Given the Nationals’ draft history, if you have any interest in teenage talent, this is where it will come from. As noted in the 2013 season review, the success of the GCL team in 2013 is significantly due to the talent that came from the DSL and the inference/hope is that the international pipeline is starting to produce despite the relatively recent scandal and the new restrictions on spending.
Without further ado, here’s a closer look at the top five bats from the 2013 season:
Aldrem Corredor
POS: OF/1B
JULY 1, 2014 AGE: 18
STATS: .265 BA/.352 OBP/.337 SLG, .950 FA (in LF), +.015 GPA vs. Lg. Avg.
The 17-y.o. Venezuelan lived up to the hype that accompanies a $190K signing bonus, hitting above the league norms while drawing more walks than strikeouts.
Kelvin Gutierrez
POS: SS/3B
JULY 1 AGE: 19
STATS: .255/.333/.337, .921 FA, +.006 GPA
Gutierrez spent more time at SS than anyone else, which I’ve taken to be a sign in the past of the org’s opinion of his skills and it’s been confirmed in subsequent seasons.
Oliver Ortiz
POS: 1B
JULY 1 AGE: 18
STATS: .307/.402/.386, .985 FA, +.049 GPA
If not for the tiny sample size of 102PAs over 26 games, I’d have ranked him higher than the #3 batter. He turns 18 in May, so I expect him to repeat the level, but would love to be proven wrong.
Israel Mota
POS: RF
JULY 1 AGE: 18
STATS: .215/.356/.313, .945 FA, +.010 GPA
Offensively, he’s slightly above average with the bulk of his value coming from a very strong walk rate (27BB in 52G). With 9 assists in 50 games in RF, it’s also hard not to deduce that the kid has a strong arm.
Darryl Florentino
POS: CF
JULY 1 AGE: 18
STATS: .226/.327/.316, .966 FA, -.002 GPA
Florentino was also a touted IFA, praised for his speed and athleticism. The former didn’t show up in SBs (6, 10CS) but he did walk a lot (28BB in 58G) and made just four errors while playing 51 of 56 games in CF.
It seems disconcerting to see no catching?
Not necessarily – “scouting by boxscore” tilts heavily in favor of offense, plus I’m listing the five best bats on the entire team, regardless of position. The D-Nats primary catcher, Brayan Serrata, was a tick below lg. avg. on offense (.213GPA vs. 228) but had good defensive nos. (.980FA, 44% CS/SB) and his backup (Jorge Tillero) was exactly lg. average and pretty much the same on defense (.986, 43%) though Serrata was 18 in his 2nd DSL season, Tillero 19 and in his 3rd.