Nationals Farm Authority

Across the Affiliates 2007 - DSL (1 of 7)

Unlike last season where pitching was the primary area of strength (Colton Willems, Yunior Novoa, Adam Carr, Edulin Abreu, Marco Estrada) the 2007 GCL Nationals showed an strong menu of hitters primarily from the 2007 draft, especially power hitters.

The 2007 GCL Nats finished the season with a 23-31 record (identical to their 2006 finish) placing them fourth in a five team division, easily dominated by the GCL Dodgers who finished with forty victories. The GCL Nats could only manage a 7-20 record against the Dodgers and Marlins (teams one and two in their division) but held their own with a 16-11 record against the other also-rans (Mets [9-5] & Cardinals [7-6]).

STATISTICS

Hitting

Pitching

As it is clear, the GCL Nats pitching was their Achilles heel. While their strikeouts were better than the league average, the GCL Nats were worse than average in practically every other pitching rate statistic. Conversely, the GCL Nats slugged their way to league average in hitting spearheaded by players like Michael Burgess or Jake Smolinski.

As with the DSL, there is some value to consider the relative age of the players comprising the roster for the GCL Nats, though not as pronounced as the DSL

The GCL Nats had their fair share of younger prep bats from both the 2007 draft as well as carryover from the 2006 draft (the equivalent of a college freshman) which led them to a younger than average everyday lineup. With the exception of 1B Clint Pridmore who was 20 years old, every other starter for the GCL Nats was between 17-19 years of age. As for their pitching, the GCL Nats did feature some prep arms in their rotation, however, their strongest performers were players such as LHPs Ross Detwiler (21) & Atahulpa Severino (22) and RHPs Randy Matias (20) & Kyle Gunderson (22).

Regular Lineup

The overall story of the Nationals 2007 draft was the signing of arguably three of the top lefthanded pitchers (Detwiler, Josh Smoker, and Jack McGeary). But the story in Viera was the performances of the bats where Burgess, Smolinski, Englund, King, Gonzalez and Lopez demonstrated the Nationals may have begun the long process towards establishing an offensive pipeline.

Top 10 GCL Nationals Prospects

1. Michael Burgess RF
2. Smiley Gonzalez SS
3. Jake Smolinski LF
4. Stephen Englund CF
5. Stephen King 2B/SS
6. Yhonson Lopez OF
7. Brad Peacock RHSP
8. PJ Dean RHSP
9. Steven Souza 3B
10. Atahaulpa Severino LHP

Burgess was, by far, the top GCL Nats prospect and likely right at the top of the GCL overall. The 18-year old slugger led the GCL in OBP, SLG, and by extension OPS. Though he played in only 36 games, he finished tied for third in home runs and sixth in both BA and RBI. Adding to the offensive package is Burgess’ arm in right field where he has one of the strongest arms in the organization (he threw in the mid-90s as a pitcher in high school). Burgess finished the season in Vermont and is likely to start the 2008 season in Hagerstown.

While Smiley Gonzalez’ batting average was only 0.245, he showed remarkable patience for such a young player with a 0.382 OBP. Gonzalez is already ahead of schedule with his glove and if his plate discipline can be built upon could develop into a top of the order presence with an above average glove. It’s still too early to guess how much power he might develop but he could be a presence for the Nationals in three years or so. It’s unsure what the Nationals will do with Smiley, Hagerstown may be a bit aggressive but the Nationals might want to challenge him in 2008.

A broken foot ended Smolinski’s season in late July but the Nationals have to be impressed with the combination of extra-base power (9/32 hits for extra bases) and his speed (7/9 in SB attempts). Scouts are impressed with his approach hitting and believe that as he gets older, his 6′0″ 195lb frame should fill out and allow Smolinski the chance to develop as an above average hitter with middle of the order power. Assuming Smolinski has recovered from his broken foot, he seems destined to start the season in Short Season Vermont.

