Follow the Prospects: Yasel Antuna, OF

[Slateman]

Is Antuna a better defensive SS than Garcia?

No

[UMDNats]

Is Antuna a better defensive SS than Garcia?

no

[JCA-CrystalCity]

So defensively, it's Garcia >Antuna > Kieboom, or is it Garcia > Kieboom > Antuna at SS?  How many >>>> between to show the size of the gaps?

I'd like the biggest bat that can give you average defense.

[Slateman]

At this point, it really doesnt matter, as no one in that list has shown they can hit MLB pitching on a consistent basis.

[zimm_da_kid]

Listed as an OF for instructional league

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Listed as an OF for instructional league

I guess they think House is not going to be too far behind him so they want to see if he can fill in elsewhere?

[Slateman]

I guess they think House is not going to be too far behind him so they want to see if he can fill in elsewhere?

Or maybe IL is chalk full of infielders?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Or maybe IL is chalk full of infielders?

sure.  Is this the AFL team we share or the Florida league with only Nats?

[GNatsNoMore]

sure.  Is this the AFL team we share or the Florida league with only Nats?

Here's the full roster of the FL instructional league:
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2021-washington-nationals-instructional-league-roster/

Notably, it also included Cole Henry, Jackson Rutledge, Aldo Ramirez (#10 prospect), Darren Baker, and Brady House, Andry Lara (#4 Nationals), and Gerardo Carrillo (#6).

[DPMOmaha]

Rizzo said in the Post that he’s being moved to a corner OF position in fall instructionals.

[welch]

Rizzo said in the Post that he’s being moved to a corner OF position in fall instructionals.

The Post's story on Cluff mentioned that Antuna made a horrifying number of errors at short, which led them to move him to OF.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

If he's not a shortstop  then he's not in the system top 10. Is he better than Donavan Casey at this point?

[Slateman]

If he's not a shortstop  then he's not in the system top 10. Is he better than Donavan Casey at this point?

Better? No. Higher ceiling? Absolutely. Antuna still has above average power and hit tool

[zimm_da_kid]

Better? No. Higher ceiling? Absolutely. Antuna still has above average power and hit tool

That plus he’s a switch hitter.  Even if he can be a bat first utility guy who can play across the outfield, 2nd, and 3rd.

There’s plenty of ways for him to be a viable major league piece

[Elvir Ovcina]

That plus he’s a switch hitter.  Even if he can be a bat first utility guy who can play across the outfield, 2nd, and 3rd.

There’s plenty of ways for him to be a viable major league piece

He can't play 2B or 3B either.  His biggest problem defensively isn't range or arm strength, it's that he sucks at fielding ground balls and throwing them to first with any accuracy. 

I'm not sure why they seem to have already ruled out putting him in CF.  He seemed to have at least fringy footspeed for it when I saw him.  Maybe that step comes later after he learns a corner, but it seemed odd to me.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Better? No. Higher ceiling? Absolutely. Antuna still has above average power and hit tool

Antuna has always been about ceiling.  I'd like to see it show at some level. He was still almost 2 years younger than league level in A+, so his bat deserves some slack, but, as a reference, Casey, at age appropriate level in A+, hit 20 HR, .270 / .335 / .509, with 129 wRC+.  Casey backed this up with an AA-AAA season this year with 16 HRs, 22 steals, .269/ 329 / .430, and had an .815 OPS at Surprise.  He's crushed it at AA in a couple of leagues. Looks like to me his floor is a heck of a lot higher than Antuna. 

I'm guessing Antuna repeats A+, which is OK, and Casey tries to click at AAA.  In my book they are close, and Antuna can pass Casey if he rakes in A+ next year and Casey stalls.  Clearly, Antuna should not be considered the #4 prospect, unless out system is more woeful than I thought.  If Casey is around #10, than that's where Antuna should be.  But we will see.

[Elvir Ovcina]

Antuna has always been about ceiling.  I'd like to see it show at some level. He was still almost 2 years younger than league level in A+, so his bat deserves some slack, but, as a reference, Casey, at age appropriate level in A+, hit 20 HR, .270 / .335 / .509, with 129 wRC+.  Casey backed this up with an AA-AAA season this year with 16 HRs, 22 steals, .269/ 329 / .430, and had an .815 OPS at Surprise.  He's crushed it at AA in a couple of leagues. Looks like to me his floor is a heck of a lot higher than Antuna. 

I'm guessing Antuna repeats A+, which is OK, and Casey tries to click at AAA.  In my book they are close, and Antuna can pass Casey if he rakes in A+ next year and Casey stalls.  Clearly, Antuna should not be considered the #4 prospect, unless out system is more woeful than I thought.  If Casey is around #10, than that's where Antuna should be.  But we will see.

