THE JAMES TAILLON WATCH

[GMUTrkstar]

Harper and Taillon are a firm 1-2 in the rankings for me right now. Taillon has truly devastating stuff. His mechanics are a little weird, but seem to work for him. His elbow gets high in back, during his scapular loading phase. While this usually results in timing problems, Taillon takes such a long stride that is arm is actually in fine position whenever he starts to rotate his shoulders. His combination of velocity and movement is going to break a lot of bats.

http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/02/19/lincolns-2010-draft-board

Various people oppinions on him at Project Prospect

The 99 rumor is true I was there. 94 - 97 with about 5 98's then two 99's. He will touch 100 hundred by the end of the season. All his pitches are avg to plus plus. I will be at his first season game thursday. His opponent has a kid making noise as well. Two high rd picks dualing....

His stuff is almost on a STrasburg-ian level, and honestly the biggest difference between the 2 is command. Strasburg has pretty good command and Taillon has a bit fo a ways to go before he gets to that level. I personally think the raw stuff will be at a Strasburg level as soon as next year, but the command may not be and IMO will be Taillon's biggest hurdle, though when your stuff is that good, you can get away with lesser command. Personally, I will be keeping a close eye on Taillon's improvements with command of the curve especially, but also his changeup and slider development....

http://projectprospect.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6110&start=30

[GMUTrkstar]

Harper is the lock right now and we need more premium hitting prospects in our system but if anyone else is going to be our pick I think it will be Taillon.

One thing our Development staff have been very poor at is developing HS arms(i.e. Willems, Smoker, McGeary). Hopefully that improves if we decide to go with Taillon. But if we do pick him we can still get a good hitting prospect in the early second and third round.

[DPMOmaha]

One thing our Development staff have been very poor at is developing HS arms(i.e. Willems, Smoker, McGeary).

Yeah,  but these guys are still only 21 and I think at least one of them has dealt with injuries (not sure about that though).

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Yeah,  but these guys are still only 21 and I think at least one of them has dealt with injuries (not sure about that though).

Yep.  In fact, I think both Willems and Smoker have.

Interesting stuff about Taillon.

[NatsDad14]

The Nats are not going to draft a High School arm at the #1 pick. I doubt they even consider it.

[cmdterps44]

The Nats are not going to draft a High School arm at the #1 pick. I doubt they even consider it.

Under Bowden I'd say it were a possibility but now probably not... Well, Id like to get whatever the closest candidate is to majors.

[HalfSmokes]

Yeah,  but these guys are still only 21 and I think at least one of them has dealt with injuries (not sure about that though).

to a certain extent that is a reflection of our development guys and our scouting guys. Then again no way we take a HS arm number 1 over all. Strass really raised the price tag on number 1 picks, if Harper get something in the same ballpark, that's a lot to risk on the hope that if everything goes right you'll have a pitcher in 4-5 years

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If for some reason it is not Harper, and there is a positional player in a pack in the top 5 or so, I think they take him even if a high school arm is better rated.  They have yet to develop an elite position player besides RZ. Norris will play somewhere (C -1st - corner OF), and they are likely to have at least one good major leaguer between Desmond and Espinosa, but beyond that, they have a ton of maybes.

[GMUTrkstar]

Only two prep pitchers have ever been picked number 1 overall in draft history. Rizzo is known to be a bigger fan of the known quantity(i.e. college players). So yeah I realize the chances of us taking Taillon number one overall are not the highest in the world but it definitely is possible.

Before it became public that we were making a bid on Chapman everyone thought it would never happen. So someone in this FO with a lot of say odviously thinks we need some more high quality arms in the system. Thats exactly what Taillon is. Our new Assistant GM Roy Clark is known for taking prep talent with first round picks.

Scouting Director: Roy Clark (Drafts run: 2000-2006)

Best Player Produced: Brian McCann (2nd round, 2000)
Best Prospect in Minors (sort of): Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1st round, 2004)
Notable Steals: Adam LaRoche (29th round, 2000), Chuck James (20th round, 2002), Brandon Jones (24th round, 2003)
Five-Round Strategy: 53 total picks: 18.9% college, 71.7% high school, 7.5% junior college, 3.8% Latin.
Strategy in a Nutshell: John Schuerholz is a General Manager that demands much from his scouting director, since he needs prospects for trade as well as to stock the Braves. Clark has had a good run at the helm in Atlanta, taking high-risk, high-reward talents on an annual basis. Of his 15 first-round picks in seven drafts, 13 have been prep players...

So if Taillon is able to light it up this seaon and Harpers demands are too high I could definietly see us taking Taillon number 1 overall. Ranuando is having trouble with his elbow and his cieling is not high enough for the number 1 pick. None of the College Hitters are worthy either. There are a couple other college pitchers n consideration too but at this point I'd say these two are the main guys.

[GMUTrkstar]

Here's a brief youtube video of his latest start.

[Kevrock]

Is there any way we can have a general thread for all potential draft picks not named Harper? That way we could post info about Deck McGuire, James Taillon, and anyone else who gets connected to the Nats.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

GMU - Nice posts.  Either Harper or Taillon would seem to fit the Clark pattern of going young and upside in the first round. 

