Offseason Update: Oct. 10, 2015
It’s been an interesting week to say the least. And as much as I’d like to say there’s been a lot of news, if you look more closely, there’s a hell of a lot more smoke than fire. The entire Nats coaching staff — many of whom have been mainstays in the organization before the current GM assumed his role — was “informed their contracts would not be renewed” while the Nats have reportedly “offered several jobs to several of our former major league coaches in our system.”
I’d like to know which coaches were offered which jobs. Not that for a minute would I actually believe that Rizzo or the Nationals would answer that directly or honestly, but it would nice if somebody, somewhere would ask such an obvious (and necessary) question. Maybe it was asked, but I doubt it.
ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE
Perhaps biggest “news” is that Trea Turner won’t be playing on the taxi squad after all. This never made much sense and sounds like a (yet another) tone-deaf PR maneuver. Meanwhile, Christopher Bostick replaces Wilmer Difo, who was injured last weekend. Games start up on Tuesday the 13th.
BA TOP 20 PROSPECT LISTS
Three Nats made the Carolina League Top 20: Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Austen Williams. Not much argument about Giolito, but the previous accolades and perhaps a weak year seems to account for the picks of Lopez and Williams respectively. Giolito as the top dog in the Eastern League also reeks of laziness, as does the naming of Joe Ross — who is no longer an MLB rookie — at No. 8.
Let me be clear: I’m criticizing Baseball America here. Yes, we get that Giolito is a great talent, but double-dipping means that another guy elsewhere doesn’t get named. And a pitcher that made 13 starts for a second-place team might be a major-leaguer someday?
Even F.P. Santangelo could make that call.
TRANSACTION STUFF
Still fairly slow, as P.J. Walters was re-signed. That’s it.
WINTER LEAGUES
A look over the rosters of the Venezuelan Winter League, which started up on the 7th, has turned up two pitchers and two position players who were with the organization at the end of the 2015 season:
- Reegie Corona
- Mario Lisson
- Paolo Espino
- Mario Sanchez
So far, no Nationals have been listed on the Mexican Pacific League teams, which began last night.
THE AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS
In 2011 and 2012, the Doubldays were contenders to win the NYPL league. In 2013, they bottomed out with the league’s worst record and worst pitching. The past two seasons, it’s been a slow climb to the .500 mark. It’s worth noting that the first two teams were among the league’s oldest while the last three have been edging towards the average, falling below this year (20.6 vs. 21.1 for bats; 21.1 vs. 21.3 for arms) with the influx of more players from the D.R.
Just two of the seven Washington affiliates surpassed the league average runs scored per game. Not coincidentally, both clubs — Auburn and Hagerstown — were the closest to a winning record. Funny how that works. The Doubledays scored 4.82 R/G (vs. 4.25), which was good for second-best in the league. The pitching and defense let in 4.88 R/G which was third-worst in both categories. Thus, the 36-38 mark is only one off from the Pythagorean projection (for the folks who still mindlessly lament the “collapse” of the 2005 parent club, look at the second paragraph under “Justification”) of 37-37.
Before I unveil the Top 5’s, a note: I’m not listing Victor Robles twice, even though he was head and shoulders above the rest (.311 GPA). If that doesn’t make sense, re-read “BA Top Prospects” above 😉
| TOP 5 BATS | TOP 5 ARMS |
| 1. Max Schrock, 2B/SS, .272 GPA, .308 BA | 1. Erick Fedde, RHP, 2.57/2.60/1.31, 9.26 K/9IP |
| 2. Dalton Dulin, 2B, .273 GPA, .410 OBP | 2. Mariano Rivera III, RHP, 5.45/2.70/1.64, 0.82BB/9 |
| 3. Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B, .265 GPA, 21 doubles in 62G | 3. Tommy Peterson, RHP, 2.66/2.83/1.23, 1.8 BB/9 |
| 4. Edwin Lora, SS, .238 GPA, .414 SLG% | 4. Taylor Guilbeau, LHP, 3.88/2.89/1.39, 1.6 BB/9 |
| 5. David Kerian, 1B, .236 GPA, .995 FA | 5. Grant Borne, LHP, 3.59/2.99/1.26, 1.3 BB/9 |
Honorable mentions to Rhett Wiseman and Matt Crownover; the former was just a tick below Kerian, the latter because he finished very strong — 2.22 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in August. And it pained me to have to include Mariano Rivera III because I am really not a fan of legacy picks (*cough* Shane McCatty *cough*) but like Crownover, getting pounded early skewed his stats.
This is why I like FIP and include it as a “pitcher’s triple slash” because it’s less volatile. Indeed, you’ll see that a lot of the pitchers listed had one thing in common: they didn’t issue walks. We can complain that they didn’t strike out many, either, but that’s a conversation for the comments section.
As always, folks who want to see the numbers for the full team can find them here.
I don’t want to blow a server , Luke. Lol
More results nearer or @ Winter Meetings.
On both sides of the chalk line
Us guys have to spend more time with our
Canines lol
By the critique above, Austen Williams is that much more impressive because he made the list despite the double dipping. 😉
Schrock financial gamble pays off. But OF poor Nats back off EddyJMartinez.
Trea Turner #4 in Texas League, will he get the call from BBA for work in Syracuse?
Experienced minor league managers (Phil Nevin) may apply, so why not Billy Gardner or Randy Knorr? No intel on Wotus. Are bench coaches out of favor?
