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Aaron Barrett DOB: 1/2/88 Ht. 6’4″ Wt. 215 Bats: R Career Stats |
Barrett’s ascent has been a bit slow for a pitcher drafted four times, but the Nats’ patience (two seasons in the NYPL) has been rewarded after yet another season of getting strikeouts in spades 12.3/9IP). A 70-grade slider is his weapon of choice, though he can also dial up a low-90s heater, though scouts worry about the violence in his delivery. A dark-horse candidate for the ’14 DC bullpen but probably more likely to begins the season as the Syracuse closer. |
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Taylor Hill DOB: 3/12/89 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 233 Bats: R Career Stats |
This is Hill’s second appearance on the watchlist (2012), thanks to a breakthrough 2013 that saw him split time between High-A and AA (plus a two-start stopgap in AAA). He had been a SI/SL guy but was spotted throwing more than a few changeups and curves, which resulted in more flyballs. A low-K, low-BB, guy Hill has had a propensity give up more hits than IP, but had a career-low 8.7 mark in ’13. |
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A.J. Cole DOB: 1/5/92 Ht. 6’4″ Wt. 180 Bats: R Career Stats |
Cole is a good reminder that the stats don’t always reflect what the pro scouts see. At the time of his callup, his ERA and FIP were 4.25 and 3.54 respectively and he was two starts removed from getting pounded by one of the Carolina League’s weaklings. Instead of a similar fate in AA, he reeled off seven straight starts of 6+ IP. Cole features a plus, mid-90s FB and a fringe-avg. CH, but his CV is erratic. Look for him to return to Harrisburg for more seasoning before moving up to Syracuse. |
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Richie Mirowski DOB: 4/30/89 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 190 Bats: R Career Stats |
A 45th-Rd. draft pick out of Oklahoma Baptist University in 2011, Mirowski had a breakout 2013 that saw him pitch at two levels and earn an invite to the Arizona Fall League as a rarity: a reliever sent without being Rule 5 eligible. Perhaps a little more odd is that Mirowski doesn’t throw mid-90s heat, relying instead on the cutter and two-seam fastball along with the hybrid split-change. |
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Blake Treinen DOB: 6/30/88 Ht. 6’4″ Wt. 215 Bats: R Career Stats |
A late addition to the 2014 watchlist, Treinen had a memorable spring training and validated his non-roster invitation by flashing high-90s heat. He was acquired along with A.J. Cole from the A’s and threw a career-high 124⅔ innings, though not especially overwhelming peripherals. He features the classic FB/CH/CV/SL arsenal with a 91-95 FB but scouts say his secondary pitches are still too inconsistent to start, but as we saw in Viera, could be good enough for middle relief. |
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Blake Schwartz DOB: 10/9/89 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 200 Bats: R Career Stats |
Schwartz started the ’13 season in the Suns bullpen and finished it as the staff ace of the P-Nats, leading the team in games started and innings pitched. Folks will infer from his low-K, low-BB stat line that he’s a soft-tosser, but he can break 90 on the gun and is usually in the 88-92 range as noted last year. Schwartz is adept at keeping hitters off-balance by cutting his fastball while mixing in changeups and a good, 12-6 curveball. |
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Robert Benincasa DOB: 9/5/90 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 180 Bats: R Career Stats |
Benincasa led the minors in saves with 27 between Lo-A and Hi-A in 2013 and was rewarded with a trip to the AFL where he struggled in nine appearances. Scouts attribute some of the falloff to wearing down physically, as his fastball velo fell from the 92-94 range to the 89-92 mark. Features a low-80s slider and split-change that works best vs. LHBs. Best bet for 2014 = Harrisburg. |
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Pedro Encarnacion DOB: 6/26/91 Ht. 6’4″ Wt. 175 Bats: R Career Stats |
Encarnacion’s 2013 return to Hagerstown after six awful appear- ances in 2012 was much stronger, as the 22-y.o. led the Suns in innings pitched and games started. He also posted a career bests in K rate (7.9) and BB rate (2.6). Independent scouting reports are scarce, though our Hagerstown guy described his stuff as “not overwhelming.” |
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Cody Davis DOB: 7/21/90 Ht. 5’9″ Wt. 170 Bats: R Career Stats |
A former teammate of Shawn Pleffner at the University of Tampa, Davis is an NDFA that has performed well despite being obviously undersized and undervalued. Nevertheless, Davis led the Suns in appearances with 35 and was second in games finished, with decent peripherals — 1.276 WHIP, 3.0 BB, and 9.8 K/9IP. |
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Gilberto Mendez DOB: 11/17/92 Ht. 6′ Wt. 165 Bats: R Career Stats |
