Monday’s News & Notes

41 Commments

1. Good to see the Solis that was promised to us last year, I’m curious if they’ll keep him in Potomac for the rest of the year. Probably depends on Peacock.

   Hagerstown sure has gone back to their winning ways.

   Attention fellow Mafia Members. The ‘Godfather’s’ OPS is now 1.003. Last 10 games an unreal 1.525 OPS. these are starting to look like Little League #’s. But, is the F.O noticing.

   1. Did I just see somewhere that Peacock has been moved to Syracuse? Any ripples announced to go with that?

      1. I poked the beat writers and the head honcho Ladson has made the announcement. Peacock is going to the Eastern League All Star game but he won’t pitch. He is slated to pitch Saturday for Syracuse.

      2. It’s not official yet, but I’d bet on Perez simply being reactivated from the Temporary Inactive List.

      3. Someone will have to get either pushed down (transferred or DL’ed) or punted (released), as the SYR roster was already at 24+ Gaudin on rehab.

         1. Rhinehart and Gilbert both look like they could be in AAA helping the Chiefs. They need offense and both are Eastern League All Stars. Have to wonder if there might not be whole sale swaps/transfers/demotions after the break?

            Lots of pitching that could ostensibly move up to AA. But not much in the way of hitters in Potomac. They, like Syracuse, could use some offensive infusion from Hagerstown it seems.

2. Has Derek Norris gone from a top 3 prospect in the organization to outside the top 10 in half a season? I am almost hoping we find out that he has been injured and attempting to play through it because he has been absolutely brutal.

   1. If you’ve seen him defensively in Harrisburg, that’s what you might be alluding to.
      With an above average OPS of .785, you certainly can’t be talking about his hitting.

      1. Could be talking about the hitting too. He walks a lot, and his OPS is solid, but he is hitting below the Mendoza line at this point. If all you look at is the box scores. You see things like that grizzly .197 or so and that can’t make anybody feel good.

         1. SoulD — you say that as if batting average is a meaningful statistic, it’s not.
            For a catcher it is probably #6 in importance.

            1. I pretty much agree with you (although I’d like to know what the other 5 are for my own edification). As long as he walks enough, I can live with the batting average. Poor receiving skills, however, are not going to fly. I was referring to what Rob said above.

3. How much longer are they going to keep Norris at C? Seems every year they say he is improving but ultimately he does not. This could affect his hitting.

   1. A .785 OPS first basement with a low batting average? Sounds like a guy who would have below average defense at first while not hitting much better than Chris Marrero. I say keep holding him at catcher and give him every chance to figure it out.

      1. He’s probably an org guy if he can’t make it at catcher. Give him time. Knorr said he needed at least 2 full years catching. He didn’t get a full year catching in Potomac and Hagerstown. A year and a half in AA, then AAA. Its taken about as long for Solano to get it all together.

         And speaking of catchers Flores at age 26 looks like he could use at least another year in AAA Syracuse with Randy Knorr.

         Meanwhile, they are working with 2010 picks Freitas and Leonidas in Hagerstown.

         Patience.

         1. Norris is very agile for his size and I have no doubts that if he were converted to 1B, he’d be adequate on defense. Unfortunately, Nieto reminded me of Norris, minus the arm. Granted, just one game, but…

      2. More like a poor-man’s Josh Willingham, with a much better arm. His K% is rising, but his BB% is hovering around 20% of his PA’s over the last three years. He has pretty decent wheels for a 6’2″ – 210 guy, and has a cannon for an arm (132/332 CS – 40%).

4. One arm Rizzo praises is lefty Tom Milone, 24, who has a 107-to-7 strikeouts-to-walks ratio at Class AAA. On Sunday, hot Brad Peacock was also summoned to Syracuse after torching Class AA with near-Strasburg stats.

   And of course Boz would have the in to know this was happening. As expected Peacock is now in Syracuse post All Star. The Syracuse rotation is now short one unless Brad Meyers comes off the DL. And you have to wonder how much longer Milone and Stammen will spend in AAA? And when Detwiler will get a slot in the Nat’s rotation? That’s three starters with Peacock and Strasburg on their way. With JZimmnn, Lannan, and Gorzelanny under 30 starters it evens out to 4 left handed starters and 3 right handed starters. Throw in Brad Meyers and that makes 4 right handers. Solis appears to be doing well in Syracuse. There’s Turnbull and Purke on the left side as well. And then Alex Meyer.

   Oh Boz what was that about the “young Orioles pitching”? With some luck the Nats could be sitting in as good or better position than KC and Tampa Bay?

   No room for Livo (Still believe he definitely stays but moves into a new role in the bullpen. ) and Marquis.

   Wonder who gets promoted from Potomac to replace Peacock? That’s going to be a tough row to hoe given how well Peacock did.

5. Detwiler will be lucky to stick as a Matt Thornton type lefty… he’s not a starter.

   Norris frustrates me as well… but I’m a huge fan so I’ll never run out of giving him chances.

