As we're just a few weeks away from the All-Star game, the Nats could potentially have 2 all stars... but that likely won't happen. So between CJ Abrams and Kyle Finnegan, who will represent this year's team in Texas? We get you a Nats prospects stock report as we give you a stock up and a stock down. Lastly, we preview the Nats-Rays series.
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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. As we are just about two weeks away from finding out who will be in the National League All-Star Game, who should represent the Washington Nationals down in Texas. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first list in every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts and of course I'm your host Ryan Clary. You can catch me over on Twitter @RyanClary11 and as well as our show page @ellow_nationals. For our latest national news and notes make sure to check us out over on Twitter there and while you're at it make sure to search us up Lockdown Nationals wherever you get your podcasts including over on YouTube. Hit that subscribe button for us there and again drop a thumbs up or a thumbs down whatever you would like that would make me happy. So later on in today's show we will be getting into this Nat's race series as the Nationals head down and drop Can of Field where they have not really done all too hot down in Tampa for quite some time now. So we'll have that preview for you a little bit later on in today's show. You've got Mitchell Parker and of course Jake Irvin and Patrick Corbin on Sunday. So we'll have that preview in the third segment of today's show and it is a Friday so you know what that means it is a Nat's Prospect Stock Report Friday where you'll get your latest individual performances on some of these Nationals prospects and just to give you a little bit of a taste. Yarlene Susanna, Victor Hurtado, Daily Mile, Jeremy De La Rosa and Brady House. Five pretty big prospects that will have a stock report for you in that second segment of today's show but we start off with discussing the All-Star game as we are just around two weeks out from this All-Star game and who will represent the Washington Nationals in Texas. That's a good question. Well, before we get into it, today's episode of Locked on Nationals is brought to you by booking.com. Booking. Yeah, the right state can make you a fan of any city, even your rivals. So check out booking.com for your stay today. So we get started with talking about this All-Star game and it's kind of crept up on us for just being honest. Because right now, at this point in time, the Nationals have a couple of different options of who could be their All-Star. You can make the case for CJ Abrams as he has been one of the better short stops in all of baseball so far in 2024. You can make a very good case for Kyle Finnegan as well who has been probably the second best closer in the National League so far this season and really one of the better closers in Major League Baseball. He's had some weird instances where he kind of gets rocked around but ultimately he has been a very good closer for the Nationals so far in 2024. You can even look at this starting pitching staff. The Nationals starting pitching as a whole has been very good. But ultimately, I don't think any of those guys kind of get the nod at this point. I think there was going to be someone who would probably be Mackenzie Gore. I think Jake Ervin has probably been the better option so far this year and if it was really up to who's the best player, who's the most valuable player on this staff, I even think Jake Ervin would probably get the nod to be honest but it's all a contest of who's more popular and who's not. As we all know here as last year it should have been Lane Thomas representing the Nationals down in the All-Star game but that's how it works. It's a popularity contest. So who will represent the Washington Nationals in Texas this year as they are in Arlington at that new Globe Life Park? I suppose it's kind of a pretty crappy ballpark that I've heard. I don't think a lot of Texas fans are thrilled with it but that's a different story for a different day. Who will represent the Nationals at the All-Star game? Well, it's going to be Kyle Finnegan. Simple. That's who it will be. Will it be a second player as well as the Nationals, you know, you could make a case for someone else but no. It's going to be Kyle Finnegan. Simple. Now here are the other cases though and there really is only one out there. One logistical one that you can really kind of make an argument for and again you all know if you're in every day or out there, thank you first off but if not, you probably know that I'm an analytics guy. I like to look at the numbers. I like to look at all the different things that kind of go into making this big foundation and starting on Ground One. And really when it starts with that you look at all the numbers. You have this case in front of you to make as to why this person should be an All-Star. So let's start off with C.J. Abrams because again there is a case as to why he should be