Nationals’ Cristhian Vaquero Shows Off Well-Rounded Game
Outfielder Cristhian Vaquero spent the final two-plus weeks of the season with Low-A Fredericksburg. Now the 19-year-old has a taste of playing in front of a crowd of Nationals fans.
“Now I need to continue working my body to come back for spring training stronger and better physically,” Vaquero said through an interpreter.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Vaquero signed in 2021 for $4.925 million. A native of Cuba who defected to the Dominican Republic, he is a switch-hitter with plus speed, an above-average arm and at least average tools across the board.
In 42 Florida Complex League games this season he hit .279/.410/.393 with one home run and 15 stolen bases. He stole seven more bases in seven tries in the Carolina League, hitting .197 with 12 walks in 16 games.
“Right now, the speed for me is the number one thing,” Fredericksburg manager Jake Lowery said. “But as he gets older, I think the hittability tool will probably be his best asset. And being a switch-hitter, you can work in any lineup, and that’s huge going forward.”
Vaquero has drawn 74 walks and struck out 91 times in his 475 professional plate appearances, counting his 2022 season in the Dominican Summer League.
“Being patient at the plate is all about the work I’ve been doing before the games in the cages,” Vaquero said. “I feel very good to have been doing that. It helps because the pitchers have better command of the strike zone, especially with the breaking pitches.”
Vaquero comes from an athletic family. His mother was an international-level swimmer, and his father was a competitive judo fighter.
Vaquero is appreciative of the coaching he has received in the Nationals organization. He played primarily center field in the FCL, but started 11 of 16 Low-A games in right field.
“He can absolutely go line to line as a hitter, and he can go out and get it in center and right,” Lowery said. “Plus he brings a lot of intangibles. He runs hard and puts a lot of pressure on the defense. He’s a good kid, too, who’s just hungry to learn.”
CAPITAL GAINS
— One of the players who impressed Lowery the most at Fredericksburg this year was third baseman Yohandy Morales, a 2023 second-round pick out of Miami who finished the year at Double-A Harrisburg.
“Yoyo, to me at this level, he was like a young (Manny) Machado, who I played against a lot,” Lowery said. “For me, he’s got the power to right field and he’s Steady Eddie at third base. He already came here with some of those skills that are ingrained in them in college—using the whole field, hitting the ball to right field. I think he’s a cornerstone kind of guy.”
— Danny Haas was named the franchise’s new vice president of amateur scouting. He spent the past five years as a special assignment scout for the Diamondbacks after having worked for the Orioles and Red Sox. Brad Ciolek was named senior director of amateur scouting, and Reed Dunn is the new assistant director and national crosschecker.
