The Cincinnati Reds outbid several major league baseball teams (including the Washington Nationals, apparently) for the services of Cuban left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman.  Reds' GM Walt Jocketty shelled out $30 million (spread out over ten years, according to reports) for the hard-throwing, but untested, 22-year old.

Chapman is said to have "a plus-plus fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has touched 101 (legitimately); the fastball has good tailing life, and he flashes a plus slider with good tilt," according to ESPN.com's Keith Law.  That type of talent, paired with the Nats No. 1 overall pick from last summer's draft, Stephen Strasburg, had Nats execs drooling of a potentially lethal 1-2 punch.

But in the same article about Chapman, Law explains:

His changeup remains a work in progress, although he probably hasn't had to use it much given the competition he's faced.

On the downside, his command isn't great. Although his arm is loose and his velocity comes easily, he's still raw as a pitcher and has a fair amount of development ahead of him in the short term.

Chapman is a work in progress, and the Reds just doled out twice as much money, guaranteed, than the Nats paid Strasburg last season.

It's interesting to see that the final players in the Chapman sweepstakes were Cincinnati, Oakland, and Washington--teams that typically are known for being tight with their money.  Where were the big market teams driving up the asking price?  Where were teams with playoff aspirations?  Where were the Yankees?

Law again provides some insight: 

There's also some economic logic behind the greater interest from low-revenue teams in these top amateur players. An impact player, even if he's still merely a potential one such as Chapman, is worth more to a team like Cincinnati or Oakland than he is to a New York or a Boston because those latter teams are already looking at 90-plus-win seasons.

Still, was Chapman worth this risk?  He had been competing with the Cuban National team before defection, but his level of competition was nothing compared to even that of Strasburg, whose only knock on him coming out of college was the fact that he played in the Mountain West Conference.  Chapman has been pitching against teenagers and other undeveloped competition in Cuba.

I'm not saying that the Reds, or the Nats, were wrong in going after Chapman and paying for his potential.  It just strikes me strange that the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels and other big market teams seemed to be not more involved in the process.

As far as the Nats involvement, it's just good to know that they had a ceiling in the negotiations.  From Nationals Journal, quoting Stan Kasten: 

"There's a limit to what you can spend for an unproven pitcher."

Especially one that is as unproven and untested as Chapman.

The Hardball Times released their Top 10 prospects list for the Washington Nationals today.  Not much surprise, however, only three of their top ten were arms, the rest position players.

1. Stephen Strasburg: Perhaps the best college pitcher of all time, Strasburg brings unheralded hype and ability to a Washington organization desperate for a shot in the arm. He is the best pitching prospect in baseball and will challenge Atlanta's Jason Heyward as my preseason No. 1 prospect in baseball.

2. Derek Norris: Despite his high strikeout rate, Norris has the bat of a future All-Star. The most unheralded aspect of his season was the 90 walks he drew in 437 at-bats. His defense is on track for the majors, but needs some work. If he repeats his performance in 2010, we may be looking at a top-10 prospect in all of baseball. But he does need to do it again if he is going to win me over.

3. Danny Espinosa: Despite some holes in his swing, Espinosa has a bit of everything you look for in a shortstop, including above-average power and the glove to match.

4. Christopher Marrero: Marrero has a nice bat, but nothing about it sticks out, especially as a first baseman. He is still young, and with further progression Washington could have a major league asset at first base.

5. Drew Storen: I was surprised to see Storen go as high as he did in the 2009 draft, but his first 37 minor league innings opened my eyes. There is even talk that Washington may turn him into a starter, which would raise his value immensely, but his change-up needs refinement if that is going to happen. There is a lot to like. More than I initially thought.

6. Ian Desmond: Desmond has some workable power and base-stealing ability, but neither skill be will anything more than average in the majors. His defense is his best strength, and his average bat will make sure he has a long, solid career as a major league shortstop.

7. Eury Perez: Perez has flashed his potential at every stop he has made. His bat seems very advanced for his age, his speed will be a weapon, and he has even shown some unexpected power.

8. Destin Hood: With his raw tools, Hood was one of my favorite players selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. Not much has materialized as of yet, which is concerning for me, but he is very young.

9. Michael Burgess: Burgess has plus power, but not much else to go with it. His strikeout rate is troublesome and may be his downfall. Future refinement could be in the works, so it's not time to give up on him yet.

10. Marcos Frias: Scouting reports are tough to come by on Frias, but his numbers are hard to ignore, forcing my bullish outlook. Based off of the brief video and scouting reports I have on him, I am going to take a shot in the dark on a young man with a live arm.

NFA complied his Top 20 lists a couple weeks back, and he separated them out into arms and bats.  He's not as high on Eury Perez or Marco Frias as HT was, but most of the rest of the lists jive.

It will be very interesting to see when Baseball America comes out with their scouting reports where the Nationals rank this season.  You may remember, last off-season the Nats farm system was severely downgraded from 2007's encouraging reviews. 

Most major scouting publications had the Nats in the lower-third of the league as far as minor league talent. 

With the infusion of Strasburg and Storen, two almost-ready arms that should be pitching in Washington before the all-star break, it will bear watching if the Nats get an artificial bump in the rankings this season, only to fall once again next season after Stras and Storen graduate to the majors -- or if general manager Mike Rizzo can have another good draft (he does own the No. 1 overall pick) and keep the Nats prospects rankings high.

• Drew Storen is promoted again. He moves up to Harrisburg from Potomac. Wouldn't be shocking at this point if he joins the big club Sept. 1 if he continues his success.
  
  
• The GM search continues. This has to be the longest interview process in history. Have to assume that if Rizzo isn't handed the job, the new guy will completely clean house. If it's DiPoto (Arizona V.P. of Player Personnel) can he and Rizzo work together again?
  
  
• Turns out Guzman was never claimed by the Red Sox, and is staying in D.C. Yet another missed opportunity to move a player (and unwieldy contract), as the Nats decide his value is greater to them than another team.
  
  
• Ladson thinks Strasburg will sign (and other random things).
  
  
• Nats sign five Dominican teenagers, including a "potential middle-of-the-order" 16-year old. Let's hope they have done the utmost in due diligence on these fine young men.
  
  
• On "Nats Weekly" on the Prime Sports Network, Greg DePalma and I spoke with Craig Heist of WTOP and C.J. Knudsen, GM of Single-A Vermont, and discussed nats topics of the day.
  
  
• Oh, and in case you missed it, Jordan Zimmermann will miss then next 18-24 months rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

Remember the first series of the year, when Emilio Bonifacio looked like Lou Brock and Vince Coleman wrapped into one?

On opening day against the Nats, the team that traded him away over the off-season, Bonifacio had three singles, a fielder aided inside-the-park home run and three stolen bases. The first seven games of the season he hit .485 with five RBIs and four steals.

Since those first seven games? .165/.224/.176 with one extra base hit, one RBI and one steal in 98 plate appearances. For the season, Boni is hitting .250/.295/.306 in 132 plate appearances with six RBIs and six stolen bases. He has struck out 30 times.

And now the Marlins have recalled one of their top prospects, Chris Coghlan (.348/.425/.565 with 12 XBHs in Triple-A), to take his place at third base and Bonifacio could very well end up back in the minors.

Careful what you wish for.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Head over to Nats Buzz on MASN.com with Kristen (also of We've Got Heart) for a terrific interview of Nats' prospect Adrian Nieto. It's one of the most thorough interviews of a Nats prospect I've seen. And considering the Post's esteemed columninst didn't even remember the Nats had a farm team just down the road, it's not surprising.

Yet another way the on-line media scoops the dead-trees. Congrats Kristen, and very good work!