Nationals Farm Authority

In light of the recent spate of injuries in both New Orleans and Harrisburg, the roster merry-go-round is spinning anew. 

Ken Wright of the Washington Times had the news that New Orleans 1B Larry Broadway “is out for the remainder of the season after injuring his right shoulder.”  The 25-year old Broadway has struggled after a very good April/May (see Broadway’s number below).  He is still stuck behind Nick Johnson, so a change of scenery may be in the cards for him assuming the shoulder injury is not significant.

Broadway	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
April	80	29	7	1	3	5	13	0	0	0.363	0.389	0.588
May	111	36	7	1	4	12	33	2	1	0.324	0.387	0.514
June	91	22	2	0	2	7	28	0	0	0.242	0.290	0.330
July	96	25	5	0	4	14	25	3	0	0.260	0.355	0.438
August	36	9	2	0	2	4	10	0	0	0.250	0.341	0.472

Arriving in New Orleans is the 24-year old Melvin Dorta who had a brief cup of coffee with the Nationals in July (3 days to be exact).  Dorta is a utility player extraordinaire who has played practically every position while in Harrisburg in 2006 (all except CF and CA).  Much like Broadway, Dorta has cooled off after a hot start for the Senators (see Dorta’s stats below).  I expect Dorta to be a September roster call-up, providing Frank Robinson with a guy who can serviceably fill in anywhere.

Dorta	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
April	40	12	5	0	0	2	3	4	2	0.300	0.333	0.425
May	111	32	1	1	1	10	6	6	2	0.288	0.341	0.342
June	104	33	7	0	3	6	9	6	2	0.317	0.345	0.471
July	96	15	2	2	0	8	7	5	3	0.156	0.215	0.219
August	44	9	0	0	0	4	7	7	1	0.205	0.271	0.205

Dorta’s promotion leaves a roster spot open in Harrisburg.  Joining the Senators will be SP Collin Balester from Potomac.  Balester will be joining a rotation beset with injuries recently, Justin Echols (back) and David Maust (shoulder).  Of the two, Maust’s injury is more concerning as it is apparently a labrum injury, which typically requires surgery and a long recovery.  The 27-year old Maust’s numbers in 2006 (see below) have been average, with the exception of May, he’s limited the number of bserunners he allows but he doesn’t strike out enough batters to be realistiacally considered anything more than an organizational guy.

Maust	IP	BAA	OBP	SLG	BABIP	WHIP	W/9	K/9	HR/9
April	26.67	0.200	0.258	0.322	0.208	0.86	1.7	5.1	1.0
May	25.00	0.324	0.385	0.649	0.300	1.88	4.0	4.3	3.2
June	18.67	0.227	0.293	0.333	0.250	1.18	3.4	4.3	0.5
July	28.00	0.267	0.342	0.343	0.300	1.25	2.3	4.5	0.3
August	21.33	0.276	0.343	0.425	0.297	1.50	3.4	4.6	0.8

While it appears that Echols has the stuff to strike guys out, the 25-year old has shown some concerning control issues thus far in 2006.  He’s likely another organizational guy who could see work as a spot starter or long reliever for the Nationals, likely no earlier than 2007.

Echols	IP	BAA	OBP	SLG	BABIP	WHIP	W/9	K/9	HR/9
April	23.33	0.179	0.273	0.231	0.232	0.99	3.5	8.1	0.4
May	28.33	0.267	0.395	0.448	0.329	1.80	7.3	8.3	1.0
June	25.33	0.290	0.415	0.460	0.368	2.01	7.8	10.0	1.4
July	32.67	0.246	0.347	0.397	0.289	1.53	5.2	8.5	1.4
August	15.67	0.259	0.358	0.345	0.326	1.47	4.6	8.0	0.6

As previously mentioned, the 20-year old Balester will be joining the Senators rotation.  Much like his fellow highly rated prospect SPs Clint Everts and Mike Hinckley (more on them later), Balester struggled tremendously in April and May, but slowly began to turn it around in June with a slight bump up in July and serviceable numbers in August.  Being as young as he is, Balester still has time to develop as a pitcher.  He still projects as a #3 SP-type with an upside as a #2 SP.

Balester	IP	BAA	OBP	SLG	BABIP	WHIP	W/9	K/9	HR/9
April	23.00	0.312	0.404	0.409	0.372	1.78	4.7	5.9	0.0
May	19.00	0.306	0.404	0.556	0.315	1.89	6.6	6.2	2.4
June	25.67	0.245	0.321	0.383	0.304	1.29	3.5	8.1	0.7
July	25.00	0.266	0.336	0.404	0.311	1.44	4.0	6.5	0.7
August	26.00	0.278	0.317	0.443	0.316	1.27	2.1	6.2	1.0

An offshoot of Balester’s promotion is the status of 2001 3rd rounder Mike Hinckley and 2002 1st rounder Clint Everts.  Both of these highly ranked prospects have taken major steps backwards in Potomac. 