This is Englund’s second straight season on the GCL Top 10 list. A thumb injury derailed the start of Englund’s 2007 season but upon his return, he showed tremendous plate patience (28 walks in 107 plate appearances) and great speed on the base paths (13/17 in SB attempts). It was enough to earn Englund a late season promotion to Vermont. Scouts believe that Englund might still develop some power. The Nationals just might have a center fielder with 20+ stolen bases and 15-20 home runs in their pipeline. Englund should begin 2007 in Hagerstown.

Scouts have referenced the names Bobby Crosby and JJ Hardy when they discuss Stephen King. King was likely over-assigned at the start of the season in Hagerstown where he struggles forced the Nationals to hit the reset button and bring him back to the GCL. While King needs to cut down on his strikeouts (47 in 161AB), he showed some impressive power for a middle infielder. King is likely to get a second crack at Hagerstown in April of 2008.

Lopez might be an unfamiliar name for many but the 18-year old lefthanded outfielder did just about everything the Nationals asked of him in 2007. He played all three outfield positions as well as a couple games at 2B. Lopez showed some developing power and above average speed. While he does not seem to project as an elite outfielder, he appears to have the tools necessary to turn into a valuable utility player who can fill in around the diamond. Vermont seems to be his jumping off point in 2008.

Peacock was the GCL Nats best starter given his age. Over thirteen appearances, Peacock struck out 7.8 batters per nine innings with a 1.35WHIP and 3.92ERA.  Peacock has a low-90s fastball and likely projects as a middle to back of the rotation starter. Expect the Nationals to challenge Peacock in 2008 with an assignment to Potomac.

Dean is all about projectability. The 6′3″ 175-lb right hander from Texas has a 87-91 mph fastball and a hard breaking ball. If he can fine tune his command and mechanics, Dean is the type of pitcher where things can all of a sudden just click. Given his current performance, expect Dean to make his 2008 debut in Vermont where the Lake Monsters appear to again be on the verge of having a stable of highly projectible arms.

Souza struggled in his professional debut, hitting only 194/299/340 in 44 games as the GCL Nats third baseman. But Souza already has plus bat speed and has shown flashes of power. He’s likely headed for extended spring training in 2008 and a start in Vermont.

Severino continued his battle back from Tommy John surgery. After absolutely dominating the DSL in 2006, the 22-year old lefty made a brief stop in the DSL in 2007 before making his US debut with the GCL. Severino has started so far in his professional career but he might be project best as a lefthanded setup man or even a closer. Severino seems a likely candidate to begin 2008 in the Hagerstown rotation with the possibility of a quick promotion to Potomac if he performs well.

The Washington Nationals today claimed right-handed pitcher Enrique Gonzalez off trade waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gonzalez was then placed on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, but will not report. Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement. “Enrique has a quality arm and a four-pitch mix,” said Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Baseball Operations. “He has been effective throughout his career in both a relief and starter role, but we believe he has the stuff and repertoire to pitch in a starting role for us.”

It is pretty clear from who is quoted (Rizzo) who orchestrated this move. Gonzalez has an upper-90s fastball.

Justin Maxwell is in tonight’s starting lineup against the Braves batting #8.

The Washington Nationals today acquired 23 year-old outfielder/first baseman Andrew Lefave from the Milwaukee Brewers to complete the September 4 trade in which Milwaukee acquired left-handed pitcher Ray King in exchange for a player to be named later. Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.

The Single-A South Atlantic League batting champion, Lefave hit .345 (146-for-423) with 25 doubles, 17 home run, 79 RBI and 59 walks in 112 games for the West Virginia Power this season. Lefave’s batting average ranked second in minor league baseball among players with at least 350 at-bats. He also led all Single-A batters with at least 350 at-bats in batting and on-base percentage (.432). Lefave, who bats and throws left handed, led the entire Brewers organization in hitting in 2007.

In one-plus seasons, or 147 professional games, Lefave is a .347 career hitter with 18 home runs and 101 RBI. He also sports stellar career on-base (.431) and slugging (.517) percentages. Lefave originally signed with the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent on July 1, 2006 after attending Missouri Valley College.