To my way of thinking, Taillon seems to have a heck of a lot more risk, which is amazing to say considering how young Harper is.  I would also want to see what our medical staff thought about his motion (and do the exact opposite of their recommendation, but that is another thread ).  If you had Roger Clemens mechanics, it'd be a closer call.

[GMUTrkstar]

K.G. on Taillon being drafted number 1 overall.

matt (pa): Kevin, have you heard anything about Jameson Taillon's contract demands are and how likely he is to sign rather than go to Rice?

Kevin Goldstein: Well, he does have the Hendricks Brothers, and while the public reputation isn't the same, inside the game, they're seen as just as difficult/demanding as dealing with Boras. That said, if I had to bet on the No. 1 pick right now, it just might be Taillon. But then again, it's early March, and that means nothing.

http://baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=717

[NatsDad14]

I'll stop posting here forever if Taillon is the #1 pick. The Nats won't consider it. It's a stupid idea also.

[GMUTrkstar]

I'll stop posting here forever if Taillon is the #1 pick. The Nats won't consider it. It's a stupid idea also.

Nats have said it's not definite we're picking Harper. His demands are gonna be huge and he has a ton of leverage since sitting out a year would only mean he'd be entering the draft he's supposed to enter in the first place. So if we don't pick Harper who do you suggest us picking?
 
Taillon's easily the second best talent in the draft so if we're going based upon best player available Taillon would most likely be our guy.

[epic_phalanx]

Go with the position player.

[mikehughes]

Nats have said it's not definite we're picking Harper. His demands are gonna be huge and he has a ton of leverage since sitting out a year would only mean he'd be entering the draft he's supposed to enter in the first place. So if we don't pick Harper who do you suggest us picking?
 
Taillon's easily the second best talent in the draft so if we're going based upon best player available Taillon would most likely be our guy.

Im pretty sure Harper is trying to get into the draft and signed as early as possible though, I remember reading somewhere he wants to get his free agent clock running so he can sign with the yankees as fast as he can. He came across as a dick really lol.

[GMUTrkstar]

Im pretty sure Harper is trying to get into the draft and signed as early as possible though, I remember reading somewhere he wants to get his free agent clock running so he can sign with the yankees as fast as he can. He came across as a dick really lol.

Yea I read that before too. It makes sense for him too sign since he skipped his junior and senior year, went out and get his GED, and enrolled in a JUCO. But playing two years of more competitive baseball at a local JUCO wouldn't be that bad. There's odviously still concerns about his bonus demands since K.G. thinks he might slip:

lemppi (Ankeny, IA): Could Bryce Harper fall something like Porcello did? Maybe late teens?

Kevin Goldstein: Or even further.

[Kevrock]

Nats have said it's not definite we're picking Harper. His demands are gonna be huge and he has a ton of leverage since sitting out a year would only mean he'd be entering the draft he's supposed to enter in the first place. So if we don't pick Harper who do you suggest us picking?
 
Taillon's easily the second best talent in the draft so if we're going based upon best player available Taillon would most likely be our guy.

A college arm. I can't even imagine us taking this kid number one.

[JMW IV]

I'll stop posting here forever if Taillon is the #1 pick. The Nats won't consider it. It's a stupid idea also.

don't get ASSCLOWNed.

that said, the Hendricks are douches. i don't see the Nats taking him if the Hendricks represent him.

[JMUalumni]

A college arm. I can't even imagine us taking this kid number one.

I can't imagine the Nats taking anyone but Taillon or Harper at this point.  After those two, there is a pretty big drop off in talent and a lot of the college arms have just as many questions surrounding their future.  A lot can happen, as the college season just started, but I wouldn't hold my breath on them picking someone other than Harper or Taillon.

[DPMOmaha]

With the #1 pick, you take the best player available.  Pitcher, postion player, high school or college.  It's not the front offices responsibility to bow to history, they're job is to build the best team they can.  If Tallion's the best player, that's who they should take.  If it's Harper, then they should take him.  If it's somebody else, well, you know the drill.

[GMUTrkstar]

I can't imagine the Nats taking anyone but Taillon or Harper at this point.  After those two, there is a pretty big drop off in talent and a lot of the college arms have just as many questions surrounding their future.  A lot can happen, as the college season just started, but I wouldn't hold my breath on them picking someone other than Harper or Taillon.

In total agreement with you here. McGuire and Ranuando are two of the top College arms being talked about and neither is on the level of Taillon and Harper.

don't get ASSCLOWNed.

that said, the Hendricks are douches. i don't see the Nats taking him if the Hendricks represent him.

Yeah we have had trouble with them in the past under Bowden. But Rizzo almost landed Chapman until the Reds outbid him and he's represented by the Hendricks brothers. So I think there's reason for optimism.

[Kevrock]

Good read at NFA.

http://natsfarm.com/2010/03/11/digging-into-the-draft/

[NatsDad14]

He allowed 6 runs in 6 IP in his last start.