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Archive for the 'austin davidson' tag
Rule 5 Analysis/Prediction for 2019
Is Sterling Sharp getting the call? Photo unk via talknats.com
Welcome to the annual Rule 5 analysis post.
Lets take a look at who is eligible, who might get protected and make some predictions. I've got the Nats 40-man roster at 30 now (as of 11/6/19, after all FAs and opt outs), so there's plenty of room to add names and do their off-season work. But, this team also needs to sign a bunch of FAs. But there's a slew of options-challenged players who might get waived this off-season. So it'll be an interesting Rule-5 year, and an interesting off-season in terms of roster manipulation.
As always, using the indispensable Nationals resource sites Draft tracker (at its new location, now maintained by Luke Erickson) and the Big Board, and then looking up candidate acquisitions made via trade, here's some thoughts on who might merit protection. Also incredibly useful is Roster Resource's Nats Roster, which keeps track of options, rule-5 status and the like.
The quick Rule-5 rules for 2019; any 4-year college-aged draftee from 2016 or before who isn't already on the 40-man roster is Rule-5 eligible this coming off season, and any high-school aged draftee/International Free Agent from 2015 or before is newly eligible this year, assuming they were at least 18 as of June 5th of that year. There's always a couple of guys who have specific birthdays that move them up or down one way or the other; i'll depend on the Roster Resource rules and the Draft Tracker for exact details.
One last thing: here was our 2019 AFL Roster (also here at milb.com's site). Often times teams put Rule-5 guys onto AFL rosters to get one last look at them against top quality performance to see if they're worth protecting. Of course, this practice also puts a huge spotlight onto those players for opposing teams and their scouts…
Rule 5 eligible: Sterling Sharp, Nick Banks, Andrew Lee, Jakson Reetz
Not: Luis Garcia, Cole Freeman, Nick Raquet, Jacob Condra-Bogan, Pearson McMahon, K.J. Harrison
Newly Eligible 2016 draft College Players this year worth consideration for protection:
Nick Banks, 2016 4th rounder LF who ascended to Harrisburg in 2019. Decent numbers and hit pretty consistently from High-A to AA this year, but he's a corner outfielder who hit one homer in 45 AA games. You need more power than that to ascend. I mention him here b/c of draft pedigree, not because I think he's going to be protected. I don't think anyone could see him sticking on a MLB roster or competing with an aging ML veteran on a non-guaranteed deal.
Armond Upshaw, 2016 11th round OF who is still in low-A; no jeopardy of getting picked.
Jack Sundberg: 2016 26th round CF who repeated high-A for the third year in a row this season; no jeopardy of getting selected.
Hayden Howard, 2016 12th round middle reliever who has good numbers but has never pitched above High-A ball; no real jeopardy of getting selected.
Ryan Williamson, 2016 15th rounder who missed two full years with injury and is only in low-A; no real jeopardy of getting selected.
Ben Braymer, 2016 18th rounder LHP starting pitcher who is one of the best draft picks (in terms of value vis-a-vis draft position) the team has had this decade. He has now risen to AAA's rotation … where he proceeded to get shelled thsi year (7.20 ERA in 13 starts). Hard to tell if that's the level or the PCL; i'm going to go latter since he maintained sub 3.00 ERAs at most of his stops as he ascended the minors. I think its worth protecting a home grown lefty starter who they drafted and paid a paltry $100k signing bonus for.
Jacob Howell: 2016 21st rounder, missed all of 2018 with injury, pitched mostly in Low-A this year; no real jeopardy of getting selected.
Sterling Sharp: 2016 22nd rounder, missed a chunk of the 2019 season with injury, but improved year over year in his AA results and then went and pitched pretty well in the AFL (6 starts, 24 innings 4 runs allowed). I think someone would take a flier on him, especially a tanking team (which now defines 1/3rd of the league). I think he should be protected.
Its worth noting that the team already has added two guys from this class who likely would have been Rule-5 this year anyway: Tres Barrera and Jake Noll both would have otherwise been on this list.
So, two candidates from this group for me in Braymer and Sharp
Newly Eligible 2015 High School-age drafted players under consideration for protection
The Nats generally don't pick HS players, so the picking here is always slim. But we're down to just 8 players remaining in the system at all from the 2015 draft class, and none of them were HS draftees.
Zero candidates from this group.
Newly Eligible 2015 signed IFAs under consideration for protection:
Brailin Mesa, a 2015 IFA DH who never came state-side and who probably was released after the 2017 season, but sometimes milb.com's records are not up-to-date.
Gerald De La Cruz: also a 2015 IFA pitcher who never came stateside and has no results past 2017: like Mesa above, probably was released after the 2017 season.
Omar Meregildo, a 2015 IFA light hitting 3B who split time in 2019 between low- and high-A. No real jeopardy of getting selected.
Gilberto Chu, an 2015 IFA RHP who has now appeared in short-season Auburn for 3 seasons running. Good numbers, but no real jeopardy of getting selected.
Jhonathan German, 2015 IFA RHP closer who ascended 3 levels in 2019, ending the year in AA. Good numbers across his career, especially once he abandoned starting. I'd have a hard time believing he'd get picked though, with just 13 IP above A-ball. Perhaps we revisit his candidacy next season if he continues to pitch well in AA for a team that's always looking for relievers.
Felix Taveras, 2015 IFA now age 24, missed all of 2018 and threw just a handful of complex-league innings in 2019. Not getting picked.
Tomas Alastre: 2015 IFA RHP starting pitcher who, inexplicably to me, has been a rotation mainstay in Hagerstown for two full seasons running despite his posting an ERA north of 5.00 consistently throughout that time period. Is this a case where the team is just keeping him around to eat innings? I can't imagine that being the case with so many arms getting drafted each year. That being said, he's only 21, so he's still quite young even though he's now rule-5 eligible, but he's at no risk of getting picked in 2019's rule-5 draft.
Jhon Romero: 2015 IFA signing, trade bounty for Brandon Knitzler last year during the infamous purging of "bad apples." He missed most of 2019 with injury while repeating high-A; little chance of getting selected.
Rule-5 Eligible hold-overs of note: 2015 or prior college draftees still hanging out in the system, or 2014 and prior HS/IFAs.
2015 Draftees
Rhett Wiseman, 2015 3rd round left-handed hitting OF out of Vanderbilt. Repeated High-A in 2018 and drastically improved his OPS, but it seems to be on the back of perhaps going for more of an all or nothing approach: he increased his homer output, but also struck out 122 times in 407 PAs. In 2019, he ascended to AA and hit just .215. The team invested a big bonus in him, and it hasn't panned out. I really liked this pick at the time, but then watched him hit in the CWS that year and thought he'd have a hard time adjusting to pro pitching. So far, my amateur observation seems to be holding true. He seems likely to pass through Rule-5 once again and hit MLFA after 2020.
Ian Sagdal, 2015 16th round senior sign who has hung around, ascending to AA for 2019 and hitting decently. He's listed as a 1B but had just 8 homers this year; that's not going to get him Rule-5'd.
Andrew Lee: 2015 11th rounder basically missed all of 2017 with injury, was decent as a swingman in Low-A in 2018, then pitched pretty well in the same swing-man role, ascending to AA in 2019. Just a half a season above A-Ball; i still don't see him as a candidate to get picked, but could turn into a James Bourque-like figure for this team next season if he continues to pitch well. He was sent to the AFL, so scouts got a look at him; is this enough to expose him?
Tommy Peterson, 2015 12th rounder, has now missed the last two full years; he last appeared at the end of 2017. Surprised he's still with the organization, not a candidate to get picked.
Ryan Brinley, 2015 27th rounder, has also missed the entirety of the last two seasons with injury yet remains on the roster.
Jorge Pantoja has bounced around the A-levels for four years now, ending last year with a 2.59 ERA in High-A … his fourth year running in Potomac. not a candidate to get picked.
Andrew Istler, our trade bounty from the Dodgers for Ryan Madsen. He had very solid numbers in AA in a middle relief role, even earning a stellar AAA call-up. He's an undersized Duke grad, 23rd round pick who has done well. I wonder if his pedigree makes him less likely to get picked. In 2019, he was MIA for months, finally got assigned … to High-A despite being in AAA a couple of years ago. He posted sub 1.00 ERAs in both his stops this year but is now a 27yr old RHP middle reliever. If someone didn't pick him last year, its hard to believe he's ever going to get picked. At age 27 with solid middle relief numbers, it isn't out of the realm of possible though that a team could pick him and have him be their 7th man in an 8-man pen…
Jakson Reetz, 3rd round C from 2014. Reetz was paid a big bonus out of HS, but has struggled for years. In 2019, repeating high-A for the 3rd successive year he lifted his OPS above .800 in a split-duty role, and was sent to the AFL. He only appeared in a few games in Arizona; unknown why. Its hard to see a player getting Rule-5 drafted without having never ascended above A-Ball.
Austin Davidson started out as a corner OF and 13th rounder in 2014, now a light hitting middle infielder. Started the year in AA, demoted to high-A. Not a threat to get drafted.
Alec Keller: a 2014 17th rounder who has ascended now to AAA, but is a high-average, low-power corner OF who seems like a classic 6-year FA AAA player who will get one more year in Fresno in 2020.
Robbie Dickey, a 2014 4th rounder who now has no results for 3 successive years on milb.com; it seems likely that he got released after the 2017 season and the site just isn't updated.
Tyler Mapes, a great story who continues to hang in there. He was a 30th rounder in 2014, missed all of 2017 with injury but came back with a vengeance in 2018, dominating Potomac and holding his own with a 3.95 ERA in AA. In 2019 as a full time starter in AA he took a step back; 5.00 ERA across 26 starts, showing hit-ability and not a ton of swing and miss. He's not likely to get picked, but is likely to stay in the rotation in 2020.
Taylor Gushue, a 2014 Draftee out of Florida who has now made his way all the way to AAA in 2018, then hit .312 as the part-time starter in Fresno this year. I said this last year, but the lack of Catchers on the Nat's 40-man and the fact that one of them (Raudy Read) has 63 days of service, a PED suspension and zero options seems like they should think about adding more catching depth. I'd add Gushue … but its also worth noting that despite the catching depth issues in the sport … the fact that Gushue would have to stay on a 25-man roster all year (essentially being the backup/play twice a week guy) means it'd be a huge risk to take him. More likely is that the Nats wait it out and he's the first catcher to get added to provide cover for Kurt Suzuki and whoever else we sign this coming off-season.
Nick Wells, our trade bounty for Austin Adams at the beginning of 2019 (bet the team wishes they had that trade back; Adams struck out 51 in 31 innings for Seattle and was a solid 7th inning guy … something we could really have used … but I digress). We got back Wells, a local kid (Battlefield HS) who for reasons unknown sat in XST for most of the summer, then got just 12 innings for Low-A Hagerstown … the same level he initially pitched in four seasons ago. I'm sure he isn't getting picked, but I also question what the plan is for Wells at this point.