   Yesterday, on his passed ball, runners on 1st and 2nd, had a fastball down the plate go off his glove and roll behind him to let the runners move up a base. It’s a ball that has to be caught… mainly because it should of been a strike, but also because I’ve seen that from him too many times. Seems to block the pitches in the dirt pretty well… but the regular pitches that he misses confuses me.

   Offensively, he’s fine… so he’s not going to drop out of anyone’s Top 10.

   Rhineheart impressed the heck out of me yesterday. The bomb he hit off Surkamp (easily the second best pitcher I’ve seen live this year outside of Peacock and ahead of Betances of the Yanks) was massive. I’m talking over both fences and off a billboard a good 25 feet up.

   Next AB he took a low and away fastball and smacked it off the LF fence. Hit it so hard he was only held to a single. Not really a prospect anymore… but he seems nearly polished enough that he could probably hack it as a 4/5 OF’er in the majors.

   1. The Rhinehart mafia lives! What Rhinehart like in the field at this point? I seem to remember that being a being a bit of a problem before he started hitting the cover off the ball.

      1. Well… part of the reason he hit a single on the wall ball to left was because he’s not very fast. That shows up in the field as well.

         Don’t recall him having that strong of an arm either. Clearly his best tool right now is his power.

         Like I said… 4/5 OF’er perhaps?

         1. Decent enough arm to play RF on occasion, but a LF in terms of range but has mostly played 1B in the field.

   2. Still has to do it in AAA and every time he’s tried after a promotion he failed. And they could surely use some offense in Syracuse. He’ll likely get promoted after the Eastern League All Star game and get another chance.

      1. Perice – That’s a bit of an over statement, and don’t mess with the Mafia! His first promotion to AA was a reach becuase he was shuttled thru Potomac after 5 games and leap frogged Marrerro to go to Harrisburg. This was too soon for him, because he was not ready for AA ball – his power BA, and overall stats dropped. He was then briefly promoted to AAA last year for a 5 gamer period. Too little to judge. Then, maybe wisely, sent to Potomac last year and found his confidence and stroke again. Properly promoted to AA this year, he is a whammer – hitting and exceeding the numbers he had in Hagerstown. I suspect he is best suited for utility duty in OF and 1B, but his best attribute will be bat power. No way he does not get promoted to AAA next year.

         1. Amen!

      2. Peric – That’s a bit of an over statement, and don’t mess with the Mafia! His first promotion to AA was a reach becuase he was shuttled thru Potomac after 5 games and leap frogged Marrerro to go to Harrisburg. This was too soon for him, because he was not ready for AA ball – his power BA, and overall stats dropped. He was then briefly promoted to AAA last year for a 5 gamer period. Too little to judge. Then, maybe wisely, sent to Potomac last year and found his confidence and stroke again. Properly promoted to AA this year, he is a whammer – hitting and exceeding the numbers he had in Hagerstown. I suspect he is best suited for utility duty in OF and 1B, but his best attribute will be bat power. No way he does not get promoted to AAA next year.

         1. I think this year. In fact right now … everyone is interested in Peacock but I suspect you’ll see him behind Peacock on the days he pitches in the Syracuse rotation. Marerro isn’t panning out as a power bat at the corner … yet. And left field in Syracuse has been a merry-go-round held down mostly by the bat of non prospect Michael Aubrey, but now with Jesus Valdez as well. Not much to speak of in right field and center field in the land of the Orange men.

            He and Gilbert seem shoo-ins for a promotion along with some shuffling between Syracuse and the lower minors.

6. Guys if you had to do a top 30 prospect with our beloved nats who would you include
   (loaded question)

   1. I don’t really think of Top 30 lists. I have guys that I recognize as prospects and guys that I just like in the system. Harper, Norris, Peacock, Solis, Cole, Ray, Lombardozzi, Milone, Marrero, and Hood might be my top 10 if somebody asked me to spend 15 minutes on it.

      I’m not really that into lists, though. Ultimately, it’s about watching the guys play. Tom Milone and Steve Lombardozzi seem to be universally ignored on the lists, and they’re just good solid ballplayers who go about their business.

      I will be very interested to see where Brad Peacock lands on a lot of these lists. He has absolutely ripped up AA, and I hope that the beat rolls on in Syracuse.

   2. I’ll run the gauntlet with a list of my ‘top-20 plus’ as of 07/11/11.
      #) Player (pos) – Age, level.
      1) Harper, Bryce (OF) – 18, AA.
      2) Milone, Tom (LSP) – 24, AAA.
      3) Lombardozzi, Steve (2B) – 22, AAA.
      4) Peacock, Brad (RSP) – 23, AA (just promoted to AAA).
      5) Marrero, Chris (1B) – 23, AAA.
      6) Norris, Derek (CA) – 22, AA.
      7) Kimball, Cole (RRP) – 25, WSH [DL]. Shoulder surgery, could freefall out of ratings based on outcome.
      8) Meyers, Bradley (RSP) – 25, AAA [DL]. Dominates when healthy.
      9) Antonelli, Matt (IF) – 26, AAA. Former 1st-rounder (SD), still relatively young.
      10) Solis, Sammy (LSP) – 22, A+.
      11) Ray, Robbie (LSP) – 19, A-.
      12) Hague, Rick (SS) – 22, A+ [DL]. Verdict on shoulder surgery may drop this ranking.
      13) Solano, Jhonathan (CA) – 25, AAA.
      14) Lehman, Patrick (LRP) – 24, AA.
      15) Hood, Destin (OF) – 22, A+.
      16) Cole, AJ (RSP) – 19, A-.
      17) Kobernus, Jeff (2B) – 22, A+.
      18) Freitas, David (CA/DH) – 22, A-.
      19) Manno, Christopher (LRP) – 23, A-.
      20) Jordan, Taylor (RSP) – 22, A-.

