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Nats Name AFL Roster

Still the wrong AFL?
Hard to believe, but this actually much earlier than a year ago…

Today, the Arizona Fall League released its 2022 rosters, including a sizable contingent from Washington to fill out the roster of the Peoria Javelinas:

  • C Drew Millas*
  • OF Yasel Antuna
  • 2B Darren Baker
  • LHP Tim Cate*
  • 1B Will Frizzell
  • OF Robert Hassell III
  • LHP Lucas Knowles*
  • C Brady Lindsly
  • RHP Orlando Ribalta*
  • RHP Amos Willingham*

* Rule 5 Draft Eligible
It’s worth noting that only Tim Cate is Rule-5 eligible which may mean that the Nats have already made up their minds on everyone else.
After sending just two Rule 5 Draft Eligible last year, it’s five this year, though Cate was passed over last year and it’s highly unlikely anyone would take him this December.

It’s fairly obvious that Frizzell’s inclusion was to ensure a few more reps, given that he did not start playing until July. Likewise that Hassell3 was the marquee guy that the Nats had to send.

Weirdly, the Nats love to send catchers, and neither Millas nor Lindsly put on a lot of miles (both caught 61G) so that seems to make sense. Perhaps the same goes for Willingham, who started the season in Low-A and didn’t exactly dazzle in High-A (unlike Ribalta who did better after getting the bump).

I’m sure there’ll be a lot of opinion and conjecture about the rest (Antuna, Baker, Knowles) as well as the sheer size of the contingent (10), so I’ll leave off here so you can discuss in the comments.

20 Commments

  1. Ribalta has been liked by brass and some of us fans dating bask before his stalled progress due to injury

      2. Wow Cate finds out he is going to AFL then goes out and strikes out 10 New Hampshire hitters who are looking forward to hunting season .

    2. Luke you have to think the Patriots were cheap if they dealt
      Nick Bounticonti ( butchered his name – long day ) to the Dolphins or left him exposed in expansion draft for Don Shula to snag.
      There was a Boston patriot some years later who now owns the Reno casino business Silver legacy and also played with the Cowboys .

  3. Willingham flew under the radar all year for me. maybe the combination of how little A+ ball was available on MiLB.tv and just following other guys more on the prospect radar. I went back and watched him from last week, he was throwing 96-98 according to the announcers. I know some guns are hotter than others (F’burg!) but it was a bit of an eye opener. once he came back from whatever caused his shutdown he was pretty sharp, albeit in very limited action

  4. Glad to see Lucas ‘no respect’ Knowles on the roster, he’s one I’m watching closely.
    To clarify, both Knowles and Jake Alu are getting plenty of respect from the Nats f.o., but neither one has spent a day on any Top 30 prospect list.

    1. I had thought 2020 wasn’t going to count against that total, but it looks like I was wrong. Updated now.

  6. Just thinking about rule 5 losses and gains

    Lost:
    Erik komatsu
    Sterling sharp
    A catcher (forgot his name)

    Gained
    Levale Speigner
    Jesus Flores
    Brian Broderick
    Someone we traded away (or traded the 1st pick) for Brian Bruney

    1. Nattering, it was Adrian Nieto. He spent 2014 on the bench for the White Sox and was never heard from again. Being picked ruined his career.

      Jesus Flores would have been a great pickup but he blew out his shoulder.

  7. Sharp didn’t stick, was returned mid-season from the Marlins. Yes, Nieto hadn’t played above A+, and he had numbers that were boosted by happy juice that got him suspended. It was crazy that the White Sox kept him the whole season.

  8. Hassell and Frizzell will be the real excitement here. It’s a considerable step up from Frizzell, who hasn’t played above A ball. If he rakes in the AFL, they may be tempted to skip him to AA. It also will be interesting to see if, and where, they get him some time in the field after exclusively DH-ing in the season.

    Darren Baker continues to surprise me. There just wasn’t much in his college stats that argued that he would go far. His biggest change since college is the development of gap power. He has 24 doubles this summer after only 17 total across four collegiate seasons. He’s also taking more walks than he did in college.

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