IFAs: 2014 and older
Luis Reyes: finally made it to AA in 2018, and got shelled (12 starts, 5.18 ERA). Nonetheless the team included him in their 2018 AFL roster, where he got even more shelled (4 starts, 12 innings, 22 runs allowed). This pushed him back to Potomac for 2019, where he lost his rotation spot and struggled in middle relief. No jeopardy of getting picked.
Joan Baez went 9-9 with a 3.79 ERA as a full time starter for Potomac in 2018, then moved into relief (finally) in 2019, where he moved up the chain and ended the year in AAA. He had good numbers in AA, not as good in AAA (but who does), but concerningly had more walks than Ks in Fresno. He's only 24. This team is always looking for relievers. I wonder if he's worth protecting at this point.
Telmito Agustin, a LF who hit pretty well for High-A in 2018 (OPS of .822) … then repeated the level in 2019. Not a candidate to get picked.
Steven Fuentes, who forced a mid-season promotion to High-A where he posted a 3.00 ERA in 45 middle-relief type innings in 2018 … and got PED suspended in 2019. Not a candidate
Gilbert Lara, the 3B prospect the Nats received from Milwaukee in the Gio Gonzalez trade. He played all of 2018 in Low-A, then jumped up to High-A mid-2019 but is no candidate for drafting.
Malvin Pena basically missed two full seasons, spent entirety of 2019 in High-A's rotation and posted an ERA north of 6.00. Not a candidate to get picked.
Aldrem Corredor, a 1B who has hung around since 2012 in the system, played 2019 in high-A as a 1b for average kind of guy; not a candidate.
Omar Meregildo: a light hitting part time 3B who played in Potomac this year; not a candidate.
Angel Guillen, a RHP reliever who pushed his way up to Potomac this year with solid numbers. I like him in 2020 to get to AA; not a candidate.
One solid candidate from this group (Gushue), two maybes (Baez, Istler)
MLFAs for 2019:
These are 2013 or prior college draftees, or 2012 or prior HS draftees/IFA signings.
Post-2019 publishing, i'm adding a new section because it seems like we're going to see the following situation occur for the second time in recent memory. Long time farmhand Mario Sanchez achieved minor league free agency at the end of the 2019 season, but apparently has been re-signed (his milb.com page lists the Nationals resigning him to a contract … but its dated in the future, 12/18/19, something i've never seen before). But, if he's re-signed as a MLFA with the team, then he has to be protected else he'd be subject to the draft.
This situation occurred a couple years back with Wander Suero, when the team selected his contract the day after the season ended upon his reaching MLFA status.
There's a few other interesting newly-minted MLFA candidates who we've talked about in the past, but unless we have evidence the team re-signs them they're not really candidates to discuss here. Names like Drew Ward, Jordan Mills, etc. Perhaps even Spencer Kieboom. But like Suero and Sanchez, if you want to keep them, you've got to sign them to a ML deal.
One candidate from this group: Sanchez
So, who would I protect?
So, remember, if someone gets drafted they have to stick on someone else's ACTIVE, 25-man (well, now 26-man) MLB roster the entirety of 2019. So it has to be someone who could theoretically stick on a MLB roster.
Ben Braymer
Sterling Sharp
Who would I additionally consider?
Taylor Gushue
Andrew Istler
Here's some other opinions in the Natmosphere on the same topic (i'll add them as I see them):
Federal Baseball thinks Sharp, maybe Braymer, maybe Istler
TalkNats/SaoMagnifico (who's been chatting on this post) thinks Sharp, maybe Braymer, maybe Fuentes, possibly Istler, German, Sanchez, Banks, Gushue
BaseballAmerica.com (via Nationalsprospects.com) thinks Sharp yes, possibly Braymer, possibly Malvin Pena (??)
For a fun trip down memory lane, here's the same Rule 5 Protection analysis post for 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
By year, here's who I predicted we'd add and who we did add.
2013: Predicted Solis as the only lock (Souza already added). Possibles mentioned in order Barrett, Taylor, Grace, Holland. Actual: Solis, Barrett, Taylor.
Tagged with aldrem corredor, alec keller, andrew istler, andrew lee, angel guillen, armond upshaw, austin adams, austin davidson, ben braymer, brailin mesa, brandon knitzler, cole freeman, felix taveras, gerald de la cruz, gilbert lara, gilberto chu, gio gonzalez, hayden howard, ian sagdal, jack sundberg, jacob condra-bogan, jacob howell, jake noll, jakson reetz, james bourque, jhon romero, jhonthan german, joan baez, jorge pantoja, kj harrison, luis garcia, luis reyes, luke erickson, malvin pena, nick banks, nick raquet, nick wells, omar meregildo, pearson mcmahon, raudy read, rhett wiseman, robbie dickey, ryan brinley, ryan madsen, ryan williamson, starling sharp, steven fuentes, taylor gushue, telmito agustin, tomas alastre, tommy peterson, tres barrera, tyler mapes
Rule 5 Addition analysis/predictions for 2018
Did Jordan Mills' AFL performance earn him a 40-man spot? Photo via milb.com
Its an annual tradition. This is my 9th annual analysis of the roster moves the Nats will do to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. See the bottom for links/summary of the first eight such posts with a quick guess as to how well i've done making predictions.
Lets take a look at who is eligible, who might get protected and make some predictions. I've got the Nats 40-man roster at 35 now, so there's plenty of room to add names and do their off-season work. But, this team also needs to sign a bunch of FAs, so perhaps the Rule5 activity will be limited. That being said, there's some dead-weight at the end of the 40-man roster that includes some fringe players out of options for 2019 anyway, who we may try to slip through waivers as we go. Nonetheless, its something to think about.
Another recurring theme while doing this research: a good number of the prospects we received back in late-season trades ended up being Rule-5 Eligible this coming off-season. I suppose it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that we got players back in this category, but it does mean our trade bounty for some of our veterans might end up never playing a game for the Nats franchise.
As always, using the indispensable Nationals resource sites Draft tracker and the Big Board, and then looking up candidate acquisitions made via trade, here's some thoughts on who might merit protection. Also incredibly useful is Roster Resource's Nats Roster, which keeps track of options, rule-5 status and the like.
The quick Rule-5 rules for 2017; any college-aged draftee from 2015 or before who isn't already on the 40-man roster is Rule-5 eligible this coming off season, and any high-school aged draftee/International Free Agent from 2014 or before is newly eligible this year, assuming they were at least 18 as of June 5th of that year. There's always a couple of guys who have specific birthdays that move them up or down one way or the other; i'll depend on the Roster Resource rules.
One last thing: here was our 2018 AFL Roster: Ben Braymer, Taylor Guilbeau, Jordan Mills, Luis Reyes, Tres Barrera, Carter Kieboom, Jake Noll, Daniel Johnson. Half these guys (Guilbeau, Mills, and Reyes) are rule-5 eligible; the others (Braymer, Barrera, Kieboom, Noll and Johnson) were all 2016 draftees and thus are not part of this discussion… for this year anyway.
Rhett Wiseman, 3rd round left-handed hitting OF out of Vanderbilt. Repeated High-A in 2018 and drastically improved his OPS, but it seems to be on the back of perhaps going for more of an all or nothing approach: he increased his homer output, but also struck out 122 times in 407 PAs. The team invested a big bonus in him, and it hasn't panned out. I really liked this pick at the time, but then watched him hit in the CWS that year and thought he'd have a hard time adjusting to pro pitching. So far, my amateur observation seems to be holding true.
Taylor Guilbeau, LHP 10th rounder who repeated High-A this year but switched to the bullpen and halved his ERA. The team named him to the AFL roster and he excelled, giving up 2 runs in 10+ innings. Given the team's lack of lefty arms, I'd consider Guilbeau … but then again, he's never pitched above High-A so he seems like a safe bet not to get picked. But then again, he just manned up in the AFL in front of every scout in the game.
Andrew Istler, our trade bounty from the Dodgers for Ryan Madsen. He had very solid numbers in AA in a middle relief role, even earning a stellar AAA call-up. He's an undersized Duke grad, 23rd round pick who has done well. I wonder if his pedigree makes him less likely to get picked.
Eligible but not mentioned here: Ian Sagdal, who (like Wisemann) is still in High-A and is a power-less 1B. Angelo La Bruna is a part-time SS who was a senior sign, did not appear in 2018 but is still listed as active. Matt Crownover may be lefty, but he also repeated High-A for the 3rd year in 2018. Grant Borne, Tommy Peterson and Ryan Brinley missed all of 2018 with injury. Andrew Lee basically missed all of 2017 with injury and still hasn't even gotten out of Low-A. Jorge Pantoja has bounced around the A-levels for four years now, ending last year with a 4.68 ERA in High-A.
The key college-eligible players out of this draft have long since been called into 40-man service, released or traded. Andrew Stevenson and Koda Glover are the biggest remaining names from this draft for the team.
Jakson Reetz, 3rd round C from 2014. Reetz was paid a big bonus out of HS, and has basically never hit at any level. He played all of 2018 as the backup C in Potomac and slugged just .323 for the year. His career BA is .233 across 5 pro seasons and nearly a thousand plate appearances. Suffice it to say, had he not been paid $800k out of HS, he'd have been released long ago. He's certainly not going to get picked in Rule-5.
Weston Davis, RHP 11th rounder. He missed all of 2015… and then all of 2018. Through 5 full pro seasons he has just 124.2 innings pitched. He's still hanging around, and will look to make it out of XST next year.
The Nats generally don't pick HS players, so the picking here is always slim.
Joan Baez went 9-9 with a 3.79 ERA as a full time starter for Potomac this year. We've heard about Baez's arm for a while. He repeated Potomac again after walking as many as he struck out in 2017, and indeed he's improved on that ratio. I think he's a decent bet for someone to look at, but his lack of upper-level experience probably keeps him from getting picked.
Telmito Augustin, a LF who hit pretty well for High-A this year (OPS of .822). But he's never even gotten to AA, and like many of the "holdovers" he's a corner OF type who is competing with a ton of MLB veterans for roster spots. I don't think he's a threat to get drafted.
Steven Fuentes, who forced a mid-season promotion to High-A where he posted a 3.00 ERA in 45 middle-relief type innings.
Andruw Monasario, the 2B prospect the Nats received from the Cubs in the Daniel Murphy trade. He was an IFA2014 signee and is newly Rule-5 eligible. He repeated High-A in 2018, has no power (6 career homers), little speed (48 SBs in 349 career minor league games), and is only mentioned here b/c he was trade bounty for Murphy.
Gilbert Lara, the 3B prospect the Nats received from Milwaukee in the Gio Gonzalez trade. He played all of 2018 in Low-A, had decent numbers and is very unlikely to be taken. He's only mentioned here for similar reasons to Monsario.
Others in this category: Tomas Alastre , who posted a 5.23 ERA in 23 starts in Low-A. Malvin Pena basically missed two full seasons and only just made it to Low-A.
