Following the Minor League Teams (2010)

[PANatsFan]

I'm randomly looking at past drafts... We could've drafted Heyward?!?!? I mean, Ross Detwiler will be pretty good here () but but, HEYWARD! Imagine if we knew we were going to have a RF problem.

That was Jimbo's best draft pick by far . . .


Also the announcers hinted at collusion between Heyward's agent and the Braves and said that other teams were kept away from his workouts. Sounds bizarre.

[hammondsnats]

some of our marquee prospects hit homers last night

burgess hit his second one, he's batting .290 and has 17 rbis.  once norris gets back, the p-nats should bump up burgess to AA-Harrisburg.

marrero's average has dipped to 227, but he blasted his 3rd bomb and has 14 rbi's now. 

[blue911]

That was Jimbo's best draft pick by far . . .


Also the announcers hinted at collusion between Heyward's agent and the Braves and said that other teams were kept away from his workouts. Sounds bizarre.

That was Roy Clark at his finest. Now Roy is employed by the Nats.

[Salamander Man]

Part of the problem as well was that Heyward was walked a ton in high school.  The Braves kept a closer eye than every one else but, a lot of teams just didn't see enough swings from him.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

That was Jimbo's best draft pick by far . . .

No way.  Jordan Zimmermann was, by far.

The miss on Heyward looks really bad in retrospect, but I'll give a pass on that one.  I'm more annoyed that we didn't take Porcello considering the supposed commitment to spending a lot on the draft.  If that was the case, why was signability an issue with Porcello?

[hammondsnats]

um bowden's best draft pick is ryan zimmerman

[DPMOmaha]

um bowden's best draft pick is ryan zimmerman

That's what I was thinking and I think you could make an argument for Lannan in the 2 spot.

[hammondsnats]

jordan is better than ross, but i think both are going to be solid for us.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

RZ was an easy pick, JZ was a diamond in the rough.

[PANatsFan]

Let me qualify:
2009   Stephen Strasburg   RHP   San Diego State   1
2009   Drew Storen   RHP   Stanford   10
2008   Aaron Crow   RHP   Univ. of Missouri   9
2007   Ross Detwiler   LHP   Missouri State   6
2006   Christopher Marrero   OF   Monsignor Edward Pace HS (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.)   15
2006   Colton Willems   RHP   John Carroll HS (Fort Pierce, Fla.)   22
2005   Ryan Zimmerman   3B   Virginia

Of all his first round picks, it was the one time when there was a decision to be made and Bowden made a good one, IMO, when there were pitfalls.

1997-2002 holy crap awful
2002   Clint Everts   RHP   Houston, TX   5
2001   Josh Karp   RHP   UCLA   6
2000   Justin Wayne   RHP   Honolulu, HI   5
1999   Josh Girdley   LHP   Jasper, Texas   6
1998   Josh McKinley   SS   Dowingtown, PA   11
1997   Donnie Bridges   RHP   Hattiesburg, MS


In fact, the Expos draft history in the 1st round is downright abysmal.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/draft/history/_/team/was


The 1st round in '07:
1   David Price   LHP   Tampa Bay Devil Rays   Vanderbilt
2   Mike Moustakas   SS   Kansas City Royals   Chatsworth (Calif.) HS
3   Josh Vitters   3B   Chicago Cubs   Cypress (Calif.) HS
4   Daniel Moskos   LHP   Pittsburgh Pirates   Clemson
5   Matt Wieters   C   Baltimore Orioles   Georgia Tech
6   Ross Detwiler   LHP   Washington Nationals   Missouri State
7   Matt LaPorta   1B   Milwaukee Brewers   Florida
8   Casey Weathers   RHP   Colorado Rockies   Vanderbilt
9   Jarrod Parker   RHP   Arizona Diamondbacks   Norwell HS, Ossian, Ind.
10   Madison Bumgarner   LHP   San Francisco Giants   South Caldwell HS, Hudson, N.C.
11   Phillippe Aumont   RHP   Seattle Mariners   Gatineau, Quebec

http://espn.go.com/mlb/draft/history/_/year/2007
The buzz was for Aumont. Detwiler was a solid call.

