Good, Bad, Interesting – Vol. 3

14 Commments

1. The stories this marking period are (1) Harper getting comfortable in Hagerstown, swing the bat like a pro

   (2) Selik just dominating the competition and getting a well deserved promotion

   (3) VanAllen turning it around and showing that he is just nasty

   I woul also mention Kelso, Leon and Maya. Maya is needed by the nats and beginning to show why we paid the big bucks for him

2. To take Mel’s assesments a bit further, it is clear that right now the strength of this org. is definately pitching, in particular relief pitching. Van Allen, Mattheus, Kimball, Manno and to a lesser degree, Carr and Balester, have all been dominating. Given that the mlb bullpen is already solid, hopefully we can turn these assets into something we despeaerly need – offense! Speaking of which, what is going on with Norris? He’s really not having that start many weren’t expecting.

3. The Rhineharts Mafia lives! Good for him.

   Let’s not forget Tyler Moore. No one in all of baseball had a better excuse than him for his slow start. (see GBI Vol. 2). Last 10 games his OPS is 1.039, clearly dominant now that he’s back in baseball shape. How soon before he laps Marrero; I know it’s early but just sayin’.

   And in Hagerstown, Freitas’s OPS of .870 for the year is better than Kelso’s, and I’m psyched about Kelso. You want to walk Harper to get to Freitas, BOOM!

   Clearly, there are some problems in Potomac, but will wait for the next home stand and the STH’s to dissect in detail.

   1. I can complain about the lack of hitting but I thought I hinted at it in the last LNIW that some credit is due to the opposing pitchers. Joe Wieland and Barrett Loux are Top-25 prospects for Texas. Wieland, in particular, was having his way with P-Nats bats like someone sober at frat/sorority party.

4. Harrisburg & Hagerstown have got the bats going right now; Syracuse & Potomac, not so much. Potomac doesn’t get a long homestand until June, so hoping for some home-cooking won’t help them anytime soon.

   I agree with nick (in principle) that the bullpen arms across the org. are looking good. Sadly, there is probably less trade value in minor-league relievers than any other spot on the team.

5. Except for Yuniesky Maya Syracuse’s starters haven’t been anything to write home about either. Thinking Peacock and eventually Tatusko will be brought up to improve the Chief’s rotation.

6. and also Graham fits in nicely as a right specialist

7. Interesting: Guess who’s leading the International League in HR’s with 9? Same guy who’s 3rd in RBI’s. Same guy who’s leading strike outs with 39. Give up? Our own Justin Maxwell.

8. Well, we all knwo Justin Maxwell is no longer with us, but you know what I mean. He’s with the Yankees organization

   1. justin Maxwell is a terrific AAA player.

9. Folks,
   This just in from BA’s hotsheet, their who’s hot list

   No. 4 BRAD PEACOCK, RHP
   NATIONALS

   Team: Double-A Harrisburg (Eastern)
   Age: 23
   Why He’s Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 SO
   The Scoop: The Nationals spent a combined $3 million in the 2010 draft to secure righthander A.J. Cole and lefthander Sammy Solis. While Cole and Solid are young, low-minors arms with upside, Peacock has the stuff and control to be a mid-rotation starter. Plus he’s far closer to realizing that potential. A 2006 draft-and-follow from the 41st round, Peacock’s stuff has gotten better since signing out of Palm Beach (Fla.) CC. He now sits at 92-94 mph and touches 96 with a hard downer curve. His location has also been superlative, as he owns a 1.16 ERA, 36 strikeouts and four walks in 31 innings this season.

   No. 5 BRYCE HARPER, RF
   NATIONALS
   Team: low Class A Hagerstown (South Atlantic)
   Age: 18
   Why He’s Here: .520/.586/.760 (13-for-25), 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 3 RBIs, 6 R, 4 BB, 3 SO, 2-for-5 SB
   The Scoop: Harper got off to a somewhat slow start, but in the past two weeks, he’s hammering pretty much anything over the plate. Since April 20 (a span of 13 games), Harper is hitting .467/.556/1.022 with seven doubles and six home runs. It’s right in line with what everyone expects from last year’s top draft pick, but it’s worth remembering that Harper is the third-youngest player in the league.

10. If Detwiler is regressing against AAA wannabees, this guy and the experiment could be in trouble. I am glad you posted that WHIP since his ERA and W/L aren’t telling the story.

    I think it is time they Balester him. Left handed power relievers are golden. When used in short relief I believe he can add 2 mph to his fastballs.

    1. I looked back at the game notes for Detwiler’s last outing and it seemed to be a case of bad fielding with no errors that led to his demise. The hits need to come down, so it will be interesting to see what he does in his next start.

11. What do Foli and Jewett do these days and why the heck did they have to leave Syracuse? We got rid of the Blue Jays and what do the Nats do? Give us an ex-Jay for a manager. This is a decent team that is horribly coached. Knorr and Browne are in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay over thier heads. Seeing this team a lot already and the talent is there but nobody is bringing it out. This season is going to hell very fast and it really is a joke.

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