Initial 2015 Player Reports Completed
The first pass at the player reports for the 2015 Watchlist is now done. Basically, I write up the Top 10 guys, the players I saw this past season at Potomac, the short-season guys, and the essays for the M*A*S*H and Notables.
The Baseball America handbook and John Sickels’s prospect PDF have been ordered, so now we wait until they arrive to fill in the gaps, which I’ve labeled “Report Not Yet Written,” because I believe one or the other will cover the player.
The latest BA Transaction post only covered two players that hadn’t been previously reported: 1B Mike Carp, another 4A non-roster invitee; and RHP Williantony Uribarri, presumably an IFA destined for the DSL.
As always, feel free to discuss in the comments.
Maybe the Latin kid will make the bigs
Earning a spelling of his name on am radio
By Charlie and Dave.
Who here thinks Jeff Gardner will have a
Nice camp perhaps earning a ticket to Potomac ?
Luke, thank so much. You rock! One omission, though, not even in the notables…Anderson Franco? Can you tip us off on him?
Boy, GCL has some kind of talent coming in this year. The DSL has turned into the HS feeder system.
Franco was the big IFA sign in 2013 — $900K on his 16th birthday — and was slightly above league average in 2014. He was also a notable on the 2014 watchlist. One of my rules is to not repeat names on the notables year-over-year — that may seem specious, but it also keeps me from playing favorites. He is just 17 and if the Nats do send him to the GCL and he “only” performs league average again against 19- and 20-y.o.’s, then I’d be happy to list him as a 2016 notable, assuming league-average production isn’t among the five best GCL batters.
Gil Grissom. Yes auburn could be interesting
In June
Any chance nats signed the Hawaiian after
The WS with Travis Ishikawa???
Good job, Luke. It’s the catcher reports that most intrigue me.
While this is not directly related to NP, the Scherzer signing is exactly the type of thing that teams with lousy farm systems do. Overpaying because you don’t have anything down on the farm.
Not necessarily – with A.J. Cole possibly ready by mid-summer and Giolito the summer after, the Nats could potentially replace one or two members of the 2015 rotation by 2017 if neither Zimmermann nor Fister is re-signed. What this gives Rizzo is what he craves: choices and fallbacks. He now has multiple trading chips (I’d like to think only Giolito is untouchable, but to twist a famous quote, Rizzo would trade his mother for the right deal).
The analogy I much prefer is that Scherzer is to the ’15 Nats what Schilling was to the ’04 Red Sox — that one more workhorse (and let’s face it, whenever you’re talking about Curt Schilling there are plenty of horse-related metaphors) the team needs to get over the hump (the analogy admittedly falls flat because the Red Sox are usually seeking enough pitching to complement their hitting instead of the vice-versa that is the Nationals). Unfortunately, Matt Williams is more like John McNamara than Terry Francona.
Can’t really disagree with anything you’re saying.
It’s funny you brought up Schilling; he was quoted about 2-3 years ago that he was surprised Scherzer hadn’t broken down yet with his jerky windup.
Unfortunately, the signing doesn’t address the 2 main issues in the playoffs for the Nats– players who don’t shrivel up under the bright lights and a manager who understands it’s the playoffs.
As a minor league buff, it was heartening that the best players then where the 2 kids.
I still think it’s a pretty inefficient use of money.
The upgrade of Scherzer from Roark is big, but it’s not quite $30m/year better.
Plus, the Nationals were already a nailed on playoff team without Scherzer. The NL East is so lousy this season, that we can coast into the playoffs. Once we’re there, any rotation depth is essentially negated. You only need a 3-4 man rotation in 5 and 7 game series. Who cares is Fister and Gio are the best back-end starters in baseball in years. They’re just long relievers when it will matter.
Having said that, I fully expect Rizzo to make some trades. Trading Zimmermann now would yield a few top prospects. Price netted Smyly and Franklin. Shields netted Myers, Odorizzi and a first rounder. Samardzija and Hammel netted Russell, Straily and another first rounder. Each of these guys had 1.5-2 years remaining on their contract, but still compare favorably to Zimm.
We have the SP depth to accommodate occasional injuries. Treinen, Cole, Jordan, and Hill should be sufficient. Plus, a trade of Zimm would hopefully address our other more glaring holes: the infield.
Totally agree.
