Wednesday’s News & Notes

22 Commments

1. I think I missed something with Matt Skole. He was released the other day. How does that result in him playing for Auburn? Did the Nats retain his rights in some way by actually not releasing him? Or did he simply re-sign for a ridiculous demotion instead of trying to sign with a higher-level team in another organization? I wish him nothing but the best; he has been with the Nats organization all along. I just would hope that he could go to the situation that would give him the best chance of at least getting an eventual cup of coffee. I don’t see how signing with Auburn ever gives him a chance at the Big Leagues.

   1. You got me on this one as well. Last I heard, Skole had requested his release after his DFA. How his agent thought there would be any deals out there for him for the last few weeks of the minor league and independent league seasons, I don’t know. Obviously the Nats left the door open. It’s possible he just went to Auburn because of convenience, with the Chiefs on the road and the Doubledays at home. As it was, he pretty much summed up his career in one game, with a homer and a strikeout.

   2. Came here wondering the exact same thing.

      In the game summary (https://www.milb.com/milb/news/washington-nationals-top-pick-romero-throws-three-hitless-innings/c-247234694), they say Skole is on a rehab assignment. Except he was released (see his player page) a few days ago…

      The only explanation I can come up with is that Skole is being groomed into a management role, and he’s performing a player/manager role right now.

      That would be a shame, because I think Skole could still stick with a bad team, or at least get a September call up, as he’s still never gotten a big league AB.

   3. We can quibble with the details but as far as I can tell Skole re-signed with Washington, which assigned him to Auburn and declared him a rehab so he wouldn’t count against the Doubledays roster.

2. In other news, Pedro Avila is breaking records in pitching dominance with the Padres.

   He went 8 IP striking out 17 batters!! https://www.milb.com/milb/news/fort-wayne-tincaps-pedro-avila-fans-17-on-record-setting-night/c-247254088/t-185364810

   2 weeks before that he went 7 innings striking out 11. And a month before that went 7 IP striking out 12.

   Across two levels, he’s now struck out 135 in 104 innings with a 3.96 ERA.

   This is the guy we literally gave away for free, as part of insanely stupid deal for Norris.

   These little seemingly irrelevant/irresponsible trades/roster moves have been depleting the quality of our farm system far more severely than the blockbuster trades are.

   Avila is only 20 and dominating in A ball, and we have nothing to show for it.

   We similarly gave away Max Schrock, who by the way is batting an impressive .318/.377/.441 at age 22 in AA, for 10 innings from an ineffective LOOGY in Marc Rzepczynski.

   We gave away Chris Bostick, who at age 24 is batting a respectable .279/.336/.416in AAA, by removing him from the 40 man to make room for Mat Latos to throw 9 miserable innings of long relief, in return for Taylor Gushue, who despite a hot start, has turned back into the pumpkin he was with the Pirates (.206/.270/.363 in the 2nd half).

   It’s frustrating to see the system get depleted in such unnecessary ways. The Norris deal was objectively stupid, and the Schrock and Bostick deals could have easily been avoided with better roster management. And has they not been made, Schrock or Bostick could have prevented the need to add a utilityman like Howie Kendrick at the deadline, and thus keeping one of our few pitchers that were actually throwing well this season (McKenzie Mills).

   These little deals were the sort that Rizzo built himself on. Remember Ramos for Capps? Roark for Guzman? We’re going to look back on some of these deals the same way, but with the incredulity of the Twins and Rangers fans.

   1. bad teams get the prospects and good teams get pieces they think help them to win now.

      people said the same thing about Billy Burns, as our host has pointed out many times a very low percentage of prospects make it to the show.

      I love watching players progress through the system as much as anyone, I’ve learned not to fall in love with any of them.

      1. You won’t find me criticizing Rizzo for trading away the farm. I have nothing against the Doolittle/Madsen deal, the Melancon deal, Eaton, etc. etc., even if the guys we dealt are dominating elsewhere (Neuse/Luzardo/Treinen have all been excellent since leaving, same with Rivero/Hearn, and a mixed bag with Lopez/Giolito/Dunning), because they addressed needs on the big league roster.

         The ones I mentioned neither improved the team at the time nor in retrospect, and they’re what I take exception to. It’s especially frustrating when these guys we gave away for free aren’t only succeeding, but literally setting new records in their domination.

         Just because we’re competitive in the majors doesn’t mean we can get careless with the minors.

         1. Baseball prospects traded and old girl friends have one thing in common : forget about ’em!!

      2. Amen. At some point expo fans had to let up with the Norm Charlton deal when nasty boys were the Cindy rage.
         Or Colon or Big Unit

   2. The issue with Bostick was that he never should have been added to the 40-man. There was no way he would have stuck as a Rule 5 pick somewhere else. They added Skole to the 40-man last offseason despite him not being picked in the two previous Rule 5 drafts when unprotected. (It does occur to me that maybe he was eligible to be a minor-league free agent if they didn’t add him this time, so I may be leaving out a pertinent fact. They let Destin Hood walk in a similar situation.)

