Good, Bad, Interesting… Vol. 12
Our weekly look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues.
Our weekly look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues.
SYRACUSE
46-36, 2nd place IL North, ½ game back
| Good | Shairon Martis, 5-3, 3.44ERA since May (0-2, 6.75 in April) |
| Bad | Chase Lambin, Syracuse All-Star (DOB: 7/7/79) |
| Interesting | Whiting .270 BA, .397 OBP 12 steals in 31 games; .253 BA / .352 OBP in last three seasons at A+ |
HARRISBURG
38-42, 4th place, 13½ games behind
| Good | Rafael Martin 1-1, 2.16ERA. 1.02WHIP in June |
| Bad | Danny Espinosa 70K in 71G, 34K in June |
| Interesting | Edgardo Baez .301/.366/.377; .254/.314/.406 in ’09 |
POTOMAC
3-4 2nd Half; 34-43 Overall
| Good | Patrick McCoy 1-1, 1.98ERA, 1.17WHIP in June |
| Bad | Michael Burgess .183/.280/.312 in June; .313/.394/.509 in May |
| Interesting | N/A |
HAGERSTOWN
3-5 2nd Half; 39-39 Overall
| Good | J.P. Ramirez .322/.361/.467 in June; .228/.283/.402 in May |
| Bad | Shane Erb 22R, 20BB, 31H in 22G (5.20ERA, 1.87WHIP) |
| Interesting | Luis Garcia 1-0, 2.13ERA since demotion; 0-0, 10.38ERA at Potomac |
VERMONT
11-3, 1st Place Stedler Division of NY-Penn League
| Good | Matt Swynenburg 2-0, 0.56ERA, 0.56WHIP in 3 starts |
| Bad | Wilson Eusebio 8BB in 8⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Marcus Jones .289/.341/.553 in 11G; .210/.248/.280 for Hagerstown in 28G |
GCL NATIONALS
2-6, 5th place GCL East Division
| Good | Adrian Sanchez .424/.457/.606 |
| Bad | Estarlin Martinez 10K in 19AB |
| Interesting | N/A |
DSL NATIONALS
16-13, 4th place B.C. South Division
| Good | Bienvenido Valdez .288/.374/.438 |
| Bad | Yamaicol Tejeda 1-for-20 with 8K |
| Interesting | Nelalexfred Ortega 7E, 12SB, 15BB, 14K in 26G |
Any clue on Whiting’s fielding ability? If the Nats deal Willingham, I’d like to see them give Whiting a shot.
Whiting is a LF with CF speed. Has difficulty going back on the ball. Not a very strong arm.
Whiting’s promotion to AAA still seems strange to me? I have not seen him play but his numbers seem to suggest that he is a slap hitter that improved his pitch recognition, .397 OBP, but still strikes out to much so he either can’t hit a certain type of pitch or some pitchers can overpower him. His SB % has also dropped drastically. If the Nats are pushing him to the majors it would seem that they either are going to actively trade Willingham or they hope that he can somehow become a lead-off hitter? Do you think he has major league talent and could he make the jump from high A to the majors this year? Like I said something seems strange here.
David – Trent Jewett, Boomer’s manager last year at Potomac, requested this move because he *likes* speed guys that put pressure on the defense. You’ve already remarked on some of the factors that are indicating that his success will be short-lived. I think it’s “interesting” that he’s still hitting above .270, but I suspect he’ll sink to the .240 level by the end of the season. I don’t think he’s got what it takes to go much further than this, much as I like his speed and style.
Those speed guys can surprise you sometimes – once in a while, they change their approach to hitting, and then you’ve got a Denard Span. Any chance of that with Whiting, do you think?
Post linked at Beltway Baseball.
Next to no chance that Whiting has a higher ceiling than AAA,which has been a surprise to me.
Never say never,I suppose,but the odds are very long….
Kevin has a very good point regarding Whiting, Span was considered a fringy guy with a low ceiling and then all of a sudden the light goes on and you’re hitting 5-5 with 3 triples. This is the kind of thing that keeps us seamheads excited.