Tag Archives: Offseason

Here’s a final look at how the Nats prospects did in the in the 2010-11 Winter Leagues.

BATTERS

PITCHERS

PWL = Puerto Rican Winter League
DWL = Dominican Winter League
VWL = Venezuela Winter League

I know it’s been quiet, but there hasn’t been a heck of a lot of minor-league Nats news, which is our niche (damn, that almost rhymes). I’m in the process of building a library of notes/reports for our watchlist players, adding the Willingham Two and the Rule 5ers, but it’s a bit of a slow go since I’m trying to get the text to align along with pictures. And to make matters worse, I know that several of the text blocks will have to change in a few weeks when the BA, Sickels, and McKamey books hit the street.

Hope 2011 is treating everyone else well. Looking forward to see how the HoF vote goes, even if it means revisiting some ugly anti-Expo sentiment in the Natmosphere.

Here’s a look at how the Nats prospects are doing in the in the Winter Leagues thus far. Stats are as of this morning.

BATTERS

PITCHERS

PWL = Puerto Rican Winter League
DWL = Dominican Winter League
VWL = Venezuela Winter League

The holiday road was the road not taken, so it’s an unplanned winter break for the Dinems (Spike, who shares my opinion of snow, still gets to go to the kennel because the deposit in non-refundable). Hope everyone reading this had the choice of staying put and not traveling until the Northeast can dig itself out.

Not a whole lot of change from the last update. It appears that some players may have gone home. If their stats are unchanged next time I update, I’ll drop them from the list.

As mentioned earlier this week, the Nationals needed to make some 40-man moves and it’s come across my Twitter feed the wires that the Pirates have claimed Aaron Thompson. The estimable Mark Zuckerman also reports that Ryan Mattheus is not on the 40-man roster, but has signed a major-league contract, which happened before he was waived. If that means what I think it means, the Nationals have figured out a way to move a guy off yet still retain his services by virtue of making his price tag higher for the claiming team.

Thompson, as many will recall, was acquired as part of the 2009 Nick Johnson waiver-wire deal and finished that season in Harrisburg with an 0-3 mark but a 3.31 ERA. This past season, however, the lefthander struggled mightly, twice posting 8+ ERAs in a single month (May, August) and finishing a combined 5-13 in 26 AA starts and one AAA start. Unlike Matt Chico, Argentina nor the Natmosphere is likely to cry very much over his departure.

A few surprises here. But first let’s get to the Top 10 list, from the home office in Durham, NC…

1. Bryce Harper, OF
2. Derek Norris, C
3. Danny Espinosa, 2B-SS
4. A.J. Cole, RHP
5. Wilson Ramos, C
6. Sammy Solis, LHP
7. Cole Kimball, RHP
8. Eury Perez, OF
9. Chris Marrero, 1B
10. Brad Peacock, RHP

As you might imagine, the free article focuses on Strasburg and his return and how much money the team has spent in bonuses the past two drafts. Four of last year’s Top 10 “graduated” (Strasburg, Storen, Desmond, Maxwell) and three prospects dropped off the list (Kobernus, Burgess, Hood) while Marrero fell from #6.  About the only quibble I have is the ranking of Kimball, which is particularly odd for BA, which worships youth.

Harper naturally was named as the system’s best athlete, hitter for both power and average, and OF arm. Perez got props for both his footspeed and fielding while Espinosa was named the best infielder and IF arm. Norris got the nod for the best strike-zone judgment. Kimball’s fastball was deemed the best, with A.J. Morris getting the nod for slider, Josh Wilkie for changeup, Brad Peacock for curveball, and Tom Milone for control. Ramos was named the best defensive catcher.

As for 2011 projections, which I know folks are always interested in, here’s where BA thinks they’ll start:

Low-A – Cole
Low-A or High-A – Harper
High-A -Solis, Perez
AA – Norris, Peacock
AAA – Marrero
AAA or MLB – Kimball
MLB – Espinosa, Ramos

None of those projections I can argue with. I am pleased about the respect that Peacock got, because he was one that caught my eye this summer. The Eury Perez disrespect may be over now, as they’re starting to see what we see in him using a word that one of our Hagerstown spies uses (“slashes”) to describe his game. Finally, don’t confuse my earlier statement with Kimball for anything other than surprise that Robbie Ray or J.P. Ramirez didn’t make the list. Obviously, the likes of Milone and Steve Lombardozzi not making the list was not a surprise for reasons we’ve discussed ad infinitum (not only that Skipper, over and over again).