an All-Star. If C.J. Abrams were to be elected into the All-Star game or voted into it whatever you want to say, there is a pretty damn good case for it. Number one, 23 years old and his second full season up in the majors, C.J. Abrams has been wildly impressive so far in 2024. If you look across the National League right now, there is really only one guy that you can look at and again this is the National League at this moment in time for someone who has not been called up. There is really one guy that you can say that as far as young prospects go that you would want to build your team around other than C.J. Abrams if you're looking at shorts up and that is Ellie Daela Cruz. Outside of that, C.J. Abrams is probably the answer. And only 23 years old, here's where his numbers sit right now. He is top five for short stops in the National League in batting average. Home runs, RBIs, on base percentage. He is number one in the National League in slugging. Number one, more slugging than Mookie Betts, Ellie Daela Cruz. He is number two in O.P.S. He is top five in stolen bases and he has the second highest war amongst qualified players in the National League as far as short stops go. Now all those cases right then and there, that is why C.J. Abrams should be an all-star. But he's not going to be one. Because again, number one, he's not even in the top 10 as far as vote getters in the National League at this point. We all know that this is going to be a popularity contest and C.J. Abrams has been getting some national credit, he's being in some headlines to see MLB network, they talk about him a lot. But ultimately, he's not going to get the nod because you have Ellie Daela Cruz in front of him. You have another flashy name like an O'Neill Cruz in front of him. There are just other names out there that kind of put yourself in the national stage more so than a C.J. Abrams does. But that's fine because again, if it were up to me, I think C.J. Abrams probably should be the national's all-star but I just don't think that will be the case. Again we laid out the case for you right here. He's a top five shortstop right now in the National League and you can even probably make the case that he's been a top five shortstop in Major League Baseball so far this season. Now if we're going to get into the defensive metrics, yeah, that's probably going to swing him the opposite direction because he's been solid defensively. I think some of the metrics have been a little bit weird against him, he doesn't have the best range, doesn't really make sense because he's so shifty and some people kind of knock him because he can't really make their team plays as routine as they should be but he does make the flashy plays. C.J. Abrams has been a perfectly fine answer over at shortstop. He's your shortstop in the future plain and simple. He will have an all-star appearance at some point in time. I just don't think the time for him is right now because the way that the National League has been instructed, C.J. Abrams is just unfortunately going to fall to guys like Ellie Daela Cruz who, yeah, he has been better so far in 2024. Ellie Daela Cruz has been one of the better prospects to come out, a farm system for quite some time now. But C.J. Abrams, there's a case to be had for 1,000 percent. But the guy who will be representing the Nationals in this year's all-star game, at least what it should be, is Kyle Finnegan. Kyle Finnegan has third most saves in Major League Baseball, second in the National League, he only has three blown saves so far this season. If you look at his batting average against, where, in my opinion, if you kind of take these smaller metrics and for a closer specifically when they pitch in such a short period of time over one inning, I think this stuff kind of matters. His walk rate is very low and he also has 188 batting average against. Those are all very positive good numbers for Kyle Finnegan. That is why I kind of look at him and he's going to be the guy to represent your team with the Texas Rangers hosts in this year's all-star game. I think Kyle Finnegan is more than worthy of it, and also, selfishly speaking, he's going to be a hot name on this year's trade market. To add that all-star title to him, as far as Nationals fans go, that's going to be kind of a sexy thing. His name will start to be put up in a little bit more headlines. And let's say this, if you remember way back when Matt Capps was with the Nationals. Matt Capps got the save in that year's all-star game back in 2010. He was then traded later on that year in which became a very good trade for the Nationals. I'm not saying that this is going to be what that was, but it certainly kind of smells the same. It certainly kind of has that same feeling where you're going to send your closer to the all-star game who's having an all-star type of campaign this year, and he should be in the all-star game by the way. And who knows, maybe you then trade him for something a little bit better than what it could have been. I think Kyle Finnegan is kind of the guy that we want to represent us. He's going to be the guy