| Rank | Hitters | Pitchers |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Garrett Bass | Jack Spradlin |
| 25 | Alejandro Hodge | Marcos Frias |
| Francisco Soriano | Juan Jamie | |
| Yeurys Tejeda |
Coming in at #24 on the hitting side is OF Garrett Bass. Bass was a 2007 42nd round draft pick out of Jacksonville State University. In his first 59 games as a professional, he batted 293/325/490 with 6 home runs and 16 stolen bases for the Vermont Lake Monsters. The 23-year old lefthanded Bass comes from a major league family. His father Kevin played 14 major league seasons, primarily for the Houston Astros. Garrett Bass primarily served as the designated hitter but can also play corner outfield. I’d expect the Nationals to challenge him with a start in Potomac in 2008.
The #24 pitcher is another lefthander with a father who was a professional athlete. The 23-year old Jack Spradlin is the son of PGA professional Jack Spradlin. The lefty reliever is a polished pitcher who can throw three pitches for strikes (fastball, curveball, & changeup). In 45 games for the P-Nats, he tthrew 87 1/3 innings striking out 75 while walking 31 with a 1.33 WHIP and 3.92ERA. He fits the mold as at best a lefthanded arm out of the pen. He should begin his 2008 season in the Harrisburg bullpen, but could make noise as a lefthanded option for the Nats later in the season.
hoagie | 10-Jan-08 at 9:50 pm | Permalink
Just curious…What are we missing on Bass? He’s the son of an ex-Major Leaguer, hits for moderate power and has good speed. His only knock that I’ve seen is a below average eye. He couldn’t have possibly improved this much since being drafted in the 42nd round this year, could he?
Louis J. | 10-Jan-08 at 10:34 pm | Permalink
Brian
I agree with hoagie about Garrett Bass. He appears to be the result of the new and larger scouting staff doing the leg work to find talent that other teams overlook. He’s not ready for the ML yet but he looks good for a 42nd Rd selection.
no-name nats fan | 11-Jan-08 at 12:19 am | Permalink
Thrilled to see you back with multiple posts; thanks! Also wanted to mention that I, too, am getting the syntax error on your sidebar and really miss the links.
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘}’ in /home/.haiya/jpyuda/farmauthority/wp-content/themes/default/sidebar.php on line 37
Alan | 11-Jan-08 at 1:30 am | Permalink
Did Kevin Bass have a bit part in the movie “Major League?” I seem to recall they used a number of then-minor leaguers for game scenes.
Brian Oliver | 11-Jan-08 at 6:56 am | Permalink
nnnf - We are aware of the error and working on getting it fixed.
hoagie/louis - Call it a gut feel with regards to Bass. I could quite possibly be wrong but from what I see/have read, he could develop better than your typical 42nd round pick.
VladiHondo | 11-Jan-08 at 8:01 am | Permalink
First the “All DSLs” at 25 and now the “All Sons of MLers” at 24.
Is the “All I Dated Jessica Simpsons” going to be 23??!!
Great stuff! I also was surprised by Bass’ performance, a) that we’d actually sign a 42nd round pick and b) he’d produce!
Liked his dad’s power/speed combo.
Ryan Sullivan | 11-Jan-08 at 11:52 am | Permalink
Brian-
Just curious if you, or others here, could expound a bit on Spradlin? What kind of stuff does he have? What is his ceiling? Does he resemble any current player? What is his most likely “outcome”? He seems like a nice bullpen arm, and his numbers seem solid so I was interested in more information from those whom have seen him pitch-
Brian Oliver | 11-Jan-08 at 11:55 am | Permalink
I’ve seen Spradlin pitch quite a few times. He’s not a big guy (6′2″ 170). He has three pitches that he’s proficient with. He’ll never blow anyone away but I believe as a lefthander with his repertoire he could be a serviceable piece of a bullpen. Not sure he’d ever become anything more than a replacement level guy in the pen but that is a whole lot more than the vast majority of minor leaguers achieve.
Scott | 11-Jan-08 at 3:30 pm | Permalink
Brian - what are your thoughts about someone like Smoker being in the Major League spring camp rather than the Accelerated Minor League program?
I have no problem with using the ML invitation as an encouragement to sign last year. However, is it better for someone young and developing like Smoker to be learning and getting individual instruction on the basics or to be around guys 10 years his senior who take a somewhat different approach this time of year?
Brian Oliver | 11-Jan-08 at 4:10 pm | Permalink
Scott - I really don’t have too much of a problem with it. For the most part, I’m going to guess that Smoker will spend some minimum time with the big league camp before heading off to the ADP for regular reps. He isn’t competing for a spot in 2008 while guys like Brownlie or Tankersley are. The Nats realize it’s in both their and Smoker’s best interest to play regularly. I’m going to guess he’s one of the early reassigments
Wooden U. Lykteneau | 12-Jan-08 at 9:38 am | Permalink
Just to tack on to Brian’s description of Spradlin, he has a deceptive motion — not quite sidearm, not quite 3/4 — that you don’t see too often from LHPs. Usually guys like that get creamed by RHBs, but the splits last year were .207/.272 and 3.20/4.21. I think that may be explained in part that he was more likely to induce groundballs to RHBs (2.47 GO/AO vs. 1.69). I also seem to recall reading that he only recenly adopted this pitching motion, so we may expect some progress in ‘08
Ryan Sullivan | 12-Jan-08 at 12:28 pm | Permalink
Wooden and Brian-
Thanks for the additional info on Spradlin: I was curious who you might compare him to? Is he being groomed as strictly a LOOGY, or does he have more potential than that?
I appreciate the comments, and I am waiting on pins and needles for numbers 23-