The Scherzer deal is as much about 2016-18 as it is 2015. Who were the top pitchers in the rotation? Definitely JZim (possibly gone after 2015) and Strasburg (possibly gone after 2016). Everyone loved Doug Fister last year, and he’s possibly gone after 2015. The other two guys involve one that gets very little love on the web sites these days (Gio) and one for whom the concern is that the fairy dust runs out (Roark). That’s a lot of uncertainty. Relying on prospects? Turns the uncertainty up to 11.
Scherzer gives the Nationals one TOR long term asset to build around. That’s a pretty big deal.
Roark could provide the bait for an infielder
If Danny doesn’t hit
If????
Rizzo never did sign no hit Kelly Johnson
So reverting no hit Danny to bench role
Says all the possible guys were scooped up
Until a mid season second consideration
Pops up.
Welcome back Brian Jeroloman !
Folks, it’s been a lot of good convo on the Scherzer deal.
Here’s a few of my thoughts after spending some time on some good rest and relaxation:
1) The Lerners are focused on trying to turn the Nationals into the Cardinals. We need a farm system stocked with prospects where good baseball talent and baseball character evaluators acquire the maximum amount of resources at the most affordable price. This simply is not rocket science. It’s about having a good product and doing it well.
2) Rizzo wants to keep his guys and he wants to keep them good. But he also wants to acknowledge that DC is a particularly unique market. On the one hand, we will never be the biggest markets of NY, LA, and Boston. We have to strive to be St. Louis. St. Louis is the team that lost Pujols and the beat just keeps running. They have good years; they have merely ok years, but they rarely crater because good management in a good city keeps them strong. They are the best team in the NL in the history of our sport. Think of Rizzo as trying to build the St. Louis Cardinals and it all starts to make sense.
3) Rizzo gave every opportunity to Desmond’s agents and Zimmermann’s agents to stay, but both of them are not offering home town discounts. Rizzo’s Macchiavellian handling of Desmond has got to be chilling to every agent of every player on the roster. A player who is close to the best at his position and a foundational chip of the Nationals present success asked for a great deal and will be traded or walk at the end of this season. Desmond has to play for his natural life and have a great year or else Desmond will be making not so much money on the open market. Desmond may have tried to get a maximum extension to only learned that he will be costing Rizzo money by not taking the hometown discount. Rizzo wants the Nats guys to have every incentive to have career years but know that if they fail he will have backup plans to extend the window.
4) Scherzer himself is only 29 and will be 36 at the end of this deal. It’s kind of like the Werth deal to me. It’s a fair deal to let major pitchers know that the Nats will sign them.
5) Rizzo trusts Boras and I feel the Soriano deal was Rizzo basically making the Nats The Fighting Borases once and for all. Boras can basically now rob the sport because he knows that he has Rizzo waiting at the end of the line willing to make a last minute deal with him if all else fails. Scherzer tried to make his money elsewhere, but at the end of the day Boras could let him know that he’s got a winning destination with a team willing to play a fair price.
6) Frankly, the future of Bryce Harper is the biggest issue facing this team and the economics of the team going forward. Do the Lerners and Angelos work out MASN and become an almost major market team? Does Bryce Harper compete with Trout to become the best player of his generation? Does Harper take the hometown discount or go to the Yankees? Frankly, I think we’re a pitching and defense team so I’m not holding my breath, but I feel that this is the year Harper comes into his won, matures psychologically, and competes for an MVP. He’s the only lefty. He’s mad at the world because his girl left him and the only thing that will satisfy him is winning a championship.
Unlike football, baseball is a fair game with a lot of internet resources to discover its rules. I’m so glad that I have the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you and stay tuned: strongly thinking about picking up the baton and offering regular narrative content on the Natmosphere from my suddenly revitalized writing abilities.
The real wild card with everyone’s guesses
For the next two years horizons is the ruling on
The MASN contract ? Doesn’t help that bud’s
Replacement is now in the commish chair.
How will Manfred mandate ?
Bummer about Kyle Bacak getting 50 game
Suspension for amphetamines !
I guess that leaves read to catch a bulk
Of Hagerstown games along with
Several of Barrett ‘s boys from GCL?
Maybe even Matt Reistetter off the DL?
Cuse. Outfièld. Derrick Robinson joins
Mix proving soul drummer is right. More
Speed for farm aka STL style
You want to get me to listen to that Joni/Hancock album keep that “soul drummer is right” coming! It’s music to my ears! he he he he he
BUT, the Lerners – as the boys in red porch
Report hinted @ in last episode – must have a sense
Of the MASN case decision direction what with
The $210 million outlay .
The MASN decision may determine if DC is STL
Or a tad higher ???