Follow the Prospects: Brady House, SS

[Natsinpwc]

32% his first stint. Judge's Triple A strikeout rate is less than Wood's Double A rate. Judge was under 30% in Double A.

Schwarber never had this kind of swing and miss in the minors. He was around 20% in Double A.

My point is that the Ks are more acceptable in the majors now. Judge and Schwarber were also college guys who started at a higher level in the minors and spent less time than Wood will. I am a bit skeptical of his swing also but no reason to give up now. Unless you can package him with a couple others for a good SP. 

[Slateman]

My point is that the Ks are more acceptable in the majors now. Judge and Schwarber were also college guys who started at a higher level in the minors and spent less time than Wood will. I am a bit skeptical of his swing also but no reason to give up now. Unless you can package him with a couple others for a good SP. 

They are but pitching has adapted too. Wood's weaknesses are high fastballs and breaking stuff in the dirt, which is basicallh what every pitcher is doing right now.

If you told me Wood could hit at Schwarber's level. I'd be ecstatic

[Natsinpwc]

They are but pitching has adapted too. Wood's weaknesses are high fastballs and breaking stuff in the dirt, which is basicallh what every pitcher is doing right now.

If you told me Wood could hit at Schwarber's level. I'd be ecstatic

Ok he could.  Might not but he could.

[welch]

wood has an 801 OPS as a 20 year old in AA and a homer every 21 PAs. Walking well too. He has one weakness, which is his K rate (33.5%). yes the talk of him getting called up this year got way ahead of reality, but August next year is quite realistic.

Wood's one weakness is that he cannot get the bat on the ball. Watch his games. It is painful that he swings at and misses every pitch that dips down toward his ankles. Yes, he hits home runs if a pitcher throws him a straight sort of fast ball, but major league pitchers can throw sliders. Until Wood can hit them, he is a AA player.

[Mattionals]

Wood's one weakness is that he cannot get the bat on the ball. Watch his games. It is painful that he swings at and misses every pitch that dips down toward his ankles. Yes, he hits home runs if a pitcher throws him a straight sort of fast ball, but major league pitchers can throw sliders. Until Wood can hit them, he is a AA player.

And that is totally fine for a 20 year old. I'd argue this is exactly where he needs to be to figure it out.

[imref]

2nd HR !

[GataNats]

He’s by far our best prospect, and might really be the best prospect in baseball

[nobleisthyname]

He’s by far our best prospect, and might really be the best prospect in baseball

That's Holliday and it isn't all that close at the moment.

[Natsinpwc]

Crews is still a better prospect than House. He will arrive in MLB earlier also.

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/nats_playerdev/status/1700993048115605749?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

[GataNats]

That's Holliday and it isn't all that close at the moment.

No

[welch]

House is ready for Rochester.

[Slateman]

House is ready for Rochester.

No. Its been like a week. No reason to rush anyone. Let him finish his season and spend a good chunk of next season in Double A before moving him up

[Natsinpwc]

House is ready for Rochester.

Too soon. Too young. Let him finish the year on a high note. 

[aspenbubba]

No. Its been like a week. No reason to rush anyone. Let him finish his season and spend a good chunk of next season in Double A before moving him up

Too soon. Too young. Let him finish the year on a high note. 

I agree with you both. I'm not sure that a stop in Rochester is beneficial as I recall the Nats have skipped that with other high prospects ( Harper, Rendon ,Soto) . House could be the exception due to his age but Soto was that young when he was promoted. 

[welch]

Too soon. Too young. Let him finish the year on a high note. 

Of course. I mean House is ready to start next season in Rochester. Probably Lipscomb, too. The other top prospects need to repeat AA until they have mastered AA pitching.

[Slateman]

Until I get a real committment to expand payroll from ownership, I see no reason to be aggressive with players beyond Double A.

House can spend a month or two in Double A  next season.

[imref]

if he can compete for ROY, the extra draft pick / international signings are incentive to bring him up.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

if he can compete for ROY, the extra draft pick / international signings are incentive to bring him up.

same applies to Crews and to Wood, although he seems more in need of minor league time.

