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80sballboy wrote:No way Soto looks 19. Dude looks a lot older. But hey, let's bring up a guy who has never gotten past AA. But I get it. They are desperate right now with Zim, Madson, Murphy, Kendrick, Goodwin and Eaton out.

19 in the DR correlates to somewhere between 18 and 36 everywhere else.

long suffrin' boulez fan wrote:

80sballboy wrote:No way Soto looks 19. Dude looks a lot older. But hey, let's bring up a guy who has never gotten past AA. But I get it. They are desperate right now with Zim, Madson, Murphy, Kendrick, Goodwin and Eaton out.

19 in the DR correlates to somewhere between 18 and 36 everywhere else.

I think Soto is closer to Sato's age of 26.

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Cool stuff about Soto
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80sballboy wrote:No way Soto looks 19. Dude looks a lot older. But hey, let's bring up a guy who has never gotten past AA. But I get it. They are desperate right now with Zim, Madson, Murphy, Kendrick, Goodwin and Eaton out.

He's a top 15 prospect, this isn't a Michael A Taylor situation, he's a legit prospect. As for his age, I'm Dominican, the kid looks 19, baby face, no facial hair. Point is he looks really young. Also the Nats got slammed for that situation with a Dominican prospect years ago. I think Bowden was the GM then, so I think they're doing more homework on those guys to avoid another issue.

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Rafael122 wrote:

80sballboy wrote:No way Soto looks 19. Dude looks a lot older. But hey, let's bring up a guy who has never gotten past AA. But I get it. They are desperate right now with Zim, Madson, Murphy, Kendrick, Goodwin and Eaton out.

He's a top 15 prospect, this isn't a Michael A Taylor situation, he's a legit prospect. As for his age, I'm Dominican, the kid looks 19, baby face, no facial hair. Point is he looks really young. Also the Nats got slammed for that situation with a Dominican prospect years ago. I think Bowden was the GM then, so I think they're doing more homework on those guys to avoid another issue.

Hey, never said he wasn't a great prospect. Was one of the top in the game. To me, at the time, it smacked of desperation and when Goodwin returns, maybe he'll stay. But no offense, he wouldn't be the only player to lie about his age and sure, I'm being super-cynical. And at this point, who cares if he's 19 or 21. He's a great talent who hopefully will be a star one day.

Soto was amazing last night against the hapless O's. He went 3 for 3 with an intentional walk - only the O's would intentionally walk a teenager. He caught the O's napping one time and stole 3rd base. The O's 3rd base coach Dickerson tested him by having a runner try to score from 1st on a ball hit to the LF/CF gap which he cut off and perfectly hit the cuttoff man who - easily - threw out the runner. To compound the importance of that - Machado - easily the O's best hitter - was on deck - really awful call by Dickerson - Machado would have been up with runners on the corners down by 1 run. The kids understanding of the entire game at 19 and his apparent maturity and charisma are amazing.

Ruzious wrote:Soto was amazing last night against the hapless O's. He went 3 for 3 with an intentional walk - only the O's would intentionally walk a teenager. He caught the O's napping one time and stole 3rd base. The O's 3rd base coach Dickerson tested him by having a runner try to score from 1st on a ball hit to the LF/CF gap which he cut off and perfectly hit the cuttoff man who - easily - threw out the runner. To compound the importance of that - Machado - easily the O's best hitter - was on deck - really awful call by Dickerson - Machado would have been up with runners on the corners down by 1 run. The kids understanding of the entire game at 19 and his apparent maturity and charisma are amazing.

So what happens with Harper? Looking at what happened this past free agency, I don't see him getting $400-500 million and I'm sure the Nats don't feel the need to pay that, especially with Soto already here, Robles on deck and Eaton, Goodwin, Taylor & Stevenson under control. If he does stay, I think a move to 1st base might be in the offing.