Hinckley’s recovery from offseason shoulder surgery has been an inconsistent mess.  He is walking nearly as many batters as he strikes out, and has been frighteningly hittable all season.  His days as a top level Nationals prospect seem to be coming to an end.  He is going to have to show some of what made him one of the higher rated LHP in the minor leagues soon, and it may have to be as part of a change in scenery.

Hinckley	IP	BAA	OBP	SLG	BABIP	WHIP	W/9	K/9	HR/9
April	20.67	0.253	0.337	0.422	0.257	1.45	3.9	3.1	0.9
May	27.33	0.300	0.355	0.500	0.344	1.46	2.3	5.9	0.7
June	30.33	0.229	0.322	0.343	0.250	1.22	3.9	5.3	0.9
July	26.00	0.402	0.455	0.571	0.423	2.12	3.5	3.8	1.4
August	23.00	0.275	0.371	0.495	0.267	1.65	5.1	4.3	2.0

Everts is also recovering from an injury.  In his case, it’s Tommy John surgery.  Given the average recovery time of 18 months, it was the hope of the Nationals that Everts would gain strength and confidence as the season progressed.  He did struggle in April and May but unfortunately for Everts, his command has not improved and at this point he’s been removed from the starting rotation (no reason provided).  From the times that I have seen Everts pitch, he has trouble with first pitch strikes, too often he is pitching behind in counts forcing him to throw strikes in clear hitters counts.  While it’s too early to give up on Everts’ talent, a shift to the bullpen may help.  This will allow the Everts to come into games without worrying about conserving anything for 5+ innings, and let loose with his above average fastball and curveball.

Everts	IP	BAA	OBP	SLG	BABIP	WHIP	W/9	K/9	HR/9
April	15.33	0.304	0.368	0.478	0.380	1.83	4.1	10.0	1.2
May	13.33	0.333	0.437	0.509	0.486	2.32	8.1	12.8	0.7
June	21.00	0.238	0.326	0.413	0.267	1.38	4.3	7.3	1.3
July	28.67	0.211	0.301	0.349	0.263	1.29	4.4	9.4	0.9
August	7.33	0.333	0.488	0.576	0.360	2.73	11.1	7.4	2.5

UPDATE (12PM 8/22): 

• The Vermont Lake Monsters have received three of the 2006 draft picks.  Added to the roster were 4th round pick Glenn Gibson, 8th round pick Sean Rooney, and 22nd round pick Robert Jacobsen.  From the Vermont press release:

Pitcher Glenn Gibson was taken in the sixth-round (sic … 4th round) out of Moriches High School in Long Island, New York. Gibson won the 2006 Yastrzemski Award for top player in Suffolk County after going 8-1 with a 0.29 ERA in his senior year at Moriches. The 6-4 left-hander allowed just two earned runs on 11 hits with 145 strikeouts in 61 innings.  Gibson did not sign with the Washington Nationals until August 15th and has been down in Florida for just a couple of days. He did not get into any games for the GCL Nationals.  Catcher Sean Rooney was selected in the eighth-round of the 2006 draft out of Saddleback Community College in California. Rooney hit .236 (39-for-165) with five doubles, two triples, three homers and 25 RBI in 43 games for the Gulf Coast Nationals. Infielder Robert Jacobsen, a 22nd-round pick in the draft, hit .254 (48-for-189) with 23 runs, eight double and 15 RBI in 50 games started at first base in the Gulf Coast League.

• In news from Savannah, pitchers David Trahan and Shairon Martis were called up to Hi-A Potomac, the Washington Nationals organization announced Tuesday. In a corresponding move, right-handed pitcher Oscar Lira and outfielder Jorge de la Cruz were transferred to Savannah from the Gulf Coast League.  The Sand Gnats release:

Trahan spent most of this season as a starter in the Sand Gnats rotation, but strung together just a 1-13 record, setting the South Atlantic League record for most consecutive losses in a season at 13. Trahan has an overall ERA of 4.99, but his average dips to 4.67 as a relief pitcher.  Martis made four appearances with the Gnats this season and posted a 1-1 record with a 3.80 ERA. The 19-year-old starter was acquired by Washington in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for Major League reliever Mike Stanton. Overall this season, Martis went 7-5 with an ERA of 3.67.  Lira began the season on the Sand Gnats roster but was transferred to the Vermont roster on April 9. Lira has played 12 games, including six starts, in the GCL this season and owns a 4-5 record with a 3.88 ERA. The Caracas, Venezuela, native was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2001 and is in his sixth season of professional baseball.  De La Cruz has played four games with Vermont this season and has one hit in 12 at-bats. De La Cruz was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004 and spent the last two seasons in the GCL. A native of Bonao, Dominican Republic, de la Cruz was a .268 hitter entering this season.