[DCsOwn]

https://x.com/natsfarm/status/1702453943308059125?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

House sliding to the Nats is going to feel like Rendon’s slide in a couple years. Kid is a mega talent.

[imref]

we're going to have Wood, House and Crews in the bigs next season.

[GataNats]

Easily our top prospect

[RD]

we're going to have Wood, House and Crews in the bigs next season.

We might have a Reds type of talent busting through at the same time.

There's a lot that can happen in the off season, and early part of next season. But it might not just be Wood, Crews, and House.

Based on already being in AA, good starts could have Hassell, Morales, Pinkney and Lipscomb. On the bump, of course we expect to see Cavalli back. But Herz and Bennett(not at AA yet, but if healthy, his age, size, and stuff will have him move fast) could make it as well. Maybe Pinkney and Herz aren't considered top 10 guys but the rest make up 6/7 of our top 10 guys that could possibly debut next year.

Of course some struggles/injuries and maybe it's only 1 or 2. But talent is definitely coming.

[nobleisthyname]

Fangraphs has him as their #89 prospect for 2024:

FV: 50

Hit: 30/40
Raw Power: 60/70
Game Power: 35/60
Run: 50/50
Fielding: 50/60
Throw: 60

TL;DR: Plus power and defense help mitigate some of House’s issues with contact.

House became a very prominent high school prospect as an underclassman and his performance at an early age helped solidify his draft stock even before the pandemic threw a wrench into the 2021 class’ scouting calendar. He began 2022, his first full pro season, on a tear before injuring his back in early May. House did not look the same after he returned. He struck out a third of the time and posted an OPS of just .602 before being shut down for the remainder of the season in mid-June. We thought it was safe to assume he was playing through injury and House was left on last offseason’s Top 100 list under the assumption that he’d return healthy in 2023. He basically did, and while we still have some apprehension about aspects of his swing and his plate coverage, a fully actualized House has star-level ability, tools that give him rare enough ceiling to value him among the top 100 prospects even though he still has bust risk.

House rewarded our patience by pulverizing Low-A pitching, generating a 142 wRC+ in his first 36 games back with Fredericksburg and a 145 wRC+ in a couple of weeks at High-A Wilmington. He has plus raw power right now (48% hard-hit rate, 113 mph max exit velo) and should grow into more as he fills out. His contact and chase rates (68% and 36%, respectively) are suspect, and some of what we’re seeing with House’s swing does give us pause about him continuing to make sufficient levels of contact now that he’s reached Double-A. He’s got a very upright base when he swings and tends to step in the bucket, both of which leave House’s plate coverage lacking. His poor breaking ball recognition compounds this, and he’s going to have to do a better job of either closing his front side during his swing so he can contact sliders on the outer edge, or laying off them entirely. House definitely did a better job of pulling the ball in 2023 and he’s still played so few pro games due to injury that we’re bullish on his ability to make adjustments even though we’re quite sure he’s soon going to need to.

The oppo power and chase combo here isn’t all that different from same-aged Josh Jung. Perhaps most impressively, House’s defense has been fantastic. Because he’s so big, House (who was a high school shortstop) was sometimes projected to right field, as it’s rare for athletes his size to stay on the infield. But his ability to bend and move at his size is incredible, he has plus hands, he can throw on the run, and his feeds to the other bases are accurate and timely. He not only looks like a sure bet to stay at third but is potentially an impact defender there, which is especially impressive considering he’s not all that far removed from a season-altering back injury. There’s still a ton of volatility here but the power upside is significant, and House’s defense helps give him another slump-immune tool to keep his profile afloat if it turns out his hit tool is a long-term problem.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2024-top-100-prospects/

[nobleisthyname]

2023 / 2024 Spring Training Recap

Age: 20
Team rank: 3
Current level: AA

2023 (3 levels): .312/.365/.497 .862 OPS, 12 HR, 9 SB (373 PA)
2023 position (games played): 87 3B

2024 Spring Training: .226/.226/.323 .548 OPS, 1 HR, 2 SB (32 PA)

A strong bounce back year made Brady House a consensus top-100 prospect again going into the season.