Lefave, Brett McMillan, Robby Jacobsen, and Bill Rhinehart will likely battle for the starting 1B spots in Harrisburg, Potomac and Hagerstown.

Now that the minor league season has ended for the Nationals affiliates, I am going to begin a recap of each level highlighting the overall performances and top prospects at each level.

Today I start with the Dominican Summer League (DSL). Once again in 2007, the Nats had two teams in the DSL, both were based out of Loma del Sueño, Jose Rijo’s complex in the Dominican Republic. But unlike last season where both squads finished with a sub-0.500 record, the DSL Nationals1 not only finished with a winning record (49-15), they also won the DSL Championship, besting the DSL Yankees1 three games to two in the best-of-five series.

STATISTICS

Hitting

Pitching

As you would expect, the Nats1 had both above average hitting and pitching while the Nats2 were below average versus the league as a whole. While the Nats1 did not hit as many home runs as the average team (in fact, both Nats teams combined were less than league average), they made up for it by stealing over fifty more bases with a greater success rate than league average (75% vs 66%). Add to that the pitching dominance the Nats1 demonstrated where they outperformed the league averages in virtually every pitching rate statistic.

The one thing to keep in mind when looking at these performances are the relative ages of the players involved. Below is a table showing the average of both the Nats 1 & 2 hitters and pitchers in DSL versus league average:

The Nats1 were clearly a more experienced team which likely played an important role in their results, especially with the pitching staff where the bulk of their starts were made by players 20 years or older. But taking a closer look at the actual composition of the roster, there are some promising signs …

Regular Lineup

The presence of players such as Jimenez, Sanchez, Perez, Paez, Morales and Hodge show that the Nationals are in fact replenishing their pipeline in the Dominican Republic. Players are entering the system from the Dominican, Venezuela and even Argentina. The most important signs are two fold, first, will these younger players continue to populate and eventually assume the majority of the roster spots and more importantly, will these names appear again in the Gulf Coast League, Vermont, all the way to Washington in the ideal scenario.

The Newcomers

‘#’= switch-hitter; ‘*’= lefthanded

The Nationals saw some pretty solid performances from their youngest players. Alejandro Hodge and Eury Perez were the full-time starters in center field for their respective teams and both players showed solid on-base numbers and some developing speed on the base paths. 20-year Francisco Soriano was probably the biggest surprise, showing extra-base power (8/36 hits were for extra bases) while playing 35 games at shortstop. An interesting name on the list is Francisco Vizcaino who was signed as a LHP but also saw six games at DH and five games at 1B.

‘*’ = lefthanded

The clear stars here were Marcos Frias and Carlos Peralta. Frias became a solid starter for both the Nats1 (2-2 with 3.21ERA 1.29WHIP over 42IP) and the Nats2 (4-1 with 0.38ERA 1.53WHIP over 24IP), including a win in the championship clinching game. Though old by DSL standards, Peralta provided spectacular relief for the Nats1 with 15 saves in his 28 appearances.

Without further ado …

Top 15 DSL Prospects

1. Federico Tanco RHSP
2. Juan Beltre LF
3. Marcos Frias RHSP
4. Eduardo Urbina 1B
5. Alejandro Hodge CF
6. Eury Perez CF
7. Hendry Jimenez 2B
8. Jorge Urena RHSP
9. Adrian Sanchez 2B
10. Carlos Peralta RHRP
11. Francisco Soriano SS
12. Dani Arias SS
13. Yeurys Tejeda SS
14. Danny Taveras CA/DH
15. Ricardo Martinez CA

I’m working on the reviews for the various levels. Hoping to get the DSL review up on Wednesday.

Vermont finished the season with an above 0.500 record, defeating Hudson Valley 8-4 on Friday night (box/gamer). Josh Smoker started the season finale allowing two runs on two hits and two walks over two innings with two strikeouts. Adrian Alaniz picked up his eighth win of the season giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four. LF Boomer Whiting was 1/4 with one RBI and one run scored. He also stole two more bases, finishing his season with league leading 37. DH Garrett Bass (2/5) and 1B Aaron Seuss (1/5) each drove in a pair of runs. CA Sean Rooney was 3/4 with one RBI and RF Michael Burgess was 2/5 with one RBI.