Here’s a look at how the Nats prospects are doing in the in the Winter Leagues thus far. Stats are through December 18.

BATTERS

PITCHERS

PWL = Puerto Rican Winter League
DWL = Dominican Winter League
VWL = Venezuela Winter League

I’ve omitted a couple of names that have small sample sizes (Sandy Leon, Jhonatan Solano, John Santiago) or have gotten injured (Danny Espinosa). Unfortunately, it’s been like the office holiday party for the soft-tossers (Arnesen, Wilkie), getting lit up for six home runs combined in less than 60 innings pitched. That’s, of course, a knee-jerk observation but it stands out to me, particularly in the case of Wilkie.

Since it’s come up in the vein of trades, Jesus Flores is hitting .355/.388/.548 in 17 games. Unfortunately, with few box scores (OK, no box scores) to look at, it’s tough to extrapolate how he’s throwing. As you can see, Ramos is also hitting well (and in the same league) so if Flores is actually healthy again, this puts the Nats in the position of not only being able to trade but release Ivan Rodriguez if need be.

After a crazy weekend that saw the Red Sox acquire Adrian Gonzalez, a deal that we know the Nationals can’t make and then the long-awaited (and longer complained about) big free-agent signing, Jayson Werth, that a fellow reporter-turned-blogger called, we’re way, way, way back on the burner of the hot stove.

But as the headline says, our focus turns to the Rule 5 draft.

As you might imagine, the majority of information out there is organization-focused (*ahem*) but a common thread among many folks is the lament that no “impact” players will be taken. That’s because in the last CBA, the “Rule 5 rules” were changed to, in a nutshell, give organizations another year to evaluate talent… and drain the talent pool. Baseball America discusses this trend in a story published last week.

Sadly, another trend is that the lion’s share of information out there is focused on the major-league phase of the draft. There are also two other phases, the AAA and the AA, which are something of a misnomer because there’s no requirement that the player has played or will play at that level in 2010 or 2011. Basically, it amounts to teams being able to protect up to 38 players in the AAA phase and up to 37 players in the AA phase.

Who is or will be protected is anyone’s guess. It appears that this information simply is not released to anyone outside of baseball. Last year, the Nationals “lost” Zech Zinicola in the major-league phase, Ruben De La Rosa and Terrence Engles were taken in the AAA phase, and Johan Figuereo went in the AA phase. On the plus side, the Nationals acquired Jamie Hoffman from the Dodgers and traded him to the Yankees for Brian Bruney in the MLB phase, while Nick Moresi and Arismendy Mota got picked up in the AAA phase, with Mota traded to the Chicago Cubs for cash considerations.

In all phases, the Rule 5 draft has become primarily an exercise of looking for bullpen help (e.g. Zinicola), secondarily an act of plugging holes in the roster (e.g. Moresi). Baseball America has done a preview of who might be taken, which will be the focus of our next post. Unlike the past two years, it’s not a matter of who’s the best guy to take, but who will be available when it’s the Nationals’ turn to pick.

Though much less heralded, it’s free agency for minor leaguers today with the close of the World Series last night. The official list will be made public later this month, but here’s a rundown of the unofficial/potential MLFAs in the Nats system:

Catchers
Devin Ivany
Brian Peacock
Jamie Burke
Carlos Maldonado

Infielders
Brian Bixler
Seth Bynum
Chris Duncan
Chase Lambin
Pedro Lopez
Michael Martinez
Luis Ordaz
Pete Orr
Ofilio Castro
Adam Fox

Outfielders
Marvin Lowrance
Leonard Davis
Jason Botts
Jerry Owens
Edgardo Baez
Jesus Valdez
Brad Coon
Jamar Walton

Starting Pitchers
Andrew Kown
Jason Jones
Robinson Fabian

Relievers
Chuck James
Rafael Martin
Yunior Novoa
Zach Dials
Carlos Martinez
Jimmy Barthmaier
Luis Garcia
Glenn Gibson

Now it’s certainly possible that some of these folks have already agreed to a successor contract, i.e. an agreement to to re-sign with the organization prior to the deadline for filing for MLFA, but that information isn’t exactly public. We’ll know more in a couple weeks, particularly as the Rule 5 draft comes onto the radar.

UPDATE: Seems I forgot to list the pitchers (cue Red Foreman) and missed an OF, but thanks to frequent reader BinM, here they are.