12.09. Its a blockbuster thatll have reverberations around the game for years. Unfortunately, Abrams was deprived of a second half of reps after he fractured his left tibia and sprained his MCL in an on-field collision in early July. Abrams is considered by some as the key player who was acquired by the Washington Nationals in the blockbuster trade that sent superstar outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell to San Diego last week for five up-and-coming players and first baseman Luke Voit. Trayce Thompson andNomar Mazara are in camp as non-roster invitees and could both get big league looks, but neither is necessarily an upgrade over Profar and Beaty. Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community! Id previously written a fantasy column about Peripheral Prospects in this same format covering lesser-known guys like Ken Waldichuk and Brett Kerry. Abrams was pulled from the Rochester Red Wings lineup today. Abrams, the No. Soto debuted in the big leagues as a 19-year-old in 2018, having played just eight games above A-ball at the time. This season, he celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday preparing to compete against the Mets at Citi Field as the Nationals' starting shortstop. Dougherty indicates the organization views Abrams as their long-term franchise shortstop, which is hardly a surprise after the club made him a key piece of such a monumental trade. Like Gore, the 21-year-old Abrams made his MLB debut this year, but he struggled to hit, putting up a slash line of .232/.285/.320 with only four walks compared to 27 strikeouts in 139 plate appearances across 46 games. While hes 25-for-26 on the basepaths this season, its not clear if Veen will continue to run as he moves up the organizational ladder. Soto is arbitration-eligible through 2024, so Washington couldve held onto him until next winter or merely proceeded year-by-year through the arb process and tried to put a contending roster back around him. Itll be known soon enough what route Preller, Melvin and the rest of the San Diego brass choose to take with the Opening Day roster. The worst-case scenario for Abrams is as an over-aggressive, contact-oriented slasher who plays all over the field. The IL placement allows us to kind of smooth things out and slow it down some, Melvin said. His typical angle of contact is geared towards ground ball and line drive contact which could limit his home run production. Nate Colbert is the franchise leader in home runs, and Eric Show has more wins than any other pitcher in team history. Generate Trade Suggestions SIGN UP. (AAA numbers) 151 PA, 7 HR, 10 SB, .314/.364/.507. 2023 Topps #35 CJ Abrams FS Washington Nationals. The long-term expectation in San Diego likely remains that Abrams will ultimately dislodge Fernando Tatis Jr. from shortstop, but it may not happen this year unless Abrams can find his stroke in Triple-A. The Washington Nationals are calling up top prospect C.J. CJ Abrams went 3-for-5 at the plate for the . That trade wouldve been largely about getting luxury tax relief from Hosmers contract, though the Padres have also pursued other big-ticket moves to add talent. He is playing in his rookie year and through 46 games, is 29-125 for a .232 average with five doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI. Preller essentially empties his farm system to add. Thats certainly not a given, as both Lin and Acee hear that some with the Padres believe hed benefit from more time in the minors. Along the way, Soto claimed a pair of Silver Slugger Awards and was selected to the All-Star Game in 2021. The 22-year-old's pure hitting ability did not simply disappear overnight, and the player who slashed 331/.385/.511, logged 42 extra-base hits, and stole 42 bases across three levels in the minor leagues is looking to break out in the bigs in 2023. All of this is to say that Marte doesnt seem to be the second-coming if you buy into this early-development narrative. Standing at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, Susana has a plus plus heater that can touch triple digits and nasty slider in the upper 80s that flashes plus. Soto again turned down the Nationals overtures this time a 15-year, $440MM proposal and the club pivoted to the trade market. Start New Trade Modify Current Trade. That decision will be a tough pill to swallow for at least some segment of the fanbase. MLB Trade Analyzer. Preller envious By Kirk Kenney April 14, 2022 9:25 PM PT Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune) Top prospect CJ Abrams likely to make team because. If HSK