Anthony Rendon Promoted To Harrisburg (UPDATED)
It was first whispered on Twitter, then mentioned here in the comments, and now it’s been confirmed by the likes of MASN’s Byron Kerr — Anthony Rendon has been promoted from Potomac to Harrisburg.
One has to wonder if there is a timeline for Rendon that’s divorced from the usual developmental path. In other words, he was only going to be in Potomac for the month of April anyway and may have even been a three-level guy this year. The promotions of Bryce Harper and Brian Goodwin also lend credence to the theory that the usual rule of a level per year below AA doesn’t apply to certain guys.
No sense in me parroting Rendon’s bona fides or brief prospect history; Kerr does a fine job here. I liked what I saw over the four (4) games I got to see him, both offensively and defensively. And clearly the folks that know better (or have the power other than this virtual press) appear to agree.
Meanwhile, the champing at the bit for Matt Skole to join the P-Nats resumes. Perhaps today will be a good day all around for prospect watchers if indeed the Hagerstown third baseman is promoted to take Rendon’s place on the Potomac roster. The corresponding move to make room for Rendon in Harrisburg has not yet been announced. When it is, look for this space to be updated.
UPDATE #1
We still don’t know the corresponding move for Harrisburg yet, but as SpringfieldFan notes, the Senators have been carrying three catchers and it’s been the pattern to plug & play the backstops all season long. We do, however, know that 3B Matt Skole has been freed from Hagerstown and will replace Rendon on the Potomac roster. Replacing Skole for the Suns will be IF Khayyan Norfork from Auburn.
UPDATE #2
Longtime Nationals farmhand Devin Ivany was released to make room for Rendon on the Harrisburg Senators 25-man roster.
I hope Rendon’s lease was week-to-week!
Is Rendon athletic enough to play CF?
Rendon looks blocked at 3B and 2B. If the Nats do not retain LaRoche, Morse would move to first, and that would put Werth and Harper in the corners. I know there is a lot of speculation that the Nats may go after Bourne or Upton next year, but not sure if its worth taking on another big contract given that several Nats are getting pay increases in 2013 and beyond, and the Nats need to negotiate long term deals with Jordan Zimmerman, Desmond and a bunch of their bullpen guys.
If Rendon can play CF or perhaps LF with Harper in CF, he has an electric bat that could be ready my the middle of 2013 (assuming no further injuries – a major assumption give Rendon’s history).
An outfield of Werth and Harper in the corners wouldn’t necessarily need a “true” CF like Bourn or Upton. Both Werth and Harper can play pretty good CF, but aren’t natural CFers. Having two pretty excellent defenders in the corners would alleviate a lot of responsibility from whomever is playing CF, as balls hit into the gaps are more likely to be caught by Harper or Werth, rather than your average corner outfielder.
An OF of Rendon, Harper, Werth (from L-R) could be pretty good. Or, we could just wait another year and plug Goodwin into CF.
The outfield involves an awful lot of running for a player with a history of ankle problems. He should stay in the infield and at the corners for longevity.
Yes, Byron Kerr does such a fine job that he doesn’t even know who won the game last night. Nice job of verifying your information.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Rendon start the 2013 season in Syracuse – playing 1b. He’s about the same size and build as Steve Garvey was, and Garvey did well enough at 1b to win some Gold Gloves and a couple of MVP trophies. LaRoche is likely gone after this year (it’s a mutual option which I expect the Nats to exercise and LaRoche to decline seeking a multi-year deal) and Morse is a free agent after next year, there is an opening coming up. And an infield of Zimmerman-Desmond-Espinosa-Rendon, with Lombardozzi as the chief backup (with Skole or Hague?) and in front of an outfield of Werth-Goodwin/Perez/Brown-Harper with Moore as backup 1b/OF has serious potential.
Of course the great philosopher Charlie Brown once noted: “There is no greater burden than great potential.”
Rendon will be playing third base if that happens. And Zimmerman in an attempt to avoid another injury scarred season will be moved to first base.
And Skole promoted to Potomac! (according to Zuckerman)
Woo-hoo!
I think a moment of silence for Devin Ivany is in order. Talk of being a loyal OG; 11 years in the Nats/Expos organization and 5 years in Harrisburg.
I hope they give him some kind of gold star or something.
He’s young enough that some of these catching-starved organizations should gobble him up.
So far, in the last 3 weeks we’ve seen 1 catcher traded, 1 released, and 1 allowed to leave Syracuse to get a better shot. Talk of catching depth!
Yeah, take a second to think about how many pitchers he’s caught over 523 games. What an important role he’s played.
They might have made him a coach as they did with Jason Michaels in Syracuse. That would be the next logical step for a catcher with that much experience behind him.
So when does Skole get promoted to Harrisburg?!?
Just a thought… Do you think the Rendon promotion is more of an “eligiblity” for Arizona Fall League move. Now the Nats could send two more players below AA like a Michael Taylor, Alex Meyer, Tony Renda, Adrian Nieto, Rick Hague, Stephen King, or even a Matt Purke.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/could-the-nationals-call-up-anthony-rendon-dont-bet-on-it/2012/08/14/ca925798-e67f-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_blog.html#pagebreak