Just to add more to my posting workload, I’m going to start a review of the performances of the players who got away from the Nationals first draft under the Lerners and Stan Kasten. Each week, I’ll look at how well the players the Nationals did not sign played for their respective universities, colleges, JuCos, etc. The list is as follows:
| Player | Pos | School |
|---|---|---|
| Dustin Dickerson | 3B | Baylor |
| Khris Davis | OF | Cal St Fullerton |
| Tyler Moore | 1B | Mississippi St |
| D’Vontrey Richardson | OF | Florida St |
| Marcus Salmon^ | CA | Miami-Dade CC |
| Burt Reynolds^ | SS | Okaloosa-Walton JC |
| Jayson Brugman^ | SS | South Mountain CC |
| Kyle Page^ | OF | Brevard County CC |
^ Draft-and-follow candidate
| Player | Pos | School |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Black | RHP | Seton Hall |
| Sam Brown | RHP | North Carolina St |
| Sam Dyson | RHP | South Carolina |
| Forrest Beverly | LHP | South Carolina |
| Jim Birmingham | LHP | Penn |
| Austin Hudson | RHP | Central Florida |
| Zach Von Tersch | RHP | Georgia Tech |
| Andrew Doyle | RHP | Oklahoma |
| Nick Pearce | RHP | Maryland |
| Javier Martinez | RHP | Fordham |
| Chad Jenkins | LHP | Coastal Carolina |
| Jarred Holloway | LHP | Mississippi St |
| J.J. Pannell | RHP | George Mason |
| Joey Rosas^ | LHP | Yavapai CC |
| Michael Robbins^ | LHP | Meridian CC |
| Brad Peacock^ | RHP | Palm Beach (Fla.) CC |
| Adam Kramer^ | RHP | New Mexico JC |
^ Draft-and-follow-candidate
D’Vontrey Richardson: He signed with Florida State to play football, but Richardson has made an immediate impact with the bat as a DH for the Seminoles. In a 3-game sweep of Tennessee, Richardson was 4/8 (all singles) with 4 runs scored, and 2RBI.
Austin Hudson: Pitched 1 inning of relief for Central Florida allowing 1 hit and 1 strikeout.
Andrew Doyle: Pitched 3.33 innings in relief of an Oklahoma loss to the University of Texas-Pan American. He allowed 5 hits, 1 run (1 earned), 1 walk and 1 strikeout.
Kirkie | 06-Feb-07 at 2:13 pm | Permalink
Surely we have to sign Burt Reynolds as a draft and follow, to go with Stephen King??
;)
Keep up the good work!
Ryan Sullivan | 06-Feb-07 at 2:44 pm | Permalink
Brian-
Of the 8 draft and follows we have, which one(s) would you anticipate the Nats pushing to sign? Which ones might be worth the commitment to?
Also, on another note, I received the BA prospect book last week, and I was pleasantly surprised with the tone and description BA gave our prospects and our organization as a whole. I thought they were rather positive on the whole; I wanted to get your opinion.
Thanks and as always, great job with the site.
Brian J Oliver | 06-Feb-07 at 2:57 pm | Permalink
I’d hope they go after Rosas, Salmon, and Peacock at a minimum. If for no other reason than adding more pitching and another catcher to the mix.
VladiHondo | 06-Feb-07 at 6:09 pm | Permalink
I know its alot and doing JUCO alone may not be much easier, but if you only follow the D&F’s, that would be fine by me!
Ric | 06-Feb-07 at 9:30 pm | Permalink
Brian,
Interesting that Marcus Salmon is listed as C/INF on the Miami-Dade site. The Nationals’ web site indicates that they drafted him as a pitcher. Do you know anything about his bacnkground or skills?
JayB | 07-Feb-07 at 11:10 am | Permalink
I do not understand how the Nats are letting so many Pitchers be drafted and get away. I never really focused on this until it became clear that they are not willing to pay for major league pitching thus this is a HUGH Problem for them……what is the thinking on not signing Black and the many others they are drafting…..It is not like they are spending any money at the major league level!
Brian J Oliver | 07-Feb-07 at 11:50 am | Permalink
JayB - Typically teams do not sign all of their draft picks. Most sign anywhere from 20-30 of the roughly 50 players they select. Guys like Sam Brown and Sam Dyson were drafted low enough that the bonus they’d likely receive would not equal the free education they are getting at their respective schools. The Nationals went hard after high ceiling high schoolers who they knew would be hard signs, but I believe they were aiming for quality from quantity.
I agree that missing out on Black was not what I would have hoped/expected. But the Nationals needed to define what they believed he was worth, establish a price tag, and stick to it. I have been told that the Nationals offered Black what his slot was expected to pay (somewhere around $650K). Black was committed to attending Seton Hall and it was rumored that unless he received first round money (around $1M) he was going to college. The Nationals held to their offer and Black went to college. In my opinion, the Nationals did not believe Black warranted over slot money and were ready for the criticism they’d get. Whether the Nationals should have spent a pick on a player who was a reported tough sign is open to debate, and I understand both sides of the argument.
JayB | 07-Feb-07 at 12:12 pm | Permalink
Brian -Thanks for the background and you make some great points on what is the norm for clubs to do with the draft….I see the Nats as the exception due to what they are NOT doing at the major league level….that is putting together a starting pitching staff with more than 5 wins combined in 2006. I would hope that since they have given up on the Major League level they would be happy to spend $1 mil for Black and get him in the system.
Bottom line for me is I do not yet understand what the plan is if they are not going to participate at the major league level and think doing business as usual (norm for draft) is going to get them the pitching they need to win games and fans.