Dat2U wrote:

Ruzious wrote:Soto was amazing last night against the hapless O's. He went 3 for 3 with an intentional walk - only the O's would intentionally walk a teenager. He caught the O's napping one time and stole 3rd base. The O's 3rd base coach Dickerson tested him by having a runner try to score from 1st on a ball hit to the LF/CF gap which he cut off and perfectly hit the cuttoff man who - easily - threw out the runner. To compound the importance of that - Machado - easily the O's best hitter - was on deck - really awful call by Dickerson - Machado would have been up with runners on the corners down by 1 run. The kids understanding of the entire game at 19 and his apparent maturity and charisma are amazing.

So what happens with Harper? Looking at what happened this past free agency, I don't see him getting $400-500 million and I'm sure the Nats don't feel the need to pay that, especially with Soto already here, Robles on deck and Eaton, Goodwin, Taylor & Stevenson under control. If he does stay, I think a move to 1st base might be in the offing.

Harper is hitting around .235. That's not worth even $300M but we know he'll get something in that range. I think baseball is trying to collude to lower most salaries but expectations are that Harper goes to the Chicago Cubs where his buddy Kris Bryant is (and both wives are close) or maybe the Phillies. The Nats will be ok with Eaton, Robles, Soto and Taylor. No way Harper moves to first if he stays here. I would guarantee he wouldn't be happy with that at this stage of his career.

Goodwin is on a one-year deal and I assume he'll be gone.

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The key to the Nats win on Saturday, which bled right into the Caps game (ok started around 8:20) but game ended around 8pm, was Scherzer. his pinch hit, which led to Difo's triple. That was a gamble that paid off by Dave Martinez. Hell of a win and the bullpen was sensational for a change. With Eaton and Murphy coming up in about a week, I wonder if they send Soto back down or move Eaton to center and bench Taylor. He's playing some CF down in Harrisburg.

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Not feeling good about losing 3 of 4 to Braves with an offense that can't score more than 2-3 runs per game. They basically have to win 80% of their games against subpar teams to have a chance. They can't beat good pitching unless Scherzer is on the mound and for some reason, he didn't pitch in this series. Now Hellickson is hurt and Murphy appears weeks from being ready, if not ever. Hard to feel optimistic about this team right now other than taking a wild card. Even if Eaton is here, that's not enough. You can't consistently win with guys like Reynolds and Adams (hurt as well) trying to protect Harper and Rendon. Even Tony Two-bags is really doing nothing in the three-hole with just 17 RBIs and a .257 average.

80sballboy wrote:Not feeling good about losing 3 of 4 to Braves with an offense that can't score more than 2-3 runs per game. They basically have to win 80% of their games against subpar teams to have a chance. They can't beat good pitching unless Scherzer is on the mound and for some reason, he didn't pitch in this series. Now Hellickson is hurt and Murphy appears weeks from being ready, if not ever. Hard to feel optimistic about this team right now other than taking a wild card. Even if Eaton is here, that's not enough. You can't consistently win with guys like Reynolds and Adams (hurt as well) trying to protect Harper and Rendon. Even Tony Two-bags is really doing nothing in the three-hole with just 17 RBIs and a .257 average.

Remember, (and I'm a Braves fan saying this - they've been my favorite NL team since Hank Aaron was there) Atlanta's not battle-tested, and they've benefited from Markakis and Albies hitting over their heads. They also need a veteran closer or at least late-inning guy. And their 2 top pitchers so far are having career years. Nats are just 2 and a half games out, and it's too early to count them out - especially with guys coming back from injuries. Hey, with Hellickson leaving in the 1st inning, it took a walk-off homer for Atl to win. And how bizarre is that Charlie Culberson, a light-hitting utility infielder, got his 2nd walk-off homer in 7 days?

Wizardspride wrote:

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I'd be shocked if he's back for the ASB. Microfracture surgery is no joke. I think the Nats lucked out here, if the injury hadn't happened, I would have thought he'd get extended. He's 33 coming off major knee surgery, doubt he's brought back.