that at this year's trade deadline, if the Nationals were going to trade anybody out there for a package that is probably going to be a little bit bigger than what it's deserving. Kyle Finnegan is going to be the headliner of that deal. Teams always need closers. You always need someone who is going to be nails in a situation where you need them to be nails. Kyle Finnegan, he has been that answer from the Nationals in 2024 and really dating back in the last year as well and even portions of 2022. This guy has developed into an elite closer. So Kyle Finnegan, while he might not be the flashiest name, he's not the sexiest name, he's going to be your guy to represent you down in Texas. That's just the way that it is. And again, there's a case to be had for CJ Abrams as to why he deserves it, but ultimately, we all know it's a popularity contest. And Kyle Finnegan, he will be your National All-Star in 2024. Thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first lesson every single day as we are free and available. Wherever you get your podcasts and of course check us out over on YouTube, just search lockdown nationals there, that is where you'll find your daily content of the Washington Nationals. So next, let's give you a Nat's Prospect Stock Report, who's been up and who has been down. I'll have that for you after we tell you about our friends over at booking.com. And of course, this episode of lockdown nationals is brought to you by booking.com booking.yeah. With summer travel heating up, especially travel for baseball games, it's time to explore those U.S. cities that you've always secretly wanted to learn more about. Yes, we're talking about your rival cities with hotels, bed and breakfast, vacation rentals, resorts, and so much more on booking.com. You might just find your perfect stay even in your baseball's rival city. Maybe you want to go to Chicago later this summer. You can check on booking.com and catch a baseball game on Chicago's turf. And who wants your teen to win, but is also excited to have maybe a little Chicago dog or whatever, you can find hotels that look over stadiums, a family friendly resorts at booking.com. And booking.com has so many choices across the U.S. for your summer travel, this Major League Baseball season. So the right stay can make you a fan of any U.S. city, even your rival. So book today on booking.com on the site or on the booking.com app. Now let me tell you guys about some of our very good friends who I've met with all the time. Our friends over at FanDuel and guys, when we talk about FanDuel, you all know I love sports and I love them so much. I never want them to stop. But as the playoffs wind down, we have fewer games and the sports aren't sportsing like I want them to, but FanDuel lets me keep in the sports going whenever I want. All I have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime I'm in the mood. And this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. We've won every day all summer long. So head over to FanDuel.com/lockedon and make the most out of your Summer FanDuel. It's the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Maybe you want to splash some money tonight on the Rays in the Nat's game. Maybe you want to go in the run line for the Nationals. I think that's what I'm going to do with Mitchell Parker on the mound. So again, head over to FanDuel.com/lockedon and make the most out of your Summer FanDuel. The official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Now, we get back into it with a Nationals prospect stock report who has been up and who has been down. We start off with the Fredericksburg Nationals, a stock up for Yarlene Susanna. He was part of that big cadre's trade, which by the way, if you're a Padres fan still watching, you've been trolling me all week. Thank you for Yarlene Susanna. And by the way, he's about the fourth best player in that trade return package. So thank you very much, AJ Preller. Over his last five starts, so far this season, let's kind of open up the curtains a little bit. Early on this season, he was struggling immensely. He had like a 6-5 ERA through his first like seven starts. It was awful for Yarlene Susanna. Well, he has turned it around completely. Over his last five starts, he's accumulated 25 innings pitch, only 11 hits, two earned runs, 41 strikeouts, only nine Watts has a 0.72 ERA in that time, a 133 batting average against and a 358 OPS at the plate. Yarlene Susanna has completely flipped the script as he just turned 22 about 73 days ago. That's how young this guy is. He is a 20-year-old who just turned kind of out of his teens, can't even drink in the US legally now. And he is starting to turn his career right around because again, we weren't really concerned about him, he throws 102 miles per hour. You all kind of know, at least I've been saying this for a while, the likelihood of him being a starting pitcher throwing 102 miles per hour at this point, I don't know if that's going to last because again, he's a big kid. I don't know if his arm can take that heat. There's only really one guy who can do that right now and his