Vote for Your Favorite Bats
Quick! Before they get traded!
It’s time for our annual offseason ritual to fill the void between when Boswell stops blathering about baseball and starts blathering about football October and March by crowdsourcing our favorite position players in the Nationals minor leagues.
OK, so here’s how it works… Send me your Top 10 list of minor-league position players (40-man guys are eligible as long as they have rookie status; both of them) to enfieldmass-top10bats[at]yahoo[dot]com (link will open your preferred email client) or submit them in comments.
I’ll compile the votes and weight them in reverse order (#1 = 10 points, #2 = 9 points… #9 = 2 points, #10 = 1 point). When it feels like I’ve got a sizable number of submissions, I’ll update this post to close the polls (voters in Florida and Georgia may be confused by this advance notice).
Please remember that “Bat” is shorthand for “position player” and that the N.L. still favors automatic outs and sacrifices from roughly 95% of its pitchers, so please consider defense in your selections and take notice if there are any guys who spend an inordinate time as the DH or as a pinch-hitter.
This will create the ninth annual NationalsProspects.com Top 10 Bats list.
Alas, there’s still another week to go before the Bryce Harper showcas…er, Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. Maybe we’ll get a Top 10 from Baseball America, which is back to being the only game in town again with Vox pulling the plug on John Sickels.
Otherwise, we’re back to Rogers Hornsby mode.
POLLS ARE NOW CLOSED
We got enough votes now to make a post.
Vary sad about Sickels, he was one hardworking writer.
Ugh, this was not a fun exercise…
1. Robles
2. Kieboom
*Huge cavernous gap*
3. Garcia
*Second huge cavernous gap*
4. Read
5. Pineda
6. Agustin
7. W. Perez
8. Noll
9. Monasterio
10. Antuna
Dark horse: Rhett Wiseman/Austin Davidson (will the Nats continue to not value them?)
Two to watch: KJ Harrison (will he stick at catcher? Or is he slated to be a 1B from now on?)
Oops, that should be “One to watch”. I’d originally included Jose Sanchez too, but decided to remove him at the last minute.
Agree on the third blue chip signee hopscotching in 2019
Kudos to whoever paid Carter a Tulo comp in terms of how he carries himself in dugout and in the field/ plate
I’m not sure if it’s a huge cavernous gap between Kieboom and Garcia; remember Kieboom is more than 2 1/2 years older. But I enjoyed the mental picture of Evel Knievel jumping over those gaps.
I would. Kieboom is a consensus top 10-15 prospect, while Garcia is fringe top 100 at best.
Sure, Garcia is massively underrated, but Kieboom has hit for average just as well as Garcia, they both play SS (apparently neither excellently), meanwhile Kieboom has hit for significantly more power than Garcia and shown a much better eye at the plate.
Kieboom could be Troy Tulowitzki/Corey Seager, while Garcia could be Jean Segura/Elvis Andrus. I’ll take both on my team, and who knows maybe Garcia adds some power with his age, but I think Kieboom’s got more potential.
Luke. is there an astrick (or a mole, too. lol!) next to some of the NCAA alums hitting away from Auburn especially Pablo O’Conner?
who here thinks I should just drink my spiked Irish egg nog and simmer down about several Auburn 18 alums hop scotching to POtomac19?? Pablo OCruise O Conner, Caddy Shaddy Shack, Rhinesmith, ..Cody Wilson full 19 @ Hags??
Just two cups of coffee this am, Gil….
Time to evaluate the potential June draft ick ledger. 1st, 3rd, 4th ..maybe a second 4th if 34 leaves….
Max, SS, Corbin, Roark (?) Ross, Fedde… thoughts on Lilliquists pitching ledger?
Luke here is my mole in reply to your Boswell blathering mole.
I turned to a fellow traveler in the airport on Monday after Golden Tate celebrated with his fish act ( which would have caused Vince Lombardi to trade his A@@ in his day ) saying That’s another reason I don’t watch the NFL anymore. No more young bloods , Ted Hendricks , Nitschkes , Bart Starrs. Boswell has had nothing to write about since Snyder and his ego has owned the Skins.
So glad the caps won last spring. Or summer cup win. Seasons are too long.
Luke do some of US blather ?? Lol. We make for good dog walkers.
Brothers YoungBloods
Did Howard Cosell come up in mental picture with Evil K ( wide world of ABC sports ??)
