According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, the Nationals signed four players in the last week:
RHP Christian Garcia
The 2004 3rd round pick by the Yankees was once a promising prospect, but has seen his career shred to pieces by injuries over the years, most recently with his second Tommy John surgery in 2010. At only 25 (26 in August), his baseball life is still relatively young, and if he can stay healthy (which is a huge, ginormous IF), he could still be a solid ML pitcher.
From Rob Abruzzese, Bronx Baseball Daily, 2/17/2011: "Garcia was one hell of a prospect. He had a good fastball, a great curveball, and a solid changeup. He was potentially as good as Phil Hughes or better. The problem is that he can not stay healthy. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 2004 draft and seven years in the system he was only able to stay healthy for one season. Not a good track record. So the Yankees cut him loose after he underwent Tommy John surgery last April."
John Sickels ranked him #17 in the Yankees organization going into the 2009 season, giving him a C+ grade, #9/B- going into the 2007 season, #9/C+ going into 2006, and #9/C+ going into 2005.
OF Leonard Davis
Our 2008 minor league hitter of the year is back with the organization after spending the beginning of the 2011 season with the New Jersey Jackals of the Can-Am league.
Power has never been a problem for Davis, but plate discipline definitely has been. He has a career 178 BB/640 K ratio, including a 30 BB/112 K ratio in 2010 split between Syracuse and Harrisburg. Davis is a lefty hitter with extensive experience at 3B as well as some 2B experience, so there's a shot that he'll make the bigs some day, but he needs to conquer AAA first.
Leonard blogged for MLB.com during his time in the Arizona Fall League in 2008, so check that out.
RHP Cody Davis, University of Tampa
Davis, an undrafted free agent, will join his former University of Tampa teammate Shawn Pleffner, a 2011 Nats Draft Pick, in the Nats organization. Davis played OF more than he pitched at Tampa, but it appears that the Nats want him as a hurler. This season, Davis went 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA, 6 H and 4 BB allowed and 15 K in 16 and 2/3 innings pitched. Not bad numbers by any stretch, but they did occur in a small sample size. He made the Coastal Plain League All-Star Game as both an outfielder and a pitcher; Davis served as the Fayetteville SwampDogs' closer this season, going 1-1 with a 1.17 ERA, allowing 16 H, 3 BB and 29 K in 23 IP.
RHP John Peters, Augustana College (Illinois)
Peters is another UDFA who skipped his final year of eligibility to sign with the Nats. He went 4-1 with a 3.47 ERA this season, allowing 37 H and 17 BB over 46 and 2/3 innings, striking out 23 along the way. If you have a subscription to the Quad-Cities Dispatch, you can read an article about him. Sadly, I don't subscribe to small mid-western newspapers.
RHP Scott Williams, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Williams is a bonus, as he was noted in last week's transactions blog edition. He hails from the same college Jordan Zimmermann attended, so that's cool. He put up solid numbers for the Pointers this season, with an 11-2 record, 2.76 ERA, 101 K and 27 BB in 98 innings. In comparison, Zimmermann went 10-0 with a 2.08 ERA, 90 K and 18 BB in 78 innings in his last season at UWSP.
In an article from UWSP's official site, their coach Pat Bloom was quoted as saying, "I am confident that Scott will show that, like Jordan, he is a polished pitcher whose mound presence and competitive toughness are among his greatest attributes,” said Bloom. “He is certainly deserving of this opportunity, and I am happy for Scott and his family that he has a chance to fulfill his dreams."
The Portage Daily Register has a nice article about his road to professional baseball.
Showing posts with label Zimmermann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zimmermann. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Nationals Draft History: 2005-07
I love the MLB Draft, so today is like Christmas to me. Later on, you'll get a nice post looking at the guys the Nats take in the first round tonight, but for now it's a partial history of Nationals' drafts since they moved to DC.
2005:
1st round pick: 3B Ryan Zimmerman (1st round, 4th overall)
2nd pick: OF Justin Maxwell (4th round, 114th overall)
3rd pick: OF Ryan DeLaughter (5th round, 144th overall)
Other notable picks: Marco Estrada (6th round), John Lannan (11th round), Craig Stammen (12th round), Tyler Moore (41st round in 2005, 33rd round in 2006 and 16th round in 2008).
Still in the organization: Zimmerman, Lannan, Stammen, Tim Pahuta (18th round), Moore.