      It’s a tough call with some of these guys. Goodwin’s career looked close to dead more than once. But there are a lot more who continue to flounder than there are the few success stories. And at times you wonder whether it’s better to give them the chance to find their footing in another organization. Cole and Voth withered on the vine at Syracuse after an extended period when they would have had some good trade value.

      1. Hood cannot even crack the Loria
         Art exhibit gang!!

   3. Wow. While everyone here values prospects, they are just prospects. The essential purpose of an MLB front-office is to win MLB games. Very doubtful that Avila, Schrock or Bostick will have become impact MLB players.

      Had the Nats been aware that Matt Wieters would fall into their lap, yes, they wouldn’t have traded for Derek Norris. OTOH, had Wieters signed somewhere else, the Nats’ catchers would be Jose Lobaton hitting .159 and Pedro Severino slashing .234/.276/.321 in AAA; just not acceptable for a team with World Series hopes. Norris was an all-star in 2014, and had an MLB track record. Avila was not considered an elite prospect by anyone. Also, even with his impressive strikeout total, Avila is pitching in low class A, and is 5-11 170 pounds. He is a long way from the MLB, and his small frame further reduces the probability that he will develop into a solid MLB player.

      In retrospect, Marc Rzepczynski did not help the Nats advance in the playoffs; so, from that limited perspective, the deal was a waste. That said, at the time the deal made sense. Rzepczynski has been part of a World Series winning bullpen getting key outs in the playoffs and W-S in three different post-seasons; their likely NLCS opponent Dodgers had history struggling against lefties. Being able to match-up against the lefties in the LA lineup was a priority.

      Max Schrock makes contact, but does not have elite tools (lacks power, speed and is limited to second base where he is adequate but he will never be an elite defender). The ceiling is low for Schrock. At best, he will develop into middling MLB 2nd baseman, but is more likely to be a bench player. Max Schrock will not change the fortunes of the Nats organization.

      Chris Bostick is a non-prospect that the Nats (or any other organization) could get back as a minor league free agent next year. Bostick has even less of a chance than Schrock of making an MLB impact.

      Only players with elite talent and tools are likely to make a material impact on the MLB level. Sad to say, but the vast majority of all minor league prospects, even those with some record of success, are unlikely to be “difference makers” on the MLB level. So, when a team can acquire a player that has already established himself as an MLB talent, its reasonable to trade a prospect for an MLB player that can help a team win now.

      1. Well said. The only guy the Nats have given up over the last couple of years who I thought was a higher-level prospect was Luzardo, and even that is a far-reaching projection for a 19-year-old who has just thrown a few innings of rookie ball. He probably would have been at least four or five years from the majors. (I’m not counting the Eaton trade here, but they had to give up higher-level talent to get five years of affordable control of an established star.)

         On the flip side, the Cubs have truly gutted their system over the last couple of years to go for it, trading some of the top prospects in the game. They have a fairly young and controlled everyday lineup, but their pitching staff could lose two starters and a closer this offseason.

         What’s the “right” approach? Have the Cubs given up too much to get their one ring? Have the Nats not given up enough while trying to both win now but also remain relevant over the longer haul? I guess we’ll see.

3. I think we’re burying the lede here.

   Our 1st round draft pick had a dominant debut in low-A and has now thrown 5 pro innings and has yet to allow a hit while fanning 8.

   Yeah, it’s just short season ball, and yeah, the minor league season is almost over. But a couple more outings like that and Seth Romero might be in Hagerstown this month.

   1. I think Romero needs to be at Hags this month, and Potomac to start next season. They’re really short on MLB-quality starters in the upper minors. (And I say this as someone who was no fan of drafting Romero.)

      1. Romero will start at Potomac next season regardless if he pitches for Auburn or H’town this year.

         That said, the Nats may move Romero to H’town because they are the only affiliate (other than the GCL Nats) with a post-season shot, and unlike the Nats other college pitcher draftees, Romero needs innings after sitting out from April to July.

         1. Think Romero as Arizona Fall League written all over him

            1. I’d agree – the AFL is so hard to predict in large part because the Nats like to use it for guys like Romero who’ve had their seasons shortened by injuries or “other circumstances.”

            2. Great points, both about Romero going to Hagerstown because they’ll likely be in the Sally League playoffs and about him likely going to AFL because he threw so little this year.

            3. Romero threw 48.2 innings at U of H this spring and 5 thus far with the Nats, so 53.2 total in actual games. He threw 94.1 in college in 2016, so 20% beyond that would be 113 inning, giving him about 60 more that he could go.

               On the flip side, Wil Crowe has pitched 101.2 innings this year after not pitching at all in 2016 because of TJ. I can’t see them pushing him much longer.

4. White Sox promote Reynaldo Lopez and he joins their starting rotation.

   Good luck Reynaldo!

5. Two thoughts : Rhett Wiseman will be fine in Harrisburg in 2018 spying his doubles , triples aside from the HR totals .
   Can we send Taylor Hill to an org job and promote Silvestre to AA?

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