Right now the Nationals outfield consists of four righthanders in Austin Kearns, Lastings Milledge,Wily Mo Pena, and Elijah Dukes. As of today, the fifth outfield spot looks to be a battle between lefthander Ryan Langerhans and Kory Casto, righthanders Nook Logan or Jason Dubois, and switch hitter Tommy Murphy. To be honest, none of those options seem that palatable. Carrying five righties in the OF seems unwise, Langerhans did not seem to provide enough bat to warrant a roster spot, I honestly don’t know what the Nats think about Casto, and Murphy is really a wild card.
With that in mind, a name the Nationals might consider in the Rule 5 draft is Kansas City Royals OF Chris Lubanski. Lubanski was the 5th overall selection by the Royals in the 2003 draft. The intriguing thing about him is he is lefthanded.
A quick summary from Baseball America … very athletic; plus speed; smooth stroke with leverage that bodes well for power; improved plate discipline and pitch recognition; good range in the OF; not adept at stealing bases and is tentative in the outfield; fringy arm
Lubanski will be 23-years old entering the 2008 season and his days as a top prospect may be behind him (he was #4 in the Royals system according to BBA in their 2007 Prospect Handbook). He would be an intriguing option for the Nationals in the Rule 5 draft and would likely be the top lefthanded OF prospect for the Nats if he was in the system.
Nate | 04-Dec-07 at 1:31 pm | Permalink
The Big Lubanski, what’s not to like? Though if the concern is just to have a lefty OF bat Kory Casto might be the logical 3B/1B/LF bench guy. In any case I’m in favor of anything that moves us closer to a roster without Nook Logan.
estuartj | 04-Dec-07 at 1:45 pm | Permalink
If you figure on 13 position players making the roster out of ST then (baring more trades) we have 2 spots to fill.
I figure we’ll carry;
4 OFers (WMP, Dukes, Milledge & Kearns)
2 CAers (Flores and TBD)
7 IFers (Young, Johnson, Flores, Guzman, Belliard, Zimmerman & TBD)
I think they’ll try to fill the backup IF spot with a rule 5 draftee (and probably go for a pitcher too if they can get one).
If they then trade any of the above for another IF or SP they’ll fill in with FA or MiLB signees…
Kory Casto makes sense as the backup IFer since he can be a lefty OFer too…two birds with one stone - but having 4 OF spots locked up to righties does make it tough…unless we open up some slots with a move of position players for additional pitchers…
Louis J. | 04-Dec-07 at 2:17 pm | Permalink
Brian
Good thought about Lubanski. I like the choice and hope they can pick him up. He was a top prospect for the Royals. Why are they not protecting him? Is he another Casto? With your comments about Lubanski, I assume you believe that the Nats are done looking at Casto (LF, 3B & 1B) as an option.
Also, for the last last spot on the bench, what’s your thoughts about minor league UT free agent Bobby Scales. He’s a 30 year-old switch-hitter who is a good base-runner w/ some speed (14/16 SB) and can play 2B, 3B, 1B & OF. He also has some pop in his bat and ability to get on base. In 2007, with AAA Pawtucket, he had an 373-OBP and a 472-SLG. His versatility would give Manny a number options in a game
Brian Oliver | 04-Dec-07 at 2:21 pm | Permalink
I really don’t know where the Nats stand on Casto. He had a down 2007 but is still on the radar to some degree. estuartj’s point about his ability to play corener IF and OF does give him some value.
As for Scales, sure … why not. Seems like a good option for a tryout.
Joe | 05-Dec-07 at 9:00 am | Permalink
Dubois could be the sleeper in this OF situation–these righty/lefty things seem to work themselves out through spring training performances, health and player moves. The Nats need more power production, and Dubois might bring that.
Last year was clearly an off-year for Jason, but understandable given severe allergies late in Spring Training that lead to dehydration, a hamstring pull (that nagged him all season), severe sinus infection, a re-tweak of that hamstring, then it was August and that was that. He might easily get back on track this year with an opportunity…
Louis J. | 05-Dec-07 at 10:47 am | Permalink
Joe
Dubois is a 7 year professional who was drafted in the 14th round in 2000 from VCU and he’s a RHH. The Nationals already have Kearns, Pena, Dukes & Milledge - all RHH- on the 25-man roster. Dubois has to be more than a sleeper to make the Big Team.
John | 05-Dec-07 at 7:23 pm | Permalink
On the Casto subject…I know he had a really down year I think he could be a factor this year. Whether thats with the Nationals or not remains to be seen. He went through a lot last year with getting married and having a kid while trying to fufill his dream at the same time. Thats a very big test. Having seen him play at multiple levels he definitely has the drive and skills. He also is the nicest guy you will ever meet so its easy to root for him. Don’t be surprised if he has a nice year somewhere…