Notes:
-1073 ML games played by 2005 Nats draftees so far, with 23.1 WAR (led by Zimmerman's 17.9 and Lannan's 5.3).
-On paper, this draft was terrible in terms of players that made it to the Majors (5). In reality, it wasn't so bad; the Nationals did not have 2nd or 3rd round picks, got the 2nd best player in the draft in terms of WAR (Tulowitzki at 20.8 is the only one better than Zimmerman) and got value past the 10th round.
-The Nationals gave up their 2nd and 3rd round picks as compensation for the signings of Vinny Castilla and Cristian Guzman. Minnesota took LHP Brian Duensing with the 3rd round pick they received from the Nationals.
-Estrada was roughed up in Milwaukee last year but has rebounded nicely thus far in 2011.
2006:
1st round picks: 1B Chris Marrero (15th overall) and RHP Colton Willems (22nd overall)
2nd round picks: RHP Sean Black (59th overall, did not sign) and OF Stephen Englund (70th overall)
3rd round pick: IF Stephen King (91st overall)
Other notable picks: Glenn Gibson (4th round, 121st overall), Cole Kimball (12th round, 361st overall)
Still in the organization: Marrero, King, Cory VanAllen (5th round), Zech Zinicola (6th round) Sam Brown (7th round), Hassan Pena (13th round), Erik Arnesen (17th round), Adam Carr (18th round), Moore, Brad Peacock (41st round), Chad Jenkins (44th round in 2006 and 17th round in 2009).
Notes:
-10 games played by 2006 draftees so far with 0.2 WAR (all Kimball). Yuck.
-The Nats got the extra 1st and 2nd due to Esteban Loaiza signing with Oakland and Hector Carrasco signing with the Angels...nice! Too bad both picks turned into guys who are already retired at age 22.
-This draft is proof that having 5 picks in the top 100 is not a sure thing: the only ML player out of the Nats' 2006 draft thus far is Cole Kimball, who has only thrown 11 and 1/3 innings with the big club. Willems retired. Black did not sign with the Nats and was drafted by the Yankees in the 7th round in 2009. Englund got suspended for PEDs, converted to a pitcher and retired. King got suspended for PEDs and is kicking around in Harrisburg still.
-Gibson was dealt for Elijah Dukes and came back for the 2010 season, but is now with Kansas City's organization.
-VanAllen and Zinicola were supposed to be in the bigs quickly as relievers, but both are in AA this season.
-Arnesen's "soft-tosser" label has forever restricted his career growth despite solid numbers. Carr might eventually get a shot, but his control is still poor.
-29th rounder Khristopher Davis was drafted by Milwaukee in the 7th round in 2009 and hit 22 HR with a .897 OPS last season in A ball.
-The Nats drafted a guy named Burt Reynolds in the 30th round.
-Sooner or later, the Nationals are going to let Brad Peacock fly because he is always in beast-mode.
-Jenkins has control problems in Harrisburg, but at least he's still pitching.
2007:
1st round picks: LHP Ross Detwiler (6th overall), LHP Josh Smoker (31st overall) and OF Michael Burgess (49th overall)
2nd round picks: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (67th overall) and 3B Jake Smolinski (70th overall)
3rd round pick: 3B Steven Souza (100th overall)
Other notable picks: C Derek Norris (4th round), RHP Brad Meyers (5th round), LHP Jack McGeary (6th round)
Still in the organization: Detwiler, Smoker, Zimmermann, Norris, Meyers, McGeary, Patrick McCoy (10th round), Bill Rhinehart (11th round), Jeff Mandel (17th round)
Notes:
-59 games played by 2007 draftees thus far, with 0.5 total WAR (0.9 by Zimmermann and -0.4 by Detwiler).
-The Nats got the Smoker and Zimmermann picks as compensation for Alfonso Soriano and the Burgess pick as compensation for Jose Guillen.
-The jury is still out on Detwiler and McGeary, amongst others. These two still have the ability to be solid ML pitchers, but Detwiler needs to be more consistent and McGeary has to prove in 2011 that his arm troubles are behind him.
-Burgess is hitting .198 so far in high A ball for the Cubs following the Tom Gorzelanny trade this offseason.
-Smoker's numbers have been ugly since being drafted, but could reboot his career with better control according to John Sickels (via NationalsProspects).
-Souza looked like a bust through 2009, but his '10 and '11 seasons have shown some promise. He was suspended for PEDs last year, though, so that may have had something to do with the better numbers.
-Norris was a steal.
-Brad Meyers will be a National by the end of the season.
-Smolinski was one of the prospects dealt to Florida in the Scott Olsen/Josh Willingham deal. His minor league numbers are solid, but he doesn't do anything outstanding that really makes us miss him.
-Overall, a decent draft so far with a few players still around to improve the ranking.
2005:
1st round pick: 3B Ryan Zimmerman (1st round, 4th overall)
2nd pick: OF Justin Maxwell (4th round, 114th overall)
3rd pick: OF Ryan DeLaughter (5th round, 144th overall)
Other notable picks: Marco Estrada (6th round), John Lannan (11th round), Craig Stammen (12th round), Tyler Moore (41st round in 2005, 33rd round in 2006 and 16th round in 2008).
Still in the organization: Zimmerman, Lannan, Stammen, Tim Pahuta (18th round), Moore.
Notes:
-1073 ML games played by 2005 Nats draftees so far, with 23.1 WAR (led by Zimmerman's 17.9 and Lannan's 5.3).
-On paper, this draft was terrible in terms of players that made it to the Majors (5). In reality, it wasn't so bad; the Nationals did not have 2nd or 3rd round picks, got the 2nd best player in the draft in terms of WAR (Tulowitzki at 20.8 is the only one better than Zimmerman) and got value past the 10th round.
-The Nationals gave up their 2nd and 3rd round picks as compensation for the signings of Vinny Castilla and Cristian Guzman. Minnesota took LHP Brian Duensing with the 3rd round pick they received from the Nationals.
-Estrada was roughed up in Milwaukee last year but has rebounded nicely thus far in 2011.
2006:
1st round picks: 1B Chris Marrero (15th overall) and RHP Colton Willems (22nd overall)
2nd round picks: RHP Sean Black (59th overall, did not sign) and OF Stephen Englund (70th overall)
3rd round pick: IF Stephen King (91st overall)
Other notable picks: Glenn Gibson (4th round, 121st overall), Cole Kimball (12th round, 361st overall)
Still in the organization: Marrero, King, Cory VanAllen (5th round), Zech Zinicola (6th round) Sam Brown (7th round), Hassan Pena (13th round), Erik Arnesen (17th round), Adam Carr (18th round), Moore, Brad Peacock (41st round), Chad Jenkins (44th round in 2006 and 17th round in 2009).
Notes:
-10 games played by 2006 draftees so far with 0.2 WAR (all Kimball). Yuck.
-The Nats got the extra 1st and 2nd due to Esteban Loaiza signing with Oakland and Hector Carrasco signing with the Angels...nice! Too bad both picks turned into guys who are already retired at age 22.
-This draft is proof that having 5 picks in the top 100 is not a sure thing: the only ML player out of the Nats' 2006 draft thus far is Cole Kimball, who has only thrown 11 and 1/3 innings with the big club. Willems retired. Black did not sign with the Nats and was drafted by the Yankees in the 7th round in 2009. Englund got suspended for PEDs, converted to a pitcher and retired. King got suspended for PEDs and is kicking around in Harrisburg still.
-Gibson was dealt for Elijah Dukes and came back for the 2010 season, but is now with Kansas City's organization.
-VanAllen and Zinicola were supposed to be in the bigs quickly as relievers, but both are in AA this season.
-Arnesen's "soft-tosser" label has forever restricted his career growth despite solid numbers. Carr might eventually get a shot, but his control is still poor.
-29th rounder Khristopher Davis was drafted by Milwaukee in the 7th round in 2009 and hit 22 HR with a .897 OPS last season in A ball.
-The Nats drafted a guy named Burt Reynolds in the 30th round.
-Sooner or later, the Nationals are going to let Brad Peacock fly because he is always in beast-mode.
-Jenkins has control problems in Harrisburg, but at least he's still pitching.
2007:
1st round picks: LHP Ross Detwiler (6th overall), LHP Josh Smoker (31st overall) and OF Michael Burgess (49th overall)
2nd round picks: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (67th overall) and 3B Jake Smolinski (70th overall)
3rd round pick: 3B Steven Souza (100th overall)
Other notable picks: C Derek Norris (4th round), RHP Brad Meyers (5th round), LHP Jack McGeary (6th round)
Still in the organization: Detwiler, Smoker, Zimmermann, Norris, Meyers, McGeary, Patrick McCoy (10th round), Bill Rhinehart (11th round), Jeff Mandel (17th round)
Notes:
-59 games played by 2007 draftees thus far, with 0.5 total WAR (0.9 by Zimmermann and -0.4 by Detwiler).
-The Nats got the Smoker and Zimmermann picks as compensation for Alfonso Soriano and the Burgess pick as compensation for Jose Guillen.
-The jury is still out on Detwiler and McGeary, amongst others. These two still have the ability to be solid ML pitchers, but Detwiler needs to be more consistent and McGeary has to prove in 2011 that his arm troubles are behind him.
-Burgess is hitting .198 so far in high A ball for the Cubs following the Tom Gorzelanny trade this offseason.
-Smoker's numbers have been ugly since being drafted, but could reboot his career with better control according to John Sickels (via NationalsProspects).
-Souza looked like a bust through 2009, but his '10 and '11 seasons have shown some promise. He was suspended for PEDs last year, though, so that may have had something to do with the better numbers.
-Norris was a steal.
-Brad Meyers will be a National by the end of the season.
-Smolinski was one of the prospects dealt to Florida in the Scott Olsen/Josh Willingham deal. His minor league numbers are solid, but he doesn't do anything outstanding that really makes us miss him.
-Overall, a decent draft so far with a few players still around to improve the ranking.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
How the Nats beat good pitchers
While the Nats have struggled as a whole this season, they have defeated more than a few star pitchers, including Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, Yovani Gallardo, Tim Hudson, Matt Cain, Roy Oswalt, Madison Bumgarner and Tommy Hanson...and those are just the guys who got an actual "L." They haven't gotten cheated on the scoreboard either, scoring 43 runs in these 9 games (4.78 runs per game). Here's a look at how each pitcher was defeated.
April 2: Nats 6 Braves 3
Tommy Hanson did not even make it out of the 4th, as the Nationals brushed him up for 4 runs on 5 hits, with 2 walks and only 1 strikeout. Jayson Werth tagged him for two doubles and Rick Ankiel launched a 2 run homer in the 3rd to help push Hanson to the brink. John Lannan wasn't perfect, but only allowed 1 run on 5 hits through 5 innings. The recipe for success in this game was getting runs early, chasing the starting pitcher and responding every time the Braves scored.
April 17: Nats 8 Brewers 4
It took the Nats four innings to get warmed up, but they came back from a 2-0 deficit to score 7 runs on Yovani Gallardo in 5 and 1/3 innings. While 6 of the runs came on 3-run homers by Danny Espinosa and Pudge Rodriguez, the Nats' bats did not exactly get cheated, with 10 hits off of the big righty, forcing him to throw 107 pitches before being yanked. The Nats won this one by the long-ball, adding to the total with a solo homer by Ian Desmond in the 8th.
April 29: Nats 3 Giants 0
Thank Laynce Nix and Jason Marquis for beating Tim Linecum; Nix went 2/3 with a 2 run homer in the 2nd inning, which provided Marquis all the support he needed, as he went along to throw a 5 hit, 0 walk shutout. Marquis also contributed an RBI single that scored Desmond, who also deserves mention for going 3 for 3 off of the Freak. The Nats beat the Giants this time on one long-ball and solid pitching.
May 1: Nats 5 Giants 2
Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from Nate Schierholtz's 2 run double in the 2nd with 4 scoreless innings while receiving help from the rest of the team. Only Werth (3 for 4) and Adam LaRoche (0 for 2 with 2 BB's) started and failed to score or drive in a run, but neither had an awful day. This was a team win through and through, with contributions from the starting pitcher, the relievers, the starting lineup and the bench.
May 2: Nats 2 Giants 0
I'd feel bad for fans of the Giants, as their offense is horrendous, but they won the World Series last year...not happening. This time around, Tom Gorzelanny threw 8 innings and only gave up 3 hits while Jerry Hairston and Michael Morse each provided a 2 out RBI to beat young star Madison Bumgarner and give the Nats the Curly W.
May 10: Nats 7 Braves 6
The Nats won this game by capitalizing on mistakes, scoring 4 unearned runs (along with 3 earned runs) off of Tim Hudson. Werth and Nix both contributed 3-run homers and the Nats narrowly avoided having Marquis, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard blow a 7-1 lead in the 8th.