name is Paul Skeens. But Yarlene Susanna is one of those guys where he could completely flip the script on this team and really the organization as well. Susanna has completely turned it around, he has striking out 41 guys over his last 25 innings pitch and really the big deal here, only nine walks in those 25 innings pitch over his last five starts. That is the wildly impressive part of this because he was walking guys, he was spraying the ball everywhere, his slider really wasn't working. But over his last few starts, he's been incredible. Is this going to be the consistent Yarlene Susanna that we see? Well, I think if he starts to do this at a more consistent rate, let's say over the next two starts, I think the Nationals then move them up to Hayay Wilmington. If he can do that at Hayay Wilmington and he's just found his stuff, this guy is going to be a pretty quick riser in my opinion. Susanna has got all the talent in the world. You look at him, he looks the part, he feels the part. I think Susanna may have kind of resurrected himself and you could be starting to talk about him being a starting pitcher and not that dream closer that we've all been talking about here. Just stock up for Yarlene Susanna, he's been killing it down in low A, stock down for Victor Hurtado. One of the bigger names in this past year's signing class out of the Dominican Republic, first 15 games, he just turned 17 years old, no big deal whatsoever, but he has not been all back great. He's batting 167 with a 213 OBP and a 241 slug, a 454 OPS through his first 15 games. And more importantly, 19 strikeouts. Now the one good thing is, he hasn't been able to hit guys in. 11 RBIs through his first 15 games, that's pretty damn good. But ultimately, I would like to see a little bit more power because that is kind of what he is touted to be. And again, 17 years old, still in the DSL, this is a young kid, do not be overly concerned whatsoever. But he is one of the bigger names in this national system, a lot of people around the natural organization really like his tools and his skill sets. And he's kind of been a little bit overwhelmed so far, but it's still the beginning of the season. This is his first 15 games in professional baseball. You should not be worried whatsoever, just a stock down for the start of his major league or minor league career, whichever one you look at it, his professional career, whatever. Stock up for Daelin Lyle. So far is his first nine games in Harrisburg. The one thing that it sticks out to me with Daelin Lyle, he is so consistent. You know what you're going to get. He's not really going to hit for a crazy power. He's not really going to get on base at a pretty crazy rate. But ultimately, he is a pretty steady, consistent bat and also good defensively. He's got a very good arm in the outfield. He has good range in the outfield as well. He can seal some bases, but he has just been a solid contributor. And since he got up to Harrisburg, that's what he's been doing as well. He's batting 281 at 385 OBP, a 375 slug at a 760 OPS through his first nine games. He's got three doubles, seven strikeouts and six walks as well. Again, the strikeout rate for me is really impressive for someone who's still really young, 20, 21 years old, still making that jump. Daelin Lyle is kind of one of those guys where he's never going to be at the top of your prospect rankings, but this is a consistent player that the Nationals are very high on. If he can take his game up to the next level, kind of what we saw with last year down in Fredericksburg, I think he could kind of make that jump into being one of those better elite prospects in the system. But the more impressive thing for me is that he has stayed consistent even from jumping from high A all the way up to double A. So Daelin Lyle, he continues to kill it, stay consistent, that is kind of what you want to see from your younger prospects, speaking of former kind of top prospects in the system, stock down for Jeremy Day LaRosa. If you remember about two, three years ago, Jeremy Day LaRosa was in the top five of your Nationals prospect rankings, he was putting up good numbers, but also at the end of the day, you weren't really relying on him to be some stud. I think that was just kind of more so of a reflection of where the Nationals farm system was, which it was in the gun. Jeremy Day LaRosa is a fine prospect, someone who will crack the majors at some point in his career here, but it really just has not been all too pretty since he's been rehabbing. Over his last five games, small sample size, by the way, batting 143, a 143 on base percentage, a 286 slug, and a 429 OPS, he's got seven strikeouts in his last 21 at bats as well. Again, not the end of the world, Jeremy Day LaRosa, as far as outfield prospect rankings go within the system, is in the back half of your top guys. So ultimately, if he turns around and be nice, but he really hasn't truly been himself so far in 2024, he did start out hot, but he was in the lower levels. Now he's kind of working his way back up. I would like to see Day LaRosa kind of make the jump to