THE 2018 Washington Nationals Prospect Sleepers

Next week kicks off Prospect Week at NatsGM, my annual ranking of the Top-30 Prospects currently in the Washington Nationals organization.  While preparing for these articles, it caught my attention that although Washington has traded numerous prospects in the past twelve months, there is still depth in their system.  In particular, Washington has drafted several interesting college pitchers in the past two years and developed some intriguing depth at catcher.

Last year I correctly identified Daniel Johnson and Jose Sanchez as sleepers poised for a breakout 2017, so no pressure.  While “sleeper” is a rather nebulous term, for the purposes of this article it includes prospects presently ranked outside my top-30 that deserve more hype.

Tres Barrera

Drafted in the 6th round in 2016 from the University of Texas, Barrera is a quality athlete listed at 6-0 215lbs that plays solid defense behind the plate.  He has a strong, accurate arm and shows a strong aptitude at blocking pitches in the dirt.  Barrera has soft hands and quietly attempts to frame pitches.  He needs experience behind the dish, but he profiles as an above-average to slightly better defensive catcher.

Offensively the 23-year-old Barrera is a right-handed hitter with legitimate raw pull power and a knack for getting on-base.  However, there is plenty of swing-and-miss in his approach, which limits his hit tool and overall offensive potential.  The whiffs limit his ceiling to a bench player, but a strong defender with power that draws the occasional walk sounds like a nice backup.  Barrera should begin 2018 at High-A Potomac and is a prospect not receiving enough attention.

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Hill was Washington’s 5th round selection last summer after a strong career at Texas A&M.  Hill is somewhat undersized at 6-0 185lbs (likely closer to 5-10 175lbs) but succeeded as a college starter due to his command of a sinking 89-92mph fastball and plus low-80s changeup.  Also, he utilizes a curveball primarily as a weapon against righties, but the pitch rates as fringy and needs significant work to reach average.

Hill had a quick 30 inning cameo at Low-A last summer after a lengthy college season, and hitters punished his diminished repertoire.  After an offseason to rest and recover, the experienced 22-year-old righty should rebound in Hagerstown to start 2018 and advance quickly through A-ball this season.  Hill will work as a starter and has a ceiling as a 5th starter, with the potentially intriguing outcome he becomes a fastball-changeup relief specialist.

Gabe Klobosits

Klobosits slipped in this past draft, sliding to the 36th round after serving as Auburn’s closer in the spring.  Despite being overlooked on draft day, he exploded as a professional, posting a 1.47 ERA and 34 strikeouts against only 8 walks in 30.2 innings last summer.  Klobosits possesses a 93-96mph fastball with quality life, along with an upper-80s slider and split-finger.  A monster of a man at 6-7 270lbs, Klobosits is a pure relief prospect that could skyrocket through the farm system next summer.  There is risk in his profile, but the reward is a potential future 7th/8th inning reliever – Klobosits was a steal for the Nationals last June.

In addition, Gabe was a recent guest on our Podcast, THE NatsGM Show -> http://natsgm.com/2017/12/12/the-natsgm-show-116-special-guest-gabe-klobosits/

THE NatsGM Show #118 – Guest Andrea La Pointe

To help combat the cold weather blues, THE NatsGM Show has dropped our 1st episode of 2018 and we are proud to welcome future major league baseball operations intern, Andrea La Pointe!

Our interview begins with a quick introduction to Andrea, her impressive background working in politics, and the similarities she sees both in politics and baseball.  Next she describes her passion for developing Latin American prospects and some ideas on improving the success rate of these players reaching the major leagues.  Then our conversation shifts to her experience attending the MLB Winter Meetings both in 2016 and 2017, in particular as a female job seeker.  Finally Andrea shares a bit about her upcoming job in baseball starting this summer and plays a game of “Rapid Fire”.
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Thank you to Andrea for being a tremendous guest and to you for downloading.  And remember, if you give this show a 5-star Rating & Review on Apple Podcasts, we will send you a free shirt!