Mendez didn’t purely jump from the GCL to Low-A from ’12 to ’13, but did not repeat Auburn despite making just four appearances. Held in XST until mid-June, Mendez pitched just 29⅔ innings but closed in 21 of 24 appearances. Generously listed at 6’/165 lbs, it seems obvious that after a strong 2011 (7-0, 2.06 in the DSL) the Nats have questions about his durability but want to leverage his fastball (which was quite live when I saw him) in short stints. |
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Jake Johansen DOB: 1/23/91 Ht. 6’6″ Wt. 235 Bats: R Career Stats |
Johansen was the Nats first pick in the 2013 Draft, 68th overall and immediately drew comparisons to Nathan Karns (both pitched in HS and college in TX w/ subpar results, both power arms with control issues). For the velo whores, Johansen has been clocked at 99 but works in the 94-96 range. Whether he remains a starter will depend heavily on the improvement of his offspeed offerings (CH, CV) to complement the fastball, cutter, and slider. |
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Austin Voth DOB: 6/26/92 Ht. 6’1″ Wt. 190 Bats: R Career Stats |
The Nats’ 5th round pick out of the Univ. of Washington plowed through the NYPL along with Johansen, posting a 2-0 mark with a 1.47 ERA in seven starts, finishing up in Hagerstown. Scouts like his ability to hide the ball and keep runners close. Commands an 89-92 fastball that picks up in speed to touch 95 along with a slider and a changeup, rated fringe- average and average respectively. BA says Potomac to start, but it’s more likely he’ll return to the Muni for a few more weeks. |
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L.J. Hollins DOB: 7/31/91 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 185 Bats: R Career Stats |
Hollins is submarining righthander who was drafted in the 29th round of the 2012 draft out of Chipola College, a JuCo in Marianna, FL. He’s twice been sent to Hagerstown for short stints but has spent the majority of his pro career thus far as a multi-inning guy who keeps the ball in the yard (next HR allowed will be the first) and gets a ton of groundball outs. |
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John Simms DOB: 1/17/92 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 205 Bats: R Career Stats |
Simms’s traditional stats are very poor (5.79 ERA, 1.71 WHIP) but his peripherals (2.79 FIP, 2.25 BB/9, 9.96 K/9) along with an unus- ually high BABIP (.438) suggest he was more unlucky than “ungood.” Drafted in the 11th round out of Rice after three solid seasons where he went 17-7 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 72 appearances (27 starts). |
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Nick Pivetta DOB: 2/14/93 Ht. 6’5″ Wt. 220 Bats: R Career Stats |
A 4th Rd. pick out of New Mexico JC, Pivetta split time between the GCL and Auburn after a month’s delay in getting him a visa as a Canadian, eh. Features a low-90s fastball and a sweeping curve with a work-in-progress changeup. The belief is that the Nats will teach him a more traditional curve while working to build him up physically to add some length to his pitches. Likely to spend ’14 in Low-A Hagerstown. |
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Lucas Giolito DOB: 07/14/94 Ht. 6’6″ Wt. 225 Bats: R Career Stats |
Giolito returned to pitching just 10 months after having TJ surgery. He returned to form about a month later. Three weeks after that, he was promoted to Auburn and turned in three solid starts. As you might imagine for a potential #1 starter, Giolito has two plus-plus pitches (FB, CV) and a third pitch (CH) that could be just plus (oh, the horror). He’s expected to begin 2014 in Low-A Hagerstown, but given the Nats’ recent history of HS picks and hurt pitchers, look for him to have his first Suns start in May, not April. |
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Wander Suero DOB: 9/15/91 Ht. 6’3″ Wt. 175 Bats: R Career Stats |
After repeating the DSL twice, Suero came stateside and dom- inated: 8-1, 1.65/2.77/0.82 in 49IP. Though he was almost 22, he got the instrux invite, which is generally a sign that the organization plans to move him up. |
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Jefry Rodriguez DOB: 7/26/93 Ht. 6’5″ Wt. 185 Bats: R Career Stats |
The youngest of the three Dominican pitchers from the GCL, 20-y.o. Jefry was third on the team in IP and posted a solid line of 2.45/3.30/1.25 in 12 starts, earning him a trip to the postseason instrux. A convert from SS, Rodriguez works a mid-90s FB (touching 97), 11-5 CV, and also throws the CH. |
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Phillips Valdez DOB: 11/16/91 Ht. 6’2″ Wt. 160 Bats: R Career Stats |
A bit on the old side for the GCL, but did put up impressive numbers (3-0, 2SV; 1.95/2.83/0.87 in 32⅓ IP) and was in- vited to instrux. A former Cleveland farmhand, he did not pitch in 2011, which leads to the inference that he’s had surgery of some sort. |