[PANatsFan]

That's what I was thinking and I think you could make an argument for Lannan in the 2 spot.

I doubt they had even scouted Lannan at Siena in the 11th round. This was the Bowden era.

[JMUalumni]

That's what I was thinking and I think you could make an argument for Lannan in the 2 spot.

Lannan is definitely up there for one of Bowden's best picks.  Anytime you can get a guy in the 11th round, that comes up THAT quick and pitches nearly 500 innings for you, that is very good.  Stammen was also a 12th rounder by Bowden.  The earlier picks are the easier ones, getting guys late in the draft that can contribute to the MLB team is much tougher.

[JMUalumni]

I doubt they had even scouted Lannan at Siena in the 11th round. This was the Bowden era.

They did, he was recommended to one of the Nationals scouts by the Siena coach.

[Lintyfresh85]

Bumgarner will probably end up with a better career than Ross though... but I don't think Detwiler was a bad pick at all.

[PANatsFan]

They did, he was recommended to one of the Nationals scouts by the Siena coach.

Ok, well then that was a good pick. Doesn't affect my prior statement,  which just limited by the stupidity of leaving of the qualifier "first round."

[hammondsnats]

Bumgarner will probably end up with a better career than Ross though... but I don't think Detwiler was a bad pick at all.

we'll see ... bumgarner - although solid in his last three starts - has said to have lower velocity than he had in the past.  his numbers: 1-1, 5.25 ERA in AAA Fresno.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

we'll see ... bumgarner - although solid in his last three starts - has said to have lower velocity than he had in the past.  his numbers: 1-1, 5.25 ERA in AAA Fresno.

Yeah, Bumgarner is getting panned a lot on minorleagueball.  We'll see, but he could end up being a bust.

[NatsDad14]

I'd still take Bumgarner. I love Detwiler, but Bumgarner could be a #2 starter in the big leagues, which Ross won't ever be.

[JMUalumni]

Yeah, Bumgarner is getting panned a lot on minorleagueball.  We'll see, but he could end up being a bust.

Bumgarner is a cautionary tale for overusing arms that are so young.  He pitched 140+ innings in both of his seasons as an 18 and 19 year old (he only pitched 86.1 in his senior year), I am really not surprised at all that he is losing velocity.

[PANatsFan]

I'd still take Bumgarner. I love Detwiler, but Bumgarner could be a #2 starter in the big leagues, which Ross won't ever be.

Detwiler's ceiling is a 2/3 and he's closer to reaching it. But this is a debate with reasonable and educated positions on both sides. Dewiler >> Aumont though, and a few of the other guys drafted around him.

Is Vitters ever going to do anything?

[hammondsnats]

Yeah I like Bumgarner, one of the feel good stories last year ... hopefully his arm okay (Except when he faces Nats haha). 

Detwiler will max out as a #3/#4 starter, but hey, he has a shot of being a solid one when he's here.  He really showed some flashes last season.

[DPMOmaha]

MacDougal down to Harrisburg.

[JMUalumni]

Burgess is heating up, hit his 3rd HR of the season tonight and is hitting .296 for the season.  I still can't believe how much he is killing lefties right now, he is batting .405/.463/.595 against LHP. 

[daggerrrrrr]

Can I put Burgess back in my line-up for future RF for the Nats. After last year, I really lost faith in him.

[Potomac Cannons]

Can I put Burgess back in my line-up for future RF for the Nats. After last year, I really lost faith in him.

No.  You gave up on a HS pick in his second full professional year then you don't get to take him back.  

I'm amazed how many people here are so oriented to fast food/fantasy sports in their thinking that they seem to refuse to understand that even the best HS picks SHOULD take at least 4-5 years to develop/reach MLB.