Brandon Kintzler Officially Re-Signs With Washington

Last week during the winter meetings news broke the Washington Nationals and free agent Brandon Kintzler had agreed to terms on a 2-year contract, with both a club and player option for the 2nd season.  The math is rather fuzzy, as Kintzler is guaranteed $10 million overall, with a $5 million salary for 2018 and a $10 million club option for Washington in 2019 or a $5 million player option if the team declines their option.  In total, Kintzler can earn a maximum of $16 million for the next two years.

Washington acquired Kintzler last July for prospect Tyler Watson and international bonus funds in an effort to strengthen their relief corps.  The 33-year-old Kintzler spent the past two seasons working as Minnesota’s closer, posting a 2.98 ERA and 45 saves over 99.2 innings for the Twins, while notching an all-star selection in 2017.  Upon arriving in Washington, Kintzler provided a stabilizing force in the bullpen, giving the Nationals a 3.46 ERA and 1.154 WHIP, with 12 strikeouts against only 5 walks over 26 innings.

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Similarly to the Matt Adams signing, Washington’s front office should be commended for identifying a weakness on their roster, namely bullpen depth, and moving swiftly to acquire a good fit at a reasonable price.  In a market where inferior relievers like Juan Nicasio (2yrs $17 million) and Anthony Swarzak (2yrs $14 million) signed for larger guaranteed money, Kintzler’s contract feels like a relative bargain.  Washington obviously liked what they saw from him last season, and conversely, Kintzler must have felt comfortable with the organization as well.  Certainly there is risk involved with any free agent reliever and particularly one with Kintzler’s middling velocity, however, Washington did well to secure an above-average 7th/8th inning reliever for “only” $5 million next season.

NatsGM Overall Grade ->             B

A New Adams Comes To Washington

Wednesday the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported the Washington Nationals and free agent Matt Adams had agreed on a 1-year deal worth $4 million, plus $500,000 in possible incentives.  The 29-year-old first baseman spent 2017 with both St. Louis and Atlanta, batting .274/.319/.522 with 20 home runs and 65 runs driven in.  Atlanta decided to non-tender Adams earlier this winter, rather than pay him a projected $4.6 million during arbitration.

Drafted by St. Louis in the 23rd round in 2009 from Slippery Rock University, Adams slugged his way through the Cardinals’ minor league system, reaching the majors in 2012.  During his 6-year major league career, the left-handed hitting Adams is a .271/.315/.469 batter over 586 total games.  Of particular interest to Washington is Adams’ ability to punish right-handed pitching, to the tune of .286/.333/.495 for his career.  Conversely, he struggles mightily against lefties, hitting a dreadful .206/.236/.357.  He projects to fill Adam Lind’s role from 2017 as a backup to Ryan Zimmerman at first base and a fearsome pinch hitter option late in games.


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Building off Adam Lind, he and Matt Adams are eerily similar players – both are left-handed hitting first basemen whom have dabbled unsuccessfully playing corner outfield.  Lind is a career .272/.330/.465 hitter and a .288/.348/.504 hitter against righties, verses .271/.315/.469 and .286/.333/.495 for Adams – Washington interestingly passed on Lind’s $5 million contract option last month, only to sign Adam Lind 2.0 (aka Matt Adams) for $1 million less.

General Manager Mike Rizzo has done a nice job this winter targeting proven veterans to fill voids on the roster.  We are still awaiting official confirmation on the Brandon Kintzler contract and Adams must pass his physical, but considering the budget constraints, securing both for meager 2018 salaries is a clear win.  Adams is a flawed player who must be limited to first base defensively and hitting only against righties, but utilized properly, can be a highly productive hitter.  There is some risk involved in this signing due to his limitations, but Washington has found a nice value and quality match  with Matt Adams.

NatsGM Overall Grade ->             Solid B, Borderline B+