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AFL Update: November 8, 2010

Weekend Update from the AFL, featuring Bryce Harper

It’s a light update for the Nats in the AFL. Just one played in Friday’s game, obligatory SEO insert Bryce Harper, who went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and was caught stealing. John Sickels, who was presumably in Arizona to catch the AFL Rising Stars game (Burgess made the lone Nat appearance, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout), had this to say about what he saw:

I got to see Bryce Harper play last night for the first time. It is hard to believe he just turned 18. I would rate his raw power at an 80 on the traditional scale. He’s got outstanding bat speed, and while he can be fooled at this point, he did make an effort to work the count and showed the ability to make adjustments in the same at-bat. It was just one game but I saw enough to completely buy into the hype.

I’m sure more folks will weigh in next week, but as the snarky strikethrough suggests, it’s pretty clear that the comparisons to A-Rod and Griffey may in fact be justified… so the baseball world is watching with baited breath, which leads to an awful lot of one-handed typing. I’m excited, too, but the hype is something I hate — especially with a fanbase that’s both impatient and imbued with an enormous sense of entitlement. Hey, what’s this soapbox doing here?

As we’ve done the past few Mondays, here’s a look at the AFL stats through Friday (22 games):

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 14 57 13 15 6 2 0 3 8 5 .263 .368 .439 1
Burgess 13 49 5 11 2 1 0 7 3 16 .224 .264 .306 1
Norris 12 36 7 9 3 1 3 15 11 13 .250 .429 .639 2
Harper 6 23 3 8 2 0 1 4 3 8 .348 .423 .565 0

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP H R ER BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Solis 0 0 0 5.17 4 15⅔ 19 12 9 6 8 1.596 0 0
Peacock 0 0 0 2.70 7 10 7 3 3 2 14 0.900 2 0
Kimball 0 0 1 1.00 8 9 6 1 1 1 11 0.889 0 8
Carr 1 0 0 3.00 7 9 5 3 3 2 6 .889 0 3

10 Commments

  1. I am starting to wonder how long it will be before Cole Kimball plays for the Nats.

  3. Positives so far from the AFL:

    Harper is for real, although I would like him to lower his strikeout numbers

    Norris has shown some improvement in his defensive skills, although his offensive numbers are still not back to where they were pe-injury

    Kimball should get a shot in Spring Training at making the bullpen

    Carr appears to be back on his positive track

    On the down side:

    Solis, it looks like the fast track for Sammy is not going to happen, he is struggling so he will have to climb all the rungs of the ladder to prove his worth

    Burgess, his strikeout numbers are painful but if Norris has the same number of AB’s he would have more strikeouts. He has good and bad days, not sure if that is still an aftershock of his gransfather’s death, but he needs to focus more on his hiting and let his outstanding defense talk for him, definitely see a start at AA next season.

  4. Here, here Half St. I was wondering the same thing. Kimball and Peacock seem like some keepers. Next year is going to be a great year to watch some Nats farm hands. I’m not to sure about how well Rizzo can make a deal or convince free agents to come to DC, but I feel real good about he and his crew’s decisions on the draft. The farm is coming together.

  5. Off-topic, but I read (via NatsJournal) that Brian Daubach is the new skipper at Hagerstown, and that Matt LeCroy is being promoted to Potomac. So what happens to Cathcart? I personally hope he gets a ML gig as a coach somewhere; He’s done nothing but good things over the last 18 months for the Nationals organization.

  6. Markfd — You know when the standards are getting awfully ambitious when Norris is hitting over 1,000 OPS and there is some rumbling that he isn’t all the way back yet.
    Talk about grading on the curve!!

  7. I had heard Cathcart wasn’t coming back weeks ago, but his assignment to the FIL said to me that he was probably going to be reassigned within the organization. Daubach is a solid addition and was quite successful given the constraints that come with the indy game.

    1. Daubach might be a good move for HAG, but McCroy to POT? Yikes! This is the guy who was at the helm for two less-than-thrilling teams in Hagerstown (56-78 in ’09, 65-75 in ’10), and who actually once brought Frank Robinson to tears as a player with the Nationals.

      I’m really scared by this.

  8. +1/2 st & berndaddie: Kimball & Peacock are doing everything they can to catch Rizzo’s eye, and Carr seems to be coming around as well; Solis, not so much. I’d rather see how the rest of the fall league plays out before making final judgements for 2011.

    IIRC, Wilkie & Mandel both had their moments last year as well, but Storen ultimately got the nod for a roster spot; Strasburg was already a lock from the beginning of play in AZ, it was just a question of when he’d get the callup to DC.

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