Arizona Fall League: Breaking down Nationals Minor Leaguers

It is that time of year again. The Arizona Fall League begins today as the Mesa Solar Sox will have seven Washington National Minor Leaguers on the club. The players break down as four pitchers, two catchers and an infielder. The season opens later today as the Solar Sox will square off with the Glendale Desert Dogs at 12:35 mountain standard time. Getting the start for the Solar Sox is Nationals Double-A pitcher Felipe Rivero. Here is the breakdown of each Nationals Minor Leaguer playing in the AFL.

 Starting Pitcher Felipe Rivero: Felipe played at three different levels in the Nats farm system in 2014. He began the season at the Rookie level, and finished the season with Harrisburg in Double-A. He spent most of his season in Harrisburg making 10 starts for the Senators, compiling a record of 2-7 with a 4.12 ERA.

He allowed 30 runs on 45 hits in 43 and two-thirds innings. He was able to strike out 38, while only walking 18.

He is the 16th ranked prospect by MLB.com in the Nationals chain. MLB.com’s scouting report on Rivero is as follows.

Rivero throws his fastball in the low-90s with tailing action. His curveball flashes good potential, though his changeup is the more consistent of his two secondary offerings. Rivero throws a lot of strikes, but he doesn’t always repeat his delivery well and gets hit when he leaves the ball up in the zone. There’s is a lot of potential in his lithe frame if he can harness it.

MLB.com also added that he can command his fastball to both sides of the plate getting him a lot of groundball outs. He has raced through the Nationals system and is in great shape for a player in his developmental stage.

Reliever Matt Grace: Grace had a terrific year bouncing from Harrisburg to Syracuse in the same season. He combined to make 50 appearances out of the bullpen, allowing 16 runs, 10 earned, in 77 innings. Those numbers come out to a 1.17 ERA on the season.

2014 was easily his best season since being drafted out of UCLA by the Nats in the eighth round of the 2010 first-year player draft. The Nationals are sending him to the fall league to put him up against some of the best competition the game has to offer at the Minor League level. Kris Bryant of the Cubs played in the league last season and we all saw what he did this season.

Grace is not ranked by MLB.com as a top prospect in the Nationals chain for the 2014 season, but we could see him sneak in there for 2015 after the season he had.

Reliever Neil Holland: Holland like Grace, played at both Harrisburg and Syracuse this season. The only difference was that he went in the opposite direction. He started the season in Syracuse pitching in nine innings and allowing nine runs. That earned him a demotion to Harrisburg where things turned out better.

He appeared in 40 games as the Senators longman pitching 67 innings, and allowing 28 runs. He had a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio as he struck out 60 and walked 20. Opponents were only able to muster up a .230 average off of the 6’0″ right-hander out of the University of Louisville.

Holland is not in the top 20 prospects for the Nationals as of 2014.

Reliever Derek Self: Self spent the 2014 season between Potomac and Harrisburg as a reliever. He would pitch at the end of games finishing 24 of the 42 that he pitched in. He combined to pitch 66 and two-thirds, and struck out just over eight per nine innings. Self’s biggest issue was allowing the long ball and his allowed a professional career high of eight.

Self was drafted by the Nationals in the ninth round of the 2012 draft out of the University of Louisville and he is not a top 20 prospect in the Nats chain according to MLB.com.

 Catcher Spencer Kieboom: Kieboom is the first of two catchers in the Nationals system that will be playing for the Solar Sox. He spent the entirety of the 2014 season in Harrisburg where he played in 87 games after playing in four, in 2013.

He was able to hit for power as nearly half of hits for extra-bases, 28 of them being two-baggers. He finished the season hitting .309, and had a .352 on-base percentage. He has already missed a full season so playing in the AFL is huge for him to face big time pitching.

He is not ranked by MLB.com as a top Nats prospect.

Catcher Pedro Severino: Severino is the second Nats catcher on the roster and he is very young. He is only 21 and has been in pro ball since he was 17. He is not an offensive weapon, but has gotten better each year at the plate.

His 2013 season showed promise as he made the All-Star team and caught 40% of potential base stealers.

His average climbed up to .247 this season for Potomac and he broke out with nine home runs, more than his first three years combined.

Behind the plate he was at about league average catching 36% of base runners in 2014. He is the top ranked prospect for the ones playing in the AFL at number 11 on MLB.com.

MLB.com praised him in their scouting report saying:

Severino’s plus arm and athleticism behind the plate leave no doubt he has the skills necessary to stick at catcher. He already shows an aptitude for pitch framing and is making progress as a game-caller.

They went on to say that he is a long way off, but his defense will give the Nationals the ability to take their time as his bat continues to develop.

 Middle-Infielder Tony Renda: Renda has had great back-to-back seasons at the plate first for Hagerstown in 2013 and then Potomac in 2014. He has had an OPS over .750 in both of the last two seasons while bringing speed to the base paths recording at least three triples. He didn’t hit any long balls in 2014, but you can tell his game is hit singles and turn those into doubles with stolen bases.

He is the 17th best prospect in the Nationals chain according to MLB.com, and could see a jump after a solid season in Double-A.

Renda has a small-frame at 5’8″ but continues to impress as MLB.com states.

Renda isn’t flashy in any phase of the game, but he gets praise for his makeup and work ethic, which helps his tools play up. As he continues to climb through the Minor Leagues, he’ll have to keep proving himself, something he’s been adept at doing so far.