| Rank | Hitters | Pitchers |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Roger Bernadina | Zech Zinicola |
| 16 | Kory Casto | Marco Estrada |
| 17 | Andrew LeFave | Adrian Alaniz |
| 18 | Leonard Davis | Cory VanAllen |
| 19 | Dani Arias | Martin Beno |
| 20 | Bill Rhinehart | Hassan Pena |
| 21 | Mark Gildea | Yader Peralta |
| 22 | Aaron Seuss | PJ Dean |
| 23 | Edgardo Baez | Federico Tanco |
| 24 | Garrett Bass | Jack Spradlin |
| 25 | Alejandro Hodge | Marcos Frias |
| Francisco Soriano | Juan Jaime | |
| Yeurys Tejeda |
Roger Bernadina has been in the Expos/Nationals organization since 2001 when he was signed as an international free agent out of Curacao. After spending three seasons in Low-A, Bernadina had a solid season with Potomac in 2006 and followed up with another very good season in Double-A Harrisburg in 2007. Over 97 games (371AB) he hit 270/340369 with an organization-leading 40 stolen bases. Besides his speed, Bernadina has an above average glove in the outfield, where he can fill in at all three positions. He’s probably a #5 outfielder as a ceiling but his lefthanded bat, glove and baserunning ability could make the 23-year old an option for the Nationals if an injury arises in 2008. He should be the starting center fielder in Columbus.
Zech Zinicola was the Nationals’ 2006 minor league pitcher of the year after getting drafted out of Arizona State in the 6th round of the 2006 draft. This was likely more a testament to the lack of a strong pitcher in the organization than his chances as a top prospect. The 22-year old righthanded relief pitcher had a disappointing 2007 where he was 0-4 with a 5.46ERA and 1.54WHIP over 42 appearances in Harrisburg. He profiles well as a righthanded arm out of the pen with a fastball that has been clocked at 95. His changeup and slider are still works in progress. If Zinicola can bounce back in Columbus in 2008, he still has a shot at being a viable arm out of the Washington bullpen in 2009.
Positively Half St. (8 more days) | 07-Feb-08 at 8:59 pm | Permalink
Zinicola has to make it as one of the best baseball names of all time.
senators fffan | 07-Feb-08 at 10:20 pm | Permalink
While it’s true Zinicola hit a learning curve, i thought BBA ranked his slider as the best in the organization ? …hardly a work in progess
senatorsfansunite | 08-Feb-08 at 9:07 am | Permalink
senators fffan - Zin’s SLIDER is ranked by BBA as best in the organization. Curve is still a work in progress. His biggest problem in 2007 was control and location of his 95 mph fastball which had him working from behind in the count a lot. Working from behind in the count effected his ability to use his “out pitches”. He also has an “unreal” split-finger according to catcher Luke Montz.
Ryan Sullivan | 08-Feb-08 at 9:31 am | Permalink
SenatorsFan (along with everyone else)-
If Zinicola has a 95mph fastball, a strong slider, and a crazy splitter, then why is he even worrying about a curve? That type of fastball with two solid offspeed pitches should be more than enough for a 7th/8th inning type reliever, if he could get his fastball command down.
Also, are people expecting a bounce back type season from Zech, or was last season more of a reflection of his talent? Just curious, as I didn’t see him pitch last season in the games I attended… thanks everyone
senatorsfansunite | 08-Feb-08 at 1:37 pm | Permalink
Ryan,
I would have to agree with you. Having three decent pitches should be enough for a short inning relief type pitcher. As I stated in my player-profile-zech-zinicola, he’s only been pitching full time for two years. I don’t know if this is something he is messing around with or if he feels the need to develope another pitch.
The key to Zech’s success is command/control of his fastball. If his command returns everything else should fall in to place and 08 will be a ‘bounce back’ season for him. If he still shows command problems this spring he could return to Harrisburg. But Columbus is most likely where he will start 08 (like Brian said).
Thanks,
Will
My profile of Zech:
http://senatorsfansunite.blogspot.com/2007/11/player-profile-zech-zinicola.html