Our biggest 2014 IFA signing is now safely ensconced on the 40-man roster; Victor Robles.
Taylor Gushue, a 2014 Draftee out of Florida who has now made his way all the way to AAA. Even though he didn't really hit that well in AA (.212), he still made his way to the top level of the minors. The Nats only have 3 catchers on the 40-man and one of them (Severino) has no options left, so they're going to need some depth. I think Gushue may be a consideration to add.
Drew Ward, who drew a promotion to AAA in July but struggled and was sent back to AA. I thought he was a candidate to get protected last year but he missed the draft. Now? I'd guess he slips through again, despite being a lefty corner player that the team needs to back up Ryan Zimmerman simply because there's a glut of such veteran players on the market every year now, and they can be had for just a couple million bucks. A 40-man spot is much more valuable. I think Ward plays out his term in 2019 and makes his way to MLFA.
Austin Davidson is a corner OF and 13th rounder in 2014 who is beginning to show some promise. He had a solid OPS of .846 in 94 AA games this year. But, like Ward (who is about a half a step ahead of him), he faces competition from above. Not a real threat to get drafted.
Alec Keller: a 2017 17th rounder in the same boat as Ward and Davidson above him; corner OF, decent numbers, no chance of getting Rule-5'd.
Tyler Mapes, a great story who continues to make waves. He was a 30th rounder in 2014, missed all of 2017 with injury but came back with a vengeance in 2018, dominating Potomac and holding his own with a 3.95 ERA in AA. I like his chances of pushing towards AAA in 2019, but don't quite think he's a scare to get plucked.
Luis Reyes: finally made it to AA this year, and got shelled (12 starts, 5.18 ERA). Nonetheless the team included him in their AFL roster, where he got even more shelled (4 starts, 12 innings, 22 runs allowed). I think whatever jeopardy he had of getting picked is long gone.
Jordan Mills: a 2017 MLFA signing who really came on this year as a lefty reliever in AA. He was also sent to AFL in perhaps a final audition for the bigger club; there he did pretty well, holding his WHIP under 1.00. I think he's one to protect.
James Bourque was (finally?) moved to the bullpen in 2018 and immediately turned into a monster: he struck out 52 in 33 high-A innings, got moved to AA and posted a 0.92 ERA in 19 2/3rds innings. I think he shows a ton of promise; enough to protect?
Others in this category: Aldrem Corredor, a 1B who has hung around since 2012 in the system. David Masters completed his *fourth straight* season in Potomac in 2018. Dakota Bacus has been on this list for 3 years running, is now a 27-yr old RHP middle reliever just completing his 4th season in AA. Jose Marmolejos i suppose theoretically is still eligible; he was on the 40-man, got outrighted in July and subsequently had a sub .700 OPS in AAA (low for a 1B).
Austen Williams got added late in the year; he would have been in this category.
So, remember, if someone gets drafted they have to stick on someone else's ACTIVE, 25-man MLB roster the entirety of 2019. So it has to be someone who could theoretically stick on a MLB roster. Given that statement, and looking at what the Nats are light on, I think they add three arms:
Bourque
Istler
Baez
Gushue
Here's some other opinions in the Natmosphere on the same topic:
District On Deck thinks Bourque is a lock, Augustin and Ward under consideration.
MLB.com listed every organization's top ranked prospects who are Rule5 Eligible: Augustin, Bourque, Alastre, Marmolejos and Ward are top-30 prospects being exposed.
TalkNats has a bunch of the players listed but doesn't make a prediction; seems to imply they think Bourque, Istler, and Agustin might get protected.
WP's Chelsea Jane seems to suggest Marmolejos, Augustin, Bourque, plus perhaps others.
For a fun trip down memory lane, here's the same Rule 5 Protection analysis post for 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
2018: Predicted: Bourque, Mills,Istler. Actual: just Bourque.
Tagged with aldrem corredor, alec keller, andrew istler, andrew lee, andrew stevenson, andruw monasario, angelo la bruna, austen williams, austin davidson, ben braymer, carter kieboom, dakota bacus, daniel johnson, daniel murphy, david masters, drew ward, gilbert lara, gio gonazalez, grant borne, ian sagdal, jake noll, jakson reetz, james bourque, joan baez, jordan mills, jorge pantoja, jose marmolejos, koda glover, luis reyes, malvin pena, matt crownover, pedro severino, rhett wiseman, ryan brinley, ryan madsen, ryan zimmerman, steven fuentes, taylor guilbeau, taylor gushue, telmito augustin, tomas alastre, tommy peterson, tres barrera, tyler mapes, victor robles, weston davis
2017 Rule-5 Addition analysis/predictions
Will Gushue get the call this weekend? Photo via mlb.com
We do this every year. We argue about it every year. This is now the 8th version of this post (see the bottom for links/summary of the first seven). Thanks to long-since implemented service time changes the Rule-5 draft remains mitigated in importance. Yet here we are talking about it again, because we're some of the few people out there who obsess about the edges of the 40-man roster, and who have meticulously studied our prospects for years and who don't necessarily want to see the promising ones head out the door for a pittance. So here we are.
Next Monday at 8pm is the deadline to set 40-man rosters ahead of the Winter Meetings, which include the Rule-5 draft. With so many teams purposely tanking there's going to be lots of usage of the draft this year. Lets take a look at who is eligible, who might get protected and make some predictions. I've got the Nats 40-man roster at 35 now, so there's plenty of room to add names and do their off-season work.
The quick Rule-5 rules for 2017; any college-aged draftee from 2014 or before who isn't already on the 40-man roster is Rule-5 eligible this coming off season, and any high-school aged draftee/International Free Agent from 2013 or before is newly eligible this year, assuming they were at least 18 as of June 5th of that year.
Austen Williams: he has featured at High-A 3 years running, got moved to AA for the 2nd year running this year and still continues to struggle with that leap. I don't think he's a candidate to protect but is worth mentioning since he's a long-serving starter in the organization. The team sent him to the AFL perhaps as an audition for consideration.
Tyler Mapes: the 30th round pick continues to be found gold for this team … but he missed the entire 2017 with an injury. Because of that he's clearly not a rule-5 danger, but he could fit into the teams plans as a rotation member in AA or AAA this year. He has a career 2.68 ERA in the minors, vastly outperforming most of the rest of his draft class.
Taylor Gushue: the 2017 trade acquisition had a solid year in High-A, is a catcher in a system that needs them, and seems like a lock to add. He wasn't set to the AFL for nothing.
Not mentioned: several other draftees from this class that are marginal prospects right now: Dale Carey, Matthew Page, Austin Davidson, Alec Keller, Robbie Dickey, Weston Davis, James Bourque. All these guys are still in the lower minors. Dickey represents the biggest investment ($400k signing bonus) and is one of the biggest disappointments from this draft.
Erick Fedde would have been the big name here to protect had he not already been added. Trea Turner was also a 2014 college draftee.
Drew Ward: he is literally the only 2013 HS draftee remaining in the system and is an interesting protection case. He had a great 2016 (making the All Star team and shining in High-A) but has not translated that success to AA. But, he's only 22, and a 22-yr old struggling in AA isn't that surprising. Question is; do you protect him? He's blocked at the major league level by Anthony Rendon but that means little in a game where his value might be in trade versus production for the big league squad. It wouldn't surprise me if he got protected.
Edwin Lora: SS who has progressed neatly one level at a time for 5 years. But he's a career .238 hitter. We need a backup utility fielder and he fits the bill, but he doesn't seem to be ready. I also don't see him as a threat to get drafted.
Kelvin Gutierrez, 3B recently of the AFL who has shown some promise. He's a lock to get protected based on his production and his presence in Arizona.
Luis Reyes, RHP who started 26 games for Potomac this year. He's a bit wild, but he's also a solid starter who projects to AA in 2018. Is that enough to be a draft threat? Maybe.
Anderson Franco, 3B: highly touted on prospect boards, but hit just .201 for low-A this year. Not a draft candidate but someone to watch/hope for a rebound 2018.
Not mentioned: many 2013 IFA signings throughout the lower levels of the system. This includes Aldrem Corridor, Joshual Ramirez, Luis Vilorio, Oliver Ortiz, Francys Peguero. Honestly, I had not even heard of most of these guys and wouldn't be surprised if I had their eligibility wrong. They're mostly in the very low minors.
Wander Suero: the 2010 IFA exploded onto the scene this year as the closer in AA and then AAA, posting a 1.79 ERA for the year and heading to the AFL. He was already added to the roster two weeks ago.
John Simms: I've always liked this guy; he's now worked his way to AAA and made 8 starts there last year. He isn't a big K/9 guy, perhaps is seen as an org arm, but he's got a good pedigree (Rice) and has made it to the cusp of the majors. Is that enough to protect him? Probably not.
Spencer Kieboom: he struggled enough in 2016 to get DFA'd in early 2017 … but then he hit pretty well in AAA this year. Is that enough to get him back into the mix?
Dakota Bacus: he pitched pretty darn well in relief across High-A and AA this year, and was sent to AFL to get more innings. Is he an option to add? He didn't have the numbers that Suero did, but perhaps the team thinks he could be an option out of the pen.
Kyle McGowin: an interesting case since he was sent to the AFL: he struggled badly in 2017, getting demoted to AA at one point and posting a 5.95 ERA for the year. I don't think we'd shed a tear if he was drafted, but I don't think he's meriting a 40-man spot right now.
Joan Baez; power arms don't grow on trees, and even though he was "only" in high-A this year he's well known enough to perhaps merit protection.
2013 or before College Draftees that are Rule-5 holdovers include David Masters, Isaac Ballou, Justin Thomas, Matthew DeRosier, Robert Benincasa, Derek Self, Brian Rauh, Ronald Pena, Robert Orlan, Steven Perez, Bryan Mejia, Osvaldo Abreu, Wirkin Estevez, Hector Silvestre, Jefry Rodriguez. Perhaps at some points in their careers some of these guys seemed like locks, but for now they all toil in the lower minors (for the most part) hoping to put themselves into contention.
MLFAs who are technically Rule-5 eligible: Yadiel Hernandez, Irving Falou, Greg Ross, Jaron Long, Jordan Mills. Long in particular has worked in AAA for three years now, but may be considered an org arm at this point. Ross looked promising for a while, but struggled badly in 2017.
Wander Suero (already added)
Kelvin Gutierrez
Drew Ward
Who would I consider: Kieboom, Bacus. Maybe.
If they added these four additional guys they'd be at 39/40 on the roster, still leaving them immediate room for a FA signing or trade. But there's more than a few names on our 40-man currently that could be cut (starting with Voth, Gott, Bautista). So we could see some manouvering this off-season.
Did I miss anyone? this is kind of tough analysis without a massive white board with every name in the organization listed … something none of us have time to do for free.
Nats official protection announcement: Gutierrez and Jefry Rodriguez in kind of a shocker.