Ruzious wrote:

80sballboy wrote:Not feeling good about losing 3 of 4 to Braves with an offense that can't score more than 2-3 runs per game. They basically have to win 80% of their games against subpar teams to have a chance. They can't beat good pitching unless Scherzer is on the mound and for some reason, he didn't pitch in this series. Now Hellickson is hurt and Murphy appears weeks from being ready, if not ever. Hard to feel optimistic about this team right now other than taking a wild card. Even if Eaton is here, that's not enough. You can't consistently win with guys like Reynolds and Adams (hurt as well) trying to protect Harper and Rendon. Even Tony Two-bags is really doing nothing in the three-hole with just 17 RBIs and a .257 average.

Remember, (and I'm a Braves fan saying this - they've been my favorite NL team since Hank Aaron was there) Atlanta's not battle-tested, and they've benefited from Markakis and Albies hitting over their heads. They also need a veteran closer or at least late-inning guy. And their 2 top pitchers so far are having career years. Nats are just 2 and a half games out, and it's too early to count them out - especially with guys coming back from injuries. Hey, with Hellickson leaving in the 1st inning, it took a walk-off homer for Atl to win. And how bizarre is that Charlie Culberson, a light-hitting utility infielder, got his 2nd walk-off homer in 7 days?

Not concerned about the Braves. It's the Nats' light hitting ways that concern me, especially against good teams. It's not like they are going to get a ton better when Eaton returns in mid-June. They need run producers and are getting very little from C, CF, LF, 2B and even 3B.

80sballboy wrote:

Ruzious wrote:

80sballboy wrote:Not feeling good about losing 3 of 4 to Braves with an offense that can't score more than 2-3 runs per game. They basically have to win 80% of their games against subpar teams to have a chance. They can't beat good pitching unless Scherzer is on the mound and for some reason, he didn't pitch in this series. Now Hellickson is hurt and Murphy appears weeks from being ready, if not ever. Hard to feel optimistic about this team right now other than taking a wild card. Even if Eaton is here, that's not enough. You can't consistently win with guys like Reynolds and Adams (hurt as well) trying to protect Harper and Rendon. Even Tony Two-bags is really doing nothing in the three-hole with just 17 RBIs and a .257 average.

Remember, (and I'm a Braves fan saying this - they've been my favorite NL team since Hank Aaron was there) Atlanta's not battle-tested, and they've benefited from Markakis and Albies hitting over their heads. They also need a veteran closer or at least late-inning guy. And their 2 top pitchers so far are having career years. Nats are just 2 and a half games out, and it's too early to count them out - especially with guys coming back from injuries. Hey, with Hellickson leaving in the 1st inning, it took a walk-off homer for Atl to win. And how bizarre is that Charlie Culberson, a light-hitting utility infielder, got his 2nd walk-off homer in 7 days?

Not concerned about the Braves. It's the Nats' light hitting ways that concern me, especially against good teams. It's not like they are going to get a ton better when Eaton returns in mid-June. They need run producers and are getting very little from C, CF, LF, 2B and even 3B.

If you're not concerned about the Braves, who are you concerned that the Nats will lose the division to?

Ruzious wrote:

80sballboy wrote:

Ruzious wrote:Remember, (and I'm a Braves fan saying this - they've been my favorite NL team since Hank Aaron was there) Atlanta's not battle-tested, and they've benefited from Markakis and Albies hitting over their heads. They also need a veteran closer or at least late-inning guy. And their 2 top pitchers so far are having career years. Nats are just 2 and a half games out, and it's too early to count them out - especially with guys coming back from injuries. Hey, with Hellickson leaving in the 1st inning, it took a walk-off homer for Atl to win. And how bizarre is that Charlie Culberson, a light-hitting utility infielder, got his 2nd walk-off homer in 7 days?

Not concerned about the Braves. It's the Nats' light hitting ways that concern me, especially against good teams. It's not like they are going to get a ton better when Eaton returns in mid-June. They need run producers and are getting very little from C, CF, LF, 2B and even 3B.

If you're not concerned about the Braves, who are you concerned that the Nats will lose the division to?

I don't mean that they can't win the division. Sure they can, but my concern as a Nats fans is the Nats. If they can't hit, then the Braves or Phillies or the Mets will win the division.