Nats prospects, stars dish on dream guest instructors

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s not rare to see former big leaguers meandering around team complexes during Spring Training. The role of guest instructor is one that benefits both mentor and mentee, with current players getting the chance to meet some of their former idols and former MLB stars having the chance to keep their foot in the proverbial door.

This spring, the Nationals have already had a few guests show up. There’s “Mr. National,” Ryan Zimmerman, who made an appearance at camp to both offer his insights to Nats players and prospects and to learn more about the in and outs of running an organization. Then there was Scott Rolen, who spoke with the team and some individual prospects.

There’s still plenty of camp left, and plenty of time for more guest instructors to arrive. So, as a fun little exercise, I asked a smattering of the Nationals’ top prospects (and a few other guys) who they’d like to see as their dream guest instructor. Here are their answers:

OF Robert Hassell III (No. 8 Nats prospect): “I can't really pick just one. It would either be Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds or Chipper Jones. I couldn't pick between those three.

“I actually met Chipper before at a tournament when I was 17. … And I saw Ken Griffey [Jr.] at a Futures Game. I honestly was too nervous to go up and meet him. I'm sure he gets that all day, every day, but just him being there, present and in our dugout was great.”

OF Dylan Crews (No. 1, MLB No. 7): “I grew up a [Derek] Jeter fan, so I mean, having Jeter come in and give me some pointers and stuff, that would be pretty awesome. Ken Griffey Jr., outfielder, one of the sweetest swings ever -- having one of those two guys, it’d be pretty awesome.”

3B Brady House (No. 3, MLB No. 48): “Somebody like Chipper Jones. … I grew up watching him, and he plays third base, so I think that would be awesome.”

3B Trey Lipscomb (No. 16): “It would probably be Barry Bonds; I think he’s the best hitter that played baseball. … For the defensive side, I like José Reyes. I like the way he played the game.”

RHP Cole Henry (No. 25): “I think for me, honestly, like a current player like Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer -- those are some guys that I really looked up to when I was younger.

“I saw Pedro Martinez [with Boston] when we were playing the Red Sox, I thought that was really cool to see him. I think that’d be a cool one to have. … He’s a really great pitcher and a Hall of Famer and one of the best to ever do it, so the Red Sox guys are lucky to have him [there] every day.”

RHP Josiah Gray: “I would say CC Sabathia. Just because of what he did, the longevity of his career and how good he was, and then toward the tail end of his career, how he kind of got the most out of himself that he could.”