CJ Abrams: Our new man in the middle

[Natsinpwc]

CEILING is Dee Gordon? Lol

Slate’s theme song.

[Smithian]

Ive already made my position known. He's hitting grounders with decent EV. His ceiling is non-2014-2015 Dee Gordon. Its still blatently obvious he needs more seasoning in the minors. But, no, I'm sure a .406 BABIP with no walks is totally sustainable

I know this thread has turned into taunting between detractors and supporters of Abrams, and you're responding in kind. But this opinion seems like climbing out on a branch that may not hold much weight.

It'll be really hard for CJ Abrams to perform well enough for baseball to look back years from now and say he was absolutely the linchpin of a worthy trade package for Juan Soto. He would need to be a multiple time All Star. If you want to guarantee he won't be that, I'm not going to definitively say you're wrong.

There's miles of distance between "multiple time All Star who was a good return for Juan Soto" and Dee Strange-Gordon.

[Elvir Ovcina]

CEILING is Dee Gordon? Lol

The defense alone makes it a little weird.  But I think people forget that Gordon actually was quite good for a short period.

[Smithian]

The defense alone makes it a little weird.  But I think people forget that Gordon actually was quite good for a short period.

He was. But Slate specifically ruled out those 2014 and 2015 seasons.

I think Abrams is a really safe bet to be better defensively than DSG and could be as good on the bases. I would think DSG's bat would be a worst case scenario for Abrams, and Slate has it as his ceiling.

If Slate is right, you'll see a lot of Nationals scouting and front office staff struggling for jobs in a few years.

[Slateman]

Hey, that's what the scouting reports said.

They appear to have been dead wrong.  That was pretty readily apparent, and not only by contrast with Garcia.

The scouting report in Garcia said he was a 60 grade fielder.

[Kevrock]

The defense alone makes it a little weird.  But I think people forget that Gordon actually was quite good for a short period.

Slate excluded those years. So he is on record saying that Abrams CEILING is Gordon’s career floor years. Every expert disagrees but hey

[Smithian]

Credit to Slate, I hedge most of my predictions. He went all in.

[Slateman]

I know this thread has turned into taunting between detractors and supporters of Abrams, and you're responding in kind. But this opinion seems like climbing out on a branch that may not hold much weight.

It'll be really hard for CJ Abrams to perform well enough for baseball to look back years from now and say he was absolutely the linchpin of a worthy trade package for Juan Soto. He would need to be a multiple time All Star. If you want to guarantee he won't be that, I'm not going to definitively say you're wrong.

There's miles of distance between "multiple time All Star who was a good return for Juan Soto" and Dee Strange-Gordon.

Offensively, yes. Defensively, he is already better.

[Slateman]

Slate excluded those years. So he is on record saying that Abrams CEILING is Gordon’s career floor years. Every expert disagrees but hey

Yes. A .286 hitter with no power and doesnt take walks. If Abrams does that and continues to play good defense, he's a good player

[Natsinpwc]

Yup. A 22 year old will never develop a better eye at the plate or more power.

[imref]

MLB play of the week:

https://www.mlb.com/news/cj-abrams-wins-play-of-the-week-award

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/13/cj-abrams-spanish-nationals/

Apparently, among other subjects, he was a pretty good student of Spanish in high school.  He uses it with Garcia and the other infielders.  The article compares him to Brian Dozier.  Dozier learned Spanish explicitly to help communicate with teammates, while Abrams started with Spanish more because he was just a bright kid.  There's a mention of mound conferences with Meneses, Garcia, and Hernandez where he pipes in in Spanish.  Garcia, btw, was born in NYC but mostly raised in the DR; the article makes the point that they both swing back and forth between English and Spanish when they talk to each other.

Abrams said he used what he learned in class when he turned professional but noted, “School and actually applying [Spanish] is a lot different.” Most notably, the conjugations and tenses were difficult. There are also variations of the language, depending on what country someone is from, so slang and differences in dialect can be a barrier.

He said his Spanish-speaking teammates make mistakes when speaking English, so he doesn’t feel any embarrassment when he makes errors in Spanish. Most notably, he and García — the Nationals’ future in the middle infield — have become close. They joke in the clubhouse in both languages, and García said Abrams understands Spanish well.

[Smithian]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/13/cj-abrams-spanish-nationals/

Apparently, among other subjects, he was a pretty good student of Spanish in high school.  He uses it with Garcia and the other infielders.  The article compares him to Brian Dozier.  Dozier learned Spanish explicitly to help communicate with teammates, while Abrams started with Spanish more because he was just a bright kid.  There's a mention of mound conferences with Meneses, Garcia, and Hernandez where he pipes in in Spanish.  Garcia, btw, was born in NYC but mostly raised in the DR; the article makes the point that they both swing back and forth between English and Spanish when they talk to each other.

I was pretty high on CJ Abrams coming in. His field play and stories like are firing me up. He's going to be a good player for a while.

I'm drinking the koolaid that Luis Garcia at 2B will end up a really good player and we're set up the middle for a while.

[Natsinpwc]

I was pretty high on CJ Abrams coming in. His field play and stories like are firing me up. He's going to be a good player for a while.

I'm drinking the koolaid that Luis Garcia at 2B will end up a really good player and we're set up the middle for a while.

We have very little Koolaid available so might as well drink this.

[hotshot]

Slate excluded those years. So he is on record saying that Abrams CEILING is Gordon’s career floor years. Every expert disagrees but hey

SD boards often compared Abrams ceiling to Mookie Betts. Clearly biased toward upside but ...

[hotshot]

Yes. A .286 hitter with no power and doesnt take walks. If Abrams does that and continues to play good defense, he's a good player

Scouts early-on liked Abrams' power potential (although hedging that it would "come later").  Has that forecast been officially revised in the last year?

[welch]

The quote that hit me, that explained the kid's core decency and insights:

“A lot of [my] teammates only speak Spanish and they learn English,” Abrams said. “We [should] try to learn Spanish as well.”

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/nationals/status/1570950660899627008?s=46&t=-dpaHW92feZ0jwG-tCH0JQ

Kid is a talent

[imref]

He’s spectacular.

[DCsOwn]

He’s spectacular.

https://twitter.com/nationals/status/1570958878229110784?s=46&t=K4EBS2H4qfvETitzzNkcAw

Another gem included just for good measure.

[imref]

Every night it’s a new highlight reel play

[Smithian]

I’m buying he has a high ceiling on the bat.

Glove first players have had bigger offensive surges that turned into nothing. Ignoring that because I need the optimism.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Since his call up on 8/15, the Nats are 13-16. 

[Kevrock]

He's really good.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

He's really good.

of course, my reference point for a middle infielder who looked like a bust for almost 1/3 of a season is Dustin Pedroia. Different ballplayers, but both I think may vindicate organizational and managers faith on learning in the majors.