Breakouts and Disappointments for 2010

[NatsDad14]

Who are your guys who will breakout or be disappointing next season. The winners for the award in 2009 were Zimmerman and Dukes.

My pick:
Breakout:
Craig Stammen-
He's just as good as John Lannan IMO. Everybody is looking forward to Wang, Zimmermann, and Strasburg but he won't relinquish his spot this year. Ross Detwiler could have a solid season if given the opportunity.

Disappointment:
Nyjer Morgan-
His season won't be anywhere near what he did last year. .290/.340/.390 is what I expect from him. He is one of the biggest keys for the Nats if they want to succeed in 2010.

[PANatsFan]

If Detwiler, Wang, SS, and Zimmermann hit even 75% of potential, Lannan and Stammen are interchangable at best.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I don't really consider that a disappointment for Nyjer.  That's realism, all things considered.

Breakout:
Ross Detwiler
Once he returns from the hip injury, I think we'll have a pretty good pitcher on our hands.  Nothing remarkable, but if he keeps putting the ball down and converts his flyballs/line drives to grounders, he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Disappointment:
Matt Capps
Won't be the bullpen savior everyone hopes.  Good thing for Storen!

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Breakout:
Stephen Strasburg - Though not a totally risky breakout prediction, every eye will be on every pitch he makes and he will not disappoint. As I have stated before in various places, Strasburg might very well be the Baseball Jesus and if so, he is going to make Mike Rizzo and his decision to keep him in the minors look like the "Baseball Pontius Pilate."

Disappointment:
Adam Dunn - The big donkey will swing big and miss big. He won't hit 40 home runs again this year, he'll continue to strike out plenty and if ST was any indication, he might very well miss some time if he continues to have back problems. Couple all this with the fact he will be absolutely atrocious at first base a la Dmitri Young and you have epic disappointment heading to Natstown.

[HalfSmokes]

Breakout

Desmond- hopefully he can be an everyday SS with an above average bat and a decent glove

Strassburg and Storen- both live up to the hype

Disappointment

The bullpen- the retooled bullpen will still be one of the worst if not the worst in baseball

Morgan- he reverts to a barely passable bat, but remains a great center fielder

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Breakout - Morse, Detwiler.  Morse eventually wins the RF position after starting as a platoon guy. With surprising starter depth and a bullpen meltdown, the team gives Detwiler a shot at relief where his fastball consistently hits 93 and he becomes a top set up man.

Disappointment - Ian Desmond, Scott Olsen.  Desmond's inconsistency in the field, tons of strikeouts, and .260 average does not allow his occasional pop to keep him ahead of Danny Espinosa in the team depth chart. Scott Olsen never recovers his fastball and is DFA'd by mid-May.

[hammondsnats]

Disappointment - Ian Desmond, Scott Olsen.  Desmond's inconsistency in the field, tons of strikeouts, and .260 average does not allow his occasional pop to keep him ahead of Danny Espinosa in the team depth chart.

damn debbie downer 

[The Chief]

damn debbie downer 

Everyone is high on Desmond but seems to be forgetting he still has a lot to prove.  Olsen seems like a pretty obvious pick to me.

[hammondsnats]

Everyone is high on Desmond but seems to be forgetting he still has a lot to prove.

I know.  I'm crossing my fingers, because I would like to see another home grown position player actually panned out not named zimmerman.

[The Chief]

I know.  I'm crossing my fingers, because I would like to see another home grown position player actually panned out not named zimmerman.

I'm right there with you.

[hammondsnats]

I'm right there with you.

... i'm sure everyone else on this board and MIKE RIZZO is too haha. 

I mean not like it's the end of the world, but it'd be nice to have a few of our own make it.  It's kind of a pride thing.  We've lost out on a lot over the years - Bay, Phillips, Vlad, etc.  Desmond is our next closest one, I hope.

[epic_phalanx]

Breakout: Tyler Clippard. His fastball hit 93 when I saw him pitch a few days ago, which is a good three MPH faster than I remember him being at while starting. He was great last year in his first out of the pen. While I think he's due for some regression, he could counterbalance that by growing into his new role. I think he's our best reliever not named Storen at the end of the season.

Disappointment: Jesus Flores. Just a lot of bad juju. I will be surprised if he plays more than 30 games this year.

[The Chief]

Disappointment: Jesus Flores. Just a lost of bad juju. I will be surprised if he plays more than 30 games this year.

Does that even count?  I think pretty much everyone has written him off at this point.

