.

For comparison's sake, take a look at last year's top 10:

1. Collin Balester, rhp
2. Chris Marrero, of
3. Colton Willems, rhp
4. Kory Casto, 3b/of
5. Esmailyn Gonzalez, ss
6. Zech Zinicola, rhp
7. Glenn Gibson, lhp
8. Matt Chico, lhp
9. Stephen King, ss
10. Ian Desmond, ss

Only four players remain on the list. Balester and Marrero swapped spots at the top, Willems was bumped way down and Gibson fell one spot. The rest have fallen off the face of the earth.

And just for fun, here's the top 10 from 2005 (at least they got No. 1 right):

1. Ryan Zimmerman, 3b
2. Collin Balester, rhp
3. Clint Everts, rhp
4. Ian Desmond, ss
5. Armando Galarraga, rhp
6. Kory Casto, 3b
7. Mike Hinckley, lhp
8. Bill Bray, lhp
9. Larry Broadway, 1b
10. Daryl Thompson, rhp