NationalsProspects.com

Checking In…

Well, here we are again… its mid-September: the minors are over and for the first time in seven seasons, so are the majors.

Sure, there’s some drama about Juan Soto winning the Rookie of the Year Award. There probably shouldn’t be, but the BBWAA has long treated the award as the best “eligible first year” player award (see: Suzuki, Ichiro; Nomo, Hideo) vs. the best player who made his major-league debut that year. Never mind that Soto has done things that few teenagers have ever done before or that he began 2018 in Low-A.

Yesterday, the instrux rosters were released. No surprises here, so take it for what it is: a list of players for which the club would like to spend a little more time with before next spring. As written in years past, I tend to look for names that we haven’t seen all year long, a confirmation that they’re still active in the organization. No such luck.

The affiliation dance officially began today, which for the Nationals boils down to one simple question: where will the AAA team play in 2019? Since last October, the prevailing opinion has been Vegas or Nashville since the Mets are leaving the former and the A’s are looking for something closer to Oakland, making the latter possible.

According to veteran A’s beat writer Susan Slusser, Nashville will not be renewing its affiliation with Oakland. She, along with the local papers in Sin City, believes Oakland will switch to Las Vegas.

As previously noted, the opinion here was that the Nationals could have put on a full-court press to stay in the International League and make a pitch for Rochester, which has been a Twins affiliate since 2003 after 42 seasons with Orioles and 32 prior to that with the Cardinals. Last month, that possibility was dashed when the Red Wings re-upped for another two years with Minnesota.

That leave the Nationals with Nashville as the least-worst option between the remaining affiliates of Las Vegas, Fresno, Round Rock, and San Antonio. They’re competing with Milwaukee, Texas, Houston, and Oakland. Of course, that’s not as simple as it looks from the outside looking in. Let’s let Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News explain the drama for your mama.

If you’re already thinking what I’m thinking: A substandard facility? Say hello to San Antonio!

Finally, I can save you the time of scouring Baseball America’s 2018 Classification All-Stars and 2018 Minor League All-Star teams for Nationals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFxzohbXLSo.

54 Commments

  1. The name , Luke , which stuck out in instruction league roster was DSL bat ( OF/ 1b) Andry Arias. Lessons in first base play ? Jeremy DeLaRosa?? Same angle ??
    Juan Pascal ?? Hmmm. Hoping for a 2019 Maturity which Omar Meregildo realized under Anderson in 2018?
    Joan Adon. Hmmmmm.
    When will stadium staff start playing the theme from Fletch for Fletcher entrances ? Lol

    1. Adios , Jim Beattie one time ex- po GM. Enjoy the sunset years in life. Golf and such
      The question begs to be asked : third place is a reality for 2018. Did the braves overachieve with MVP year from Freeman , stellar pitching , surprising bench role playing and the Acuna effect while philly matched maturity with trade deadline sage additions leading to 2019 where the bar can’t be raised for both playoff clubs while a rebooted Nats club can raise the ceiling bar?? Gil?

      1. Gil. You must be pleased to see the Italian named 1 b on the instrux league list.
        What is the brass love for Elvis Alvarado ? Do they see a Springfield rifle in that right arm. ?
        Hmmm dept. Sanfler getting extra love. Franco being moved to 1 b permanently with the bonus babies around ??
        Interesting that Brailin Fernandez did not get an invite .winter ball for him ??

    3. That ball Robles hit last night had to be more than 427 feet.
      Now the fun part of the waning season is listening to FPs reactions to taters. The silence followed by the Oh my or something else
      Hmmm interesting to see how our 2018 number one pick progresses in comparison to Erik Fedde in terms of athleticism , mechanics and how true a comp to Jack McDowell from the ole South Sider, Mr M Rizzo

  3. I think the new stadium, facilities for fans, players, and press, plus the red uniforms make Nashville the perfect spot for the Nats. The Sounds owners have to definitely chip in for travel over the vast distances of the Pacific League, so it won’t be too bad for the Nats ownership. The Nats seem better situated to land quality AAA prospects / pseudo prospects. Rizzo will probably have fewer problems convincing on-the-cusp veterans to go there versus the land of the enchanted forest and glaciers; Syracuse as seen in the movie Frozen. Really nice city for Travel Nat types to visit?

