Nationals Farm Authority

Arizona Fall League (Peoria Saguaros)

• 10/20: Lost to Mesa 6-3 (Box/Gamer)
• 10/21 game: at Peoria Javelinas 4:05PM EDT

Hawaii Winter Baseball (Waikiki BeachBoys)

• 10/20: Tied North Shore 4-4 in 11 innings (Box)
• 10/21 game: at North Shore 12:30AM EDT (Sunday)

Dominican Winter League

Mexican Pacific League

• At present, I cannot find any Nationals playing in the Mexican League

Venezuelan Baseball League

• No Nationals played

Dominican Winter League

Mexican Pacific League

• At present, I cannot find any Nationals playing in the Mexican League 

Venezuelan Baseball League

Arizona Fall League (Peoria Saguaros)

• 10/19: Defeated Grand Canyon 6-0 (Box/Gamer)
• 10/20 game: versus Mesa 4:05PM EDT

Hawaii Winter Baseball (Waikiki BeachBoys)

• 10/19: No game scheduled
• 10/20 game: at North Shore Honu 12:30AM EDT (Saturday morning)

Dominican and Venezuelan box scores will be posted around noon.

Given that the Dominican and Venzuelan box scores update online closer to noon, I’ll start doing a mid-day update to include them. 

Dominican Winter League

Mexican Pacific League

• At present, I cannot find any Nationals playing in the Mexican League 

Venezuelan Baseball League

The Potomac Nationals have pushed their weekday evening start times back from 7:05PM to 7:35PM for the 2007 season.

“We feel that the later game times will give our fans more time to get to the stadium on weekdays,” said [Potomac Nationals Vice President & General Manager Bobby] Holland. “Given our traffic situation in Northern Virginia, we think this could be a win-win for both our fans and our attendance.”

Arizona Fall League (Peoria Saguaros)

• 10/18: Defeated Grand Canyon 6-3 (Box/Gamer)
• 10/19 game: at Grand Canyon 10:05PM EDT

Dominican Winter League

• League began 10/18, box scores pending 

Hawaii Winter Baseball (Waikiki BeachBoys)

• 10/18: Lost to West Oahu 11-6 (Box)
• 10/19 game: no game scheduled

E: Desmond (3, fielding)

Venezuelan Baseball League

10/17

• 10/18 box scores pending

On October 13, the Nationals added OF Dee Brown and RHRP Josh Perrault to the Peoria Saguaros roster in the Arizona Fall League.

From my review of Savannah in 2006, here is the background on Brown … The son of the late Eagles All-Pro defensive lineman, Jerome Brown, the 23-year old 2005 10th rounder showed the makeup that drew the Nationals to him. After a slow start to the season, Brown heated up enough to warrant a promotion to Potomac where he continued to hit putting himself on the radar as one to watch. In 103 games, Brown batted 278/326/408 with a combination of power (33 extrabase hits) and speed (12/16 in SB attempts). Bobby Williams felt, “When he swings at good pitches, he has success. Once he learns the strike zone, he has a chance to be a good hitter with power.” Brown was Savannah’s Player of the Month for July, as selected by the Nationals.

Perrault was Savannah’s Pitcher of the Month, also in July. Perrault was selected from the Diamondbacks by the Nationals in the AAA portion of the 2005 Rule 5 draft. He spent the majority of 2006 in Savannah (33G) with a short stop in Potomac (14G)

Arizona Fall League (Peoria Saguaros)

• 10/17: Defeated Phoenix 9-0 (Box/Gamer)
• 10/18 game: versus Grand Canyon 4:05PM EDT

SF: Whitesell

Hawaii Winter Baseball (Waikiki BeachBoys)

• 10/17: Defeated Honolulu 6-3 (Box)
• 10/18 game: versus West Oahu 1AM EDT (10/19) [Live on MASN; will be replayed at 7:30PM EDT 10/19]

Venezuelan Baseball League

• 10/17 box scores pending

Now that the various leagues have been reviewed/recapped, the next step is to take a look at my top 30 Washington Nationals prospects. I have a mixture of some near term guys like Kory Casto, Garrett Mock, and Matt Chico along with some more long term options such as Chris Marrero, Colton Willems, and Shairon Martis. One thing that is clear from my ranking is the Nationals minor league system will be a long term rebuilding process … ten of the top thirteen prospects were not in the organization entering the 2006 season. Keep reading for my top 30.

