The latest with the baseball talks, plus international notes

The latest with the baseball talks, plus international notes
So is the latest development in the talks between Major League Baseball players and owners going to lead toward an actual season? We'll see about that and time continues to be short. The owners side yesterday proposed a 50-60 game season, which would be followed by a postseason with seven teams in each league making it. The seven-team scenario was in play before the pandemic. The owners have said they will pay the full prorated rate for the shorter season. Ironically, or maybe not, the players...

Baseball America Nats No. 1 prospect: 3B Carter Kieboom

Baseball America Nats No. 1 prospect: 3B Carter Kieboom
No. 1 Carter Kieboom With All-Star Anthony Rendon moving on to the Angels this offseason, top Nationals prospect Carter Kieboom has an opportunity to take over at third base in 2020. Baseball America Nats correspondent Lacy Lusk said prior to spring training that Kieboom has demonstrated he is worth the risk at that important spot. "I think he's certainly worth giving a chance," Lusk said. "But it's good to have that buffer with Asdrúbal Cabrera, sharing time at third. If that's the...

Baseball America Nats No. 2 prospect: SS Luis Garcia

Baseball America Nats No. 2 prospect: SS Luis Garcia
No. 2 Luis Garcia Baseball America Nats correspondent Lacy Lusk says shortstop Luis Garcia didn't get off to the best start last season, but then was able to hit better as the year progressed. Garcia hit .241 with no homers and 12 RBIs in the first half of 2019. In the second half, he hit .272 with four homers and 18 RBIs. He was able to drop his strikeout total in the second half from 47 to 39. Lusk says Garcia is a top-notch prospect, but said she would not put him in the elite category just...

Baseball America Nats No. 3 prospect: RHP Jackson Rutledge

Baseball America Nats No. 3 prospect: RHP Jackson Rutledge
The Nationals' core prospect structure is based around starting pitching, and that is exemplified in the selection of right-hander Jackson Rutledge with their first-round draft pick from 2019. Rutledge arrived after a solid season at San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, and fires to the plate from a 6-foot-8, 250-lb. frame. Baseball America has the big right-hander locked in as the Nats' No. 3 prospect for 2020. No. 3 Jackson Rutledge "He's a huge guy," said Baseball America Nats...

Baseball America Nats No. 5 prospect: LHP Tim Cate

Baseball America Nats No. 5 prospect: LHP Tim Cate
The Nationals have a talented left-handed pitcher in Tim Cate, who continues to get notice in the Baseball America Nats top 10 in 2020. The southpaw showed well last season for high Single-A Potomac and comes in at No. 5 this season. No. 5 Tim Cate Baseball America Nats correspondent Lacy Lusk said the University of Connecticut product demonstrated he belonged in the Carolina League with some solid pitching in 2019. Cate started 13 games at low Single-A Hagerstown before moving up. "He looked...

Baseball America Nats No. 9 prospect: SS Yasel Antuna

Baseball America Nats No. 9 prospect: SS Yasel Antuna
At No. 9 on the Baseball America top 10 Nationals prospects list is 20-year-old shortstop Yasel Antuna. Antuna is from Peravia, D.R., and is a switch-hitter who battled injuries in 2019, which held him to only three games for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. In 2018, Antuna played in 87 games for Single-A Hagerstown. The infielder slashed .220/.293/.331 with 14 doubles, two triples, six homers, eight stolen bases and 27 RBIs. Baseball America Nationals correspondent Lacy Lusk says...

Baseball America Nats No. 10 prospect: LHP Seth Romero

Baseball America Nats No. 10 prospect: LHP Seth Romero
Counting down the Nationals' top 10 prospects in 2020, according to the latest Baseball America list, we begin at No. 10 with southpaw Seth Romero, the club's first-round selection in 2017. Romero worked his way back from Tommy John surgery last season and is expected to make his first appearance in minor league play since 2018. I caught up with him in last year's spring training to see how well his rehabilitation from the injury was going. 10. LHP Seth Romero The 23-year-old Houston native...

A look at the Rule 5 draft with Baseball America's J.J. Cooper

A look at the Rule 5 draft with Baseball America's J.J. Cooper
The latest edition of the Rule 5 draft is set for Thursday at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. The last Rule 5 draft where the Orioles did not make a selection was in 2005. Yep, it's been that long, and the Orioles are certainly expected to make a selection again this year when they pick second behind Detroit. The order of the draft is the same as for the First-Year Player Draft set for June. Picking first last December in the Rule 5, the Orioles took infielder Richie Martin from Oakland. He...

Brandon Hyde on moves, O's Baseball America rating (game update)

Brandon Hyde on moves, O's Baseball America rating (game update)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - In explaining the Orioles latest roster moves - Rio Ruiz was optioned to Triple-A last night and today the club added Jace Peterson from Norfolk - manager Brandon Hyde said this was much more about the player coming then going. "It was more about getting Jace here," said Hyde. "Jace had a really nice year in Triple-A and is going to add some versatility to our club. Can play middle infield, third base as well as corner outfield. He's earned it. He has really swung the bat...

Three position players (zero pitchers) make top 100 prospects list

Three position players (zero pitchers) make top 100 prospects list
The Nationals are well-positioned to fill long-term holes in the outfield and infield from within their own farm system. Top pitching prospects? Not so much, at least according to Baseball America. The industry's leading ranker of minor leaguers unveiled its annual top 100 prospects list Wednesday, and three members of the Nationals organization (Victor Robles, Carter Kieboom, Luis Garcia) were included. Robles, the dynamic young outfielder, was deemed the 11th-best prospect in baseball...

