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Nick Banks Born: 11/18/94 Ht. 6′ Wt. 215 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
After lingering in Low-A and High-A for roughly a season and a half at both levels, Banks finally made it to AA and put up an OPS (.769) worthy of his pedigree (2015 Team USA, 4th Rd. ’16 Pick) predicted. Banks uses a line-drive swing to hit to the gaps which generates a fair amount of doubles, though scouts believe he could be more selective. He’s best suited to LF due to below-average range and fringe-average arm. | |
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Jacob Rhinesmith Born: 5/22/96 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 195 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
Rhinesmith settled into RF for his sophomore season in the minors and showed promising gains in patience and power while flashing a fair amount of speed for someone his size. Alas, as a college-senior pick he’s been old for the level since Day 1 and that “yeah, but” will follow him to Fredericksburg in 2020 for his age-24 season. | |
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Justin Connell Born: 3/11/99 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 185 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
Despite playing just 14 games at SS-A in ’18, the Nats bumped the 20-y.o. to Low-A in ’19 and Connell responded with a slightly below-lg.-avg. season; not bad for someone 18 months younger than his peers. His strongest tool is his feel for the strike zone (49, T8th), which helps compensate for below-avg. power, though scouts feel he hasn’t “grown into his man body.” If/when he does, they believe the power will come and his speed will drop a tick. | |
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Ricardo Mendez Born: 1/24/00 Ht. 6′ Wt. 155 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
Mendez repeated the NYPL as a 19-y.o. but rewarded the Nats’ faith in him with an All-Star campaign, posting a .677 OPS (Lg. Avg. .650) and earning a bump to Low-A. He struggled for the Suns (.507 OPS in 24G), so the odds are he’ll be back in Hagerstown for 2020. Speed was his plus tool cited when he was signed in July ’16 but his stolen base totals (25 in 160G) and success rate (25/40) have been below-average. | |
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Jake Randa Born: 12/14/98 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 195 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
The Nats’ obsession with legacy picks continues with Jake Randa, son of 12-yr MLBer Joe Randa. The younger Randa was signed away from a commitment to Miss. St. in the 13th Rd. and played all three OF slots for Auburn while hitting a shade above the NYPL Lg. average (.656 vs .650) as a 20-y.o. Scouts project him as a having an average hit tool with above-average power, though he slugged just .335 in 53G. | |
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Caldioli Sanfler Born: 12/7/97 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 185 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
Sanfler returns to the watchlist after a year hiatus, “thanks” to an abbreviated 2018 campaign (23G). He was also an NYPL all-star with a solid .705 OPS. Given that he was a late sign in the 2015-16 IFA period, scouting reports are non-existent. Best guess for 2020 is Hagerstown. | |
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Eric Senior Born: 9/29/97 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 170 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
After two years in the GCL, toolsy project Eric Senior was sent closer to home with an assignment to Auburn. The 2019 Notable Bat struggled to get playing time, but put up a decent .746 in 34 games. Scouting reports remain scarce for the 22-y.o. Canadian despite (or perhaps because) three short seasons. | |
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Jorge Hurtado Born: 10/15/00 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 165 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
A 2019 DSL Guy, the Nats pushed the 18-y.o. stateside to the GCL where he put up an identical .772 OPS in 23 fewer games. Defense continues to be a struggle, as evidenced by five errors in 19 games and 12 of 31 games at DH. Whether that’s good enough to move up to Auburn in 2020 is hard to guage, but if the bat is ready, the Nats have long proven they’ll tolerate poor defense. | |
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Jeremy De La Rosa Born: 1/16/02 Ht. 5’11” Wt. 160 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
Appearing in the 2018 Instrux at 16 was probably a giveaway that he’d debut in the GCL at 17. In 13 July games, he hit .132 with no XBH. In 13 August games, those figures were .318 and five. SSS, absolutely, but scouts are already raving about his power and bat-to-ball skill even while cautioning how risky a teenager can be when most of his tools are at the plate. |