I know I’m about two weeks ahead of where I was last year, but I have very few ideas on how to kill the time see no reason why we have to wait. Let’s take a crack at guessing the A-ball teams like we did a year ago. Speaking of which, let’s take a look …
It’s Super Bowl Sunday as this goes to virtual press, so if you’re reading this before Monday, thank you very much. In an unsurprising move, the Nationals have signed Rick Ankiel to minor-league contract with an invite to spring training, according to multiple online reports. For the second year in a row, there will be …
We’re still here, celebrating the occasion of a rodent seeing its shadow (no, we’re not), waiting for the actual spring to come. As you’ve come to understand with these posts, I’m passing along a couple of links while we wait for something more minors-oriented to come along. Well, something less specious than a half dozen …
With the 2012 editions of the Baseball Ameria and John Sickels prospect books received, read, and reviewed, I’ve completed the player reports for the the 2012 NationalsProspects.com Watchlist. For the newcomers, a reminder: It’s not a depth chart, it’s based on 2011 usage, and it’s not a prediction of 2012 placement. Players are ordered by …
For the longest time, the knock on the Nats system was that they could develop pitchers, but not position players. Since the relocation from Montreal, there have been two — Ryan Zimmerman and Danny Espinosa. Even if you want to count Ian Desmond (drafted in 2004), that’s three. And how much credit can be taken …
It’s a little less satisfying than getting that package in the mail — not to go off on a tangent, but when I lived there, the mail truck going by was easily the highlight of the day — but the Sickels e-book came to my inbox overnight. As I did last year, I’m breaking this …
Picking up where we left off, here are nos. 16 through 30 for the 2012 BA Prospect Handbook… 16. Tyler Moore, 1B 17. Robbie Ray, LHP 18. Kylin Turnbull, LHP 19. Zach Walters, SS 20. Jeff Kobernus, 2B 21. Matt Skole, 3B 22. Eury Perez, CF 23. Danny Rosenbaum, LHP 24. Sandy Leon, C 25. …
The good news is that my copy of the 2012 Baseball America Prospect Handbook came in the mail yesterday. The bad news is that the four prospects traded away for Gio Gonzalez were still there. I’d go all whiny-complainy on you, but I’m old enough to remember when cut&paste was done with an Xacto and …
Leading up to his annual book, John Sickels has released his Top 50 batters and Top 50 pitchers to the folks that pre-ordered it. For the second straight year, Bryce Harper ranked #1. Coming in at #2 was Mike Trout, who I would have not have been surprised or upset if he had ranked #1 …
Iconoclastic prospect guru Kevin Goldstein has weighed in on the Nationals system as part of his regular “Future Shock” series. In addition to ranking the Top 11, he breaks them down into the more aesthetic star system (two-star, three-star, etc.), then names nine more. In short, the four- and five-star guys are like Sickels’s Grade-B …