NationalsProspects.com

Good, Bad, Interesting – Vol. 1

It’s back! Our weekly look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues. For the newcomers, this is a ripoff of tribute to comedian Demetri Martin’s segment from his old show on Comedy Central.

And of course, the obligatory caveats: sample sizes are here small, it’s early in the season, minors stats aren’t as meaningful as we think, past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, etc.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS 3-11, 6th place I.L. North, 7½ games behind

Good Tyler Moore .296/.361/.611, 5HR, 14 RBI in 14G
Bad Corey VanAllen 7BB in 7⅔ IP over 5 appearances
Interesting Mitch Atkins 0.75ERA in 1st two starts despite 7BB

HARRISBURG SENATORS 10-5, 1st place E.L. West, ½ game ahead

Good Danny Rosenbaum 2-0, 1.25 ERA, 0.65WHIP in 3 starts
Bad Chris McConnell 0-for-15, 2E since reassignment from AAA
Interesting Jeff Kobernus .403 OBP (.313 in ’11)

POTOMAC NATIONALS 6-6, 2nd place C.L. North Division, 2½ games behind

Good David Freitas .333/.419/.611, 8RBI (tied for team lead)
Bad Justin Bloxom .159/.255/.205, 5E in 12G
Interesting Kyle Winters 17K in 17IP

HAGERSTOWN SUNS 7-8, 4th place Sally League North Divison, 3 games behind

Good Jason Martinson .319/.437/.534, 8SB in 15G
Bad Wirkin “For The Weekend” Estevez 1.53 WHIP, 8.16 ERA in 3 starts
Interesting Taylor Hill 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 1.93 FIP in 3 appearances

17 Commments

  1. I hope Martinson gets bumped to Potomac soon. Last year/this year shows he’s outgrown Sally League pitching.

    Having said that, I have no clue how his defense is… and if that’s what’s holding him back.

  2. Looks like Frietas is doing everything he can to make us forget about Derek Norris. 🙂

  3. Didn’t Tyler Moore used to strike out a lot? How is doing on that issue? Any clue if his strike zone has holes that any decent MLB pitcher could exploit?

    1. His SO% per year:
      08 – 24%
      09 – 23%
      10 – 23%
      11 – 25%
      12 – 19.6% (So far.)
      The MLB average is 18.7%. Of course, the Nats had 4 of the top 27 guys in that category last year…

      1. With heart of the order power guys who are “paid” to swing and try to drive the ball with runners on base …
        you probably should measure their plate discipline by looking at both walks and K’s.

  4. With Bloxom’s poor start, how long before Souza gets back to Potomac and moves Bloxom to the bench?

    1. Bloxom showed some signs of life Last Night In… wait for it… Woodbridge (2-for-3, 2B, BB, RBI).

  5. Kobernus is hitting .375 with 11 stolen bases and a wOBA of over .400 and an OBP of .403? From a purely statistical standpoint given that he has 64 AB this is no longer a “small sample size”? And he’s just interesting?

    I know you are looking at the 9 K’s versus 3 walks but, Luke, you grade with a pretty sharp rapier? Sheesh you must be from Harvard or Yale? Right now he looks better than a very similar hitter named Ian Desmond. Albeit his defense isn’t in the same category … still?

    1. Actually, I thought I was pretty clear that it was interesting that his OBP was 90 points higher than how he finished last season.

  6. McConnell may just be realizing he is just AAAA filler. Probably needs a phone call from someone on high.

  7. Not sure how you have the time to do all this but I appreciate the fact that you answer most questions. It’s an impressive site.

  8. Agreed, sjm. Luke obviously loves what he is doing and is quite knowledgeable (sp?). But what sets him apart, in my opinion, is his immediate responses, his diligence.

  9. All right, the season has officially started now that we have GBI back.
    As you can tell, this is a very important part of everybody’s week!

  10. Make that a Samuel Adams. If I have to have an American beer, that is. And say hi to my favorite copy editor, Spike.

Comments are closed.