Nationals Farm Authority

MINOR LEAGUE OPERATIONS

• Assistant General Manager and Vice President, Player Development - Bob Boone
• Director, Player Development - Andy Dunn
• Coordinator, Player Development and Scouting - Michele Copes
• Assistant to Director, Player Development - Tyler Holmes
• Assistant, Player Development - Ryan Thomas
• Assistant, Player Development (Florida Operations) - Matt Blaney

Michele Copes moves from Assistant, Scouting/Player Development. Tyler Holmes moves from Manager, Florida Operations. Ryan Thomas and Matt Blaney were not listed among the Nationals employees in the 2006 media guide. The others all return.

COORDINATORS

• Field Coordinator - Tim Foli
• Hitting Coordinator - Ralph Dickenson
• Pitching Coordinator - Spin Williams
• Rehab Pitching Coordinator - Mark Grater
• Outfield Coordinator - Jose Cardenal
• Infield Coordinator - Lenny Harris
• Catching Coordinator - Bobby Henley
• Medical Coordinator - Steve Gober
• Strength and Conditioning Coordinator - Abe Gonzalez
• Minor League Equipment and Clubhouse Manager - John Mullin

Foli replaces Scott Little (now managing AA Harrisburg) as Field Coordinator after spending 2006 managing AAA New Orleans. Dickenson was a hitting coach for AA Trenton in 2006, and replaces the three-man roving team of Dante Bichette, Darnell Coles (now managing Short Season Vermont), and Keith Moreland. Grater was the 2006 Vermont pitching coach. Harris replaces Jose Alguacil (now roving infield coordinator for San Francisco) as the infield coordinator. The others remain the same.

TRIPLE-A COLUMBUS CLIPPERS [INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE]

• Manager - John Stearns
• Pitching Coach - Steve McCatty
• Coach - Bobby Williams
• Coach - Charles “Boots” Day
• Trainer - Mike Quinn

Stearns was the 2006 AA Harrisburg manager. McCatty and Quinn keep their roles with Columbus. Williams was the 2006 Low A Savannah manager. Day coached in the Kansas City organization (Class-A High Desert) the last three seasons.

DOUBLE-A HARRISBURG SENATORS [EASTERN LEAGUE]

• Manager - Scott Little
• Pitching Coach - Rick Tomlin
• Coach - Tim Raines
• Trainer - Beth Jarrett

Little split time between Field Coordinator and a fill-in for Foli as AAA manager. Tomlin and Jarrett return to Harrisburg. Raines was the White Sox 1st base coach in 2006.

SINGLE-A POTOMAC NATIONALS [ CAROLINA LEAGUE]

• Manager - Randy Knorr
• Pitching Coach - TBD
• Coach - Troy Gingrich
• Trainer - Sean Wayne

Knorr, Gingrich, and Wayne all return to Potomac.

SINGLE-A HAGERSTOWN SUNS [ SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE]

• Manager - Tommy Herr
• Pitching Coach - Paul Menhart
• Coach - Jerry Browne
• Trainer - Atsushi Toriida

Herr was a Manager in the Independent League replaces Williams as manager of the Low A team. Menhart, Browne, and Toriida all return.

SHORT-SEASON SINGLE-A VERMONT LAKE MONSTERS [NY-P LEAGUE]

• Manager - Darnell Coles
• Pitching Coach - TBD
• Coach - Tony Tarasco
• Trainer - TBD

Coles replaces Edgar Caceres as manager in Vermont. Tarasco returns to Vermont.

ROOKIE-LEVEL GCL NATIONALS [GULF COAST LEAGUE]

• Manager - Bobby Henley
• Pitching Coach - Franklin Bravo
• Coach - Jason Camilli
• Trainer - Nick Asay

Henley, Bravo and Camilli all return. Asay is new to GCL.

ROOKIE-LEVEL DSL NATIONALS #1 [DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE]

• Manager - Sergio Mendez
• Pitching Coach - Manuel Santana
• Coach - Elvis Herrera
• Trainer - Miguel Cabrera

All four return.

ROOKIE-LEVEL DSL NATIONALS #2 [DOMINICAN SUMMER LEAGUE]

• Manager - Frank Liriano
• Pitching Coach - Jose Martinez
• Coach - Julio Germosen
• Trainer - Luis Morillo

Liriano is new to the DSL team.

The Columbus Dispatch has the story.

2006 AA Senators manager John Stearns will be the manager of the AAA Clippers in 2007. 2006 AAA Zephyrs manager Tim Foli will be likely accept a roving position within the organization in 2007 and former minor-league field coordinator Scott Little (who briefly filled in for Foli in 2006) will manage Harrisburg.

