I was on the road when the news broke that the Nationals were keeping Jim Bowden on as GM for the new ownership regime. By the time I returned, the issue had been discussed over and over and over and over again ad nauseum. So I opted out of the analysis, as the issue had been covered from all angles.
But today, in his weekly DC Examiner article, Jim Bowden expounds on what his plans are now that he is the “Permanent GM” and I see promise in his ideas going forward.
Bowden echoes Kasten’s plan to rebuild the farm system with a bit more specificity.
Our first mission is to build the best scouting and player development departments … [Stan Kasten] has given us approval to hire the best scouts. This leads to improved drafts, better international signings and better evaluations, allowing the GM to make better trades
Bowden is quick to point out the contribution of Scouting Director, Dana Brown. I’m glad to see that Brown is receiving credit for the job he has accomplished on a shoestring budget. He is the man behind Chad Cordero, Bill Bray, and Ryan Zimmerman, all contributors currently on the 25-man roster. I would hope that Brown is retained and allowed the autonomy to expand his efforts with a larger and more experienced staff. More specifically, I believe he should be part of defining the organizational structure of the Nationals going forward, and left to operate his scouting department without any outside interference.
Our present infrastructure leads to about 3,000 professional scouting reports annually. By comparison, the small-market Minnesota Twins scouting department produces approximately 18,000 reports.
If this is true, it is yet another strike against Major League Baseball’s operation of the Expos/Nationals franchise. This is an under-reported area that requires immediate improvement. The Nationals have been operating on a talent pool largely comprised of career minor leaguers and six-year free agents. With a limited budget, the best the Nationals could have hoped for was to find serviceable bench players, fungible relief pitchers, and back of the rotation spot starters. With an increased budget and subsequently more scouting reports, the Nationals can now begin to mine for diamonds in the rough, but more importantly, begin to identify the right personnel that best fit into the organizational structure.
[O]ur international department is almost non-existent. Outside of the Dominican Republic we have little presence, including none in the ever-growing Asian markets, a future gold mine … Over the next decade, we hope to become a leader in Asia in both scouting and player development. However, it takes time and we have to establish relationships and begin the scouting process … Over the next decade, we hope to have complexes around the world, giving us the same opportunity we now have in the Dominican.
This echoes the comments from Stan Kasten on Monday. I’m happy to see the Nationals intend to re-establish a presence in the Dominican Republic and introduce themselves in Asia. But I hope it doesn’t stop there. Stan Kasten suggested the Nationals build upon their presence in Washington DC by becoming a team that could appeal to the extensive cultural backgrounds of the residents of the DC Metro area. If this is true, I would hope the Lerners and Kasten introduce themselves all over the globe, from Europe to Australia to South America to Africa. While baseball is typically not a mainstream sport in some of those locales, there are athletes everywhere around the globe, and the only way to find them is by being there. The Houston Astros mined a pipeline in Venezuela that has produced the likes of Bobby Abreu, Johan Santana, and Freddy Garcia. It is incumbent upon the Nationals to find the next hot area, be it Brazil, New Zealand, or South Africa.
To get the best scouts, you have to not only compete economically, but more importantly, let them know they are the most underrated and under-appreciated aspect in our industry. We will not stop until our scouting department is the game’s best.
The other half of this idea is ensuring the fanbase is aware of the changes underway. The majority of baseball fans pay little attention to player development (scouts, instructors, and the minor leagues). With the new regime’s focus on the future, it is going to be important for the organization to make these changes visible. This goes against the grain of most major league organizations who rarely if ever shine a light on their scouts and instructors. But the Nationals are going to have to do something to show the casual fan that the team is not spinning its wheels. That there are and will continue to be an evolving of player development. And that a solid foundation is being established for the future of the Nationals.