Needless to say this is not a deep list.
1. Robles
2. C. Kieboom
3. L. Garcia
4. Antuna
5. Read
6. Barrera
7. Pineda
8. Jose Sanchez
9. Agustin
10. Canning
Honorable Mention: Noll and Davidson
Never much liked SBN anyway … Vox eh? Spinoff from the WaPo political blogs of the past. I hope John Sickels lands in a far better place than SBN, their Nats coverage isn’t very good either.
1. Victor Robles
2. Luis Garcia
3. Carter Kieboom
4. Raudy Read
5. Yadiel Hernandez
6. Alec Keller
7. Telmito Augustin
8. Yasel Antuna
9. Tres Barerra
10.Jose Sanchez
The defense seems reasonably represented in this list I guess.
Wait. You mean endless parroting of Rizzo and quote tweets isn’t a good thing?
Peric. nice kudo to Keller ahead of Agusteeeeeen sinhce he has hit his way to 19AAA and an All-Star nod @ AA in past. he and Perez that one year.
Thank you Jeff! I kind of wonder about the Princeton grad? No one ever talks about him but he seems comfortable at every outfield position? I tried to follow Luke’s framework in my choices …
Hmmm Montaserio, forgot about him … 21 year old right-handed bat. Guess I’ll stick with Sanchez supposedly their best shortstop type right now. Maybe he’ll make it to Potomac this season so Luke can give us the lowdown.
OK, here we go. If I think too hard about this, my head will hurt, so I’ll just go on and throw it out there. I started to submit a list with only three names . . . although I will add that #’s 4-10 still have an outside shot at seeing MLB time and/or being trade chips of value similar to Daniel Johnson.
1. Robles
2. Kieboom
3. L. Garcia
4. Ward
5. Read
6. Canning
7. Pineda
8. Antuna
9. Agustin
10. Wiseman
I will add that I think Y. Hernandez and Davidson have about as much chance as the guys in the #4-5 range on this list, but since most don’t see them as “prospects,” I’ll abstain from trying to insist that they are. I don’t see Noll being in the class as these two (159 OPS points lower than Davidson at Harrisburg), but the AFL stint seems to indicate that he’s at least on the organization’s radar.
I share the intrigue about K. J. Harrison *IF* he can stick at catcher. He hit well as the starting catcher for one of the top college programs and was a 3d-round draft pick. I have no idea why the Brewers kept him mostly at 1B . . . or what to think of the frightening 31.5% K rate in A-ball.
FWIW, Harrison has mostly played 1B during his career. Even when Logan Ice left, the Beavers opted for a freshman over him as a junior. This is what’s known as a clue. As for the K rate? Wow – he makes Jason Martinson look like Wade Boggs.
Maybe he can master Raudy Read’s technique of picking up the ball back by the screen . . .
That freshman will probably be the number one draft choice next year. I have seen kj a lot and he is a decent catcher. He is a very good hitter with good power.
A “decent catcher” who can hit can go a long way.
Unrelated to the subject at hand, but it seems Kieboom is our 2B of the future now. There’s some good quotes from a couple days ago from Carter about switching to 2B:
https://www.federalbaseball.com/2018/12/2/18122346/washington-nationals-carter-kieboom-playing-second-base-afl-playing-with-brother-spencer-kieboom
The adjustments he had to make?
“I think maybe just the footwork around the base for turning double plays and stuff like that,” Kieboom said.
“You kind of lose momentum over there at second compared to short, but it was a pretty smooth adjustment. We worked with it every morning with [AFL hitting coach Luis Ordaz] and we got to where we wanted to be with it.”
……
Though he intends to work out at second base this winter, the infielder said he’ll continue to get reps at short so he’s ready for whatever he’s asked to do.
“I think my focus is going to be more towards second base,” he said.
“I haven’t done it in a few years, so I think there’s a little bit more work to be done there in terms of readiness, but I’m going to take a lot of reps at shortstop still, do the same stuff I do every offseason at short, and then at the same time I’m going to add a little more focus to second base.”