There has been discussion about the number of players the Nationals lost as part of the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft. Those players were:

• James Henderson RHP to the Cubs
• Salomon Manriquez CA to the Rockies
• Trey Webb MI to the Giants
• Josh Labandeira MI to the Marlins
• Brandon Powell 3B to the Padres
• Ricardo Morales LHP to the Mets
• Jose Contreras MI to the Cardinals

While this on the surface appears to be a substantial number, when you dig a little bit deeper and look at their age versus level, the picture becomes clearer.

Back when I started this site, I listed the “optimum” ages for prospects at each level as follows:

• AAA: 22-23 years old
• AA: 21-22
• High A: 20-21
• Low A: 19-20

You can fudge around the margins by roughly one year for guys who have the potential to perhaps have some chance of making the 40-man roster at some point in their career, likely in utility/relief roles.

Now here is a list of the players the Nationals lost in the AAA portion of the draft along with their age during the season, 2006 level(s) they pitched, and highest level they pitched.

As you can see, all of these players are at the high end of the optimum age range for guys who can be viewed as long term options. Each player on the list are organizational type players. There were only two names on the list that were tough losses, Salomon Manriquez and Ricardo Morales.

Manriquez was the Nationals catching prospect closest to the major leagues, but he had faced his challenges defensively. The acquisition of Jesus Flores in the major leagues and the presence of Devin Ivany behind him made Manriquez expendable.

Morales is a soft-tossing lefthanded SP/RP whose ceiling appeared to be a spot starter/middle relief pitcher. His value was more in the fact he was lefthanded, but again the Nationals acquired a similar guy to Morales in Justin Jones in today’s Rule 5 draft.

Of the remaining five lost, cases could have been made for protecting them, but in the end there were other options within the organization to replace them in Harrisburg or Columbus in 2007.

Jesus Flores - 22-year old RH catcher from the New York Mets.

The Florida State League is (update) not known as a hitter’s paradise. 

Scouting report from a New York Mets fan site:

Hitting: Flores has the potential to be one of the best catching prospects that the Mets have had in recent years. He has good power and has learned to take the ball to all fields. Like most young players, his plate discipline still needs some improvement.

Running: Perhaps the only flaw in Flores’ game is his speed, although he runs fairly well for a catcher.

Defense: Defense is clearly Flores’ best attribute. Some scouts regard him as the best defensive catcher in the Mets system. He has a very strong arm with an excellent release

Flores immediately becomes the top catching prospect in the Nationals organization. He is precisely the type of guy the Nationals should look for as part of their rebuilding effort.

His presence makes a couple of things most likely: (1) Brian Schneider is not going to see many offdays in 2007; and (2) Brandon Harper’s chances for making the team just got a bit more difficult. At present, the bats on the Nationals 25-man roster is a bit crowded. Assuming the following nine players are locks: Schneider, Nick Johnson, Felipe Lopez, Ryan Zimmerman, Cristian Guzman, Jose Vidro, Austin Kearns, Nook Logan, and at present, Ryan Church (assuming he’s not traded). That leaves 5 spots open for bats (assuming they carry 14). You would assume they’d carry five OFs, so add two out of Kory Casto, Alex Escobar, and Mike Restovich. With the remaining three spots, the Nationals would need a backup MI (Bernie Castro or Josh Wilson), a backup CI (no one right now), and a backup catcher, which has to be Flores as per the Rule 5 requirements. There have been rumors of the Nationals signing Jose Macias as a backup IF/OF, the 34-year old Macias has played 2B, 3B, and all three OF positions in his major league career (he’s an older version of Melvin Dorta). He’s one way the Nationals to carry three catchers.

Levale Speigner - 26-year old RHP from the Minnesota Twins

Speigner is a relieif pitcher who has a low 90s fastball and a curve. Baseball America sees some promise in him. He seems to join the ranks of Chris Booker, Saul Rivera, Ryan Wagner, Jason Bregmann, Jermaine Van Buren, etc as righthanded options out of the bullpen. It will be interesting to see if (a) he performs well enough in spring training to earn a spot or (b) if the Nationals work out a deal with Minnesota to allow him to stick with Washington. Of interest is the fact that Minnesota selected MI Alejandro Machado from the Nationals in the major league portion of the draft. Perhaps a trade for each other can be worked out.

UPDATE: According to Mark Zuckerman at the Washington Times, Dana Brown views Speigner as a candidate for the 2007 rotation.

Justin Jones - His NFA review from a couple of days ago is here

The 2006 Rule 5 draft is over and the Nationals who had two openings on their 40-man roster used both of them to select CA Jesus Flores from the New York Mets and RHP Levale Speigner from the Minnesota Twins. Alejandro Machado, an IF, was lost to the Twins in the major league portion of the draft.