May 31: Nats 10 Phillies 2
There is nothing on Earth that brings me more joy than blowing out teams from Pennsylvania. Cliff Lee gave up 6 runs on 7 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings, including two Espinosa homers. Morse went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBI while Marquis lasted through 6 and 1/3 innings, only allowing 2 runs and scoring one himself on the basepaths.
June 1: Nats 2 Phillies 1
Lannan and Roy Oswalt gave up a combined 3 runs, but neither made it past the 5th inning. Despite a million balls in play hit by the Phillies (only 2 K's by Nats pitchers) and limited offensive chances, the Nats pulled this one out due to Nix's homer and fantastic catch.
The Nats hit well in most of the games against these great pitchers, but another common denominator was their own great starting pitching. Wins against guys like Linecum and Lee are good confidence-boosters so it obviously bodes well for Washington to keep scoring Curly W's against elite competition.
April 2: Nats 6 Braves 3
Tommy Hanson did not even make it out of the 4th, as the Nationals brushed him up for 4 runs on 5 hits, with 2 walks and only 1 strikeout. Jayson Werth tagged him for two doubles and Rick Ankiel launched a 2 run homer in the 3rd to help push Hanson to the brink. John Lannan wasn't perfect, but only allowed 1 run on 5 hits through 5 innings. The recipe for success in this game was getting runs early, chasing the starting pitcher and responding every time the Braves scored.
April 17: Nats 8 Brewers 4
It took the Nats four innings to get warmed up, but they came back from a 2-0 deficit to score 7 runs on Yovani Gallardo in 5 and 1/3 innings. While 6 of the runs came on 3-run homers by Danny Espinosa and Pudge Rodriguez, the Nats' bats did not exactly get cheated, with 10 hits off of the big righty, forcing him to throw 107 pitches before being yanked. The Nats won this one by the long-ball, adding to the total with a solo homer by Ian Desmond in the 8th.
April 29: Nats 3 Giants 0
Thank Laynce Nix and Jason Marquis for beating Tim Linecum; Nix went 2/3 with a 2 run homer in the 2nd inning, which provided Marquis all the support he needed, as he went along to throw a 5 hit, 0 walk shutout. Marquis also contributed an RBI single that scored Desmond, who also deserves mention for going 3 for 3 off of the Freak. The Nats beat the Giants this time on one long-ball and solid pitching.
May 1: Nats 5 Giants 2
Jordan Zimmermann rebounded from Nate Schierholtz's 2 run double in the 2nd with 4 scoreless innings while receiving help from the rest of the team. Only Werth (3 for 4) and Adam LaRoche (0 for 2 with 2 BB's) started and failed to score or drive in a run, but neither had an awful day. This was a team win through and through, with contributions from the starting pitcher, the relievers, the starting lineup and the bench.
May 2: Nats 2 Giants 0
I'd feel bad for fans of the Giants, as their offense is horrendous, but they won the World Series last year...not happening. This time around, Tom Gorzelanny threw 8 innings and only gave up 3 hits while Jerry Hairston and Michael Morse each provided a 2 out RBI to beat young star Madison Bumgarner and give the Nats the Curly W.
May 10: Nats 7 Braves 6
The Nats won this game by capitalizing on mistakes, scoring 4 unearned runs (along with 3 earned runs) off of Tim Hudson. Werth and Nix both contributed 3-run homers and the Nats narrowly avoided having Marquis, Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard blow a 7-1 lead in the 8th.
May 31: Nats 10 Phillies 2
There is nothing on Earth that brings me more joy than blowing out teams from Pennsylvania. Cliff Lee gave up 6 runs on 7 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings, including two Espinosa homers. Morse went 3 for 5 with a double, two runs and two RBI while Marquis lasted through 6 and 1/3 innings, only allowing 2 runs and scoring one himself on the basepaths.
June 1: Nats 2 Phillies 1
Lannan and Roy Oswalt gave up a combined 3 runs, but neither made it past the 5th inning. Despite a million balls in play hit by the Phillies (only 2 K's by Nats pitchers) and limited offensive chances, the Nats pulled this one out due to Nix's homer and fantastic catch.
The Nats hit well in most of the games against these great pitchers, but another common denominator was their own great starting pitching. Wins against guys like Linecum and Lee are good confidence-boosters so it obviously bodes well for Washington to keep scoring Curly W's against elite competition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)