Nationals Farm Authority

Washington Nationals 2005 4th round pick, Justin Maxwell is expected to sign with the Nats some time next week according to Bill Ladson, Nats beat writer from MLB.com.

Scouting Director Dana Brown was impressed with how Maxwell performed in the Cape Cod League (where they use wooden bats) and believes that Maxwell was worth the risk.

Maxwell did not play in the CCL in 2005, but did in 2003 and 2004:

2003: 307/380/392 in 43G(153AB) with 2HR 16K 34BB 9SB in 11 attempts 2004: 263/386/382 in 17G (57AB) with 1HR 8BB 15K 9SB in 13 attempts [he broke a bone in his hand while he was there]

Maxwell has been injury prone. Aside from his broken hand, he also suffered a broken ulna which curtailed his sophomore season at Maryland.

If it were not for the injuries, Maxwell was projected as a late 1st/early 2nd round draft pick. It was this belief (as well as one year on college eligibility) that dragged these negotiations out as long as they have. If the Nats do in fact get Maxwell into the fold, the Nats will have signed an impressive 20 of their first 22 picks. The two who have not signed:

• 19th round pick HS RHP Bradley Clark who could still be signed as he has not committed to a 4-year college
• 23rd round pick Nebraska RHP Brett Jensen who has said he will return to college

This is definitely a good sign that the farm system is slowly being rebuilt.

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 15-9]

• Final regular season game
• Mike Daniel LF - 2/3 1R 2RBI 1BB 1HR 1SF
• Clint Everts SP - 2IP 1H 2R(2ER) 5BB 2K 1WP

One question answered.

Two more questions created. Should he keep starting? At what position?

Ryan Zimmerman made his first major league start last night against Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins in a 12-1 debacle of a loss. The most interesting part of the game from a Nats perspective was that Zimmerman made the start at SS. After initially stating that it wouldn’t be fair to start Zimmerman at SS, Frank pulled a 180 because, “From day to day, things change.”

I watched the first six innings and came away impressed. Zimmerman held his own in the field, actually making a couple of really nice plays. While at the plate, he looked OK in his 3AB versus Cy Young contender Willis, driving a double to deep CF, nearly beating out a grounder to 2B, and grounding into a FC.

I missed the last 3 innings where Zimmerman made two fielding errors (one where the runner scored, the other allowed a runner to score). From reading through the game recap, I’m a bit confused why Jamey Carroll didn’t take over at SS instead of 3B when Vinny Castilla was removed allowing Zimmerman to assume his more natural 3B.

But that aside, I’m glad he finally got a chance to start.

Now the questions begin.

Should he start again today? While I was not a fan of bringing him up this year, now that he’s up, absolutely play him 3-4 times per week. Let him get exposure to both tough starters (Josh Beckett today) and the not so tough starters (he should have started against Valdez on Tuesday).

Where should he play? Apparently Jose Vidro’s time in the field is done this season and the only other options at SS are Cristian Guzman (let’s not go there), Jamey Carroll (not a full time player), and Deivi Cruz (which means Jamey Caroll, Carlos Baerga, or Rick Short start at 2B). Initially I was skeptical about playing Zimmerman at SS, but it might not be such a bad idea over the last 3+ weeks. I’d prefer to see him at 3B but if playing SS means he gets meaningful ABs in lieu of sitting on the bench, I’m all for it.

One final thought, I heard him interviewed on the Nats pre-game show with Charlie Slowes. He is one of the more well-spoken 20-year olds I have heard in a long time. He seems to get it. He says the right things, “It was fun. I wish I could’ve done a little better.” Maybe some of the comparisons are not too far off.

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 5-3]

• Mike Daniel LF - 0/1 1R 2BB

The Virginian Pilot does a good job of explaining both sides of the argument. Should Ryan Zimmerman sit or should he play? As expected PT Bowden plays the role of hyperbole king:

“I told Frank today, the one thing you’ve got to do for me when you’re making your decisions is look at Zimmerman not as a rookie but as a 10-year veteran. His makeup is not a rookie. Whatever you’d think of Scott Rolen if he was here, that’s how you should look at Zimmerman. He will not panic in a clutch situation in the field or at the plate. … Winners win, and he’s a winner.”

Can he please stop with the obsessive pimping? From what I have seen, Zimmerman appears to have the ability to be a successful major leaguer. However, he’s 20 years old and has not even started one game yet. He’ll inevitably have his struggles and hopefully he’ll weather them an become a better ballplayer. But Bowden needs to ratchet back the PR blitz by about 95%.

Then we are presented the ‘old school’ perspective from Frank Robinson:

“Would it be fair to put him out there ahead of these other guys who have played those positions for quite some time?”

