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Koda Glover DOB: 4/13/93 Ht. 6’5″ Wt. 225 Bats: R Career Stats |
As predicted, Glover made the jump to High-A last spring. Not predicted: he’d be in DC by July. Some of that, of course, was need but it’s well-established now that college relievers can be “safely” rushed. The biggest question this year is whether he’s recovered from a labrum tear in his hip. If so, the next is whether he’ll be allowed to close out games. His secondary pitches (CH, CV) have been shelved, so on the slight chance he is sent down, that’s probably why. |
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Ryan Brinley DOB: 4/9/93 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 200 Bats: L Career Stats |
A late-round (27th) pick in ’15, Brinley dominated in High-A in the first half of ’16 to get a bump to AA, but struggled (11.12 ERA in 11 appearances) and was sent back down. He was still named to the Nats’ AFL team and the league’s Rising Stars game. Brinley features a low-to-mid 90s FB, and was voted best changeup in the Carolina Lg. The curveball is what he was sent to work on in the fall, and he’ll most likely return to AA in ’17 to guage its progress. |
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Gilberto Mendez DOB: 11/17/92 Ht. 6′ Wt. 165 Bats: R Career Stats |
Mendez fell off the watchlist after a mediocre ’15 season in AA and was dropped down after two months in Harrisburg last season. Upon his return, Mendez got his act together and became one of the P-Nats’ most reliable relievers. Is this a function of age? Maybe, though at 23 he was at the lg. avg. Mendez has never been a hard thrower (high-80s), as he relies on his low-80s slider to set up his fastball and the occasional changeup to keep batters honest. |
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Jorge Pantoja DOB: 3/26/94 Ht. 6’5″ Wt. 215 Bats: R Career Stats |
Pantoja was lights-out in Hagerstown (9-1, 2.63) but got lit up in Potomac (0-1, 6.30) last summer. However, the latter was in just six appearances and during his first full professional season. The 2015 30th Rd. pick out of Alabama State features a fastball-slider combination like Mendez but throws harder (low 90s). He was used for multiple innings in 24 of 35 appearances, which could enable the Nats to experiment with him as a starter. |
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Tommy Peterson DOB: 10/11/93 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 205 Bats: R Career Stats |
Like Pantoja, Peterson was more effective in Hagerstown than Potomac last summer. The difference, however, was not as stark and he pitched nearly twice as many innings in more than twice as many appearances. He’s already been afflicted with Nats elbow, which made him draft-eligible in 2015 as sophomore out of USF (12th Rd). Peterson also has the FB-SL repertoire, with the former touching the mid-90s, and was used most often to close out games in Low-A. |
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Steven Fuentes DOB: 5/4/97 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 175 Bats: R Career Stats |
A “DSL Arm” after his rookie season in ’14, Fuentes struggled in ’15 in the GCL nut was nevertheless promoted to the NYPL in ’16. There he posted a respectable line of 3.65/2.16/1.28 at the age of 19. As the bolding on the FIP suggests, he did not give up a HR in 49⅓ IP [insert SSS disclaimer here] and walked just 10 vs. fanning 47 for a 4.70 K:BB ratio (lg. avg. – 2.35). Given his progression thus far, a ticket to Low-A in ’17 seems likely. |
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Jacob Howell DOB: 8/9/95 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 180 Bats: R Career Stats |
Howell is that rare three-level pitcher, rising from the GCL to Low-A while making 11 appearances total, mostly for Hagerstown. The sample size is small (28⅓ IP) on this ’16 21st Rd. pick from Div. II Delta State (MS), where he pitched just one season in relief after transferring from a CC in Texas. Few of his collegiate stats are impressive, but clearly the Nats see something they like to have drafted him so relatively high and moved him up so quickly. |