      2. Player coach Lombo??

        Has anybody ever heard Dave Martinez reflect on role models in his career besides Joe Madden? I have always kept an ear glued to his talks to hear any nostalgia about Buck Rodgers in Montreal after his trade for Mitch Webster ( nice Dodger scout) from the Cubs .
        Another view on Jimmy Cordero who reminds you of a classic car restorer who pours time and attention into the passion but never receives anticipated return. Th

      1. Nashville would seem like a win on nearly every count — new ballpark, nice city, big-city airport for easy connections to the big club, and in the eastern third of the U.S. Vegas and particularly Fresno would be on the other side of the world, plus it’s hard to judge pitching or hitting numbers from the PCL.

        I did have to laugh, though, at the Dallas writer’s assertion that the Nats could put a winning team in Nashville!

        1. Chicks dig the long ball in Music City. Denim torquoise, long hair lipstick , strains of every songwriter from all parts of America. Great food .. commodore baseball passion in the spring.
          The players who are single unattached will dig the Urban Country scene. Oh to be young and easy as Dylan Thomas might have quipped in Fern Hill…

      2. Scorpion and the frog. And Jimmy Cordero. Mark L.
        Tonight the season in a nutshell. 4 quick runs. Starter fails to go six. Bullpen exercised and Scorpion strikes ! Lol

      3. Disaster is Lerners sending private planes to Fresno to PU callups.
        Or stock some ready bodies @ Harrisburg ??

    3. The billboards in Nashville along the highway are very impressive.
      Luke. Call me late but not for dinner. : what is the story with Felix Tavares? Has he had injuries ? He was parked on Auburn roster last summer

  4. With all the “First time a teenager ever has…” stories, Soto ought to win ROY. If the Nats had played up to expectation, or at least up to Pythagorean, he’d likely be a shoo-in. Nevertheless, he’s having his best month yet as a big leaguer with an OPS well over 1.000, so maybe he can just go ahead and let his performance do the talking for the next two weeks.

    Robles on the on other hand (or wrist) still looks a bit hobbled at the plate. Hopefully, he can (ahem) shake it off by Opening Day. They Nats are going to need both their young phenoms to come up large next year, assuming they let their overrated former phenom go a be somebody else’s constant and expensive headache.

    1. If the Nats had played up to expectation, or at least up to Pythagorean, he’d likely be a shoo-in

      Which I’ve never understood… why is a good young player on a contender automatically better than a one on a losing team? Putting aside my argument that you should only win the ROY the same season that you make your MLB debut in, which the Blue Jays certainly made sure would be the case with Vlad Jr., the expectations on a rookie are lower on a contender than a non-contender. Soto has become the savior, enough for many fans to disregard the departure of Harper if not welcome it, and the pressure to continue to perform is higher. Now imagine Soto on the Mets or the Orioles… he’d never get pitched to.

      1. I know five homers in twelve games is a lot to ask, but I’ve love to see Soto get to 25 and set the all-time record for a teenager. It’s not just the homers, though. He trails only Trout, Betts, and Votto (with whom he has been neck and neck) in OBP, which is amazing for anyone, much less a teenaged-rookie.

        Robles has looked good defensively, but he’s reminding me of a young Harper, not knowing when to slow down. I fear injuries are going to be a constant thing with Robles.

        1. One obstacle to Soto getting to 25 is that unlike the former phenom he always seems to just take what the pitcher gives him. Look at yesterday in the 9th inning with 2 on when he smashed a solid single on a mistake pitch low in the zone iinstead of trying to elevate it and hit a HR. That insurance run was just as big as a 3-run dinger would have been in that situation.

      2. Luke. Do we see end of minor league season procedure for rosters with Jake Barnett, Weston Davis and Felix Tavares added to GCL scrolls ?

  5. Quick instrux thoughts, worth about as much as the paper they’re printed on:

    – All the new guys…Andrew Istler, Jacob Condra-Bogan, KJ Harrison, Andruw Monasterio, Gilbert Lara…except Jhon Romero. Are the Nats operating under a strict two-Romero cap or something? It’s a bit odd.

    – In addition to the aforementioned Istler, James Bourque stands out as a more advanced (read: played part of this season above A-ball) inclusion on the roster. Both of these guys are decent shots to make their major league debuts with the Nats in 2019, assuming they stay in the organization. So what will the coaches have them working on?

