Good, Bad, Interesting… 2010 Regular-Season Final
Our final 2010 look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues
Our final 2010 look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues, with a focus on the level where the prospects shone the brightest, not counting some guy who made a tour for service-time reasons (*ahem*).
SYRACUSE 76-67, 2nd place IL North, 11 games back
Good | Bat: Danny Espinosa .295/.349/.463 in 24G Arm: Josh Wilkie 2.45ERA, 1.13WHIP, 2HR in 69⅔ IP |
Bad | Bat: Chris Duncan .191/.274/.302 in 82G Arm: Collin Balester as a starter: 11.57ERA, .385OBA |
Interesting | Bat: Boomer Whiting .372OBP, 36/48 SB Arm: Erik Arnesen 1.29WHIP, 3.95ERA in 107IP |
HARRISBURG 77-65, 2nd place, 5 games back, E.L. West Division Wild Card
Good | Bat: Chris Marrero .294/.350/.450 in 141G Arm: Tom Milone 12-5, 2.85ERA ( in ’09, 12-5, 2.91ERA), 155K in 158IP |
Bad | Bat: Sean Rooney .165BA in 31G Arm: Aaron Thompson 4-13, 5.80ERA, 1.59WHIP |
Interesting | Bat: Steve Lombardozzi .295/.373/.524 in 27G Arm: Tanner Roark 1.22WHIP, 2.50ERA in 6 starts since acquisition |
POTOMAC
39-30 in 2nd Half, 70-69 overall — 2nd-Half CrL North Division winner by 2½ games
Good | Bat: Tyler Moore 31HR, 111RBI, .552SLG Arm: Dan Leatherman 0.92WHIP, 57K in 46⅔ IP in 31G w/ 11SV |
Bad | Bat: Chris Curran .226/.293/.305 in 74G Arm: Justin Phillabaum 0-6, 6.87ERA (13.17 at home), 1.77WHIP in 29 appearances |
Interesting | Bat: Derek Norris .300/.535/.575 with RISP; .210/.359/.347 bases empty Arm: Brad Peacock 5.1K/9 at A+ in ’09; 10.27K/9 in ’10 |
HAGERSTOWN
29-41 in 2nd Half, 65-75 overall
Good | Bat: J.P. Ramirez .296/.341/.470 in 132G Arm: Danny Rosenbaum 2.32ERA, 1.22WHIP in 18G |
Bad | Bat: Adrian Nieto .195/.291/.253, 13E in 60G Arm: Josh Smoker 7.38ERA, .319OBA as starter |
Interesting | Bat: Justin Bloxom .309/.355/.476 in ’10; .228/.346/.303 in ’09 at Vermont Arm: Rob Wort 2.08ERA, 185OBA; 3.91ERA, .247OBA in ’09 at GCL |
VERMONT
36-38, 3rd Place Stedler Division of NY-Penn League, 2 games back
Good | Bat: David Freitas .307/.408/.450 in 62G Arm: Neil Holland 1.04WHIP, 37K in 32⅔ IP in 19G |
Bad | Bat: Hendry Jimenez .218/.291/.279 in 51G Arm: Chris McKenzie 1.97WHIP, 8.54ERA in 26⅓ IP over 8G (6GS) |
Interesting | Bat: Wade Moore .287/.394/.392, ’10 D-2 draftee Arm: Mark Herrera 1.18WHIP, .220OBA, ’10 Juco draftee |
GCL NATIONALS
24-32, 4th place GCL East Division, 13 games back
Good | Bat: Randolph Oduber .366/.434/.569 in 39G Arm: Nick Serino 1.01WHIP, 3.16ERA in 25⅔ IP |
Bad | Bat: Rashad Hatcher .200/.241/.218 in 32G Arm: Mike Gallo 8.38ERA, .291OBA in 19⅓ IP |
Interesting | Bat: Angel Montilla .285/.350/.383 in 51G Arm: NDFA Billy Ott 0.83WHIP, 1.17ERA in 23IP |
DSL NATIONALS
36-35, 5th Place, Boca Chica East, 10 games back
Good | Bat: Victor Chavez .309/.420/.412 in 46G Arm: Wirkin Estevez 1.04WHIP, .233OBA in 82⅔ IP |
Bad | Bat: Yamaicol Tejeda .042BA in 48AB over 32G Arm: Jorge De La Cruz 9.88ERA in 11G |
Interesting | Bat: 18-y.o. Paul Chacin .281/.355/.336 in 50G Arm: Adalberto Mieses 1.42WHIP, 33BB, 5HR, 2.98ERA |
Some thoughts on another great list (man, you’ve been working overtime today!):
1) Poor Wilkie. Wilkamania looks like it’s on hold for at least one more year and he had an awful final outing for Syracuse.
