Tuesday’s News & Notes

17 Commments

1. At the end of yesterday’s comments, there was a discussion of how few real hitting “prospects” the Nats have. I will bring some that forward. For what I had defined as a “prospect,” I was looking for guys who have legit shots to become MLB regulars. That list in this organization is very, very short and arguably doesn’t include anyone who is above Fredericksburg right now.

   Will made a case for Jake Alu, who is rightfully beloved here as a 24th round pick who is living the dream. But he’s also a 5’10” 25-year-old who is hitting .264 in his second year at AA and about to be Rule 5 eligible. His opportunities would be greatly improved if he was “SS-capable,” as I’d certainly buy an argument that Alu is better than Adrian Sanchez, who has appeared in 106 Major League games for the Nats. Alu may be as good as Difo and better than Renda, all of whom are “Major Leaguers.”

   It would be great if Alu gets a chance at a cup of coffee if/when they trade Cesar Hernandez. But he’s not a guy who likely will be an MLB starter. And that’s what I’m looking for.

   Right now, I’d say House, White, and Vaquero are in the top tier, along with whoever the #5 pick is. Next tier would be Cruz, de la Rosa, Infante, Quintana, and perhaps Lile based solely on his draft level. All of those except Infante and de la Rosa are still teenagers, and all are years and many developmental levels away from making an appearance in SW DC. None is having a totally “wow” season that would mark the particular player as “can’t miss.” And even some of those do. Just ask Carter Kieboom . . . if you can manage to find him. He and Seth Romero have disappeared off the planet. As much maligned as Kieboom has become, he made his MLB debut at age 21 and hit .303 in AAA in his age-21 season.

   1. I agree Jake ‘no respect’ Alu is not SS capable but he has also played 3rd base. His OPS has hovered around .800 all year and you have to think he’ll be in Rochester next year, waiting for his next step.

      Looking for another good start from Michael Cuevas today. One of my favorites.

      1. You would think each off days for affiliates brass would push the buttons on promotions
         Right ?

         1. FredMD
            Did you dream about the future promotion of Tomlin and Seijas to FRED?
            Whoa ! As Robin Williams would say
            13-2 FCL taters Astros black and blue
            Q fans happy too

      2. Patience rewarded
         In Fred
         Rizzo smiling
         A solid Delmarva squad
         Checking in from Tokyo holiday lol

         1. that was a joy to watch, after the mound visit he went to the sinker much more often and it was a dandy tonight

   2. Carter K’s .300 season in AAA made me go back and look at batting averages of the regulars on that Fresno team. Still, he was only 21 and significantly younger than the other guys

      Stevenson 334
      Y. Hernandez 324
      Jose Marmolejos 315
      Taylor Gushue 312
      Jacob Wilson 310
      Carter Kieboom 303
      Alec Keller 302
      Wilmer Difo 300
      Matt Reynolds 295

      1. Ah, Fresno memories in the PCL/beer league.

         1. Before the dad passed away in front of his family in the taco eating contest on a hot 104 dry California Fresno evening

   3. Drew M for the cycle ?
      Wow wow
      Cuevas gold

2. If brass has pitchers on a load factor management program ( aka as in the show MASH -long weekend in Tokyo ) then us fans should take a meditative load management vacation mentally throughout the summer then check back in after the draft class has signed , been processed and churned through 20-30 games .especially after the long drawn out promotions of guys who repeated certain levels
   Off to Tokyo .. lol..

3. Re: Carter Kieboom, he had Tommy John surgery at the end of May. I wouldn’t be looking for him playing any more this season.

4. What does the group think about our deadline haul at this point? If Ruiz and Gray have long MLB careers, a couple of spare parts emerge, and there is 1 surprise starter, that would be a success, right? But where will the surprise come from?

   1. Keibert Ruiz, C About to turn 24. Starter in WAS
   2. Josiah Gray, RHP. 25 in November. Starter in WAS
   3. Donovan Casey, OF Age 26. Not hitting much in ROC.
   4. Gerardo Carrillo, RHP. Age 23. Pitched a few innings, went on HBG IL.
   5. Lane Thomas, OF Age 26. Starting in WAS, looks like MLB backup outfielder.
   6. Mason Thompson, RHP Age 24. Bullpen arm, now rehabbing at ROC.
   7. Riley Adams, C. Age 26. Backup C in WAS.
   8. Richard Guasch, RHP. Age 24. Struggling in HBG, moved to bullpen
   9. Seth Shuman, RHP. Age 24. Good numbers at WIL
   10. Jordy Barley, SS/2B . Age 22. Bad numbers at WIL
   11. Drew Millas C. Age 24. Not hitting much at HBG
   12. Aldo Ramirez RHP. Age 21. Hurt.

   1. Thanks Nattering, the big mystery here is Aldo Ramirez. He was injured with arm trouble at the time of the trade but was considered the highest ceiling in the Red Sox system. Really hasn’t pitched since the trade.

   2. Thanks for putting that list together.

      Think Keibert will be a star. He’s a switching hitting catcher that makes contact and has a plus arm. Think his power will come. Such an advantage to have a catcher that can help the offense.

      Cautiously optimistic about Gray. He gives up a lot of HRs, but his stuff is legit, and he’s getting better. Obviously, injuries are always a concern for pitchers, but Gray seems durable.

      Like Lane Thomas. First, got to keep in mind that they traded John Lester for Thomas. Lester is out of baseball now. So, the Nats won that deal already. Thomas isn’t strong enough defensively to be an everyday CF, and his bat is probably not good enough to be a everyday corner OF, but he’s a MLB player and could be a 4th OF on a good team.

      Don’t think Riley Adams has a super-high ceiling (drives me nuts when anyone tries to fashion Adams as an option at 1B; he doesn’t have the bat to play 1B), but there are worse back MLB catchers.

      Hate Mason Thompson. He will never be able to throw strikes enough to be effective, but the Nats will give him every opportunity to fail because he throws hard.

      Would be nice if any of the remaining seven develop to the point where they contribute on the MLB level. Injuries to Carillo and Ramirez make those two hard to assess. The rest seem like long shots.

      With all of that said, Scherzer wasn’t coming back, and not sure if Turner would’ve agreed to a long term extension. Would be nice to know what other MLB teams offered (e.g., the Padres thought they had Max) and compare those players to this group.

   3. It’s definitely not looking promising at this time. But hopefully Ramirez and Carrillo can be the surprises of the bunch.

      But still, it’s hard to see how this batch of prospects does much to right the ship.

5. I agree a lot with Pilchard. I think Ruiz will be a star, a catcher who will hit .300 with 20-25 homers. Not this season, but within a couple. And he’s cheap and controlled.

   “Cautiously optimistic” is an excellent assessment of Gray. He’s got a pretty good potential ceiling if he figures things out, a #2-3 starter.

   Thomas is better than I originally thought, although not as good as I hoped after his blazing September. He hit 27 homers one season in the minors, which makes him interesting, even at a corner slot.

   Adams is getting an extended chance to show that he’s a capable backup. If not, Barrera is waiting in the wings. I agree that Adams hasn’t shown enough to be mentioned in 1B/DH conversations . . . although if they trade Bell, we may be hearing those conversations anyway.

   Like Mark, I’m very interested in Ramirez, once he gets healthy. He could be the sleeper in all of this. Or he could be yet another Nat wounded-wing gamble who doesn’t pay off.

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