For a fun trip down memory lane, here's the same Rule 5 Protection analysis post for 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
Posted in Rule-5
Tagged with aldrem corridor, alec keller, anderson franco, anthony rendon, austen williams, austin davidson, bryan mejia, dakota bacus, dale carey, david masters, derek self, drew ward, edwin lora, erick fedde, francys peguero, greg ross, hector silvestre, irving falou, isaac ballou, james bourque, jaron long, jefry rodr, joan baez, john simms, jordan mills, joshual ramirez, justin thomas, kelvin gutierrez, kyle mcgowin, luis reyes, luis vilorio, matthew derosier, matthew page, oliver ortiz, osvaldo abreu, robbie dickey, robert benincasa, robert orlan, ronald pena, spencer kieboom, steven perez, taylor gushue, tyler mapes, wander suero, weston davis, wirkin estevez, yadiel hernandez
Nats Prospects: Where to see them in 2017
Robles is #1 on every list … and he's finally within driving distance! Photo via milb.com
(2016's version of this post, 2015's version of this post)
Now that we're basically through Prospect Ranking season, and now that the four full season rosters have been announced, here's a fun little look at where all our "top" prospects are assigned to start out 2017. By "Top prospects" I basically mean anyone who has gotten more recent prospect rankings (so for example, Taylor Hill in Syracuse is not listed). Even an "honorable mention" in Sickel's lists, which go nearly 40 deep. I have it organized not by general ranking, but by the level.
Also, Here's a link to every Nats prospect ranking list I know of dating to 2004 along with their respective starting locations going back 3 years (the below table only has this year's and last for comparison purposes).
2017 Starting Level
Glover Koda RHP (reliever) MLB High A
Marmolejos Jose 1B MLB D/L High A
Cole A.J. RHP AAA AAA
Voth Austin RHP AAA AAA
Severino Pedro C AAA AAA
Bautista Rafael OF (CF) AAA AA
Goodwin Brian OF (CF) AAA AAA
Skole Matt 1B/3B AAA AAA
Fedde Erick RHP AA High A
Stevenson Andrew OF (CF) AA High A
Ward Drew 3B AA High A
Abreu Osvaldo SS AA High A
Read Raudy C AA High A
Williams Austen RHP AA AA
Johansen Jake RHP (reliever) AA High A
Simms John RHP AA AA
Cordero Jimmy RHP (reliever) AA AA
Self Derek RHP (reliever) AA High A
Perez Stephen SS AA AA
Kieboom Spencer C AA AA
Robles Victor OF (CF) High-A Low A
Gutierrez Kelvin 3B High-A Low A
Baez Joan RHP (Starter) High-A Low A
Wiseman Rhett OF (corner) High-A Low A
Agustin Telmito OF High-A Low A
Lora Edwin SS High-A Low A
Crownover Matthew LHP (Starter High-A Low A
Sagdal Ian Util High-A Low A
Davidson Austin Inf High-A High A
Reyes Luis RHP High-A High A
Rodriguez Jefry RHP High-A Low A
Bacus Dakoda RHP (reliever) High-A AA
Rivera Jr. Mariano RHP (reliever) High-A Low A
Soto Juan OF (corner) Low-A GCL
Kieboom Carter SS Low-A GCL
Neuse Sheldon 3B Low-A Short A
Franco Anderson 3B Low-A GCL
Perkins Blake OF (CF) Low-A Short A
Reetz Jakson C Low-A Low A
Watson Tyler LHP Low-A Short A
Banks Nick OF (Corner) Low-A Short A
Johnson Daniel OF (Corner) Low-A Short A
Noll Jake 2B Low-A GCL
Barrera Tres C Low-A Short A
Garcia Luis SS XST DSL
Luzardo Jesus LHP (Starter XST XST
Antuna Yasel SS XST DSL
Upshaw Armond OF (CF) XST GCL
Lee Andrew LHP (reliever) XST Low A
Pimentel Davinson C XST GCL
Fuentes Steven RHP XST Short A
Dickey Robbie RHP XST Low A
Mota Israel OF XST GCL
Gunter Cody 3B (now a RPH) XST Low A
Ballou Isaac OF (Corner) XST AA
Benincasa Robert RHP (reliever) XST AA
Sanchez Jose ? DSL? DSL
Thoughts by Level:
MLB: Koda Glover's amazing 2016 rise from High-A to the majors is well documented. Now it looks like he may get closing chances sooner than later. For procedural reasons Jose Marmolejos has to be on the major league D/L, but you'd have to think he goes to AA when he's off of it. His injury, in case you were wondering, is a "Left Forearm Strain" and he should be eligible to come off the 60-day D/L on or about April 24th.
AAA: Of the 6 "prospects" in AAA … 5 of them were there last year. Only Rafael Bautista is making "progress" into the upper-most level of our minors. All six are on the 40-man and all 6 should get call-ups at some point this year (even if its 9/1 for someone like Bautista). We've talked these guys to death really; no real surprises on this list.
AA: Lots of guys on the AA roster who have gotten mentions in the past. About half of them are Nats draftees making expected progress from High-A -> AA (Fedde, Stevenson, Ward, Abreu, Read). There's 5 guys who are seemingly stalled at AA for the moment: Williams, Simms, Cordero, Perez and Kieboom all started last year at AA. And then there's the two oddities in terms of assignments: Johansen (as previously discussed) and Self (who is now in AA for the fourth season).
High-A: 10 of the 13 guys here are making year-over-year expected progress from Low-A. Two more (Davidson and Reyes) are repeating the level, and then there's Bacus, who started last year in AA and seems to be moving backwards.
Low-A: 6 guys making expected Short->Low-A jumps, another 4 making the more impressive GCL->Low-A jump. Only Reetz languishing here, repeating Low-A and looking more and more like a draft disappointment. And its reflected in his system rankings; upon his drafting he was back of the top 10 … now he's 18-20 range, if ranked at all.
XST: contains the expected mix of guys coming off injury and youngsters who were in either the GCL or the DSL last year and were not really ever candidates for Hagerstown. Some of these guys likely get assigned to full-season squads as injuries occur, others will slot into short-season squads in a couple of months. Biggest names here are Luis Garcia, Jesus Luzardo, Yasel Antuna, and Jose Sanchez (who might still be in the DSL as a 2016 IFA signee).
Posted in Nats in General
Tagged with andrew stevenson, austen williams, austin davidson, dakota bacus, derek self, drew ward, erick fedde, jake johansen, jakson reetz, jesus luzardo, jimmy cordero, john simms, jose marmolejos, jose sanchez, koda glover, luis garcia, luis reyes, osvaldo abreu, rafael bautista, raudy read, spencer kieboom, stephen perez, yasel antuna
2016 Season Statistical review of the 2014 Draft Class
Fedde has been trending good… the rest of the class? Not so much. Photo via minorleagueball.com
Third in our set of Draft class Reviews for the 2016 season. First was the 2016 class, then the 2015 class.
Web links to use while reading:
Stats are pulled from milb.com and/or fangraphs.com; put the player name into the search bar to get his seasonal stats
The MLB.com Draft Tracker (which I believe is the best draft tracker out there) is the best place to get draft class information.
The Big Board and the Draft Tracker are the goto resources for prospects for any Nats fan.
More obscure stats on players are sometimes found at places like thebaseballcube.com, perfectgame.org, their college websites, twitter accounts for the players, and good old fashioned deep-dive googling.
My historical list of Nats prospect rankings, updated for all 2016 mid-season rankings.
With out further ado…
Round 1: Erick Fedde RHP (starter) COL jr from UNLV. 8-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) across 2 levels. 123/29 K/BB in 121 IP. 1.21 combined whip, 3.22 fip and .316 babip in Potomac. Fedde began the year in the Potomac rotation and struggled in his first 6-7 starts. Then something clicked; from late May through his eventual promotion to AA in early august, he threw 10 straight starts giving up 0 or 1 earned runs, driving his ERA down from somewhere in the 6.60 range in May to a sub 3.00 ERA for the year in High-A. His final Potomac start may have been his best: 10 strikeouts, 5 hits and 1 unearned run in 7 innings. In his limited time in AA, he had one blow-out but was other wise also solid (in his last start of the season he had 12 strikeouts in 6 innings). Fedde looks completely back to his first round projection form and may quickly add his name to the list of guys in AAA pushing for a promotion to the majors. Trending up.
Round 2: Andrew Suarez LHP (starter) COL jr from Miami (FL). Did not sign: 2nd round signee for San Francisco in 2015. Spent most of 2016 starting for SF's AA team in Richmond and looked solid. He may need another year in AA.
Round 3: Jakson Reetz, C Norris HS (NE). Slashed .230/.346/.357 splitting time at C in Hagerstown. 79/38 K/BB, 4homers, 4SBs. Reetz' first foray into full-season ball did not result in appreciably better results all around at the plate. He improve his slugging percentage with more XBH, but his average remains poor. 79 Ks in 283 ABs is a hefty percentage. This was his age 20 season, playing in Low-A, and there's not a ton of competition for the High-A catcher job next year, so he likely moves on up, but i'm a bit down on him at this point. Perhaps unfairly. Truth is, he got a big bonus and the team will give him plenty of room to grow. Trending down.
Round 4: Robbie Dickey, RHP (reliever) from Blinn College (TX). 2-0, 3.48 ERA for two levels relieving. 26/18 K/BB in 20 2/3rds innings. 1.89 whip, 5.60 fip, .345 babip while in Hagerstown. Dickey started the season in Short-A, his third successive year in Auburn. This time though he forced his way up, featuring as a reliever now instead of a starter, giving up 1 hit in 8 innings and quickly getting pushed up to Hagerstown. Once there, he quickly got hurt and when he returned his control left him; he walked 15 but struck out 15 in 12 2/3 low-A innings. He now has 46 walks in 78 professional innings and we may begin wondering when he's going to put things together. 2017 is a make-or-break season for Dickey; he's going to be (believe it or not) rule-5 eligible after next season and he's yet to come close to mastering Low-A. I'm guessing he's in the Hagerstown bullpen and as an upper round pick will be given a few more chances before the team cuts bait. Trending down.
Round 5: Drew Van Orden RHP (starter) COL sr from Duke. Released 3/16/16. Now this kind of surprised me. No he wasn't a dominant swing and miss guy in 2015 (47 Ks in 92 IP) but he gave the team a bunch of innings at a 3.61 ERA clip. I guess he's a victim of the pitcher-heavy drafts of this time frame. He's also a victim of being a low bonus, low investment senior sign.
Round 6: Austen Williams RHP (starter) COL jr from Texas State. Went 5-13 with a 5.45 ERA in 26 starts for High-A and AA. 78/48 K/BB in 140 1/3 innings, 1.74 whip, 5.00 fip and .339 babip while in AA. Williams was in the opening day AA rotation after a stellar 2015 but was demoted back to High-A after two months of AA struggles. Once back in High-A, he couldn't repeat his 2015 success there and got hit hard. His Potomac ERA was 3 points higher this year than it was last year. His 2015 season put him on the prospect map (around 20th on Nats prospect lists) and his 2016 season has caused his name to vanish. Now what? I guess you start him back in AA again and hope that the 2nd time around is better. Trending down.