The top three are pretty much a no-brainer,, but I went a little outside the box on the rest …
1. Victor Robles
2. Carter Kieboom
3. Luis Garcia
4. Wilmer Perez
5. Blake Chisolm
6. Pablo O’Connor
7. Telmito Agustin
8. Gage Canning
9. Aldrem Corredor
10. Braian Fernandez
11. A. Arais. 2019 might see several guys blossom off that 18DSL sqyad.
Like the Chisholm inclusion
Robles
C. Kieboom
Garcia
Y. Hernandez
Marmolejos
Noll
Agustin
Davidson
Read
Keller
That noted, a number of intriguing bats are at the lowest levels. But absent a player raking for a sustained span (100 AB) at a level clearly above their age, I cannot follow temptation to rank someone like Wilmer Perez or others at Auburn.
And I talked up Israel Pineda in my top 20s a year ago, before it was cool!
Let’s see how they do at Hagerstown in ‘19.
Nice walk back , Gil since kids who haven’t dawned as Suns haven’t added to their street cred
I’m intrigued about your inclusion of Marmolejos. I’ve been one of his biggest advocates in the past, but I think his future with the team has closed. We’ve now preferred in sequential seasons purchasing free agent power hitters instead of promoting from within. It’s a sensible decision, when legitimate bats like Adam Lind, Mark Reynolds and Matt Adams can be had for peanuts (Lind and Reynolds didn’t even get major league deals at the start of 2018!). Marmolejos’ 2018 slash of .266/.319/.369 in AAA isn’t good enough for a SS, much less a 1B. Even his best season in the minors, 2016 in Potomac (.286/.381/.495) which we can assume is his peak, was worse than what Adam Lind hit last year for us (.303/.362/.513) or only moderately better than what we got out of Reynolds (.257/.332/.510) this year.
I believe it was Sickels who predicted “The Orange” would top out at AAA, but for me the danger sign was the drop in walks. Marmolejos had been remarkably consistent with his OBP– usually around 30 points higher than league average–until it dropped last season. It’s very good point about his production: even if he were to match it in the Show, it’d be Difo-esque without the defense or speed and only a touch more power. You can live with that for a bench MI, but it’s unacceptable for just about anywhere else (OK, fine maybe a reliever ;-).
Luke – The drop in walks may be a sellout for power in a guy who is trying to make it.
Interestingly enough, after the Nats outrighted him off their 40 man at the end of July, he walked a lot more, and ended the season strong. I’m still hopeful for Orange.
Will – I’m not as disenchanted by his one off year. Count me in among those who feel that statistics at Syracuse underplay a hitter’s potential. The Nationals, through the years, have had many players who under-performed at Syracuse and have gone on to much better production at the ML level. Harper, of all people, was one. Far away though Fresno may be, that is a big reason why I am happy the Nats are gone from Syracuse.
Marmolejos, for me, is a guy whom everyone has praised for his technique as a hitter, he gets his doubles, and he makes very good contact consistently. I see him as a *hitter.* The biggest question has always been whether power would develop, because he is not fast and is has gotten himself only to the point of a passably decent defensive first baseman. But I think that if still in the organization, he will do very well in the PCL — whether he will add power is uncertain.
I should add that were I to rank a hitter from Auburn, I would have to pick Pineda, because he not only shows a hit tool and even power at age 18, playing above his level, but his coaches put him in the heart of the lineup. So he will be reckoned with in full season baseball this year. But one has to respect the bat that Keller has shown, and there is no reason to think he cannot carry it forward.
Big free agent signings such as Corbin are the best thing a team can do for a farm system — because then the fruit can collect and ripen rather than be swapped for needed MLB parts.
Perhaps the other additions coming will be trades. But there is so much available talent, and affordable, for filling out the roster right now, and at affordable deals, that I do hope the Nationals trade emerging surplus to really restock the lower minors with high grade pitching and power than can be part of the 2021 conversation.
Gil. Totally agree on the accessment about signing Corbin surrendering the bounty when many orgs fail in seeing a left handed pitcher reach the Bigs. How many Tim Cates can you draft / sign / seed along only to see stall @ Low A
Perhaps a bat further down the list if he has a good spring and hits off the opening night in Hags. : Nic Perkins
Norfork is not a minor league F/A??
I’m trying to process the love here for Wilmer Perez. He’s two years older than Pineda, smaller, and only got a cameo at Auburn while Pineda got the full (half) season. In 2019, Pineda will be at Hagerstown at age 19, while Perez likely will be at Auburn at age 21, trying to hit good college pitching for the first time.