He almost has to go to at least AA.  He's already been on the 40-man for a year and thus burned one option year.  2022 will be his second. 2023 would be his third.

Basically, he needs to make the majors in 2023 or they'll be in a position where he can't be sent back down if he struggles initially. 

Therefore he realistically has to get through AA in 2022, and ideally finish the year in AAA to allow for a AAA opening in 2023 with a midseason promotion.  The best way to do that is start him at AA.

[welch]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/29/yasel-antuna-outfield/

But a quick glance at Antuna’s 2021 stats tells a simple story. The 22-year-old made 36 errors in 96 games at shortstop for high Class A Wilmington. And those who saw him out there say it looked as bad as it sounds.

“We think Antuna is going to come fast,” Mike Rizzo, the Nationals’ general manager, said in early November. “We moved him to the outfield so he could focus more on his bat, and he had a hell of a second half of the season after not playing for two years.”

That requires a bit of reading between the lines. The Nationals care about Antuna’s development — mainly because they see him as a potential impact bat — and don’t want it hindered by poor defense. So after he really struggled at shortstop, they felt the best path for his offense was through a less demanding (and less consequential) position.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/29/yasel-antuna-outfield/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/11/29/yasel-antuna-outfield/

It's an example of the "draft / sign middle infielders with hitting potential because you can always move them to a more suitable defensive position if they can't hack it a short."

[imref]

thread title updated

[JCA-CrystalCity]

He almost has to go to at least AA.  He's already been on the 40-man for a year and thus burned one option year.  2022 will be his second. 2023 would be his third.

Basically, he needs to make the majors in 2023 or they'll be in a position where he can't be sent back down if he struggles initially. 

Therefore he realistically has to get through AA in 2022, and ideally finish the year in AAA to allow for a AAA opening in 2023 with a midseason promotion.  The best way to do that is start him at AA.

wow, missed that he had been added last year (11/20/20).  ugh.  I still think an A+ assignment would not harm his schedule too badly, while I can easily see him floundering at AA at the start of the year.  What we want to see is a little success at AA before a call up late in 2022.  I think a month and half, 2 months at A+, then a move to Harrisburg, would make him available for an MLB look in late 2022, maybe August if not September.

[Elvir Ovcina]

wow, missed that he had been added last year (11/20/20).  ugh.  I still think an A+ assignment would not harm his schedule too badly, while I can easily see him floundering at AA at the start of the year.  What we want to see is a little success at AA before a call up late in 2022.  I think a month and half, 2 months at A+, then a move to Harrisburg, would make him available for an MLB look in late 2022, maybe August if not September.

Don't know if it affects things, really, but the MiLB season now goes much later than it formerly did pre MLB Anschluss.  AA and AAA schedules go through 9/18 and 9/21, respectively.

This is anecdotal of course and might be more an artifact of the missed 2020 minors season, but it was noticeable that AA to MLB promotions were pretty rare last year, much more so than in years past.   I could see him maybe doing a month at A+, then AA May through July, then see where they are.  It would allow a month and a half of AAA or even a cup of coffee at the end, but the extended AA/AAA schedules and limited September call-ups do alter that calculus.

It would also be nice for him to prove that he's, you know, actually good.  I'm not especially impressed by guys who stay a whole season at a lower level and pile up stats post-July 1 against weaker players once the actual good players have moved up with midseason promotions.

[imref]

Zuckerman:

What I've heard about Yasel Antuna: The Nationals decided at season's end to move him to the outfield after he committed 36 errors at shortstop. Yeah, 36. That's not good. They hope he'll be less of a defensive liability at a corner outfield position and be able to focus more on his bat, which admittedly still needs some work as well. To be fair, it's been hard to truly evaluate prospects (especially younger ones) the last couple seasons because of the lost 2020 season and delayed 2021 season. So everyone seems to be putting less stock in stats right now than in how guys actually looked when they played. Antuna, to be sure, has work to do. But at 22, he's got a chance to take a big step next season as an everyday outfielder, probably at Double-A Harrisburg. If things go really well, I suppose it's possible we see him in D.C. before season's end. But 2023-24 feels like a more plausible timeline. And as said, he's got to actually show he can hit consistently in the minors to earn that promotion.

[Slateman]

Off to a nice start in High A. Has four singles in 7 at bats

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Off to a nice start in High A. Has four singles in 7 at bats

how many errors at his new position? He should be able to hit at low A