2) Rooney really bummed me out this year by falling off a cliff. His demotion and Rhinehart’s demotion are sad but necessary contributions to Potomac’s playoff run. Thompson was frustrating this year. Wasn’t he at least a smidge better down the stretch? You like Roark better than Tatusko? Curious on that one, but I know “interesting” doesn’t necessarily mean better.
3) Leatherman was great for Potomac but he’s organizational depth. If he was the best story as a pitching arm at Potomac, that’s a concern for the pitching prospects in the organization. I guess AJ Morris has been a real disappointment this year. If Espinosa earned the best mention at Syracuse, could Rosenbaum get pitching honors for Potomac? Awesome focus on Norris’ RISP. Had no idea.
4) Hagerstown was a pitching graveyard by the end of the season I guess. Guess you’re down on Clegg or Demny but I can’t blame you for that. The Eury Perez lobby and the scouts are not going to be pleased with your JP Ramirez choice.
5) As always, defer to your knowledge on the Vermont, GCL, and DSL. Oduber had a lot of supporters and he went under the radar with the other overdrafts. Not strong in the few games he had at Hagerstown, but I hope he starts at Hagerstown instead of Vermont next year, especially with the other likely outfield promotions.
1) The Rule 5 is made for guys like Wilkie
2) Roark gets the nod based on age, Thompson was better in a couple of late-season starts, but not enough to erase the bad stretch
3) Rosenbaum is a great story, but the bulk of his good work was at Hagerstown. Espinosa gets the honor at Syracuse much because there was no other bat that fits the term of prospect. Leatherman was the most consistent pitcher under the age of 25, Alaniz was the best pitcher overall, but not a prospect.
4) Clegg and Demny both wilted in August. Perez had a great second half, but Ramirez was good all season long. That’s not a crack against Eury, but praise for Ramirez
5) These three levels anyone can snort “sample size” at my selection and be right. I wish I had some eyes down there, but I don’t and it’s too damn far for me to drive (unless it’s in mid-March)
Wilke went undrafted last year under Rule 5. Does this make him a minor league free agent now?
I don’t believe so. He was signed as NDFAin ’06, which means this is his fifth year in the organization and MLFA comes after six years.
Good stuff, Sue, and thanks for taking the time to defend. Be interesting to see what happens with Tatusko. Syracuse looks crowded next year to me, but there are still decisions to make with rotation and converting guys to relievers. It will be interesting to see how Ramirez and Perez get compared on the prospect lists over the offseason. Ramirez seems to have a lot of polish as a hitter. He should take a million fly balls in left in the offseason. I don’t know how you add the walk tool to Perez, and I don’t know how much of his success was Morganesque second half luck and how much was a genuine step forward.
Great job Sue,
1. Rooney I believe just needs a rest. After the death of his father last year he started well with PNats then dropped off in AA. Got married in the offseason then was called to replace Norrris in the AFL while he just got back from the honeymoon. Then starts in AA and hardly plays behind Solano then comes back to Pnats after Peacock breaks his finger/hand. Since being demoted has play on a regular basis and played well.
2. AJ Morris just needs to stay off the DL and he will be fine. His time in the pen has been victomized by bad, bad, bad defense. Not an excuse but just sayin.
3. Tom Milone should be talked about alot more based on almost 2 identical seasons.
4. D. Norris still seems lazy to me.
5. M. Burgess just needed a change of scenery.
Re: Wilkie — I think the ONLY reason Wilkie wasn’t brought up was they need the space on the 40 man and don’t need to expose him for another year.
Sue, Boomer Whiting is the ultimate in ‘interesting’. Don’t know what to make of this guy, maybe be a really interesting AAAA player for a long time.
This has been brought up before but those two guys we got for Guzman have both been impressive. I know the Rangers system is flush, but what did the Nats F.O. see that the Rangers didn’t. They helped propel Harrisburg to the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.
Wilkie was eligible for Rule 5 last year, partly the reason for his inclusion for the AFL last fall – to further gauge whether he was worthy of a 40 man roster spot. The same reason Kimball & Carr are on the AFL this year. Fully 1/3 the “prospects” in the AFL are in that category, aging border-line prospects that teams are giving a final look-see to see if they merit inclusion on the 40 man.
Wilkie was deemed “not” worthy, but was not picked, so stayed a Nat.
He would be eligible again this year.
I feel like I’m “cheating” posting here instead of NFA 😉 so here’s a link to Brian’s post last year on the Rule 5.
http://natsfarm.com/2009/11/18/rule-5-eligiblility/