Round 7: Dale "D.K." Carey OF (CF) COL sr from Miami (FL). Slashed .209/.341/.331 while playing all three OF positions for Potomac. 84/63 K/BB ratio in 326 ABs, 7 homers, 5 SBs. A ton of walks jacked up his OBP and helped off set his poor BA in High-A this year. Carey's problem is that the OF spots are scarce the higher you go. He played along side the best hitting prospect in our system (Victor Robles) and 2015 2nd round pick Andrew Stevenson has already passed him by. He may be victim of a numbers game in 2017, all the more so since he was signed for a relative pittance as a senior. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get cut loose at the end of spring training 2017. Trending down.
Round 8: Jeff Gardner, LF COL sr from Louisville. Released 6/6/16. As predicted, Gardner failed to make Hagerstown and then failed to prove he could earn an Auburn job and was released once the 2016 signings came in.
Round 9: Austin Byler, 1B COL jr for Nevada (Reno). Did not sign: became an 11th round by Arizona in 2015. He ended 2016 with Arizona's high-A Visalia team after serving a PED suspension that cost him the first two months of the season.
Round 10: Matthew Page, RF/1B COL sr from Oklahoma Baptist U. Slashed .267/.348/.419 while earning a promotion from Low-A to High-A. 99/53 K/BB in 415 ABs. 11 homers, 3 SBs. Yes that's a lot of Ks. But Page is turning into a nice little pick up. He had an OPS above .800 and slugged 10 homers in 88 games for Hagerstown before earning a promotion to Potomac. Playing 1B exclusively this year (he was drafted as a RF) he really struggled power-wise once he got to High-A (just 3 XBH in 30 games), but he earned the promotion in the first place. I don't think there's anyone to push him off the position to start next year at Potomac … but he's gotta rebound and show he can hit in High-A like he did in Low-A. Trending Steady.
Round 11: Weston Davis RHP (starter) Manatee HS (FL). Went 3-6 with a 2.67 ERA in 11 starts for Auburn. 33/11 K/BB in 54 IP, 0.93 whip, 3.07 fip, .236 babip. Davis missed all of 2015 after signing out of HS in 2014, was in the Auburn opening day rotation and stayed there the whole season. He turned 20 during the season but more than held his own against the older competition. He looks pretty promising after missing a whole year and barely pitching his draft year. My one nit is his K rate; just 33 in 54 IP. He should be in the Hagerstown rotation to start 2017. Trending Up.
Round 12: Domenick Mancini RHP (reliever) from Miami-Dade CC South. Released 6/27/15.
Round 13: Austin Davidson, 3B COL jr from Pepperdine. Slashed a healthy .272/.377/.443 between Low- and High-A in 2016. 46/49 K/BB ratio in 316 ABs, 9 hrs and 5 SB. Davidson was stranded in XST to start the year then returned to Hagerstown in late April only to play sparingly until June. From there he played pretty consistently both for Hagerstown and then for Potomac (he got promoted in early July for the 2nd Half). He had solid numbers and a great OBP in both land a solid enough slugging even without a ton of homers. He also had more walks than strikeouts, which I believe is the first time I've seen that for any hitter profiled in these posts. His problem seems to be positional; he's listed as a "DH" on Milb.com, was drafted as a 3B but played in the field sparingly this year (some 2B, some 3B). I'd guess he's pegged for a 2B slot, but then that has him competing with the generic "middle infielder" type who is dotted all over these low-minors rosters. Nonetheless, he's not going to get cut when he's one of the few guys posting .800 OPS figures in the system, so i'm trending him up. I figure he'll do the Potomac to Harrisburg thing in 2017 assuming he continues to be a tough out. Trending up.
Round 14: James Bourque RHP (starter) COL jr from Michigan. 5-6 with a 5.03 ERA in 17 games/13 starts for Hagerstown. 55/23 K/BB in 68ip. 1.53 whip, 4.89 fip, .327 babip. Bourque missed all of 2015 with injury and then hung around XST until early June. From there he featured in the Hagerstown rotation for the most part, but his role seemed to be "spot starter" instead of rotation guy. He didn't have the best numbers, no two ways around it. Maybe it was rust. I'm guessing he'll get another shot at the Hagerstown rotation in 2017 but may be a release candidate. Trending Down.
Round 15: Ryan Ripken 1B COL soph from Indian River State (FL). Slashed just .201/.241/.254 between Low-A and Short-A. 73/20 K/BB in 374 ABs, 3HR, 1SB. Ripken started the year in Hagerstown but hit just .190 and got dumped back to Short-A. He's now got three pro years under his belt and is hitting just .205 for his career, mostly in short-season ball. Its hard to see him continuing to get chances even given his family pedigree. Trending down.
Round 16: Cole Plouck LHP (reliever) from Pima CC (AZ): Released on 6/29/15.
Round 17: Alec Keller CF COL sr from Princeton by way of Richmond VA and Freeman HS. Slashed .285/.338/.374 playing a full season (mostly in LF) for Potomac. 78/35 K/BB, 3homers, 14SB. Keller more or less replicated his High-A numbers posted in the 2nd half of 2015; solid average, not a ton of power. Keller's issue is that the tryouts for the AA outfield are looking tough; he may be hard pressed to get a promotion in a corner OF spot without any power. I'm guessing he makes AA as a 4th outfielder in 2017. As I noted last year though, he's performing great for a senior sign from an Ivy league school. Trending Steady.
Round 18: McKenzie Mills, LHP (starter), Sprayberry Senior HS (GA). 4-5, 3.71 ERA in 12 starts for Short-A. 46/28 K/BB in 53 1/3 innings, 1.33 whip, 4.03 fip, .269 babip. Mills was the #2 starter in Auburn to start the season … and was the #2 starter at the end of the season. He posted a solid season; not awe-inspiring but pretty good for a guy who doesn't turn 21 until next month. He addressed the issues that plagued him in 2015 and his hits/inning figure looks great. I'd like to see how he does in full season ball and project him in the Hagerstown rotation in 2017. Trending Steady.
Round 19: Clay Williamson, OF (RF) COL jr from Cal State Fullerton. Released 6/29/15.
Round 20: Bryan Langlois, RF COL jr from Pepperdine: Apparently retired Jan 2015 (per the Big Board), but he doesn't have an official transaction listed in MILB.com. He didn't play for us after 2014 despite not being officially released.
Round 21: Connor Bach, LHP COL sr from Virginia Military Institute by way of Centreville HS in Clifton. Went 0-1 with a 7.30 ERA in 5 relief appearances in Low-A and then was released on 6/1/16. This one was another shocker for me; he was in Hagerstown's rotation the whole of 2015 and was good; what happened to him in 2016? Miami picked him up 6 days after we released him but he was similarly bad for them and they cut him loose a month later. Such a strange set of circumstances.
Round 22: Daniel Salters, C COL soph from Dallas Baptist: did not sign: drafted by Cleveland in the 13th round of 2015 draft. He was in High-A and AA for Cleveland this year.
Round 23: Chris Riopedre, SS COL jr, East Tennessee State. Released on 6/25/15.
Round 24: Kyle Simmons RHP (reliever) COL jr Texas Lutheran U. Released on 5/3/16 after not appearing in 2015 and failing to make a full season squad in 2016.
Round 25: Kyle Bacak C COL sr from Texas Christian U. Released 1/20/15.
Round 26: Chase McDowell RHP (reliever) COL 5S Rice (TX): Retired 4/9/15
Round 27: Conor Keniry SS COL sr Wake Forest U. Released on 4/2/16 after playing sparingly in 2015 and failing to make either Hagerstown or Potomac as a backup infielder.
Round 28: Kida De La Cruz, RHP (reliever) from Volunteer State CC (TN). Released on 3/26/16 after throwing just 19 innings in two seasons in the GCL.
Round 29: DJ Jauss, RHP COL 5S from U. Mass. Amherst: Released 3/26/15.
Round 30: Tyler Mapes RHP COL sr from Tulane U. (LA). went 12-10 with a 3.19 ERA for AA Harrisburg. 25 games/25 starts. 78/39 K/BB ratio in 155 innings. 1.25 whip, 4.22 fip, .283 babip. Mapes was the #2 starter in Harrisburg all year and continues to be a fantastic draft pickup for this team. Who would have thought a 30th rounder college senior who probably signed for a few thousand dollars would be on the brink of the AAA roster? He doesn't have the best strikeout numbers, which may define a glass ceiling for him, but he should continue to matriculate to AAA next year. That being said, its crowded at the top, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's back in AA. Trending up.
Round 31: Samuel Johns RHP COL 5S U. Evansville (IN). Released 1/12/16. What was surprising about this release was the timing; why not let him compete in spring training for a Hagerstown spot? The January release is an odd one.
The rest of the 2014 draft class was HS kids who were long shots to sign and a Juco kid in the 40th who already had a transfer agreement to a good baseball school; one more piece of evidence to perhaps shorten the draft to 35 or even 30 rounds? Here's a quick summary.
Round 32: Elliott Cary: CF Clackamas HS (OR): did not sign: honored commitment to Oregon State. Started 24 games as a freshman but did not play in 2016 (injured?).
Round 33: Clay Casey: CF DeSoto Central HS (MS): did not sign: was initially set to attend Ole Miss, but then changed his mind and attended Northwest Mississippi CC to be draft eligible in 2015. He didn't get drafted though, so he then enrolled at the U. of Houston. Update: things didn't work out there, so he transferred to D2 Delta State University, where he had a successful 2017 season in what was his "junior" year.
Round 34: Evan Skoug: C Libertyville HS (IL): did not sign: honored commitment to TCU. At TCU he has been a starter since day 1 and was named Freshman All-American. As a sophomore he slashed .301/.390/.502 and was 2nd team all-conference. I'd say its safe to say he has made himself some money in College.
Round 35: Tommy Doyle RHP Flint Hill School in Oakton: did not sign: honored commitment to Virginia. At UVA, Doyle played an integral part in getting UVA out of the regional his freshman year but did little else for the team as UVA surprisingly won the CWS. As a sophomore, he had a 5.07 ERA all told as he was convered from mid-week starter to "closer" towards the end of the season. I'm guessing he's back in the rotation for his junior year as the Cavaliers are a bit short on starters.
Round 36: John Henry Styles, LHP Episcopal HS (TX): did not sign: honored commitment to Stanford. There, he's had almost no playing time, getting 5 appearances as a freshman and just one as a sophomore.
Round 37: Quinn Brodey, LHP Loyola HS (CA): did not sign: honored commitment to Stanford. There he was a 2-way player as a freshman but moved to the OF as a sophomore, slashing .280/.302/.445 this year and being named All Pac-12.