    – Along with Jhon Romero, some notable absences from the roster: OF Braian Fernandez, LHP Ben Braymer, 1B/OF Aldrem Corredor, OF Telmito Agustin, and RHP Karlo Seijas. Corredor and Agustin have been in the system awhile, but Fernandez and Braymer are relative newbies who had a very good 2018 season, and Seijas was our top get from last year’s international class. I’m a little surprised to see them not getting the love, considering some of the other names on here (Elvis Alvarado? Jackson Stoeckinger? Rodney Theophile?)

    1. I’m not sure “love” is the right word here. From what I’ve read and “seen” second-hand, instrux is more like an extra two weeks of spring training… except it’s hotter and the games are even less structured. And they don’t get paid.

    4. Fernandez, Corredor and Seijas are all Venezuelan. Would guess that the Nats have plans for all to play in some version of a Winter League (although they may not be too excited by any of their players heading back to Venezuela right now). Augustin is from the VI; would guess they plan for him to play in the DR this off-season.

  6. To me, the 72-point headline for Instrux is that Denaburg is on the roster. Don’t know if he’ll actually do anything, but this is semi-proof that he hasn’t entered the witness protection program.

    For the rest: meh. Shouldn’t read too much into it. Some pitchers may already be at their innings limits. Draftees have had very long seasons. That said, it’s good to see the OF draftee quartet of Canning, Rhinesmith, Wilson, and O’Connor all making the cut. There’s promise with all of them.

      1. As a 5th round pick, one would hope Canning at least is good enough for A-AA. We’ll have to see about the others. All I can say is that they were much better at Auburn than a lot of their other recent college draftees have been over the last few years.

    1. Just as long as we don’t get stuck with Fresno. Nashville is way preferable to San Antonio, but Fresno would be a disaster.

  8. The A’s announced a new affiliation with Las Vegas. So, that leaves Nashville, Round Rock, San Antonio and Fresno.

  9. The A’s are one of the few teams from whom Fresno actually would have made some sense, although it sounds like the fix was already in for them in Vegas . . . where the OAK football team is already scheduled to move . . .

  10. Brewers take San Antonio, Astros thought to be a lock for Round Rock (which is suburban Austin, for those who may not know). Unless I’m missing something, that leaves Nashville and (gulp) Fresno, and the Nats vs. the ex-Nats, err, Rangers.

  11. Nats get Fresno.

    Hard to imagine a worse outcome, and unfathomable that with a full year of lead time on lining up a new affiliate, this has happened. What the heck is going on with this organization?

  13. I know nothing of the mechanics of how this happened, but I agree that this result seems like an epic fail by the organization. The Nats knew this was coming for more than a year yet got the absolute worst possible outcome. Oh well, at least no more cold games in April and May . . .

  14. What a complete joke. Just disband having a AAA team completely. What use is is a team if it takes approximately 36 hours of advanced warning to get that player to DC?

    And this is at a time that AAA have become more important than ever. With every team shuffling their 7th to 10th bullpen arms back and forth between the majors and AAA it’s absolutely essential to have a team on close call.

    It takes at least 7 hours to fly from Fresno to DC and that only works during regular flight times. Unless the Lerners are going to send their own personal jet to cart Solis coast to coast after each meltdown they’ve just crippled the Nats ability to field the most competitive team possible.

    I guess we’ll see any pitcher worth a damn throwing in Harrisburg next year.

    What a waste.

    1. Solis and Gott will be out of options, so I guess it will be the Suero Shuttle. (The Wanderer has made a decent case for sticking with the big club, though.)

  15. I’ve said above that I think this was bungled. That said, it also sounds like there weren’t many true options, particularly when the Brewers decided to keep their connection to the Colorado Springs team that was moving to San Antonio. It was basically Nashville or Fresno. I don’t know whether the Ranger offer of a four-year deal tipped the balance. Maybe the Nats know of a closer situation than Nashville that will open up by 2021-22.

    Obviously this affiliation thing has gotten out of hand, but then the whole deal with the AAA leagues got out of hand long ago. The “Pacific” Coast League stretches from Tacoma to New Orleans. Neither it nor the IL are particularly bus-able anymore. It would make sense for MLB to realign the leagues and the affiliates, but since these are mostly direct deals between teams and local affiliates, it’s complicated.

    So it is what it is. I’m sorta chuckling at all the comments about lack of direct flights, as there aren’t exactly a lot of direct flights to anywhere from Syracuse, either. The arrangement certainly won’t be ideal, but I don’t think it will be particularly costly to the team in terms of performance. FWIW, it looks like Fresno has a nice, newer stadium, so it will be an upgrade in facilities.

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