After a hiatus, the tenth edition of this collection of old, on the cusp, and/or longtime players returns.
Jacob Young joins the short list of four notable bats to make an MLB roster, joining Brian Goodwin, Spencer Kieboom, and some schlub named Juan Soto.
So is there a fifth among this list, or did I just finish one (*hic*)?
Murphy Stehly
Despite an injury that sidelined him for roughly six weeks, Stehly played three levels for the Nats – postin an OPS of .975 at Low-A, .805 at High-A, and .410 in seven AA games. As you might have already guessed, the ’22 10th Rd. pick was old for all three levels and turned 25 shortly after the season ended.
Jeremy De La Rosa
While BA still has him ranked at 26 on this year’s preseason Top 30, it’s hard not to notice that he did not consistently adjust to the rigors of High-A (or LHPs: .362 OPS) and will likely have to repeat the level again.
Cortland Lawson
Lawson, who turned 23 in May, posted an above-average OPS at Low-A (.763 vs. .687) and below-average at High-A (.587 vs. .721). Defensively, he committed 23 errors split across both 2B and SS, most of the throwing variety since his range is limited.
Johnathan Thomas
Thomas led the Nats’ minors with 65 steals despite a good-but-not-great OBP of .342, but hit just 11 doubles and no triples. That more or less describes Young in ’22 (though Young has a much, much better arm) so it’s possible that the 5’7″ 175-lb Thomas can develop enough power to get more doubles lime Young did in ’23.
Armando Cruz
Like Yasel Antuna before him, the $3.9M price tag will be both a blessing (getting ranked #27 by BA for example) and a curse (being mentioned in the same sentence as Antuna) for the 20-y.o. IFA from the D.R. The glove and arm remain WAY ahead of the bat, which produces a fair amount of contact but next-to-no power.