Round 38: Stuart Fairchild RF Seattle Prep (WA): did not sign: honored commitment to Wake Forest. As a sophomore this year he started every game and slashed .293/.403/.470.
Round 39: Jon Littell, OF Stillwater HS (OK): did not sign: honored commitment to OK State. As a sophomore this year, he slashed .258/.332/.343.
Round 40: Jacob Hill LHP JUCO Orange Coast Coll. (CA): did not sign: transferred to U San Diego, then was drafted by Cleveland in the 32nd round of 2015 and also did not sign. He went back to San Diego for his senior year, only threw 8 innings in 2016 and was not drafted.
Trending Summary:
Trending Up (4): Fedde, Davis, Davidson, Mapes
Trending Steady (3): Page, Keller, Mills
Trending Down (6): Reetz, Dickey, Williams, Carey, Bourque, Ripken
Released/Retired (15): Van Orden, Gardner, Mancini, Plouck, Williamson, Langlois, Bach, Riopedre, Simmons, Bacak, McDowell, Keniry, De La Cruz, Jauss, Johns
Did Not Sign in 2014 (12): Suarez, Byler, Salters, Cary, Casey, Skoug, Doyle, Styles, Brodey, Fairchild, Littell, Hill
At this point just 7 of the 40 players are trending in what can inarguably be considered a positive fashion; 15 of the 28 players signed have already been cut loose and another 6 of them are heading that way. Is this destined to be a one-player draft? Who else besides Fedde is projecting as a major leaguer?
Posted in Draft
Tagged with alec keller, andrew stevenson, andrew suarez, austen williams, austin byler, austin davidson, bryan langlois, chase mcdowell, chris riopedre, clay casey, clay williamson, cole plouck, connor bach, conor keniry, dale carey, daniel salters, dj jauss, domenick mancini, drew van orden, elliott cary, erick fedde, evan skoug, jacob hill, jakson reetz, james bourque, jeff gardner, john henry styles, jon littell, kida de la cruz, kyle bacak, kyle simmons, matthew page, mckenzie mills, quinn brodey, robbie dickey, ryan ripken, samuel johns, stuart fairchild, tommy doyle, tyler mapes, victor robles, weston davis
Fedde has returned from TJ surgery successfully. Photo via chicagonow.com
Following in the footsteps of the stat review of the 2015 draft class, here's the same analysis for the 2014 draft class, looking at their 2015 numbers and making some snap judgements.
I last did this project in 2013 (got too busy this time last fall at a new client), so this is the first time I've really run through the 2014 draft class in this detail. In fact, getting into the lower picks I don't even recognize some of the names, having only really focused on the top 10 guys at the time. Its definitely interesting to see where they stand one year on.
The MLB Draft Tracker (which I believe is the best draft tracker out there) is the best place to get draft class information.
Baseball-reference.com's draft database
My working XLS in Google for all this data.
Unlike the 2015 draft class analysis, we've already shedded a large number of 2014 draftees. And mostly we have full seasons worth of work on which to judge.
Round 1: Erick Fedde RHP COL jr from UNLV. 4-1, 2.57 ERA in Short-A Auburn with 36/8 in 35ip (8 starts), 2.60 fip, .346 babip. He then got bumped up to Hagerstown where he threw another 29 innings across 6 starts with lesser stats (1-2, 4.34 ERA). A good post-Tommy John debut season for Fedde, despite the rather restrictive innings limits put on him; he was limited to just 5ip per start for a total of 64ip on the season between two levels. I'm not sure why they were so restrictive: he threw many more innings in his college career (90, 96 and then 76 before getting injured in 2014). I guess the theory was to limit him to half his pre-injury innings limit first year back, with a goal of getting back to that level of production in 2016. You Look for him to be in the Potomac rotation on perhaps a 90-100 innings limit for 2016 (or, exactly what Giolito did his 2nd year back from TJ surgery in 2014). Trending up.
Round 2: Andrew Suarez LHP COL jr from Miami (FL). Did not sign: returned to Miami for his senior year where he led his team to the CWS before getting shelled in Omaha. Drafted in the 2nd round again, slightly later than the Nats did and signed for slot for San Francisco. He did not significantly improve his draft position by playing college another year, but may have gotten more cash (we do not know what bonus amount he declined in 2014).
Round 3: Jakson Reetz, C Norris HS (NE). Slashed just .212/.326/.248 between ShortA/GCL with 37/13 k/bb in 113 Abs, 0homers 3sb just 36 games. A curious season for Reetz: why was he at short-A to begin with? He seemed to play mostly half and half time with an older DSL grad catcher and seemed outmatched in the league; why not just bring him back to Florida for another year of seasoning? Definitely a set-back year for Reetz. What do they do with him next year? Try him at Low-A after doing poorly in Short-A? Have him repeat the rookie league for the third time? Where's the power? a .248 slugging percentage is incredibly weak. Trending Down.
Round 4: Robbie Dickey, RHP from Blinn College (TX). 0-3, 6.65 ERA starting in Hagerstown and getting demoted to Auburn. 16/17 k/bb in 23ip (6 starts). He was incredibly wild and then didn't pitch after 7/25/15, accumulating just 23 IP on the year. Was he hurt? There was no record of a D/L trip, just an assignment back to XST after a while. All in all, a pretty disappointing season for our 4th round pick. Where does he go from here? Is the team just being too impatient with him, yanking him from Hagerstown after just a few innings? Trending Down.
Round 5: Drew Van Orden RHP COL sr from Duke. 5-5, 3.61 ERA for Hagerstown with 47/34 K/BB in 92ip (15 starts), 4.33 fip, .254 babip. Not a bad season for an under-slot senior sign, who's clearly sticking around. He was mostly a spot starter for Hagerstown this year, getting a bunch of starts during the turmoil of the rotation. He ended the season on the DL after giving the team 92 decent innings. His FIP is a bit weak thanks to overall lucky BABIP contact but he has given no reason not to put himself into the discussion for that same role in Potomac next year. Trending Steady.
Round 6: Austen Williams RHP COL jr from Texas State. 12-8, 2.58 ERA while making the jump from Hagerstown to Potomac (with one AAA spot-start). 106/33 K/BB in 139.2 ip (25 starts). He was 8-1 for Hagerstown before getting bumped up and continued to be effective all year. Great season for Williams, putting his name on the map in the organization and starting to get some notice in the prospect rankings (he was #14 in the farm system in J.P. Schwartz's topprospectalert post-2015 rankings and in the upper 20s for Scout.com and MLB.com). In the mix for a AA rotation spot in 2016. Trending up.
Round 7: Dale Carey CF COL sr from Miami (FL). Slashed .234/.340/.345 for Hagerstown with 91/66 K/BB in 415ABs, 8 homers, 10/9 SB/CS playing CF. Another under-slot/cost savings senior sign who is sticking around, Carey showed some power but not great overall numbers playing CF this year. He'll be pushed out of CF by budding uber-prospect Victor Robles unless Carey can earn a promotion, which may be hard to do. Needs to show a better hit tool if he wants to keep a job. Trending Steady.
Round 8: Jeff Gardner, LF COL sr from Louisville. Slashed .226/.296/.345 in Hagerstown with 90/38 K/BB in 403ABs, 5 homers, 8/7 SB/CS playing LF. Unlike his fellow senior sign and outfield partner Carey, Gardner is stuck in the unathletic corner and isn't showing nearly the power or bat that he needs to stick around. He'll get pushed out of a corner job in Hagerstown for 2016 and may lose out in a numbers game. Trending down.
Round 9: Austin Byler, 1B COL jr for Nevada (Reno). Did not sign: returned to Nevada for his senior season, led his team into the CWS playoffs and showed a ton of potential .. .but slipped out of the top10 rounds. He was the first pick of the non-bonus controlled rounds, in the 11th by Arizona, meaning his fortunes dipped slightly by staying in college another year. One last unfortunate footnote; a quick google search shows that Byler was suspended for PED-usage at the end of the 2015 season. Whoops.
Round 10: Matthew Page, RF COL sr from Oklahoma Baptist U. Slashed .270/.362/.384 between ShortA and LowA, with 54/39 K/BB in 263ABs, 2 homers, 6 sbs. Not a bad return for a $30k bonus on a college senior from a small school. He isn't lighting the world on fire, but he's keeping his head above water. He'll compete with his fellow senior sign OFs Carey and Gardner for a spot in the 2016 Potomac outfield. Trending Steady.
Round 11: Weston Davis RHP Manatee HS (FL). He did not play (injured) in 2015. He had just 16 IP in all of 2014 for the GCL Nats. No word on the nature of the injury, but 16IP in two pro years is never a good start to a career. Trending down.
Round 12: Domenick Mancini RHP from Miami-Dade CC South. He was released 6/27/15; no 2015 stats after 14.2 IP in 2014. He lost out in the numbers game thanks to the massive influx of college arms competing for Short-A roster spots.
Round 13: Austin Davidson, 3B COL jr from Pepperdine. Slashed just .202/.302/.314 for Hagerstown with 47/26 K/BB in 258 Abs, 6 homers, 6/7 sb/cs playing 2B and 3B. His bat definitely took a step back in Low-A and there's a glut of middle infielders in the 2015 class. He may not be long for the organization. Trending down.
Round 14: James Bourque RHP COL jr from Michigan. dnp – injured; no IP in 2015. He was in the Auburn rotation for 2014 and pitched adequately, but never got started in 2015. Lets hope he makes it back to compete for a job in 2016. Trending Steady.
Round 15: Ryan Ripken 1B COL soph from Indian River State (FL) Slashed .250/.296/.391 with 15/5 K/BB in 92ABs while repeating the Gulf Coast league. A curious case; why so little playing time at age 22, repeating the GCL? The team had all spring to evaluate him yet put a senior nominal slot signee (David Kerian) at 1B in Auburn instead of Ripken. Is he hurt? Is he just being rostered because of his name? Trending down.
Round 16: Cole Plouck LHP from Pima CC (AZ): went 1-0, 1.80 ERA in a 5 inning stint in Auburn… and then was released on 6/29/15. Why?? Such a strange case; why send him to Vermont if you're going to release him a few days later? Understood if he gets lit up maybe, but it just seems odd timing. It does not look like he's picked up elsewhere, so perhaps it was a "retirement."
Round 17: Alec Keller CF COL sr from Princeton. Slashed .294/.341/.374 while getting promoted from LowA->HighA. 63/30 K/BB in 425 Abs, 0 homers, 11/9 Sb/cs playing CF. Not bad for a most unlikely college senior sign. If he can keep the average and OBP up and perhaps improve his SB success rate, he could put himself in a pretty good position. Trending up.
Round 18: McKenzie Mills, LHP, Sprayberry Senior HS (GA). 0-5, 7.27 ERA with 24/28 K/BB in 34.2 ip across two levels. He posted a 4.46 fip, .405 babip while in Short-A then got dropped back to the Rookie league. Rough season for Mills, who couldn't make the jump to short-A, then struggled when back in rookie ball. Just way too many walks to be effective, but likely hangs around a bit longer since he can just hang out in XST and try to pick back up on next year's short season squads again. Trending down.