      The ‘plus’ = Skole, Matt (3B), Sanchez, Adrian (2B), Oduber, Randolph (OF), Difo, Wilmer (SS), Rosenbaum, Daniel (LSP), Arnesen, Erik (RSP).

      Have at it.

      1. The problem is what do you do when Rendon, Meyer, Goodwin and Purke show up? I guess its a good thing when lists like these become really pretty complicated and involve advanced scouting skills. 😉

         Rhinehart and Gilbert have both had knock-out tremendous years its a shame they are older relative to Sickel’s definition of a prospect.

7. Here is the recap from the 8th inning of the GCL Nats game:

   Pitcher Change: Garrett Mock replaces Ben Hawkins.
   Jonathan Myers strikes out swinging. Luis Ortiz singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Garrett Mock. Juancito Martinez singles on a bunt ground ball to third baseman Arialdi Peguero. Luis Ortiz to 3rd. Jesus Solorzano singles on a line drive to left fielder Johan Rodriguez. Luis Ortiz scores. Juancito Martinez to 3rd. With Felix Munoz batting, Jesus Solorzano steals (8) 2nd base.
   Felix Munoz singles on a line drive to right fielder Estarlin Martinez. Juancito Martinez scores. Jesus Solorzano scores. With Nathan Woods batting, wild pitch by Garrett Mock, Felix Munoz to 2nd. Nathan Woods singles on a line drive to left fielder Johan Rodriguez. Felix Munoz scores. Pitcher Change: Patrick Arnold replaces Garrett Mock.

   When will it ever end? Please ship him out to anyone interested. Forget the bag, one ball is all that’s requested.

   1. How about a ham sandwich & a bag of chips? I can see it now… “Mock traded for lunch”.

8. Easy on Marerro. He is batting .301 (as of a couple days ago) and has been involed in 85 runs scoring in some way shape or form. He has been a very solid player.

   1. He just turned 23. He’s still young and still has time. He can spend another year, even two developing his power stroke in the minors.

      But he can’t replace Morse or LaRoche for that matter. That’s the bottom line.

9. http://syracuse.chiefs.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t552&t=p_pbp&pid=502029

   Sorry for the double post, but here are Marrero’s numbers. Not too shabby for a guy not panning out.

   Valdez is also a guy who has been leading the Chiefs new offense since his callup as well. Again, numbers:

   http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=OF&sid=t552&t=p_pbp&pid=472505

   1. Marrero is burdened with being drafted young and WAS in need of a better 1B. After watching him work on Saturday, I’m no longer as opposed to the “bring him up” folks.

      1. I think you have to re-define Marrero based on his current numbers. He’s an on-base kind of guy now, not a power guy as once projected – Batting for average with occasional power and average to below average glove. Other than 1B he has no other position. His bat is not attractive enough to excuse that. With Morse playing the way has at 1B, I can’t project Marrero’s value to the 2012-2014 Nationals. Perhaps a trade to an AL team who needs a sub 1B?

         1. Marrero’s been tough to gauge over the last year or two. He apparently is developing a better sense for the strikezone (higher OBP), but has surrendered power as a result. That may be due to a still maturing player (he just turned 23) facing higher-level pitching. He’ll probably never be a ‘masher’, but probably has enough bat-speed & strength to muster 14-20 HR’s in a season.

            I will say that his defensive numbers show him to no longer be a gross liability at 1B, but at least adequate, with more room for improvement in time. Overall, I’d project Marrero to fall in line with players like John Olerud, Mike Hargrove, or Ed Kranepool; A nice #3 or #6 hitter, and a good fit for a team getting their power output from other positions.

         2. Yes, that’s what it looks like at this point. But, again he is still pretty young. He may not like it but there is nothing wrong with another 1 or even 2 seasons in Syracuse just to see. I don’t see him blocking any other prospect at this point, other than Tyler Moore.

            So, its really between Moore and Marerro. Which do you keep? Moore has the tremendous power, but he is 2 years or more older. Marerro could develop that. Moore strikes out a lot Marerro doesn’t. Moore doesn’t walk enough Marerro now does. Marerro consistently hits for a much higher batting average.

            So, I might trade Tyler Moore instead and keep Marerro working in AAA and shopping at the Wegman’s.

10. Manno is 22

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