The DSL Nationals1 became the first Nationals affiliate at any level to win a championship, rallying from a 3-1 deficit at home to defeat the DSL Yankees1 5-3, winning the best of five series three games to two (box). Marcos Frias won the decisive game, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks over five innings of work while striking out two. Federico Tanco held the DSL Yankees hitless and scoreless over three innings of relief, striking out four. Carlos Peralta picked up the save with a perfect ninth. LF Juan Beltre (0/4) and CA Yan Carlos Hiciano (1/3) each had a pair of RBI for the DSL Nats1.

The DSL Nationals1 won the 2007 Dominican Summer League Championship, winning the series 3-2 over the DSL Yankees1. Details to follow.

Vermont won a 12-7 slugfest in Hudson Valley, evening up their record at 37-37 (box/gamer). RF Michael Burgess was 4/5 with a triple, two home runs and five RBI. Burgess hit a solo home run in the second and capped off his evening with a three-run shot in the ninth. DH Garrett Bass (1/4 with 2 runs), 1B Aaron Seuss (1/4 with 2 runs), and CA Sean Rooney (1/5 with 1 run) each had two RBI in the victory. LF Boomer Whiting was 0/3 with two runs scored and his 35th stolen base of the season. Lake Monsters pitching struck out sixteen Renegades. Jack McGeary struck out a pair of hitters, but allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks over 1 2/3 innings. Ryan Buchter struck out four, but surrendered four runs on five hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings. Randy Matias had four strikeouts in his three innings of two-hit shutout relief. And, Martin Beno picked up the victory striking out six over the final two innings. If Vermont can win tonight, they will finish with an above 0.500 record.

Tonight: LHP Josh Smoker (0-0, 0.00) wraps up the Lake Monsters season against Hudson Valley at 7:05PM

Home teams continued to hold serve as the DSL Yankees1 edged out the DSL Nationals1 2-1, evening the best of five series at two games each (box). RHP Amado de los Santos took the loss allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings, while striking out three. LHP Miguel Aracena pitched 3 1/3 innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit and striking out one. LF Juan Beltre was 1/2 with a walk, run and two stolen bases. SS Dani Arias was 1/4 with one RBI.

Today: It’s winner take all as the DSL Nationals1 and DSL Yankees1 play the fifth and deciding game at 11:00AM at the Jose Rijo complex.

Minor League News & Notes … Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times looks at the improvement in the Nationals player development.

Jordan Zimmermann struggled in his final start of 2007 as Vermont was defeated by Hudson Valley 7-4 (box/gamer). Zimmermann allowed five runs on nine hits and two walks over 3 1/3 innings, though he did strike out five. CA Craig Stinson was 2/4 with his first professional home run and two RBI. 1B Aaron Seuss was 2/4 with a run scored. LF Boomer Whiting & DH Garrett Bass each had a double and SS Dan Lyons had a triple. The Lake Monsters need to win their final two games of the season to finish with an above 0.500 record.

Tonight: LHP Jack McGeary (0-1, 18.00) starts at Hudson Valley at 6:05PM

The DSL Nationals1 defeated the DSL Yankees1 6-3, moving to a two games to one lead in the best of five DSL Championship Series (box). Jorge Urena started for the Nats surrendering three runs on six hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings pitched. Reliever Juan Jamie picked up his second win with three solid shutout innings allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out four. Carlos Peralta picked up his second save with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. LF Juan Beltre was 2/4 with a solo home run and stolen base. 1B Eduardo Urbina was 2/4 with one run and one RBI. 3B Yeurys Tejeda was 1/3 with a home run and two RBI. CA Yan Carlos Hiciano was 2/3 with a double. And, CF Eury Perez was 1/2 with a walk and one RBI.

Today: The DSL Nationals1 look to win the DSL Championship with a 11:00AM game at the Latin Baseball Academy (DSL Yankees1 home)