Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Looking back on unsigned 2011 picks

The Nats did a great job signing the top picks in their 2011 draft class. All of the picks from the top 12 rounds signed with the team as well as 15 of their top 21 picks and 30 of their 51 picks overall. Here's a look at what the 21 guys that went unsigned are up to:


13th round C/1B Casey Kalenkosky (Texas State)
In his senior year at Texas State, "Ory" has hit .262/.353/.487 with 9 HR, 33 R and 35 RBI. Texas State is the #3 seed in the Southland Conference tournament and will face off against Stephen F. Austin tomorrow afternoon to try and gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

14th round 1B/OF Cody Stubbs (University of North Carolina)
After transferring from Walters State CC to UNC this season, the junior hasn't found his power, hitting .266/.354/.425 with 5 HR, 6 SB, 36 R and 33 RBI through 55 games. UNC plays Wake Forest tomorrow night in the ACC tournament, but are a lock for an NCAA tournament bid.

15th round SS Zach Houchins (Louisburg JC)
Everyone's favorite unsigned pick from 2011 starred for the highly ranked (as high as #1 in the NJCAA this year) Louisburg College Hurricanes, hitting .400/.476/.726 with 14 HR, 32 XBH, 62 R and 52 RBI in 54 games. The #2 seeded Hurricanes were eliminated by USC Sumter on May 8th in the NJCAA DI Region 10 tournament, which was eventually won by Spartanburg Methodist College. Houchins has 2 years of college eligibility left, but will likely be drafted again this season due to his excellent 2012 campaign.

17th round RHP Esteban Guzman (San Jose State)
The senior struggled to a 1-3 record and 4.71 ERA in 13 appearances (8 starts) for San Jose State. In 42 innings, he walked 25 and struck out 26 while allowing 50 H, 12 XBH and 23 runs. The Spartans did not qualify for the WAC baseball tournament after a 9 game conference losing streak to end the season.

19th round RHP Hawtin Buchanan20th round RHP Josh Laxer and 44th round 1B Matt Snyder  (University of Mississippi)
Buchanan pitched out of the pen in 14 games as a true freshman in 2012, with a solid 3.79 ERA and staggering 30 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Laxer didn't have quite the awesome freshman year, but went 4-0 in 5 starts (11 total appearances) with a 5.33 ERA. His 10:15 BB:K ratio left plenty to be desired, though.

Snyder had a breakout year, hitting .340/.406/.581, leading the team in total bases (125) and RBI (57) to go with his 12 homers and .998 fielding percentage.

Ole Miss lost their first SEC tournament game to #11 Kentucky today (despite a 4-4 day by Matt Snyder) and need to beat Arkansas tomorrow morning to stay alive in the SEC tournament.

24th round LHP Kyle Ottoson (Oklahoma State)
In his senior season, Ottoson went 4-7 with a 3.86 in 11 starts (12 appearances). His 29:41 BB:K ratio in 63 innings isn't impressive and he was arrested for DUI earlier in the year. He'll get drafted for the fifth time this year, though. Ottoson and the Cowboys saddle up against their rivals the Oklahoma Sooners tomorrow morning in the Big 12 tournament.

29th round C Sean Cotten (Tusculum College)
Cotten, who was thought to have signed with the Nationals by both his college and Baseball America, but ended up not signing for whatever reason. I can't seem to find what he's doing.

31st round OF Josh Tobias and 46th round OF Tyler Thompson (Florida)
Tobias hit .250/.333/.310 in 34 starts for Florida this season. While his power didn't show up (only 2 XBH and 6 RBI), he held his own for a true freshman in SEC play. He'll need to pack some pop in 2013 and beyond if he wants to rebuild his draft stock, though.

Plagued by injuries in the past, Thompson started his senior season at an impressive tune of a .319/.365/.447 triple slash in 14 starts, but tore his ACL in March while making it all the way to 2nd base on a dropped third strike.

Florida beat Auburn in their first SEC tournament game today and will play the winner of tomorrow's South Carolina - Vanderbilt game on Thursday.

34th round LHP Calvin Drummond (San Diego)
Drummond was once again solid for San Diego this season, going 8-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 79 and 1/3 innings. His 28:67 BB:K ratio was solid as well. Drummond and the Toreros (sounds like a good name for a band?) will face off against Pepperdine University this weekend for the WCC championship.

37th round LHP Derrick Bleeker (Arkansas)
Bleeker was drafted as an LHP but only threw 1 inning this season for the Razorbacks (albeit with 3 K and 0 runs allowed). He hit .267/.333/.467 with 3 HR, 11 R and 15 RBI in 23 starts, but his pro baseball future still likely lies in the bullpen as a power lefty arm. Arkansas lost to Mississippi State in their first round SEC tournament game today and will face Ole Miss tomorrow in an elimination matchup.

38th round LHP Brett Mooneyham (Stanford)
The 38th round was nowhere near Mooneyham's true talent level, but he was injured and seen as unsignable in 2011. He returned to form in 2012, with a 7-4 record and 3.30 ERA in 12 starts. Mooneyham struck out an excellent 87 batters in 76 and 1/3 innings while walking 34. Mooneyham will certainly go much higher in the 2012 draft than in the 2011 one. Stanford plays California this weekend, but cannot win the Pac 12 baseball title. They'll certainly make the NCAA tournament, though.

39th round OF Peter Verdin and 49th round OF Hunter Cole (Georgia)
Verdin hit .300/.395/.359 in his senior season at Georgia with 20 R in 48 starts and 13 SB in 15 attempts.

Cole was excellent in his freshman year, hitting .281/.377/.459 in 48 starts with 7 HR, 26 R and 23 RBI.

Georgia lost its first SEC tournament game and will face Auburn tomorrow for a chance to fight on.

40th round OF Stephen (Cory) Collum (Snead State CC)
Can't find any stats for Snead State CC. Something tells me I'll live.

42nd round SS David Kerian (Illinois)
Hit .192/.323/.192 in 26 at bats for Illinois in his freshman year this year. 5 BB ain't bad, though. Illinois lost a tie break to Ohio State and failed to make the Big Ten tourney this year, all but ending their season.

43rd round SS Mitch Morales (Florida Atlantic)
In his freshman season, Morales hit .264/.338/.312 in 40 starts. The power is still far from being there, but he swiped 5 bags and played solid defense this season. FAU is the #1 seed in the Sun Belt tournament and play Western Kentucky to kick it off tomorrow.

47th round LHP TJ Montgomery
Can't seem to find anything on Montgomery or where he ended up going to school.

48th round OF Mike Bisenius (Wayne State College)
The senior won his conference's gold glove award while hitting .314/.422/.605 in 50 starts. Bisenius lead his team with 10 HR, 44 RBI and 45 R and even stole 7 bases. Wayne State lost to Winona State and Minnesota State (finally, a state State) and is no longer alive in the NSC tourney.

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