Comments on: NFA Top 50 Prospects - #24

By: hoagie

hoagie — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:50:06 +0000

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?

By: Louis J.

Louis J. — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:34:45 +0000

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.

By: no-name nats fan

no-name nats fan — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:19:44 +0000

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.

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By: Alan

Alan — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:30:00 +0000

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.

By: Brian Oliver

Brian Oliver — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:56:53 +0000

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.

By: VladiHondo

VladiHondo — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:01:08 +0000

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.

By: Ryan Sullivan

Ryan Sullivan — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:52:15 +0000

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-

By: Brian Oliver

Brian Oliver — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:55:37 +0000

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.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:30:38 +0000

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?

By: Brian Oliver

Brian Oliver — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:10:07 +0000

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

By: Wooden U. Lykteneau

Wooden U. Lykteneau — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:38:59 +0000

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

By: Ryan Sullivan

Ryan Sullivan — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 17:28:00 +0000

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-