Washington Nationals Top-15 Prospects of 20 …
http://www.baseball-intellect.com/washington-nationals-top-prospects-2010/
1. Stephen Strasburg | RHP | Age – 21 | Grade – A
Body Type – Ideal pitcher’s frame…athletic
Stuff
Fastball – Stephen Strasburg predominantly relies on a 96 – 100 mph
fastball with excellent life and carry through the strike zone. Strasburg can
manipulate his fastball to look like a multitude of different offerings. The
pitch will cut, run, and sink and its velocity will range anywhere from 91 –
101 at its peak. The movement and velocity a fastball possesses all depends
on what Strasburg is looking to accomplish with a particular pitch.
What brings everything together is that Strasburg commands his fastball
extremely well to all quadrants of the strike zone.
Curveball – A tight and late breaking pitch clocked in the low-mid 80’s. It
plays up because of the velocity on his fastball and you consistently see the
knees of hitters buckle. It’s not a straight up 12-to-6 curveball because it
does possess some lateral movement.
Making the pitch even more lethal, it comes from the same arm slot and plane
as his fastball. The clips below are from 2008, but they still hold true
today and they best exemplify exactly how tough it is to hit Strasburg when he
’s on.
Change-Up – He hardly uses it, but it’s seen by scouts as an above average
pitch with plus potential.
Strasburg is able to throw all his offerings for strikes and while he can get
away with more mistakes because of the velocity on his fastball, he does need
to be more consistent in keeping his fastball out of the middle of the plate.
Mechanics
For a guy that throws as hard as he does, Strasburg’s delivery is rather
smooth, simple, and under control. Rhythm is extremely important in pitching
and Strasburg has it. He repeats his delivery with ease, but because he
throws as hard as he does, his injury risk is naturally going to be higher.
Strasburg’s mechanics are compact and he comes to an athletic position
centered around his core near the peak of his leg lift. Before striding
forward, Strasburg breaks his hands and his arms spread like a bird spreads
its wings. He leads with his hips and keeps his upper body back by dipping
his back shoulder.
Strasburg takes a huge stride toward home plate and generates tremendous arm
speed using a whip-like arm action in addition to throwing with major intent.
Strasburg’s arm is a little late, possibly increasing the load on his
shoulder, but that is sometimes the tradeoff a pitcher makes to throw as hard
as Strasburg does.
Strasburg pitched and faired well against pro hitters when he appeared in the
Arizona Fall League. I’m not sure where the Nationals plan to start
Strasburg though he’s a long shot to make the Major League roster from the
outset. However, don’t be surprised if he becomes a mainstay in the middle
of the Nationals’ rotation by the end of 2010.
Best Case Outcome – Hall-of-Famer, No. 1 starter
More Likely Outcome – Your basic No. 1 starter…health is likely the only
thing between Strasburg and greatness
2. Derek Norris | C | Age – 21 | Grade – B+
Body Type – Stocky
Scouting Report
Derek Norris may be one of the best prospects you’ve never heard of. The
catcher has an advanced feel for the strike zone and excellent plate
discipline to go along with good power to all fields.
Norris lays off pitches out of the strike zone and is generally able to
recognize pitches off all types though you can get him to chase with two
strikes. He’ll hammer mistakes, particularly mistakes up in the zone.
The true value of Norris is his ability to play catcher. Should he stay at
the position, he has the offense to be a potential All Star.
Norris only started playing catcher as a senior in high school, so he’s
understandably pretty raw at the position. However, he has some of the tools
that can’t be taught. For instance, his release is quick and his arm is
strong and accurate. Norris threw out 47% of runners in 2008 and while that
figure dropped in 2009, 36% still is a solid percentage.
The big issue for Norris is to improve his focus and concentration as he’s
prone to lapses at times. He has to work on blocking balls in the dirt and
his actual receiving skills. The rate of wild pitches and passed balls
against Norris decreased last year, but still has a way to go to being at an
acceptable level.
Norris is a below average runner, but not a bad athlete for his body type and
size.
Best Case Outcome – All Star level catcher with average defense
More Likely Outcome – Above average catcher…his bat would still play at
first should he move off catcher, but he’d lose a lot of his value.
3. Drew Storen | RHP | Grade – B – One of the best relief prospects in
baseball, should be up at some point during the 2010 season
4. Danny Espinosa | SS | Grade – B/B- – Solid prospect with a nice blend of
power and patience that isn’t prevalent among many of the current shortstop
prospects in baseball
5. Ian Desmond | SS/2b | Grade – B- – Ranked a little behind Espinosa
because he doesn’t have the patience or power potential of Espinosa nor is
he as good defensively…be wary of last season’s numbers because of a very
inflated BABIP
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