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Nats Make a few Minor-League Signs

minor leagues signs 2
As some have already noted in the comments, there’s finally some movement on the transaction front with the Nationals signing two career minor-leaguers and a former major-leaguer to a minor-league contract.

First, the guys we might see this summer:

• LHP Robert Fish – Hasn’t pitched since 2013. While he’s already succumbed to Nationals elbow (2012), the inference that he’s had another round would certainly be logical, but there’s little to found on the southpaw since his release.

• C Nick Rickles – Released in October by Oakland after a lackluster 2015 spent at three levels, but mostly at High-A. He missed all of 2014 with a torn labrum.

Both would seem to be look-see candidates with only a small chance of sticking, which should be obvious given the lateness of the offseason; most guys signed this late are released within 6-8 weeks.

The former major-leaguer is Brendan Ryan, who was also given a non-roster invite and will compete for a bench job as a utilityman and, if he loses, will look to hook on elsewhere.

11 Commments

  2. Reality set in with Keith Law giving the Nats farm a #15 rating. After the #5 from mlb, I’d venture to say we are somewhere between, which I’ m fine with.

    It could be worse — the Angels system was rated the worst in the 8 years he’s been doing this.

    I still remember when the Expos/Nats were rated #30 four (!!!!) years in a row. Talk about scraping bottom.

  3. Ratings of the minor-league systems seem to fall somewhere between dart-throwing and Magic 8 Ball. That’s not entirely true, of course. Some systems have been decimated for some reason or other, as the Expos/Nats one once was. A few have several stud prospects. The rest fall to some varying degree in the middle, and the current quality won’t be known for a few years and will ride on whether prospect 5-15 or so pan out. That’s where the Nats are. They have two studs who are about ready in Giolito and Turner. Off the top of my head on a snowy afternoon, here are some thoughts on the variables that would swing the Nats from #15 to #5 on a system list:

    –Does Robles have the “power” tool? If so, he’s stud #3. If not, he’ll have to be exceptional at everything else to become a major-league regular.

    –Are Cole, Voth, Lopez, Fedde, and Andrew Lee going to be able to stick in MLB rotations as starters? If so, that’s a heck of a lot of starter potential in one organization, in addition to Giolito and perhaps Tyler Watson several years in the future. Even if three pan out as starters, plus Giolito, how many other organizations have four legit MLB starters right now?

    –Do the Nats have anyone else in the system right now who can be an everyday regular beyond Turner and perhaps Robles? There are guys with some chance to stick, but none on whom one should bet heavily.

    –Beyond regulars, can some of the guys like Difo, Bostick, Mejia, Schrock, Stevenson, or Wiseman develop into at least effective bench options? The Nats have generally been looking outside the organization to fill their MLB bench. This question goes double for the long-awaited next catcher among Severino/Kieboom/Read/Reetz.

    –Did the Nats steal a major-league closer in the eighth round in Koda Glover?

    –Is there a miracle resurgence out there from among talented but long-struggling guys like Goodwin, Skole, Vettleson, or Johanssen?

    What am I missing? (I’m intentionally not mentioning guys like Franco and Soto, who are still years beyond the horizon.)

  4. The big news today of the non-roster guys invited to major league camp is Wander Suero,who I will now have to research. Anybody know him well?

    By the way, KW, welcome back from your hibernation.

    1. Never heard of him. Should I?

      Just kidding. Suero’s a 3/4 delivery swingman who profiles best as middle reliever. Doesn’t throw exceptionally hard but is not a soft-tosser either. A bit of a surprise that they invited him since he seemed to have hit his ceiling in Harrisburg.

    2. Thanks, Mark. Here is a link to the nonroster invitees:

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/nationals-journal/wp/2016/02/15/lucas-giolito-bronson-arroyo-among-nationals-20-non-roster-invitees/

      It’s a throwback to see Solano and Burnett on the list. Suero is a lanky Dominican who was good at Potomac last year but got hammered at Harrisburg. He had a similar MO in ’14 when he was good at Hagerstown but hammered at Potomac. Luke would have seen him a fair amount at Potomac but didn’t include him on the Watchlist, for whatever that’s worth.

      I’m a little surprised that Simms and Austen Williams didn’t get invites after their time at AA. Those are the only two names that come to mind off the top of my head. I guess Kevin Keyes is probably as good as some of the other very marginal bats they’re bringing to camp.

      1. I obviously was posting about Suero at the same time Luke was. Truth be told, Suero is probably in camp to eat innings in split-squad games, but it’s still got to make a kid feel good to be hangin’ with the big boys for a few weeks.

  5. The difference between the Nats having a lower or a higher rank is how the last year’s draft class fares in 2016. Coming off a full season in college, entering a first full season in pro ball, we will see whether the initial promise of so many picks carries over.

    Otherwise, the GCL Nats13 and the Dominicans graduate to A+-AA. Their maturity curve will dictate the reputation.

  6. The pitching prospects in the top 30 are interesting in that there are five starters in the top ten all with various degrees of promise to be major league pitchers. Of the remaining nine, six are, for all intensive purposes, relief pitchers, none with all that much promise at this point.
    For some reason I have a good feeling about Stevenson. I felt somewhat the same way about Burns a few years ago, but feel stronger about last year’s first round pick.

    1. I’m cautiously optimist about Stevenson. I wasn’t thrilled with how high the Nats picked him since he has very little power, but he’s a good ballplayer. I think he has a higher upside than Burns or Eury Perez, both of whom have spent a good bit of time in the bigs. Stevenson seems to be a better defender than both of those guys. He’ll have to show some gap power to have a shot to play regularly in the majors, though. He progressed exceptionally well through the system after the draft last year, particularly after a very long college season. (I’m hoping the extended college season was part of the explanation of Wiseman’s struggles.)

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