How well can Robles play defense for the Nats?

How well can Robles play defense for the Nats?
With or without Bryce Harper in the Nationals outfield, the organization always looks to improve its defense from year to year. This especially becomes a goal when your team falls short of the postseason after two years in a row in the National League Division Series. So, if the Nats outfield consists of Juan Soto, Victor Robles and Adam Eaton, with Michael A. Taylor as the fourth outfielder, the defense should be able to be pretty good. Robles was limited to 21 games in 2018 because of a elbow...

Nats top prospects: No. 1 - CF Victor Robles

Nats top prospects: No. 1 - CF Victor Robles
Finally, we reach the No. 1 Nationals prospect in Baseball America's latest top 10: center fielder Victor Robles, who was also the publication's No. 1 prospect in 2018. Robles suffered an arm injury to begin the season and that slowed what was likely be an ascension similar to what rookie Juan Soto demonstrated in his first full year as a major league player. Baseball America national writer Carlos Collazo said Robles still has the best collection of all-around tools of any Nats prospect....

Nats top prospects: No. 2 - SS Carter Kieboom

Nats top prospects: No. 2 - SS Carter Kieboom
With second baseman Brian Dozier agreeing to join the Nationals, infielder Carter Kieboom's named bubbled to the surface again with many saying Dozier is just a placeholder for the prospect for one season or less. That's high praise for Kieboom, who is just 21 and was a first-round selection in the 2016 draft. Kieboom has done a nice job of demonstrating that he is closer to being ready for the responsibility of playing second base, and ultimately shortstop, in the major leagues in the near...

Nats top prospects: No. 5 - RHP Will Crowe

Nats top prospects: No. 5 - RHP Will Crowe
Right-hander Wil Crowe is hoping to put it all together in 2019 after slowing down a bit at the end of 2018. The 6-foot-2, 240-lb. starter went 11-0 to begin the season with high Single-A Potomac, but then went 0-5 after being elevated to Double-A Harrisburg. Baseball America believes Crowe still has a lot of upside and lists him as its No. 5 prospect in the Nats top 10. National writer Carlos Collazo says Crowe does not have overpowering stuff, but does have an intricate repertoire that makes...

Nats top prospects: No. 7 - LHP Seth Romero

Nats top prospects: No. 7 - LHP Seth Romero
This is an important year for the No. 7 player in Baseball America's list of the Nationals' top 10 prospects. Talented left-hander Seth Romero had issues that hampered his career at the University of Houston and slowed his start with the Nats after he was drafted as a first-round pick in 2017. But as national writer Carlos Collazo notes, there is no denying the potential for the 22-year-old Romero and the Nationals are being patient right now, hoping he can get it right and demonstrate his...

Nats top prospects: No. 8 - RHP Sterling Sharp

Nats top prospects: No. 8 - RHP Sterling Sharp
The No. 8 Nats prospect got to pitch at Nats Park during the club's preparation for the 2017 National League playoffs. Right-hander Sterling Sharp and a few of his minor league teammates helped Nats batters get ready for the Chicago Cubs with simulated games. Sharp, at 6-foot-4, 170 pounds, was a 22nd-round selection in the 2016 draft out of Drury (Mo.). Sharp, 23, pitched for Double-A Harrisburg in 2018, going 6-3 in 13 starts with a 4.33 ERA in 68-plus innings. An outstanding athlete, Sharp...

Nats top prospects: No. 9 - SS Yasel Antuna

Nats top prospects: No. 9 - SS Yasel Antuna
The Nationals were thrilled a couple of years ago when they were able to sign international prospects Yasel Antuna and Luis Garcia. Both have made it to the top 10 on the 2019 Nats prospects list per Baseball America. Antuna, 19, was the publication's No. 14 international prospect in the 2016 class, and the Nats like the power he was capable of producing at the plate. But this past season, he had Tommy John surgery and is now on the road to recovery. He has primarily played shortstop, but can...

Nats top prospects: No. 10 - RHP Jake Irvin

Nats top prospects: No. 10 - RHP Jake Irvin
Let's run down the recently released Top 10 Nationals prospects according to Baseball America, counting down from No. 10 to No. 1, as the end of the year approaches. We begin with the No. 10 Nats prospect: right-hander Jake Irvin. Irvin, 21, was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma. He is 6-foot-6, 225 lbs., and got to pitch in 11 games, starting seven, for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals and the short-season Single-A Auburn...

More on Machado trade and talking O's prospects with J.J. Cooper of Baseball America

More on Machado trade and talking O's prospects with J.J. Cooper of Baseball America
The Manny Machado trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers brought the Orioles a five-player return headlined by Double-A outfielder Yusniel Díaz. The rebuilding of the Orioles has begun. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette made some comments last night that should prove very popular with the Orioles fan base. He laid out the plan that fans have been asking about often. Duquette said more trades are likely and that, "In conjunction with that, we're also going to be making significant...

For first time in six years, Nats lacking top 100 pitching prospect

For first time in six years, Nats lacking top 100 pitching prospect
Monday's release of Baseball America's top 100 prospects list for 2018 was notable, from the Nationals' perspective, for two reasons: Victor Robles' ascension into one of the sport's best prospects is complete, given his No. 5 overall ranking, and for the first time in a long time, the Nats have no pitching prospects on the list. Nope, no pitchers. Robles and fellow outfielder Juan Soto (ranked 56th) are the only Nationals in this year's top 100 at all. And that's quite unusual for this...