reaches his hitting potential, the Abrams in LF pending a free agent pickup. If thats the case, hed be controllable through 2027 and wouldnt reach arbitration eligibility until after the 2024 campaign. The third overall pick in the 2017 draft, he quickly developed into the games top pitching prospect after dominating lower level hitters. Unlike most power hitters of his ilk, Bell also brings strong bat-to-ball skills to the table. San Diego is now dealing with an injury to their other star left side infielder, asManny Machado sprained his left ankleyesterday. That doesnt include whats sure to be another massive arbitration raise for Soto likely into the $25+MM range although Bell could depart this winter. This week, we investigate a mix of prospects at a wide range of levels. The Friars have been withoutFernando Tats Jr. all year, leaving them to rely on the combination ofHa-Seong Kim and Abrams at shortstop. Jorge Alfaro would appear to be fourth on the depth chart, but San Diego acquired him from the Marlins and he cant be optioned to the minor leagues, meaning the Padres need to keep him on the active roster or designate him for assignment. Gore wouldve joined Abrams in soon appearing on the MLB roster, but hes currently on the injured list due to elbow inflammation. Future optional assignments, if needed, might push those trajectories back. Pure, unadulterated joy. There's no reason to think that won't continue. Theyre surely hopeful that players likeJosiah Gray,Keibert Ruiz and the package of young players theyre receiving in the Soto deal will comprise a core of another contender down the road, but theres no denying how quickly the Nationals fell from the top after winning the title three seasons back. Jeremy Pena SS HOU. Learn more here. Abrams is the youngest member of the Nats starting lineup, born 4 1/2 months after second baseman Luis Garca. This year, he appeared in games for the Nationals, the Padres and both of their Triple-A affiliates (Rochester and El Paso). The Friars have gone in the opposite direction of the Nationals over the past few years, coming out of their rebuild in 2020 with an excellent young core after years of building the farm system. Since being traded to Washington heading into the 2021 season, hes a .278/.363/.483 hitter in a hair above 1000 plate appearances. Keeping him in the majors would allow San Diego some cover behind Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim in the middle infield whileFernando Tats Jr. is on the injured list. But you can't blame San Diego fans for getting a bit ahead of themselves when they forecast how the franchise will perform with Soto in the fold. Hes posted high BABIPs at every level, but this is a hitting profile that usually yields low BABIPs due to a cacophony of pulled grounders and easy fly outs. Apr 15, 2023. 9 prospect on the BA Top 100, hit his first career home run in his first career at-bat at Petco Park in front of a sellout crowd for the Padres home opener . 2023 www.democratandchronicle.com. Through 346 plate appearances in High-A this season, Hassell owns a .299/.379/.467 line with ten homers, 20 stolen bases, a lofty 11% walk rate and a solid 19.1% strikeout percentage. The best-case scenario these days is a sort of Dylan Moore-like outcome. The acquisition is both about solidifying their hold on a playoff spot for this season and adding another impact bat alongsideFernando Tatis Jr. and Machado for the next few seasons. This is consistent with his track record. Abrams returns to the big leagues a bit more than five weeks after being optioned out. We really believe this kid has a bright future with this organization, and hopefully he continues to grow.. He works counts (14.3 percent walk rate) though he is also whiff prone (23.6 percent strikeout rate, 14.3 percent swinging-strike rate). CJ Abrams is still just 22, but he's taken over at short in D.C. and building something with his new club. Once Abrams is in the big leagues, Garca is likely to kick to the other side of the second base bag. Like the most of the other Double-A bats weve profiled today, hes seemingly on the cusp of a promotion. The clubs hope of cashing either in for future value at the trade deadline has come and gone, with both struggling so badly there was no real interest from contenders. Given Corbins struggles, its hard to envision the Nationals getting out from under any of that money. All those players were within their final season and a half of remaining control, however, while Soto was still more than three years from free agency at the time. Franco has only a .228/.255/.337 showing in 373 trips to the plate. Not only does he have limited experience against high level pitching, Abrams has never played a professional inning outside of the middle infield. Washington has now seen the departures of Scherzer, Turner,Anthony Rendon and Soto within the past few years dramatically overhauling the franchises best clubs since it moved to Washington. CJ Abrams works at second base during a spring training game against the Guardians on March 22. Kevin Kopps, who was pretty impressive this spring, was sent to Double-A San Antonio, which is where he ended . A well-regarded signee out of South Korea, Kim struggled during his rookie season in MLB. While Urias development was eventually delayed by injuries, Perez remains both healthy and effective. However, Garcia does not project to be a long-term answer at shortstop and Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters over the weekend that when Abrams is ready to come up, hell likely play short and push Garcia to second. The longtime Hiroshima Toyo Carp outfielder, who might offer the highest bang-for-the-buck potential among remaining free agent outfielders, wont command nearly the salary sought by Castellanos or Kris Bryant (MLBTR projects Suzuki will sign for five years and $55MM). Abrams, 21, SS, Padres (MLB) Cruz is built like a young Aaron Judge, and he hits the ball nearly as hard. Still living out of my suitcase.. As the calendar has heated up, so too has Volpe. Thats largely immaterial for the Nationals, who are obviously looking well into the future anyhow. As a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball, Abrams fits that billing, even coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season. That was before their latest (and ultimately final) attempt to sign him to a long-term deal. He currently has a 14-game hitting over which hes tamed his strikeout rate and pulled his season-long batting line up to an above-average .282/.372/.450 performance. Jon Morosi of MLB.com reported the sides had agreed on a dealsending Bell and Soto to San Diego, as well as the inclusion of each of Abrams, Hassell, Wood and Susana. Kim will likely take over primary duties there for the time being, with the recently claimedSergioAlcntaraas his understudy. Top shortstop prospectC.J. Abrams was long considered one of baseball's top prospects. Its a territory with which the franchise is evidently now comfortable, and theyll be rewarded for their aggressiveness with one of the sports most entertaining rosters. That wasnt enough for the Pirates, as talks were scuttled when Pittsburgh additionally wanted top prospect C.J. His ADP of 271 is fair, but as he enters his sophomore season, the shortstop could be a potential sleeper candidate in fantasy leagues this year. Now the Padres have less than five hours to figure out what to do with Hosmer, who is owed $39 million from 2023-25. Abrams fast-tracked to the majors According to MLB.com, Abrams headed into the spring as the ninth-best prospect in all of baseball. Luis Campusano is a top prospect who doesnt have much more to prove in the minors after hitting .295/.365/.541 in Triple-A. 270 PA, 9 HR, 25 SB, .233/.326/.427. $1.35. While that was probably inflated somewhat by the livelier baseball used during that season, Bell has continued to hit for above-average power in the years since then. The native of Roswell, Georgia, who was San Diegos first-round draft pick in 2019 (No. Susanas youth and distance from the majors hes yet to advance past the complex level make him a high-risk prospect, but BA notes that hes a similar caliber of prospect as the same-aged high school pitchers who went in the first round of last months domestic amateur draft. He averaged more than 25 home runs per year (even with the 2020 schedule being dramatically shortened) and drew plenty more walks than strikeouts. To get the deal done, the Friars reportedly outbid some of their National League competitors. CJ Abrams Stats | Season CJ Abrams stats and 5x5 fantasy value from 2013-2023. Abrams will report to Red Wings Abrams has been assigned to Rochester, though it is unlikely he will get to Columbus in time to play Tuesday. CJ Abrams out on a sacrifice bunt to shallow infield, Austin Gomber to Mike Moustakas. Semien's grand slam . Abrams is presumably the first player of the deal Washington fans will see at Nationals park, as hes likely to soon join the MLB roster. The righty has bounced from the Angels to the Red Sox to the Padres on the wire over the past month, and he figures to land back on waivers in the next few days.