Frank is a Hall of Fame player. I understand that. Frank knows more about the clubhouse politics/pecking order. I know that. But the one thing I do know is that if a player is injured or is underperforming, it shouldn’t matter whether he has played for 10 games or 10 years. What matters is putting the best product on the field to win games. Especially in a pennant race. Vinny has been playing well over the past 18 games (309/356/418) but he is essentially playing on one leg. I don’t think a game off twice a week is going to hurt the Nationals on the field. On the contrary, I think it will help them. Not only has Zimmerman shown he is capable defensively but he also has shown he is not overmatched as of yet at the plate. Additionally, allowing Vinny to sit twice a week will give him a chance to maximize what he can do when he plays, not to mention he provides a serious threat off of the bench as a pinch hitter late in games.

I’ll close with a quote from Zimmerman himself:

“It wouldn’t be fair to the veterans and it wouldn’t be fair to me, because that would put a lot of pressure on my shoulders. Not that I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t expecting to come up and play every day. I don’t think anybody gets drafted and thinks they’ll be up that year. It just happened.”

The kid gets it. I think Nationals fans should feel really good about the future.

Francisco Guzman, Vermont 6 G, 21 AB, 6 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .524 AVG, .905 SLG When Guzman arrived in Vermont, the Expos were mired in what would become an eight-game losing streak. By the end of his first week in the lineup, the team had won four straight, matching its longest streak of the season. It may not have been all Guzman’s doing, but the fact that he hit over .500 last week with six runs, two homers and five RBIs certainly didn’t hurt. The 6-foot-4 outfielder started the week by picking up an RBI groundout as a pinch-hitter in the Expos’ 11-4 loss to Oneonta, marking the only time in eight games with Vermont that Guzman has been held without a hit. From there, the 21-year-old hit safely in five straight games, including a spectacular three-game series against Tri-City, in which he was 8-for-11 with seven runs, a double, two homers and three RBIs. Guzman hit .344 in 40 games with the Gulf Coast Nationals before being promoted to Vermont.

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 7-6]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/3 2R 1RBI
• Mike Daniel RF - 0/1

September 5 was the final game of the season for New Orleans, Harrisburg, Potomac, and Savannah. Vermont’s schedule ends on September 8.

New Orleans (AAA) [Defeated Iowa 8-3]

• Ty Godwin LF - 2/5 1R 1RBI 1K triple
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 3/4 1R 1RBI 1GIDP
• Jon Rauch RP - 3IP 3H 1R(1ER) 0BB 2K

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Trenton 1-0]

• Josh Labandeira SS - 2/3 1K 1HBP
• Larry Broadway DH - 1/4 2K
• Armando Galarraga SP - 5IP 4H 1R(1ER) 2BB 2K; Win

Potomac (High A) [Defeated Winston-Salem 8-5]

• Ian Desmond SS - 2/5 1R 1K 1SB double
• Frank Diaz CF - 1/5 2RBI double
• Kory Casto 3B - 2/4 2R 1RBI 1K triple HR
• Josh Whitesell DH - 2/4 1R 1RBI 1K double triple

Savannah (Low A) [Lost to Augusta 5-3]

• Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 0/4 1R 1K 1SB 1HBP
• Devin Ivany CA - 1/3 1K
• Edgardo Baez RF - 2/4 1RBI

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 9-6]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/4 2R 1RBI 1HR
• Mike Daniel DH - 1/3 1R 2RBI 1BB 2K

Seth Bynum gets profiled at Hoosiers.com. The 25-year old isn’t really a prospect. He began the year in High A Potomac (179/237/286) and finished it in Low A Savannah (301/394/484).

Charlie Slowes announced that the Nationals would be making three roster moves after Monday’s game. Coming up to the Nats will be RH RP Travis Hughes and aged CA Keith Osik from New Orleans and RH SP Darrell Rasner from Harrisburg. Hughes and Rasner are on the 40-man so do not require any additional moves. Osik will be added to the roster spot freed up by moving RH SP Ryan Drese to the 60-day DL with shoulder surgery.

Hughes was unable to be recalled for 10 days (or the end of the Triple-A season) after being sent down last week. He will provide RH help in the bullpen as RH RP Luis Ayala will be undergoing an MRI on his ailing arm.

The 24-year old Rasner, a 2002 2nd round draft pick, will likely assume Tony Armas spot in the rotation. Armas is going to Texas for a check-up on his shoulder. Rasner is a sinkerball pitcher with adequate control. In 27 games this year with Harrisburg (26 starts/1CG), Rasner was 6-7 with a 3.59ERA. In 150.1IP, he has given up 150H (10HR) while walking 29 and striking out 96. Think Zach Day (hopefully with thicker skin). He is probably a #4/5 SP at best but it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the Nationals down the stretch.

Still unresolved is the roster move made to account for Kenny Kelly’s addition to the roster.