Author Topic: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)  (Read 87126 times)

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Offline DPMOmaha

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Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Topic Start: January 12, 2010, 05:51:52 PM »
Seems like it's time for this, ya know, since the calendar has flipped and all...

EDIT BY THE CHIEF:

Link to last years (2009) thread - http://www.wnff.net/index.php/topic,12117.0.html

Offline epic_phalanx

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #1: January 13, 2010, 07:06:32 AM »
Good call. Anyone want to try to guess the Nats Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year for 2010?

Hitter: I think Derek Norris repeats, he's clearly the best bat in the system.
Pitcher: Strasburg is the most obvious choice, even though he should be in the majors by the all start break.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #2: January 15, 2010, 11:28:30 PM »
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/01/a_chat_with_rick_eckstein.html

Quote
When I spoke in the mid-morning Friday with hitting coach Rick Eckstein, I heard a familiar chatter in the background. Ballplayers. Breeze. If sunshine has a noise, I heard that, too.

Eckstein asked if we could talk a bit later.

"I'm in the middle of my 505th pitch of BP," he said.

So later came around, and Eckstein was happy to take a few questions. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

Q: So what's going on right now? Who were you throwing BP to this morning?

ECKSTEIN: Well, I am in Tampa, Fla., right now. We're heading to lunch now, but I just got done with a weeklong hitting clinic with some of our guys. Justin Maxwell, Ian Desmond, [Roger] Bernadina, Derek Norris, Michael Burgess and Danny Espinosa. So we had a nice five days together, just trying to get going, have a good plan. Our hitting coordinator, Rick Schu, was around too. So we just had a good time.

I'll tell you, that group of kids is something special. All six of those guys. They have tremendous ability. They have tremendous minds on them. They have the desire. The communication. Davey Johnson was here [to observe], Tim Foli was here. Jim Riggleman was here. We had a bunch of our people in here watching and working.

Q: How was it that those six players attended this session in Tampa? Did you select them, or did the front office?

The organization got together -- Mike Rizzo, [Assistant GM] Bob Boone, [minor league operations director] Mark Scialabba -- and decided who they wanted to bring in. So they were the ones that came up with the names. I did it last year and it was really a highly successful thing for us, so the organization decided we needed to do it again.

Q: I'm just curious, who attended last year?

ECKSTEIN: Chris Marrero, Danny Espinosa, Stephen King, Mike Daniel ... I'm trying to think who else. Oh, Burgess as well.

Q: So is part of the thinking here almost like, Let's get these younger guys together -- even some minor leaguers -- and give them some clear instruction on what the organization wants them to focus on?

ECKSTEIN: Oh absolutely. That's why we do it, try to get a head start with those guys and make sure we're all on the same page. Any time you can bring everybody together, developing together, I just think the communication goes through the roof and guys start to understand. If I say something to them and then another coach comes to them and says the same message but with different terminology, they might start to link it together... By the end of this week, everybody was like, 'Yes, I get it. Outstanding.' So now they can go for the next three weeks [before spring training] and work on these things.

Q: I know last year around this time you actually invited certain players to your house in Florida for individual sessions. Anything like that this year?

ECKSTEIN: Yeah. Everybody on the team is welcome to come. It's just with family obligations and where they're at depends on if they can take advantage. But [Ryan] Zimmerman will come back. Maxwell will come back. Elijah Dukes, I talked to him and he wanted to come in from Tampa. I'm sure I'll see Nyjer Morgan since he's at the complex right now [in Viera, Fla.] and I live only about 50 minutes from the complex.

Q: You strike me as the type of person who doesn't sit still too much, even in the offseason. Describe what your typical day is gonna look like between now and spring training.

ECKSTEIN: Well, like right now I'm going through a lot of things on video just getting my mind where it needs to be. Looking for the finer details, working on the plan with guys individually. And the other thing, I go to the field every day. My brother is getting ready for spring training, so I'm out there throwing batting practice every day. You caught me during this; I think I threw about 3,000 pitches -- I calculated it -- in the last five days.

Q: Among all the position players you'll be working with this year, who do you think has the chance to make the biggest leap?

ECKSTEIN: You know, to be honest, I'm a very optimistic person. I think everybody has a chance to make a huge leap. I really don't think on the other side. We're going to work our cans off until everybody is where he needs to be. That's just the way my mind works. So many positive things are happening around the Nats with what Mike Rizzo is doing, and I see a big leap for everybody. To point out one guy, I don't think it's really fair.

Q: Take me back to the time right after the season ended when, just because of Riggleman's situation, nobody else on the staff knew if he'd be back. What was that like for you?

ECKSTEIN: You know, whenever there's a bit of uncertainty you think about the situation and try to gather your thoughts. I felt Jim did a really good job with his leadership and we finished really strong. But honestly, I don't get myself into trying to play the guessing game. I keep my mind-set into: What do I need to do? But I was pulling for Jim and very happy he has the opportunity to take this team into 2010.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #3: January 16, 2010, 10:41:10 AM »
Quote
NatsTownNews: Nats prospects Drew Storen, Danny Espinosa, Aaron Thompson and Atahualpa Severino attending MLB's Rookie Development Program.

Interesting choices

Offline houston-nat

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #4: January 16, 2010, 03:52:14 PM »
Drew Storen is tweeting the Rookie Development Program:

Quote
Crash course on financial investments here at the rookie career development. Good stuff. Learning a lot.

Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #5: January 17, 2010, 10:51:26 AM »
Drew Storen is tweeting the Rookie Development Program:


Good for them. Now they hopefully won't blow it all and become NBA players.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #6: January 18, 2010, 07:38:35 PM »
Quote
FrankiePiliere: Who do u want on the Top 100 list from your fav team? Not asking you, I just wanna see who is going to be mad at me when we post the list ;)

Quote
FrankiePiliere: This is my scientific approach. If I get some feedback I'll be ready to defend myself against the screams of how I slighted a prospect

Quote
sportsfan882: @FrankiePiliere Drew Storen, Stephen Strasburg, Derek Norris

Quote
FrankiePiliere: So far O's, Yankees, Jays, Nats fans will all be happy. So... rejoice!

:clap:

Offline PatsNats28

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #7: January 18, 2010, 08:14:54 PM »
whos that dude

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #8: January 18, 2010, 08:20:41 PM »

Offline Kevrock

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #9: January 23, 2010, 02:40:00 PM »
Is this being discussed somewhere? I saw the thread on the first proposed Loudoun stadium, but not the second.

http://www.loudouni.com/news/2009-12-07/developer-wants-build-stadium-ashburn-potomac-nationals

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #10: January 23, 2010, 03:10:29 PM »
Is this being discussed somewhere? I saw the thread on the first proposed Loudoun stadium, but not the second.

http://www.loudouni.com/news/2009-12-07/developer-wants-build-stadium-ashburn-potomac-nationals

Isn't that too close to Frederick. There's a minimum distance home plate to home plate; in fact I wonder if Potomac needed a waiver for distance from RFK.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #11: February 20, 2010, 03:43:45 PM »
Is anyone else really intrigued to see how some of our more under-the-radar pitching prospects fare?

I'm going to keep an eye on Arnesen, Atwood, Frias, and A.J. Morris.

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #12: February 20, 2010, 03:49:29 PM »
I was really disappointed when the team lost Ruben De La Rosa to the minor league Rule V draft to the Dodgers.

Dude put up filthy numbers in the GCL last year... a year after shutting down the DSL.

For the year in GCL: 4-1, 0.96 ERA, 15 G, 28 IP, 44/10 K/BB, 1.14 WHIP

I wanted to see how he handled A ball and beyond.

-----------

As for who I'm interested in seeing pitch this year... I think my favorite has to be Evan Bronson.

The guy did nothing but pitch his ass off after signing and playing the NYPL.

For the season he went, 3-0, 0.55 ERA, 20 G, 49.1 IP, 38/3 K/BB, 0.63 WHIP

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #13: February 20, 2010, 03:55:21 PM »
Holy cow - what a line! :shock:

How do I keep missing these dominant players? :lol: I hadn't even noticed how well Frias did until about a month or so ago.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #14: February 20, 2010, 04:07:19 PM »
I'm interested to see how Mandel, Meyers, Thompson, Peacock, Atwood and a few others do this year.

Excited about the reliever we got from the Dodgers in the Belliard trade, Luis Garcia. He's money.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #15: February 20, 2010, 04:33:07 PM »
Hm, I didn't realize Jeff Mandel was that dominant in the AFL.  I thought he had struggled for some reason.  I guess I was just taken aback that they didn't use him as a starter, but that's really not surprising at all.

Offline NFA Brian

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #16: February 20, 2010, 04:54:45 PM »
I honestly believe the Nats are better served in converting a portion of their glut of #5 SPs they have into relievers. Guys like Mandel will likely provide a better return if they can transition into a reliever rather than start at the back of the rotation.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #17: February 23, 2010, 02:17:38 PM »
John Sickles lists Pat Lehman and Nathan Karns as sleeper candidates for 2010.

Karns was awful in college last year, so it seems like people just like him for his stuff/potential.  Lehman was absolutely dominant last year in Vermont/Hagerstown.  Had a line similar to that of Evan Bronson except he was a starter.

59.1 IP, 42 K, 3 HR, 2 BB :shock: :shock:, 1.97 ERA

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #18: March 12, 2010, 01:30:56 PM »
John Sickles lists Pat Lehman and Nathan Karns as sleeper candidates for 2010.

Karns was awful in college last year, so it seems like people just like him for his stuff/potential.  Lehman was absolutely dominant last year in Vermont/Hagerstown.  Had a line similar to that of Evan Bronson except he was a starter.

59.1 IP, 42 K, 3 HR, 2 BB :shock: :shock:, 1.97 ERA

Those Vermont numbers can be a mirage. I saw PJ Dean pitch and he was striking out a ton of guys with a high fastball down the middle, but his numbers were impressive.

I thought Karns has a straight fastball with little motion, but I'm not a scout or GM.

Offline KnorrForYourMoney

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #19: March 18, 2010, 02:16:00 PM »
That's true, but he did the exact same thing in Hagerstown that he did in VT.

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #20: March 18, 2010, 04:00:52 PM »
That's true, but he did the exact same thing in Hagerstown that he did in VT.

Hagerstown has to be leaps and bounds past NYPL. Good to know.

Offline Lintyfresh85

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #21: April 04, 2010, 03:51:25 PM »
Apparently Ladson is just finding out that Stephen Englund switched to pitching.

Quote
washingnats - Remember OF Stephen Englund, the #Nats' second-round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft? He is now a pitcher in the organization.

Offline JMUalumni

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #22: April 08, 2010, 02:18:31 PM »
Syracuse kicks off the minor league season against Lehigh today.  Game about to get underway. 

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #23: April 08, 2010, 02:23:59 PM »
Hburg road opener is tomorrow. Anyone want free tix to the Sat game in Altoona? PM please.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Following the Minor League Teams (2010)
« Reply #24: April 08, 2010, 07:56:06 PM »
J.D. Martin :pimp:

6.2 IP 6 H 2 ER 1 BB 2 K; 2/3 with a Single, Triple, and 2 RBIs

Pete Orr had a walk-off 2-run single