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@NatsNextGen Why not offer half of the slot value (at most) and say take it or leave it? No junior in their right mind would turn down $3M when they’ll be a year older the following year with 0.0 bargaining power even if they get $500k in NIL money.

@NatsNextGen Insanity. He’s worth $2M. Fire Toboni. Also, completely setting aside my loathing of our pick, I’ve never understood why teams don’t give college juniors a fraction of their slot values. Tf are they going to do, go back for their senior year & get even less a year later?

Honestly expected more savings. Expected but 100% rules out galason

@NatsNextGen @NationalsSource @PaulCubbage23 a lot stronger claim." Lastly, even if he does gain say, 3 mph on his average FB, that would probably get him to a 50-grade MLB FB. Just seems like an incredibly low upside pick. They could have taken any other high upside hs lotto ticket arm there.

@NatsNextGen @NationalsSource @PaulCubbage23 velo now. Their arms are so maxed out already at 18, & then you add in the rigors of pro ball & increased innings. So I don't think a large velo jump can be baked in for Harris. His frame is already pretty developed rn too which counters the "He's on the young side & will get...

This… and I expect Toboni to play it this way… his five year deal was never about year 1

@NationalsSource @PaulCubbage23 @NatsNextGen Literally any of them. Flukey would have been my #1 of the ones available. Forget taking an arm, I would have taken anyone in the top 50 over Hacopian. Also, the bum we took in the 4th round was another F- pick. Kid has a 35 grade MLB fastball at present. Zero upside.

@PaulCubbage23 @BTB7_ @NatsNextGen Hahah don’t ya know you can create a player in the MLB draft.

@NatsNextGen @PaulCubbage23 @NationalsSource And we had a great opportunity to take a legit college arm in this class and passed on one for a one-tool bum who will be a DH. Toboni has left a lot to be desired so far. No one bats 1.000, but he has a lot of negative marks so far.

@PaulCubbage23 @NationalsSource Love Whitney as much as the next guy but do you really think w injury + less comp he’s that much better than Valenciunas?

@ajflax Is he still ass defensively or getting better there too? A bat first catcher would have to mash at the next level to be valuable (if he does indeed stink defensively).

I was down on Ford a few weeks ago, but this is much more encouraging. This is what the successful version of Ford looks like: Extreme selectivity, great contact metrics, and just enough power to keep pitchers honest. It really does seem like he's getting past an injury.

@BaseUnstitched many high school arms in general make big jumps in velo anymore after being drafted (3-4mph+ on their average FB)? These kids arms are already maxed out nowadays prior to reaching pro ball. So Harris at present has a 35-40 grade MLB FB? What’s the hope, he maybe reaches 45-50?

@BaseUnstitched Don’t get the Harris pick. Think it’s a far cry from taking the high upside RHPs from last year in Sime and Harmon. Does he actually only sit 90-93? I know he’s on the younger side but that’s countered by him being pretty developed physically already. Regardless of that, how…

Ryan’s quick thoughts on the Nats 2026 Draft: - Toboni and Co have no track record, so it was hard to know exactly what they liked/were looking for coming into the draft - Hacopian has arguably the best bat-to-ball skill in the class, paired with an elite approach at the plate, and pairs it all with projectable pop. He could effectively the highest level quickly - Brunson is an outstanding athlete with 25/25 potential down the line. The approach at the dish is solid, and with refinement this could be a lightning in the bottle type pick. Has all the tools to stay in Center - Rounds 3-4 look like their “Overslot” plays - Both Luke Williams and Cooper Harris are high-end HS talents, but will take significant development to pull their potential - Cuvet in the 5th round reminds me of the Petry pick - which is off to a good start development wise a year later - Day two was a lot of arms that throw strikes, Nats are betting they can add velo and amplify the potential outcome Give us your initial thoughts on the Nats new front office’s first draft class!

@NatsNextGen I don’t know anything about pitching mechanics, but he looks incredibly unathletic and stiff. That said, you can’t teach 6’8. Seems like a the perfect profile to take a flier on that late. Hopefully the dev staff can unlock some more velo and all the other stuff.

Really like this pick in the 20th rd for the Nats. Expect he signs. Has some really interesting traits (6’8) and decent velo. Former t50 recruit who went to Tenn before “stepping away” from the program. Like the pick will be interesting to confirm if he’ll sign/his story

@Kaizen_Investor Hey, just wanted to come back to this. What would be a book that’s more targeted for just beginner investors - maybe even one of the more well known ones you’re referring to?

I try to read 1 book every month, there is no book that fully covers it all. I probably only remember 20% of everything I read. Let me try to give you some of my favourite. - the new world economy in 5 trends: about the upcoming trends, not really about strategy. - Mastering the mental game of trading: it’s about the mental game, I don’t trade, but it also works on investing in general. - The missing billionaires: about capital sizing, would not recommend it for beginners, very technical book. - Nudge: not about investing but more about decision making in general. Very interesting for life in general. - The chimp paradox: Again not about investing but one of the most interesting books in terms of taking your life in your own hands and owning your decisions. A must read in my opinion. - how to not invest: about investing biases and how to eliminate bad decisions. I think these are some lesser known books that mights help you. You can also go for the well known books you find on every page here but I have read those too long ago to really recommend them.