Harrisburg at some point this year. I think we will see that, but right now it just hasn't been all too pretty for him. So stock down for him. Stock up for Brady House 2021 first round pick. Over his last five games, the numbers overall aren't wildly impressive this year. He has been steadily consistent, you could say, had that slump early on about a few weeks ago, but he's kind of gotten it back on track over these last five games and again, I've always said this to Brady House and really any top prospect there is. What makes you special, better make you special. What makes Brady House Brady House is the fact that he can hit for power. Well, he kind of went away from that a little bit just a few weeks ago, but over his last five games, he's got two home runs and a double and is slugging and starting to look in the trending up trajectory here. So Brady House, he's starting to hit for a little bit more power. That is kind of what I wanted to see from take that step up, continue to build on it. I think we're starting to see that from Brady House now as he could be on his way up to AAA, maybe within the next few months or next few weeks. So we'll see what Brady House does, but ultimately he's starting to look up yet again. Thank you all for making a lock down. That's your first list. And every single day is we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts. And now let me tell you guys about some of our very good friends over at Game Time and guys, Game Time is an authorized ticket marketplace, a major league baseball, which makes getting tickets faster and easier than prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch with killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from receipts and their lowest price guaranteed game time takes a guesswork at a buying MLB tickets. And of course, you can just open up the game time app just like I do when I'm walking up half street to go to a nationals game or what I do. I open up game time app as I walk up to the gates there. I see the flash zone deals, and of course, you can find easy last second tickets. And of course, the flash zone deals are amazing images from your seats and what you would be seeing from the game. Is there any obstruction? Is there a poll in front of you? 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You could put it towards some memorabilia you've had your eye on or treat yourself to a premium sports network. You earn and discover doubles. See terms at discover.com/creditcard. Thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first list in every single day as we are free and available. Wherever you get your podcasts and of course check us out over on YouTube. Just search locked on nationals there. That is where you'll find your daily update on the Washington national. So we get into it as the nets take on the Tampa Bay Rays and of course, the nationals, they have not really had that much success that Tropicana field. There are 21 and 23 in all time over at the trop. Hasn't really been all that pretty as of recent, but good for them. These next two games, you've got Mitchell Parker on the hill tonight, then you have Jake Irvin in tomorrow's game tonight's game, Mitchell Parker and Zach Efland. We've seen Zach Efland for quite some time now. He's been across Major League Baseball and again, I don't really know what to expect with Mitchell Parker at this point in time. I say that and if you know, you know at some point in time, it's going to come to a crash in Burnt, not some crazy crash in Burnt when he goes three innings pitch, gives up eight earned runs. But are we really going to be riding this magical carpet ride for the rest of the season? At one, we'll kind of like the mediocrity of this team set in. And again, if you know, you know, Mitchell Parker tonight's game. Maybe he does that. But again, this Ray's team, they have been streaking recently. They've been very good. They can hit for power. They can really sneak up on you. And again, their pitching is pretty damn good as well. Jake Irvin versus Aaron Savali in tomorrow's contest. Jake Irvin has been one of the better pitchers of this national's team all year long. Again, if it was up to me, I think Jake Irvin should be in the all-star conversation. But he will not be, don't even think about it. He should be, but he won't be because it's a popularity contest. So Jake Irvin gets Aaron Savali and then on Sunday, former top prospect for the Ray's Taj Bradley against Patrick Corbin, who was a World Series champion over his last three starts, has looked pretty good. But with Patrick Corbin, you know what to expect. Sorry. It's just it is what it is. So hopefully the national's going to take a few games there, but ultimately, my hopes. The nats have been cold. The Ray's have been hot. We'll see you what gives. So thank you all for making lockdown. That's your first lesson every single day. I will catch you on Monday for a net stock report Monday. Until then, enjoy the games. I'll see you then. A prime member. You can listen to this lock-down podcast ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. (upbeat music)