Round 19: Clay Williamson, RF COL jr from Cal State Fullerton. Slashed .211/.318/.316 in 5 Auburn games and then was released 6/29/15 as the 2015 signees started rolling in. Never really impressed in 2014 (hitting .236 in short season) and may wish he had stayed in school instead of signing as a 19th round junior draftee.
Round 20: Bryan Langlois, RF COL jr from Pepperdine: no 2015 stats, was in XST the entire season. He had 141 mostly non-descript ABs in Auburn last year, then never got assigned this year. But, he wasn't released either; is he injured? Converting to a new position? Trending down.
Round 21: Connor Bach, LHP COL sr from Virginia Military Institute. Posted a 6-4, 3.85 ERA with 106/69 K/BB in 110 ip (20 starts) in Low A as a member of the rotation for much of the season. 4.08 fip, .311 babip. Not too shabby for a 21st round senior sign from a relatively unknown baseball school. Perhaps too many walks, but nearly a K/inning in full-season ball portends well for his future. At the very least he could move up as a lefty specialist. Trending up.
Round 22: Daniel Salters, C COL soph from Dallas Baptist: did not sign: returned to DBU for his junior season and then was drafted by Cleveland in the 13th round of 2015 draft. He had a good 2015 short-season, so going back to school definitely helped his career.
Round 23: Chris Riopedre, SS COL jr, East Tennessee State. Went 1-4 in one game for Auburn this year and then was released on 6/25/15. He only hit .214 in Auburn last year, and the team drafted a ton of MIF players in 2015, but it does seem harsh to make the kid go all the way to Vermont just to release him after *one game*.
Round 24: Kyle Simmons RHP COL jr Texas Lutheran U. Assigned to GCL but dnp – injured and no IP in 2015. He had just a 5.03 ERA in limited innings last year in the GCL and now missed this year. As a small college junior draftee, he'll be entering his 3rd pro season with just 19 poor innings of rookie ball performance; hard to see him making an impact. Trending down.
Round 25: Kyle Bacak C COL sr from Texas Christian U. He went 4-28 for Auburn last year and was released 1/20/15.
Round 26: Chase McDowell RHP COL 5S Rice (TX): retired 4/9/15 after putting up a 4.50 ERA in 28IP for Auburn last year. If I had to guess, he probably lost out on a full season job, was looking at sitting around in XST until June and (as an older guy, a 5th year senior) may have looked at the guys in camp who were all 4-5 years younger and called it quits. I had a friend who did exactly this: graduated a 4-year program as a highly decorated college player, then was sent to short-season ball. He got all the way to Idaho or some random place and looked at his teammates: he said they were all just as good as he was but all 3 years younger and mostly Dominican. He had a college degree, a job waiting for him and came to a quick realization that he could push for several years of below-minimum wage money looking at an uphill battle where his age worked against him, or he could just face reality and start his life. You wonder how often this really happens.
Round 27: Conor Keniry SS COL sr Wake Forest U. Slashed .250/.323/.310 while moving up from ShortA->LowA. 27/10 K/BB in 116ABs, 1hr, 3sbs as 2B. Not bad; he was clearly the backup middle infielder "guy who can play any infield position in a pinch" guy for Hagerstown. Can he stay in that role? Maybe, maybe not. He'll have plenty of competition for that spot in 2016 thanks to a slew of 2B/SS draftees in 2015 plus rising DSL players. Trending Steady.
Round 28: Kida De La Cruz, RHP from Volunteer State CC (TN). Went 0-0, 5.43 ERA in just 1.2 IP for GCL in 2015. But he has no injuries listed. He threw 18 rather non descript innings for the GCL last year too. Perhaps they just don't bother with D/L postings for kids on teams based out of spring training facilities since the lines seem rather blurred between "XST" and "GCL." There were 4 or 5 guys this year who spent the entire year in "Extended Spring Training" or "To Be Determined" fashion, including a couple of very long-serving minor league arms (see the final column in the Big Board link). Either way, De La Cruz is now 21, has 20 innings in GCL with more walks than strikeouts; hard to see him making an impact. Trending down.
Round 29: DJ Jauss, RHP COL 5S from U. Mass. Amherst: was released 3/26/15 after getting hit hard in the GCL last season. Just no room for a guy who is now 25 who couldn't cut it in the rookie league.
Round 30: Tyler Mapes RHP COL sr from Tulane U. (LA). Went 7-3, 2.23 ERA with 75/17 K/BB in 96.2 ip (8 starts) between LowA->HighA, 2.78 fip, .324 babip. Ended the year in Potomac's rotation. What a great result set for a 30th round college senior sign. At one point he was even up in AA, though he had no appearances. Good K/BB ratio, good peripherals. Great find from the draft team. Trending up.
Round 31: Samuel Johns RHP COL 5S U. Evansville (IN). Went 3-4, 4.31 ERA between LowA and ShortA with 39/17 k/bb in 62.2 relief innings, 4.63 fip, .290 babip in lowA. He struggled in LowA, but then dropped back to ShortA and was dominant. Not great, but certainly not bad for a 31st round 5th year senior as compared to what has happened to other 5th year senior signs on this list. Maybe not the best stuff, but has been effective. My guess is that he either makes the Hagerstown team next spring or is cut loose, but the fact that he hung around this long gives him some more room to work with. Trending Steady.
Round 32: Cary, Elliott CF Clackamas HS (OR): did not sign: honored commitment to Oregon State.
Round 33: Casey, Clay CF DeSoto Central HS (MS): did not sign: honored commitment to Mississippi
Round 34: Skoug, Evan C Libertyville HS (IL): did not sign: honored commitment to TCU
Round 35: Doyle, Tommy RHP Flint Hill School (VA): did not sign: honored commitment to Virginia. At UVA, Doyle played an integral part in getting UVA out of the regional but did not really factor after that.
Round 36: Styles, John Henry LHP Episcopal HS (TX): did not sign: honored commitment to Stanford
Round 37: Brodey, Quinn LHP Loyola HS (CA): did not sign: honored commitment to Stanford
Round 38: Fairchild, Stuart RF Seattle Prep (WA): did not sign: honored commitment to Wake Forest
Round 39: Littell, Jon OF Stillwater HS (OK): did not sign: honored commitment to OK State
Round 40: Hill, Jacob LHP JUCO Orange Coast Coll. (CA): did not sign: transferred to U San Diego, then was drafted by Cleveland in the 32nd round of 2015 but had no 2015 innings as far as I can tell.
Trending Up (5): Fedde, Williams, Keller, Bach, Mapes
Trending Steady (6): Van Orden, Carey, Page, Bourque, Keniry, Johns
Trending Down (10): Reetz, Dickey, Gardner, Davis, Davidson, Ripken, Mills, Langlois, Simmons, De La Cruz
Released/Retired (7): Mancini, Plouck, Williamson, Riopedre, Bacak, McDowell, Jauss
While I still think this draft was a failure for the lack of Suarez and Byler signings, we are seeing some great surprises from later picks Keller, Bach and Mapes. Reetz and Dickey under-performance hurts the class too. Fedde's return was good, but he needs to make himself into a legit #3 starter prospect for me to start thinking more favorably about this class. However, 19 out of 40 picks either never signed or are already gone after just one year, and another 10 are trending towards a release instead of production .. this can't be good. Lotta red in that trending summary.
PS: I created an XLS to do this analysis; if you prefer, you can see my working XLS in Google for all this data which is also listed as a link to the right (2015 Stats for 2014 Draft Class); quick XLS below:
Round Player/Pos Level 2015 Level 2015 Basic Stats
1 Fedde, Erick RHP COL jr ShortA 4-1, 2.57 ERA
2 Suarez, Andrew LHP COL jr did not sign: returned to Miami
3 Reetz, Jakson C HS ShortA->GCL .212/.326/.248
4 Dickey, Robbie RHP JUCO LowA->ShortA 0-3, 6.65 ERA
5 Van Orden, Drew RHP COL sr LowA 5-5, 3.61 ERA
6 Williams, Austen RHP COL jr LowA->HighA (with 1 AAA spot start) 12-8, 2.58 ERA
7 Carey, Dale "D.K." CF COL sr LowA .234/.340/.345
8 Gardner, Jeff LF COL sr LowA .226/.296/.345
9 Byler, Austin 1B COL jr did not sign: returned to Nevada
10 Page, Matthew RF COL sr ShortA->LowA .270/.362/.384
11 Davis, Weston RHP HS GCL (DL) dnp – injured
12 Mancini, Domenick RHP CC released (2015)
13 Davidson, Austin 3B COL jr LowA .202/.302/.314
14 Bourque, James RHP COL jr ShortA dnp – injured
15 Ripken, Ryan 1B COL soph GCL .250/.296/.391
16 Plouck, Cole LHP CC released (2015) 1-0, 1.80 ERA
17 Keller, Alec CF COL sr LowA->HighA .294/.341/.374
18 Mills, McKenzie LHP HS ShortA->GCL 0-5, 7.27 ERA
19 Williamson, Clay RF COL jr released (2015) .211/.318/.316
20 Langlois, Bryan RF COL jr XST no 2015 stats
21 Bach, Connor LHP COL sr LowA 6-4, 3.85 ERA
22 Salters, Daniel C COL soph did not sign: returned to DBU
23 Riopedre, Chris SS COL jr released (2015) .250/.250/.250
24 Simmons, Kyle RHP COL jr GCL (DL) dnp – injured
25 Bacak, Kyle C COL sr released (2015)
26 McDowell, Chase RHP COL 5S retired (2015)
27 Keniry, Conor SS COL sr ShortA->LowA .250/.323/.310
28 De La Cruz, Kida RHP CC GCL 0-0, 5.43 ERA
29 Jauss, DJ RHP COL 5S released (2015)
30 Mapes, Tyler RHP COL sr LowA->HighA 7-3, 2.23 ERA
31 Johns, Samuel RHP COL 5S ShortA->LowA 3-4, 4.31 ERA
32 Cary, Elliott CF HS did not sign: Oregon State
33 Casey, Clay CF HS did not sign: Mississippi
34 Skoug, Evan C HS did not sign: TCU
35 Doyle, Tommy RHP HS did not sign: Virginia
36 Styles, John Henry LHP HS did not sign: Stanford
37 Brodey, Quinn LHP HS did not sign: Stanford
38 Fairchild, Stuart RF HS did not sign: Wake Forest
39 Littell, Jon OF HS did not sign: OK State
40 Hill, Jacob LHP JUCO did not sign: U San Diego
October 22nd, 2015 at 4:06 pm
Posted in Draft,Nats in General
Tagged with alec keller, andrew suarez, austen williams, austin byler, austin davidson, bryan langlois, chase mcdowell, chris riopedre, clay casey, clay williamson, cole plouck, conner bach, conor keniry, dale carey, daniel salters, david kerian, dj jauss, domenick mancini, drew van orden, elliott cary, erick fedde, evan skoug, jacob hill, jakson reetz, james bourque, jeff gardner, john henry styles, jon littell, kida de la cruz, kyle bacak, kyle simmons, matthew page, mckenzie mills, quinn brodley, robbie dickey, ryan ripken, samuel johns, stuart fairchild, tommy doyle, tyler mapes, weston davis


App developers: Encourage/teach iPhone/Android/Java app developers to be Firefox OS app developers. Deliver great tools and a compelling value proposition.
