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Corey Brown DOB: 11/26/85 Ht. 6′ 1″ Wt. 205 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
Acquired in the Josh Willingham trade, Brown is a “tools” guy that Sickels described as a Jeromy Burnitz/Kirk Gibson hybrid when he’s going well, but downright awful at other times, citing his too-aggressive approach that leads to a ton of K’s, and spates of errors and baserunning blunders. ST and 4A placement will dictate where he starts in 2011. Would not shock me if Rizzo starts him at Harrisburg for a month or so to regain his confidence. |
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Bryce Harper DOB: 10/2/92 Ht. 6′ 3″ Wt. 225 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
Arguably the most complete prospect since A-Rod or Griffey Jr., with 80 tools (on the 20-80 scale) for power and throwing arm. Always aggressive and intense. Scouts wonder if he’ll be con- sistently able to dial it back when necessary to hit for a high average, but as we saw in the AFL title game, he’s capable. Still learning the nuances of OF play, but most believe his desire and work ethic will make him a premium defender. His speed is only slightly above average, but will look faster because he’ll be constantly trying to take the extra base. |
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Chris Curran DOB: 12/21/87 Ht. 5′ 9″ Wt. 170 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
Curran is a below-average hitter with no power, but can run, field, and throw as well as any outfielder I’ve seen in Woodbridge. That’s why he makes our watchlist. Don’t be surprised if he’s put into XST or goes to Hagerstown as the ’11 Potomac OF is likely to become the youngest it’s ever been as a Nationals affiliate. |
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J.P. Ramirez DOB: 9/29/89 Ht. 5′ 10″ Wt. 185 Bats: L Throws: L Career Stats |
A solid, steady performer for the Suns, batting .296/.341/.470 overall and finishing strong with a .343 BA in Aug./ Sept. Our spies have questions about his speed and range, but like his power. Likely to begin 2011 in Potomac. |
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Eury Perez DOB: 5/30/90 Ht. 6′ Wt. 180 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
Above-average speed coupled with improved basestealing skills led to 64 steals, 41 of which came in the second half. Scouts project him as a plus defender with an accurate-but-average arm. Particularly adept at slashing the ball up the middle and protecting with two strikes, and has enough power to get gappers for doubles and triples. |
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Destin Hood DOB: 4/3/90 Ht. 6′ 1″ Wt. 225 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
Most famous for turning down a football scholarship from Alabama, Hood is your classic challenge of tran- slating raw athletic talent into sport- specific skill. Last season saw mixed results, as he hit for average (.285) but not power (5HR) and was below- average on the basepaths (5SB, 7CS). Our spies pointed to a weakness with offspeed pitches in the second half of the season. |
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J.R. Higley DOB: 6/21/88 Ht. 6′ 3″ Wt. 210 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
A 9th-rd. pick in the ’09 draft, Higley came into the ’10 season as a potential breakout. Injuries and his PED suspension will likely knock him back significantly, as it’s nearly a given he’ll repeat at Hagerstown. Like Curran, his defensive skills are fine but his offensive skills are lagging. |
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Michael Taylor DOB: 3/26/91 Ht. 6′ 2″ Wt. 190 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
Taylor makes our watchlist because of his age, his status as a GCL graduate in 2010 and being a 2010 FIL invitee. Clearly, the 6th round pick in the ’09 draft is impressing somebody in the FO, despite hitting just .199/.276/.298 in 43G between the GCL and Hagerstown. |
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Randolph Oduber DOB: 3/18/89 Ht. 6′ 3″ Wt. 186 Bats: R Throws: L Career Stats |
A GBI regular last summer, Oduber was a late callup to the Suns after abusing GCL pitchers for a .366/.434/.569 line. Struggled (2-for-26) in his eight-game stint at Hagerstown, but was still a 2010 FIL invitee. Scouts say the Nats’ 32nd Rd. pick in the 2010 draft has above- average power and can run, both of which showed up in the boxscore, but point to his BB (7.4%) and K (24.8%) rates to show that the Groovin’ Aruban still has room for improvement. |
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Wade Moore DOB: 12/27/87 Ht. 6′ 1″ Wt. 215 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
A 2010 draftee (19th Round), Moore made our watchlist as one of Vermont’s better hitters and for his FIL invite. Stole 17 of 19 bases while hitting .287/.394/.392 and played mostly RF for the Lake Monsters. |
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Russell Moldenhauer DOB: 9/24/87 Ht. 6′ Wt. 200 Bats: L Throws: R Career Stats |
A hitter in search of a position, Moldenhauer put up good power nos. for Vermont (8HR, .500SLG) as a part- time DH. The 24th-round pick out of the Univ. of Texas makes the watchlist for those numbers, plus his FIL invite. |
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Rick Hughes DOB: 5/25/90 Ht. 6′ 3″ Wt. 225 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
Struggled in his brief stint in Vermont, but performed well in limited action in the GCL (.293/.359/.448). The 20-year- old Hughes is said to be quite athletic for his size and can play either corner of the OF. Good bet to return to the NYPL to begin 2011. |
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Victor Chavez DOB: 12/27/88 Ht. 6′ 1″ Wt. 196 Bats: R Throws: R Career Stats |
On the old side for the DSL at 21, Chavez will have to produce big nos. in the GCL in 2011 to warrant any further notice. And that’s presuming he’ll get an invite, which is not a sure thing. Hit .309/.420/.412 in 46 games, well above the league averages of .235/.334/.311 |
Sue, are you sure you want to relate to your NP scouts as ‘spies’? Gives the impression they’re watching from behind a tree or under the bleachers. 🙂
Eh, it’s still a military metaphor of sorts. I can assure you, however, that unlike Phil Wood’s “pretty consistent source” and “big league scout,” these spies are real.
I still remember being on the road one night listening to Nats postgame and someone called in to ask Phil Wood what he thought of McGeary as a pitcher. He gave a very fuzzy answer of how the Stanford thing didn’t look so good and that his last 5-6 starts were not very promising — this was 3 weeks after McGeary’s Tommy John surgery(!!!).