Nationals Receive Rookie Double Shot From Trea Turner, Reynaldo Lopez

Best Player: Before rookie Trea Turner made an impact at second base and in center field on an everyday basis for the Nationals, he starred at Triple-A Syracuse, where he hit .302/.370./471 in 83 games while stealing 15 bases in 18 tries.

“Trea is such a natural talent with tremendous aptitude, energy and determination,” farm director Mark Scialabba said, “and his game continued to evolve in all phases. He’s made adjustments at the plate, continued to learn the strike zone at the upper levels, made improvements to his plate coverage and has the ability to impact the baseball to all fields.”

Turner, 23, was a shortstop at North Carolina State. Until trying center field in late June with the Chiefs, he had only played the outfield briefly in college summer leagues and high school.

“He’s improved his (defensive) technique at shortstop . . . and second base,” Scialabba said. “And obviously his transition to center field has been remarkable. He’s learning on the job, but his instincts, athleticism and elite speed have enabled him to make the transition seamlessly in a time of need.”

Best Pitcher: Righthander Reynaldo Lopez flashed a 100 mph fastball and retired all three batters he faced at the Futures Game in San Diego. He also dominated at Double-A Harrisburg and Syracuse by going 5-7, 3.21 in 19 starts, with 126 strikeouts in 109.1 innings while holding opponents to a .220 average.

Lopez was hit hard in his major league debut against the Dodgers in July, but he pitched seven innings and won in both his third and fourth starts.

He struck out 11 in one of those wins against the Braves while averaging 97.6 mph with his fastball.

Keep An Eye On: Right fielder Juan Soto, a 17-year-old from the Dominican Republic, proved he was more than ready to leave his home country and play in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. Soto, who signed for $1.5 million in 2015, hit .361/.410/.550 in 45 games. The lefthanded hitter claimed the batting and slugging titles in the GCL.

“Soto has the potential to be an impact bat in the future,” Scialabba said. “He has an advanced approach with excellent barrel awareness, and he can leverage the ball from pole to pole. He’s an exciting hitter to watch develop . . .

“He’s still maturing physically and continues to impress our scouts and player-development staff with his ability and professionalism in all phases.”