DevCon5, Bill Walker, The Mozilla App Ecoystem" NYC, July 23.
STORMY: We have to have support in a Mozilla channel. Our own forums or SUMO or something.
this is the catch-all for a lot of the connecting and cross-communications we manage between various stakeholders & participants.
This page was last modified on 4 February 2015, at 21:41.


text:
Q: vloopup multi key lookup in excel I have two sheets in my workbook.
First has two keys id1 and id2
Second one has mapping from concatenated ids to value.
Example
First Table;
041       12
042       3

Second Table;
04112       atp
0423        wta

I want to fill the first table with the values in second table.
I am using this formula =VLOOKUP(A1&B1, details!A2:B13, 2)
This is not giving me the desired result.
When I  tried with the actual key, it worked =VLOOKUP(04112, details!A2:B13, 2)
I am not sure what mistake I am making when passing the key in vlookup function.

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Cheap flights from Dubai to Cote d'Azur
The best prices from Dubai to Cote d'Azur are usually found in June or July, booked 30 days in advance, depart on a Wednesday or Tuesday and return on a Friday
Home Europe France Nice Cote d'Azur Cheap flights from Dubai to Cote d'Azur
Dubai (DXB) to Cote d'Azur (NCE)
DXB - NCE
From Dubai to Cote d'Azur
One-way flight from Dubai to Cote d'Azur
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Cheap flights from Dubai to Cote d'Azur in January, February 2021
The best prices found for DXB to NCE flights in January, February
Nice Côte d'Azur
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Cheap flights to Cote d'Azur from Dubai found for this year
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Late deals on return flights to Cote d'Azur from Dubai, departing today and this week
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Useful info, stats and facts about Dubai to Cote d'Azur flights.
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Expect the weather to be around 41 °C on average in July. As the temperature peaks, try to get your plans done early, as flight price and availability will have an impact on your travels. The climate in Nice is generally colder than in Dubai.
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Dubai to Marseille from AED 1,396 pp
Destination information for Cote d'Azur
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Nice (NCE)
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Lufthansa AED 62 AED 498 No cancel fee 76%
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Flights to Minsk
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Most accomplished player Pacers saw Thursday? Jarvis Threatt
Candace Buckner
candace.buckner@indystar.com
Through every pre-draft workout at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Indiana Pacers have offered statistical sheets on the players to the media. Take for instance Thursday's crop that featured former IndyStar Mr. Basketball Trey Lyles – the overview listed his numbers through 36 games played his freshman year at Kentucky. The same was true for SEC Player of the Year Bobby Portis, who had two columns of achievements to mark his two-year career at Arkansas.
When handed the same stat sheet, Jarvis Threatt looked under his name and laughed. His space was left blank, the only empty stat sheet among the six players who worked out. The anonymous 6-foot-2 point guard who hears his name regularly mispronounced (it's like three with a 'T' on the end) and sees his game disregarded understands, but wants to prove why he should be noticed.
"I would say I'm very overlooked in certain cases," Threatt said after the workout. "Very overlooked, underrated but (when) I step on the court, I don't feel like that."
Make no mistake, Thursday's workout was a big one due to the head-to-head showdown between the pair of 6-10 frontcourt players, Lyles and Portis. Through the end of the session, the two, familiar with one another from their SEC matchups, took turns trying to best the other with interior moves and finishes. However, though he may have been playing in the shadow of these bigs and his bio read as if he were hiding in the Witness Protection Program, the 22-year-old Threatt was the most accomplished of the six players on the Pacers' practice court.
Last year, Threatt started 13 of 36 games for the NBA D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers and averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and attempted 5.8 free throws a night. Those numbers only begin to tell the story of why this puzzle of a point guard turned to professional basketball in the first place.
Threatt played three years at the University of Delaware and was named the CAA Conference Tournament MVP in 2014 as he guided the Blue Hens to the NCAA tournament his junior season. In the summer before his senior year, the team dismissed Threatt for "violations of team rules." Threatt decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and turn pro, beginning a curious and convoluted path from Greece to Hidalgo, Texas, to attempting to become only the seventh D-Leaguer to be drafted into the NBA.
"I already had a year playing professional (basketball)," Threatt said. "If anything, I look at it as (other draft prospects) got a lot to learn what I've already got a step on. But as far as player rankings and the names and quote-unquote hype, I don't have that. It's more motivation every time I step on the floor."
Threatt expects to work out with 10 to 12 NBA teams before the June 25 draft. And he doesn't need to guess what those executives will want to talk about.
"Every interview that I've had, Delaware has come up and rightfully so," Threatt recalled. "There's a reason to pause and you want to know if this kid has learned, has he moved on, has he matured."
Threatt does not hesitate with details: "I tell them specifics because I think a part of maturing is being honest. It's so past me. It's so in the past. I've moved on with my life."
Those off-the-court issues – Threatt even missed multiple games during his breakout junior year for other mishaps – derailed his traditional basketball journey. Now a year later, Threatt looks back at the time as a sobering launch into adulthood.
"Just handling myself as a pro and understanding that you have something that you love almost taken away from you," Threatt said. "The situation I went through where basketball, school, everything was taken away from me. Then to get back and be given a second chance, you have a different respect for it. I don't take any day for granted anytime I step on the court and play basketball."
After Delaware, Threatt signed with a team in Greece but made it only through training camp because ownership folded. Without a paycheck, he landed back in the states and was drafted by the Vipers. Several NBA-caliber players moved in and out of the lineup – including Glen Rice Jr., who was drafted out of the D-League in 2013 – so Threatt spent the early part of the season on the bench. However, Nevada Smith, who coached Threatt last season, noticed his continuous improvement, and he finally took over the starting spot for the final 13 games of the season.
"Normally guys kind of fade, but he kept working," Smith said. "As a kid, he's awesome. He worked really hard, we never had any issue with him."
Smith thinks his former point guard has two specific skills that could land him in the NBA. Threatt looks every bit of 6-2, or less, but his vertical leap — evidenced by his 2015 D-League Dunk Contest championship — makes him an elite athlete. And Threatt may get knocked for his shooting percentage (45 percent from the floor, 28.9 percent from 3) but he can drive, score and draw fouls.
"It was a real roller coaster ride for him," Smith said of Threatt's first year in the D-League. "(But) his skill level went up. Just the experience in playing with NBA guys was probably the biggest thing he took away."
So even though nothing appeared under his name on the stat sheet, of all the 30 players the Pacers have brought in so far, Threatt has the only résumé that shines with professional basketball. More than name recognition, Threatt leans on his experience.
"Every time I step on the floor, it's all about proving myself. ... I just want to prove myself to the coaches and scouts," Threatt said. "What I did in the D-League, the talent (there), it speaks for itself."
Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.


BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Sunday alleged that their leaders and activists have now become second-class citizens as the country has turned into an 'Awami League colony'.
"Opposition leaders and activists have now turned into second-class citizens in Bangladesh…the entire country has now become a colony of Awami League due to venomous attack of current illegal regimes' fascism," he said.
He said police obstructed their party leaders and activists at different parts of the country on Sunday from observing their scheduled black-flag procession programme, protesting the conviction of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman in August-21 grenade attack cases.
He alleged that no one, except AL leaders and activists, has any right, including the right of expression, in the country.


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Home CFC Lampard admits Manchester United are Chelsea's biggest threat in CL football
Chelsea FC News
Chelsea Manager
Lampard admits Manchester United are Chelsea's biggest threat in CL football
Sroban Ghosh
Frank Lampard believes Manchester United are Chelsea's biggest threat in their race to secure a place in next season's Champions League.
The Blues are currently in the 4th position and only one point behind 3rd placed Leicester City.
United,on the other hand, are on an excellent run of form winning five out of five games since football restarted.
Manchester United are only two points behind Chelsea with five Premier League games remaining.
Chelsea are currently holding the Champions League qualification spot but cannot afford to slip up at such a crucial moment, having dropped against West Ham last week.
When asked if United are Chelsea's biggest threat, Lampard said: From behind? Yeah, they are closest, they are a very strong team, they are in great form for a long period of time.
'They've got really good players, really good individual players.
'You've seen the momentum they've gained at this part of the season, individuals across their front three are all scoring lots of goals.
'They are the biggest threat from behind.
'But as I've said before, this is the Premier League and it looks that way today, it's how us as a team finishes the season game by game.'
Lampard urged his team to take United's form as motivation and train hard to seal their spot for Champions League qualification.
'I'd like to think they are not ignoring what is happening around them. Football has never be on TV more than it has at this time,' said Lampard.
'I expect them to buy into that and want to see what results are happening around us. I think that's pretty much human nature. On a sporting level I think that means you care and want to see what's happening.
'And then there has to be a slight switch off and a flip to the fact you focus on yourselves. We can't control the other games, we're interested in them but we can certainly control what we do.
'It can fire you up a little bit, seeing what's happening around you. But the position we're in means a lot is in our own hands and that's the main thing.
'When we train, when we prepare, when we play, we focus absolutely on putting out the best performance.'
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UK weather: Brits set for summer sizzler with 41C heatwave as 'Bermuda High' closes in
Temperatures have so far this week been relatively mild in the low to mid 20s, but a high-pressure system known as the "Bermuda High" will move in towards the end of the week. Water bosses have warned Brits to conserve water to avoid a hose pipe ban as hot weather is set to return this month, with forecasts of up to 36C in London and the South of England by July 15.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said that this week will gradually become "drier, brighter and warmer."
According to WXCHARTS weather maps, Tuesday will see temperatures up to 20C across England and an average of 15C in Scotland and by Wednesday it will increase to 24C in the south of England.
Mr McGivern added: "By the end of the week, high pressure to the West increasingly influences much of the UK.
"This is coming from the Azores; it's migrating towards the UK…that high is extending its influence across more and more of the UK."
With the increase in temperatures at the latter end of this week and for the rest of the month, pollen levels are expected to be incredibly high.
BBC meteorologist Louise Lear noted that this weekend there will be "pretty high if not very high pollen across the majority of England and Wales and even into Southern Scotland."
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Amid concerns for soaring temperatures later this month, the Environment Agency has warned Brits about their water consumption.
A spokesperson said: "People should use water wisely and follow advice from their suppliers.
"Further hot, dry weather could put pressure on some areas.
"We will continue to take action where necessary."
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