[HalfSmokes]

Disappointment: Jesus Flores. Just a lot of bad juju. I will be surprised if he plays more than 30 games this year.

At this point I think that would be a fair over under for career games caught in the majors from this point forward

[hammondsnats]

i hate doing these type of things, because I try to have a positive outlook (well at least the old HammondsNats tries to), I'll give it a shot:

Breakout - Ian Desmond
I truly think this kid is going to have a good year, if he's given the chance.  He brings energy to the ballpark everyday and not only will he put the Nats on highlight shows (with his glove and from time-to-time his bat), he will help them win some games.  If he is given the opportunity and can deliver on it, I think Espinosa may have to move to 2B (and compete with Kobernus).

Disappointment - Jesus Flores
Have to agree with epic_phalanx ... I think Flores has all-star talent, but the injury thing is getting really old and who knows if he can shake it.  If Norris can step up his defensive game and handle A/AA pitching and if Flores can't stay healthy, we may have our new catcher of the future.  Thank goodness we signed Pudge.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

damn debbie downer 

Keep Debbi Taylor out of this.  Also, I'm pretty high on Espinosa

[hammondsnats]

Keep Debbi Taylor out of this.  Also, I'm pretty high on Espinosa

haha.  I'm jk bud. 

I was high on Desmond when Frank Robinson and Jim Bowden hyped him up a few years back as the next Jeter, then came along Espinosa out of the Shortstop Factory USA ... but Desmond really showed me a lot last season and it seems like his teammates and manager are pretty high on him. 

If he can solve the SS position for years to come, then that's a good thing.  We can worry about Espinosa and where to play him, when the time comes.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If he can solve the SS position for years to come, then that's a good thing.  We can worry about Espinosa and where to play him, when the time comes.

Agreed.  I had to pick a disappointment, so I/M/O I had to take someone we have high expectations for with less of a track record. 

[Galah]

Breakout - Nyjer Morgan
Slow start in April but he heats up quickly and picks up both a Golden Glove AND a Silver Slugger

Disappointment - we lose 1 of the three games we play against the White Sox - and it's the game Obama attends.

Just call me Suzy Sunshine

[blue911]

Breakout - Morse, Detwiler.  Morse eventually wins the RF position after starting as a platoon guy. With surprising starter depth and a bullpen meltdown, the team gives Detwiler a shot at relief where his fastball consistently hits 93 and he becomes a top set up man.

Disappointment - Ian Desmond, Scott Olsen.  Desmond's inconsistency in the field, tons of strikeouts, and .260 average does not allow his occasional pop to keep him ahead of Danny Espinosa in the team depth chart. Scott Olsen never recovers his fastball and is DFA'd by mid-May.

Besides Desmond tendency to throw the ball around, he hasn't shown that he can "hit" a breaking ball. His '09 numbers are inflated by huge numbers his first 4 games and pretty dreadful numbers for the other 17. His stint in the DR wasn't a rousing success and his ST numbers are falling with pitchers mixing in more off speed junk.

Hit is quoted because laying off the same pitches would improve his offense immeasurably.

[HalfSmokes]

Breakout - ... Detwiler.  ... With surprising starter depth and a bullpen meltdown, the team gives Detwiler a shot at relief where his fastball consistently hits 93 and he becomes a top set up man.

Would Detwiler out of the rotation be a breakout?

[KnorrForYourMoney]

I kind of agree about Desmond.  I'm really pulling for him, and I would much much much rather have him than Guzman, but I'm far from sold yet.

[hammondsnats]

I kind of agree about Desmond.  I'm really pulling for him, and I would much much much rather have him than Guzman, but I'm far from sold yet.

I know what you guys are saying, but I don't think anyone on here is calling him an All-Star (just yet ) or anything.

[HalfSmokes]

I know what you guys are saying, but I don't think anyone on here is calling him an All-Star (just yet ) or anything.

This, I'd be happy with a slightly below average glove with a decent bat if we would have another position filled for at least a few years going into the future. Right now, we have third and CF filled for the foreseeable future (3+ years) and that's it

[Obed_Marsh]

I don't find any of these terribly surprising. Paging Capitan Obvious.  

Breakout: Strasburg, Storen, Stammen.

I expect RF to be a revolving door of failure this year. Mediocre at best.

Disappointment: Flores (made of glass), Maxwell (all the tools, cannot put it together), Harris (boots the chance to play every day by being unable to improve any single aspect of his game), and Bernadina (proves he cannot hit).  Taveras finally keeps it on the ground and grinds out a mediocre season with flashes that leave some drooling but leave us no closer to filling the spot.