I would back off eddyJ. He could end up
Edny Chavez with a few more HRs
Sunday. E joy the dog walks fans
GG I had a dream last night. Ian Sagdal
Had a Sept call – up @ bat. Next year ?
I don’t know. Short dream. Lol
Luke, I assume you are including Glover, Lee, and Stevenson with Hagerstown. If you take them and Robles out of the equation for Auburn, that’s most of the high-ceiling guys. As I’ve noted, I’m still not sure what to think about Fedde, although he gets a bit of a pass coming off TJ. The Nats will expect a big move from him in 2016 if he is going to live up to first-round expectations. Among the other Auburn starters, Crownover posted a good WHIP despite some early struggles. He, Borne, Guilbeau, and Hearn will all be given some latitude in a system desperate to develop some LHP starters. I’ve already got concerns that Rivera was an overreach in the fourth round. I’m interested to see if they try him as a starter again when he’s not already coming off a college season.
Auburn hitters besides Robles, Stevenson, and Franco – meh. Wiseman did manage to get the ball out of the park five times, which is promising, but he also struck out in 25% of his plate appearances. He’s got to cut down on that significantly if he’s going to sniff the majors. Schrock finished strongly, but I don’t see much in his size or his college career that get me excited for the long term. Dulin, another SEC middle infielder, is about the same size. Gutierrez is younger and a lot bigger and may ultimately amount to more. All the doubles are promising. Kerian seemed like a low-price bid for a corner power guy, but he hasn’t shown much pop yet (0 pro HRs). Of the hitters, I would probably peg Wiseman as the one with the best chance to reach the majors, followed by Gutierrez and Schrock, but five levels removed from The Show, that’s just a barely educated guess.
Yes. I limit my Top 5’s to the guys that played/pitched the most, generally the top 12 or so. Admittedly, that will miss some of the short-season guys, but I’ve got a cadre of commenters who are ready and willing to correct my oversights 😉
Oh, I don’t blame you for only highlighting guys for one org team. Plus there were a truckload of guys who played at Auburn this year. It was curious how quickly the Nats pushed some guys ahead. Glover had only six innings at Auburn before getting promoted. Andrew Lee had one inning with the GCL club and 8.1 in Auburn before shipping to Hagerstown. Meanwhile Fedde, the first rounder, had eight starts and 35 IP at Auburn before moving on to Hagerstown. The Nats seem to have read that trio right, though, as Glover and Lee thrived at A- while Fedde took some time to get his sea legs.
If B-R has the numbers right, 59 guys played for Auburn this half-season, 31 pitchers and 28 hitters.
Talk about sifting through your June draft guys and some- about time – Latin guys.
Daubach in Cuse means sayanara to Joe Dillon ?
Dillon has left Dodge ??
Sorry to see Joe Dillon go (to Marlins). LeCroy back where he belongs, and perhaps Henley as well. Great that Knorr stays put in the organization. Still hoping for the great hires to enhance the underperformance in the minors.
A couple of articles have slipped out of instructional league with intel. But not so much.
No to Ripken. I think the Nats will hire a manager without a whole lot of delay. Why let others jump in on a candidate?
AFL to start….
Very happy to read in the WaPo that Wotus is on the radar. Why not poach a bench coach from a three time WS champion? Would make for a lot more organizational credibility than Phil Nevin (when Randy Knorr and Billy Gardner have not been interviewed). Team needs to know how to win when winning isn’t coming easiest. Wotus rates here.
I’m not keen on Black.
I’m very much on the same page here. Black had many seasons (albeit at times with limited talent) and never got the Padres above mediocre. I don’t know whether Wotus has the magic sauce, but he’s seen the recipe up close three times over. Nevin doesn’t have experience on an MLB bench, and Cora has no experience at all. Another person mentioned, with a similar background to Wotus, is DeMarlo Hale. Wotus and Hale interest me the most of the outsiders mentioned. I do hope that Knorr at least gets an interview, though. I think he’s better connected to what can and should be done with the MLB club than Gardner is.
I should add that Knorr’s new special assistant gig probably means that he’s not getting an interview. At least they’re keeping him around.
FYI Wisemann did not make a big impression in the NYPL.Teams not afraid of him.
But after the instrux and rest and weights and diet, we’ll see different players next year growing into their professions.
Schrock was a comer from back in HS. And an SEC star. He’s on track. Dulin – what’s not to like about a .410 OBP with SB speed?
Diet more than hot dogs or Taco Bell
Yes GG woris has clean resume compared to Backman
Again I notice jason Camilli helping out salt rafters .
Wotus could bring some giant guys over FP could wax
All season about . Mark Gardner pitching coach – ole Fresno bulldog
Buck Rodgers pupil in expo days
Aldrete hitting coach ??
Wiseman came in with a hole in his swing that everyone with ESPN had seen. Todd talked about it some on his site after watching the CWS. Every team had scouted him and seen it. It’s the big thing standing in the way of him establishing himself as a pro player. I’m sure the Nats saw it, too, but they probably didn’t have much time to work with Wiseman on it. He signed and reported very late after going to the CWS final. If he can cut down on the K’s, I think he can advance quickly, but sometimes that’s easier said than done.
Not meaning to put Schrock and Dulin down to much. Considering the lack of middle infielder success above them, they could advance quickly as well if they continue to hit. Schrock is a year younger than most of the junior draftees, and both he and Dulin are bigger than Renda, if not exactly large.