My experience in a market like this is to stay patient. As I previously explained, you can be aggressive in buying stocks in industries that you don’t own and want to be part of it. But I’m happy with the industries and stocks I’m in and I’m not adding yet. I stay patient. Nobody knows if we reached a bottom or when the bottom will be reached. I’m not smart enough to predict this bottom, so I don’t try. There is a negative sentiment in the market at the moment. The week I’m looking at to certainly change it: the week of 20 july. The week the Hyperscalers report earnings. Sentiment can be negative but AI is here to stay and stocks will go up again. If the market does not realise before that week, they will again when Hyperscalers report earnings. I’m very happy with the positions I have but I think market can go lower or stay stable for another month. I stay very patient with my cash.

@SkinsfanJW21 @NationalsSource Yeah but none of them will be capable of playing SS at the big league level other than Willits so it doesn’t really matter if they play there now.

@NationalsSource Farm system gonna have like 5 stud shortstops lol

Finally settled on my target. Idk if he will be there but he is my reasonable target. I don’t think they will go arm in round one… if not Bell keep an eye on Grindlinger, Hacopian and Reese as they’ve been the most linked.

@NationalsSource @nashunals Why does that matter? He’s not a top prospect where you care if his development gets screwed up. Plus, he’s had almost 700 abs in AAA, he’s going on 25, and as I alluded to, he’s unlikely to be your 1B of the future anyways. Might as well roll the dice and see if he can help now.

@nashunals I forget who it was recently but they brought up the playing time issue. Hadn’t really thought too much into it but where are the ABs coming from?

read where Toboni will be getting a hand delivered court order giving him 48 hours to call Morales up to Washington Nationals or be charged with 1) baseball malpractice, 2) obstruction of a major league baseball team success, 3) imitating a MLB President of Baseball Operations.

@_SoccerThoughts @starsnstripesfc Is the order of best to worst for top 5 leagues generally: 1. EPL (always) 2-4. depends on the season 5. Ligue 1? Has there been more of an order for the 2-4 spots in recent years, or even just looking at last season and projecting ahead to this season?

@starsnstripesfc Bundesliga is overrated. Used to watch it a lot. Serie A is competitive every year. Plus if you’re in the USA a Paramount+ subscription gets you Serie A and Champions league. Best value for money when it comes to games available.

Feel like I really want to get into Serie A or Bundesliga this season. I watch some of both already but mostly for #USMNT players. Might start supporting a club, any suggestions? (Not Bayern Munich)

@ProspectsUsmnt Any idea if there’s a realistic chance we get invited to Copa America ‘28? I feel like that would be so huge to play in every four years and push our program even further. It would be great if CONCACAF and CONMEBOL merged, but I doubt that’s a possibility.

Little brother Canadians trying to tug on big brother’s leg. Well, congrats on finally making the Round of 16 for the first time! We’ll be absolutely okay. Set the sport back? Truly a brain dead take. No one will care after another week or two. Tons of newer soccer fans. We have made substantial gains on teams like Belgium in the last four years. In fact, we finally put out as good of or a better roster in the decisive game and all our good players aren’t in their early/mid 30’s. We weren’t starting from a talent deficit in the knockout round games for once, which has been a feature against good teams we’ve had to contend with forever. We dropped a terrible performance when it mattered, but we’ll be back and will return every key player for the next WC age-wise.

@StanUsmnt Who’s a potential replacement for him in four years?

This 20 second of Tyler Adams is just depressing. In the biggest games of his career he’s consistently been bad. He was supposed to be the destroyer and stabilizer and the guy has just not been that in the big games. Gets ripped in danger zone and gets cooked in 1v1 for no real reason. This should have been a goal.

@georgerlewis @JoeDoyleMiLB @OverSlot_ Thanks for the insight, guys. I like the idea of a bat more too. Could potentially be a quicker development path too all things being equal.

@JoeDoyleMiLB @Blake_T_B7 @OverSlot_ I think, even if you think the ceiling is theoretically higher as a pitcher (I don’t), the bat is good enough for teams taking him in the 10-25 range to want that route. Historically, the return on HS Ps early is pretty poor. Maybe that’s just my risk tolerance though.

Reposting for the morning crowd: I previewed the Nats' selection at 11 by examining the history of key decision-makers. I've come to be confident Jared Grindlinger is their target. Fits the mold. My full work linked below. youtu.be/ijQ3_d3LYcA?si…

@georgerlewis Is there anything to even unlock though? I don’t know the answer to that & I know guys can do damage who aren’t outwardly the most physically impressive, but he’s always looked incredibly puny to me. He hasn’t gotten any bigger since he was drafted. Does he have high exit velos?

The Nats talked about getting him to pull-side power His pull rate never deviated more than 1% from the 37% he posted in SD. His GB rate in ‘22, ‘23 and ‘24 was higher than ‘21. Another victim of an dev group that appeared to fall back on tradition when challenged.

People will make a big deal about it, but it’s really been 4 years since Hassell has been a real part of the future. 2025’s 125 wRC+ in AAA was fueled by a .357 BABIP and a huge xwOBA over performance. He was a border 35+/40 FV last summer and has had a 60 wRC+ since then.

@Nationals Who’s the guy talking to start out the clip before Kolko comes in?

LUI CAREER HIGH HOMERS chills