Klaw's Top 100

[PatsNats28]

Notable Nats:

2. Bryce Harper (2010: IE)

The No. 1 overall pick and consensus top player in the 2010 draft, Harper has as much raw power as any teenage prospect in recent memory and put on an absolute clinic while playing against older competition for the College of Southern Nevada this past spring, rewriting the school and conference record books along the way.

Harper's calling card is the absurd leverage in his swing, generating that enormous raw power even out to centerfield. He's aggressive at the plate and needs to work on his recognition of pro-quality offspeed stuff. Playing twice a week in the Arizona Fall League, he showed he could turn on any fastball but was often out in front of breaking balls and changeups. He can go the other way if that's where he's pitched, and despite the extraneous movement in his swing can make late adjustments when he recognizes pitches.

Harper is still learning to play the outfield after catching for most of his academic career, but he has the plus arm for right field and is probably fast enough to handle center if the Nationals wanted to challenge him. (If anything, it might be easier for him to go to center, where he'll still view the field from the middle as he did from behind the plate, as opposed to learning the angles involved in an outfield corner.) Playing a full year in 2011 at age 18, Harper has MVP upside, but his race to the majors will be timed by sliders and curveballs.

33. Derek Norris (2010: 31)

Norris has gotten something of a bad rep as a catcher, which could be the Nichols Law of Catcher Defense (the worse a catcher's bat, the better his defensive reputation) working in reverse, as Norris is fine behind the plate and won't have to move unless he gets hurt.

He has an above-average arm with a quick enough release, and he's agile enough to block balls and be at least an average receiver. And that's all good news, because Norris can hit. He's always had outstanding plate discipline, and he pairs that with a sound swing with excellent rotation and upper-body strength that should produce above-average or better power down the road.

His performance suffered in 2010 as he recovered from a broken hamate bone that occurred during instructional league the previous fall, an injury that can sap power for 12 to 18 months. Look for Norris to move up to Double-A this year and pick up where he left off in 2009, getting on base and hitting for power while playing adequate or better defense behind the dish.

95. Wilson Ramos (2010: 42)

Ramos had a tough start to 2010, failing to hit for the first time in his pro career and then finding himself traded to Washington for a middle reliever masquerading as a closer (Matt Capps).

The change of scenery seemed to agree with Ramos and he's on track to at least share the catching duties with the washed-up Ivan Rodriguez in 2011. Ramos is an outstanding throwing catcher who came into 2010 with a career 45 percent success rate and then beat it by nailing half of opposing base stealers in Triple-A. His receiving is average and he needs work on game-calling, something he's not likely to learn from the guy with the reputation for calling for fastball after fastball.

At the plate, he has strong hands and excellent hand-eye coordination with average power but needs to improve his patience, another thing he's not going to learn from Pudge. The real concern with Ramos is health; he has never caught 100 games in a single season, mostly because of injuries, and has to maintain his conditioning so he doesn't outgrow the position horizontally. Catchers are scarce, and with Ramos showing two above-average tools (hit and arm) and average or slightly better power, he should be at least a solid regular if he can play 120 or so games a year.

Top 10:

1. Mike Trout
2. Bryce Harper
3. Domonic Brown
4. Jesus Montero
5. Eric Hosmer
6. Julio Teheran
7. Dustin Ackley
8. Wil Myers
9. Shelby Miller
10. Aaron Hicks

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&page=LawTop100ProspectsIndex

[tomterp]

Another vote for Mike Trout at #1. 

[HalfSmokes]

What's this team going to do when they dont't have the number 1 overall to boost the farm

[Potomac Cannons]

What's this team going to do when they dont't have the number 1 overall to boost the farm

Trade for Ramos.

[Kevrock]

What's this team going to do when they dont't have the number 1 overall to boost the farm

Erm, we had a pretty good draft on top of Harper this past year.

[PANatsFan]

I'm more interested in Klej's Top 100.

[PatsNats28]

I thought AJ Cole would have a shot in the bottom 25, but I guess not.

[blue911]

The change of scenery seemed to agree with Ramos and he's on track to at least share the catching duties with the washed-up Ivan Rodriguez in 2011. Ramos is an outstanding throwing catcher who came into 2010 with a career 45 percent success rate and then beat it by nailing half of opposing base stealers in Triple-A. His receiving is average and he needs work on game-calling, something he's not likely to learn from the guy with the reputation for calling for fastball after fastball.

I'm NOT a fan of Ivan Rodriguez, but I didn't notice any evidence of "calling fastball after fastball". Dibble in fact naged that Nats pitchers didn't throw the fastball enough. Taking pot shots at veteran players is our job not that of some front office wash out, mickey mouse fluffing,media hack.

[Minty Fresh]

I'm NOT a fan of Ivan Rodriguez, but I didn't notice any evidence of "calling fastball after fastball".

Didn't watch enough Nats baseball this year to give a solid opinion but it was a major complaint I had of Rodriguez in the past.

[blue911]

Didn't watch enough Nats baseball this year to give a solid opinion but it was a major complaint I had of Rodriguez in the past.

He calls a crappy game IMO but he's evolved into a Wil Nieves clone.

[PANatsFan]

He calls a crappy game IMO but he's evolved into a Wil Nieves clone.

Breaking balls and nibbling at the corners?

[HalfSmokes]

He calls a crappy game IMO but he's evolved into a Wil Nieves clone.

slider for ball 1 followed by slider for ball 2....

[Tyler Durden]

The reputation for asking for fastballs, I believe, comes from the belief that Pudge wants them because it makes it easier to throw potential base stealers out.  Supposedly, he has an ego big enough that he asks for fastballs so he can artificially keep his CS% high - not necessarily so much to keep guys from running, but so that he can throw out guys who are trying to run.

[Minty Fresh]

The reputation for asking for fastballs, I believe, comes from the belief that Pudge wants them because it makes it easier to throw potential base stealers out.  Supposedly, he has an ego big enough that he asks for fastballs so he can artificially keep his CS% high - not necessarily so much to keep guys from running, but so that he can throw out guys who are trying to run.

There's that but also the belief that a well located fastball is often a pitcher's best pitch.  However, with the horribly watered-down talent of having 30 teams now, that's not the case anymore.

[Kevrock]

I did not think Pudge called too many fastballs this past year.

Good grief that's a snarky paragraph, btw. He disses Capps, who was great for us, then disses Pudge twice. Shouldn't he be focusing on Ramos? What a dick move.

[mimontero88]

I did not think Pudge called too many fastballs this past year.

Good grief that's a snarky paragraph, btw. He disses Capps, who was great for us, then disses Pudge twice. Shouldn't he be focusing on Ramos? What a dick move.

Yeah I was a little pissed when I read that.  I have very few bigger pet peeves than journalists who willingly give up their objectivity just to take pot shots at guys without providing any actual facts to back it up.  Oh, speaking of facts, check out this middle reliever that was masquerading as a closer:

Matt Capps 2010
42 SV in 48 SV Opportunities
2.47 ERA
3.47 K/BB
All-Star Winner
5-3 W-L

Matt Capps is really good at pretending he's a very good closer.