Continue Reading »

Minors 2006 (1 of 7) - Dominican Summer League

Minors 2006 (2 of 7) - Gulf Coast League

Minors 2006 (3 of 7) - Vermont

Minors 2006 (4 of 7) - Savannah

Minors 2006 (5 of 7) - Potomac

Minors 2006 (6 of 7) - Harrisburg

Sorry for the delay, work has pushed this final installment down the road a bit. In the final season as the Triple-A affiliate for the Washington Nationals, fans in New Orleans were treated to a revolving door of player moves.  The Nationals used the Zephyrs as a taxi squad compensating for a rash of injuries and poor performances. There were 29 players (12 hitters & 17 pitchers) who played for both the New Orleans Zephyrs and Washington Nationals in 2006. Given the constant state of flux manager Tim Foli was placed in, the overall Zephyrs’ performance was not that unexpected.

Record: The Z’s were the only affiliate to finish with a record above 0.500, though only one game at 72-71.

Statistics: Pitching. Pitching Pitching. That is precisely what carried the Zephyrs in 2006. While playing in one of the stronger pitcher’s parks in a league known primarily for its offense, New Orleans was at or near the top of the list in practically every pitching category. Third in ERA (3.84) and WHIP (1.35), second in Opponents BA against at 0.252, and first in K/9 with 7.9 (while walking only 3.5 batters per 9 … league average). Unfortunately for New Orleans, their hitting failed to live up to even league average (264/334/381 versus 270/341/415).

Offense:

Pitching:

Players: This is going to be a bit different perspective as there were not what one would refer to as prospects in New Orleans, outside of 1B Larry Broadway. The Zephyrs were primarily comprised of 27 year old and older hitters and pitchers who served as replacement for the rash of injuries suffered in Washington.

As mentioned, the only player who would qualify as a prospect was the 25-year old Broadway. In 123 games in New Orleans, Broadway batted 288/353/455. His season was cut short with a shoulder injury. While on the surface Broadway’s numbers look OK, he lacked the extra-base power a team would expect out of a 1B with only 42 extra-base hits in his 128 total. Additionally, he struck out 116 times in 444AB while walking only 45 times. He still has the ability to contribute off of the bench and if he can play a Daryle Ward level of LF, his LH bat would be a welcome addition for the Nationals in 2007.

The only other names of note from New Orleans are, with a few exceptions, guys that Nationals fans had the opportunity to watch fot periods of time in 2006:

• Bernie Castro, a 27-year old 2B, who hit 284/329/347 in 69 games while stealing 22/24 bases. He’s likely a utility IF in 2007 with the likes of Jose Vidro, Cristian Guzman, and Felipe Lopez taking the majority of the playing time.
• Josh Labandeira, 27-year old SS, had a cup of coffee with the Expos in 2004. In 120 games he hit 276/351/352. With the assortment of middle infielders in front of him, his best chances may be elsewhere in 2007.
• Mike Vento, 28-year old OF, earned a brief promotion to Washington while putting up great numbers in New Orleans (341/396/502) in 62 games. An ankle injury suffered after his return to New Orleans in essence ended his season and his tenure with the Nationals. He elected for minor league free agency.
• George Lombard, 31-year old OF, was a September roster call-up after batting 302/392/524 in 62 games for the Zephyrs. He also elected for minor league free agency.
• Brandon Harper, 30-year old CA, was probably the best find from New Orleans in 2006. The RH catcher batted 292/394/425 in 43 games in New Orleans before getting recalled to Washington. He spent the rest of 2006 serving as the backup to Brian Schneider and has a good shot of retaining that spot in 2007.
• Saul Rivera, 28-year old RHRP, was the other find in AAA. He turned 12 solid appearances in New Orleans (28.33IP allowing 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 28) into a spot in the Washington bullpen … eventually serving as a key contributor for the Nats after the trade of Gary Majewski.
• Anastacio Martinez,27-year old RHSP, was 5-11 in 128.67 innings for the Zephyrs. He finished the season with a 4.48 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 8.0K/9, 4.1BB/9, 0.9HR/9, and a 0.251 Opp BA. He never got the call to Washington and will likely not return to Columbus in 2007.
• Billy Traber, 27-year old LHSP, was 7-7 in 21 starts for New Orleans. in 124.33 innings, he had a 4.05ERA, 1.36WHIP, 7.4K/9, 1.9BB/9, and 0.6HR/9. He made a couple of stops in Washington where he initially started but finsihed the season in the bullpen. I would guess he’s not in the 2007 plans for Washington.
• Steve Watkins, 28-year old RHSP, like Martinez, put up solid enough numbers in AAA (112.33 IP with a 3.85ERA, 1.30WHIP, 6.2K/9, and a 0.246 OppBA) but never was promoted to Washington.