It will be great if Perez can continue to hit as he has, as he’ll only be the age of a college junior draftee. But as of now, Pineda is significantly ahead of him in pace of development.
Can Perez’s inclusion on only two lists be considered “love”? In addition, one list (mine) has Perez lower than Pineda.
I think they’re both really fascinating prospects. Pineda looks to be the better all around player and catcher (the draft bonus, $450k, supports this), but Perez might have the better bat (but also might not stick at C).
Speaking of age, it seems like all of us, myself included, have given up on Anderson Franco. Yet 2019 will only be his age-21 season. Souza repeated Hagerstown at age 21 and hit .231 after hitting .237 there at age 20. Franco hit .237 last year at age 20. Just sayin’.
The Nats have a player who posted a 135 wRC+ and .833 OPS with an outstanding 14.5% walk rate at AA in his age-23 season. So far, he’s only appeared on one list. How quickly folks have forgotten Drew Ward. Yes, he has defensive limitations and strikes out too much. But there’s still some significant upside there, particularly if people remember his age.
For comparison, Noll is a year older than Ward, yet at AA, his wRC+ was 91, OPS was .687, and walk rate was only 5.4%.
Good point. I probably should have included Ward, since just a few months ago I was arguing about him being wrongly dismissed by most people.
With that said, there’s often a disconnect between the Nats front office’s valuation of a prospect (especially those that deviate from the traditional mold: Davidson, Wiseman, Ward, Bostick, among others), and their results on the field. So when a player seems to have fallen out of graces of the big league team, then it becomes a catch 22: they don’t get promoted because they aren’t a prospect, and they aren’t a prospect because they aren’t promoted. I wonder if Ward is also on this path now.
Ward had a cameo in AAA and may get a ticket to Fresno. Perhaps the thin air of the PCL will inflate his power numbers. He’s still not on the 40-man, so the team isn’t having to burn options on him yet, giving him time to develop. He’s Rule 5 eligible, but with the price of 1B power so cheap, why would a team want to gamble with keeping a player like Ward all season when guys like Reynolds and Lind can be had for around $1M?
Luke stipulated defense but I agree about Drew Ward. But lacking power he won’t make it at first base and his third base isn’t really up to major league standards apparently.
Not to be overlooked in the discussion here is the telling quote of Luis Garcia from Winterfest. The younger Latinos are dreaming of a Soto-like ascent. And that track record of the organization, of promoting as fast as a player warrants, will help them sell the organization to the younger talent they will be competing for on the international scene, come 2020 (past the penalty year). It’s effective to sell the Nationals, when competing against other organizations, as a place where the top players rise to the top if they are willing to work hard.
As for Anderson Franco, no one is giving up on him yet – his measurables are as they are. But he can’t get promoted if he doesn’t perform. His situation is reminiscent of our own, well-placed enthusiasm in Jakson Reetz, who has had every reason to succeed but has not, and is running out of time to take it to another gear.
Gil, aha, perhaps the bi polar psychology Anderson employed with Franco and Meregildo flip flopping between 3b/1b was to partially motivate Franco ??
2019 will be very interesting to see how the DSL crop steps forward. ( Arias, Hancock , Brailin F, Danny H…)
Victor Robles
Carter Kieboom
Luis Garcia
Temito Agustin
Raudy Read
Yasel Antuna
Gage Canning
Israel Pineda
KJ Harrison
Pablo O’Connor
Yadiel Hernandez is 31. Orange will be 26 next month. Those guys, particularly Hernandez have aged out of prospect status. Drew Ward has stalled out. Can’t see him an MLB player at this point.
My Top 10:
1. Victor Robles
2. Carter Kieboom
3. Luis Garcia
4. Yasel Antuna
5. Israel Pineda
6. Raudy Read
7. Telmito Agustin
8. Gage Canning
9. Jake Noll
10. Jose Sanchez
December 13 rule 5 draft. Anybody think Nats will be as busy as last year when they scooped up Wilson and Bela Fleck lol!??
Now that the Rule 5 draft has come and gone. The Top Bats portion brings to mind which bats dawn in Potomac in April : Freeman , Lora, Caufeld ( ? By default ?), Meregildo , Franco , Scudder, Lara ( switch to OF?) Williams , no A. Flores, Reetz,
Upshaw just got his speed never sleeps … more free agents like Nick what’s his name who sat in DL more than playing lineup..