Additionally, the Nationals added the previously highlighted LHP Justin Jones in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft.

The Nationals also lost quite a few players in the AAA portion of the draft. Selected elsewhere were:

• James Henderson RHP to the Cubs
• Salomon Manriquez CA to the Rockies
• Trey Webb MI to the Giants
• Josh LaBandeira MI to the Marlins
• Brandon Powell 3B to the Padres
• Ricardo Morales LHP to the Mets
• Jose Contreras MI to the Cardinals

I’ll have reviews of Flores and Speigner up this afternoon. Quick hit? Flores was a great gamble for the Nationals. He’s power hitting catcher who played in A-ball this year for the Mets in 2006. Given that the Nationals do not have many premium catching prospects, Flores is a solid move. Speigner is a RHRP who has some value out of the bullpen and has also started in the past for the Twins. Of the guys lost, most were organizational type guys. This opens up opportunities for some of the younger players at the Hagerstown/Potomac level to step up.

More later.

The 2006 Rule 5 draft begins today at 9AM. For those interested in listening to the conference call, it will be broadcast at MLB.com starting at 8:45AM.

Work may intercede me providing any real time updates, but I’ll have something up after lunch, for sure.

• Rule 5 Draft Prospect - Justin Jones 
• Rule 5 Draft Prospect(s) - The Smiths
• Rule 5 Draft Prospect - Jamie D’Antona

Another path teams will take in the Rule 5 draft is selecting a raw young power relief pitcher who may still be a few years away. These types of guys are attractive because you don’t necessarily lose a year of development time with them. They still get their side sessions, throw in the bullpen in front of guys who can give them some recommendations of what works/what doesn’t, and they can be brought into blowout games for actual game experience. One such guy who is drawing interest is Colorado Rockies RHRP Pedro Strop.

Pedro Strop RHP

Strop was originally signed by the Rockies out of the Dominican Repulic in 2002 as a shortstop. After batting 208/273/297 in 161 minor league games over three season, the Rockies converted him to the mound with promising results. He already has a mid-90s fastball to go along with an above average slider. Scouts have reported that he appears to have a good feel on the mound. The 21-year old Strop projects out as a power relief pitcher.

As I mentioned, he is certainly not ready to contribute at the major league level in 2007. But he is promising enough that the Nationals could keep him on the 25-man in order to allow him to work with both pitching coach Randy St. Claire and Luis Ayala, a RHRP with a comparable repertoire. As part of a rebuilding effort, a guy like Strop is an interesting gamble.

Rule 5 Draft Prospect(s) - The Smiths

Rule 5 Draft Prospect - Jamie D’Antona

Typically, the Rule 5 draft list is populated by toolsy OFs, hard-throwing relievers, and lefthanded pitchers. The next name to watch falls into one of those categories

Minnesota Twins LHP Justin Jones

Jones was a 2002 2nd round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs out of Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, VA. He was sent to the Twins as part of the 2004 four team deal centered around Nomar Garciaparra that included Chicago, Minnesota, Boston, and Montreal. Jones has a low 90s fastball, plus curveball, and an above average changeup. The knock on Jones so far is staying healthy. He has been plagued by a tired arm in the past, but in his limited time on the mound has demonstrated some promise. He’s still only 22, so there is still time for him to develop. It may be risky towards his development to carry him all 2007 as a lefthanded specialist out of the bullpen, but it could be worth the gamble.

Yesterday, I highlighted Diamondback minor league CA/1B/3B Jamie D’Antona as someone the Nationals may have interest in selecting during the 2006 Rule 5 Draft on 12/7.

The next names that bear watching when Thursday’s draft starts are Chris Smith and Dan Smith.

Chris Smith RHP 

Dan Smith LHP

The 25-year old Chris was a 2002 4th round selection by the Boston Red Sox who appears to be back after a 2004 labrum surgery. His repertoire consists of an average fastball, above average curve, and knuckle curve. He is not a power pitcher, he’s often compared to Greg Maddux in his control around the plate. He projects best as a middle of the rotation starter but may also have some value out of the bullpen.

The 23-year old Dan was an undrafted free agent signed by the Atlanta Braves in 2003 after missing his senior year in high school due to injury. He is more of a power pitcher and would best fit as the LH out of the bullpen.

Based upon a few comments, I dug a little bit deeper into the Rule 5 eligible players, and it appears that two of them should not in fact be eligible. Removed from the list are Clint Everts and Franciso Guzman.

The updated list is as follows: