Press Release from the Nationals …
The Washington Nationals today named outfielder Leonard Davis as their Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Jordan Zimmermann as their Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden, Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development Bob Boone and Director of Player Development Bobby Williams made the joint announcement.
Mark | 23-Sep-08 at 10:55 am | Permalink
Unexciting selections, but probably the best fiting. Kind of wierd when your MiLPOY plays the same postion as the best player on the ML team. Brian - Is Davis projectable to 2nd or OF?
Brian Oliver | 23-Sep-08 at 11:17 am | Permalink
I see Davis as more of a bench option. A guy who can fill in at 2B, 3B and corner OF.
Joe From Montana | 23-Sep-08 at 11:30 am | Permalink
I wouldn’t characterize these as ‘unexciting’ selections, nor am I sure what you mean by that. I guess the MiLPOY has to be a first-rounder? Anyway, Leonard Davis’ numbers this year:
.308 BA 76 R 28 2B 26 HR 76 RBI
Almost every single one of his numbers improved from last year when you look at MiLB.com’s stats, and last year he had a great year as well. Keep in mind also that he started this year in extended spring and didn’t get to Potomac until late April, then proceeded to get promoted twice. Heck of a year.
Berndaddy | 23-Sep-08 at 11:48 am | Permalink
Here, here ! Joe from Montana…
If not Davis, then who else should have been given the honors… Jordan is a no brainer, eh. I’m excited about this year in the minors. Look at BBA’s top 20 per league and on the lists out (2) we’ve got a sprinkle of kids all through out. Not bad. Last year just wasn’t this good and let’s hope next year’s even better….
Jeff | 23-Sep-08 at 11:54 am | Permalink
I’ve been high on Davis when he was on absolutely nobody’s radar last year when he was in Hagerstown. He projects as a bench option at the MLB level but he deserved this honor.
Pilchard | 23-Sep-08 at 12:03 pm | Permalink
Just curious as to why Davis projects as a bench option. If he can hit for power (26 HRs) and play 2nd base why is he not a better option than the “everyday” 2nd base banjo hitters that the Nats have used on the big league level. If Davis has legit power, he should be contending for an everyday spot at any position on this team, other than 3B.
Brian Oliver | 23-Sep-08 at 12:26 pm | Permalink
Those are 26 home runs in the minor leagues. It isn’t necessarily a one-for-one translation to the majors.
He strikes out four times to every one time he walks and strikes out in over one quarter of his at-bats. It’s the lack of adjustments that concerns me. Major league pitchers will exploit that.
estuartj | 23-Sep-08 at 12:48 pm | Permalink
Well then Michael Burgess is in for a ton of trouble…
Brian Oliver | 23-Sep-08 at 12:51 pm | Permalink
estuartj - That’s the knock on Burgess almost across the board. Be it John Sickels, BBA or any other prospect”y” type of site, they all are concerned with his command of the strike zone. There can be positive signs if a player can keep his BB/K roughly 1/2 or better even if the Ks are high. That demonstrates an understanding of the strikezone. When a player has a BB/K of 1/4 or worse in the minors, it makes the step to the majors that much more difficult
Jeff | 23-Sep-08 at 12:57 pm | Permalink
Guys who K 4 times more than they walk are hell for a fantasy team as well :)
Joe From Montana | 23-Sep-08 at 1:18 pm | Permalink
Burgess hit .246 for the year and struck out 162 times in 472 ABs.
Davis hit .308 for the year and struck out 100 times in 438 ABs
IMO if you hit .308 with 26 HR who cares how many times you strike out?
Davis had never played above low A ball before 2007. He went from high A to AAA this year, and at the end of the year he had fewer K’s in more ABs than he did in 2007, not to mention better numbers in all but one offensive category.
I’d say he’s made some pretty good adjustments.
Paul | 23-Sep-08 at 1:48 pm | Permalink
Per Pnats.com-
In addition to the aforementioned organizational honors, the Nationals also selected Players and Pitchers of the Year for each of their respective affiliates (listed below).
Triple-A Columbus
OF Roger Bernadina (signed as an non-drafted free agent, November 3, 2001) - Hit .351 (67-for-191) with 13 doubles, four triples, four home runs, 16 RBI and 15 steals in 47 games. Became the first Nationals/Expos minor leaguer to hit above .320 at both Double-A and Triple-A since Rondell White accomplished the feat in 1993.
LHP Mike O’Connor (selected in 7th round of 2002 First-Year Player Draft) - Went 5-3 with a 2.17 ERA (24 ER/99.2 IP) and a 1.00 WHIP in 16 games.
Double-A Harrisburg
C Luke Montz (selected in 17th round of 2003 First-Year Player Draft) - Batted .282 (62-for-220) with 14 doubles, 14 homers, 53 RBI and a .554 slugging percentage in 63 games.
RHP Jordan Zimmermann (selected in 2nd round of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - Went 7-2 with a 3.21 ERA (38 ER/106.0 IP) in 20 starts.
Single-A Potomac
OF Leonard Davis (selected in 8th round of 2004 First-Year Player Draft) - Hit .332 (72-for-217) with 14 doubles, 14 homers and 37 RBI in 63 games.
RHP Adrian Alaniz (selected in 8th round of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - Went 9-0 with a 2.62 ERA (19 ER/65.1 IP) in 12 starts.
Single-A Hagerstown
OF Michael Burgess (selected in sandwich round [47th overall] of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - Tallied 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 69 RBI in 112 games. Paced pro baseball with 28 outfield assists, including 26 with the Suns.
RHP Colton Willems (selected in the first round [22nd overall] of 2006 First-Year Player Draft) - Posted a 3.70 ERA (45 ER/109.1 IP) in 20 starts.
Single-A Vermont
C Derek Norris (selected in 4th round of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - Led the NY-Penn League with a Vermont franchise- record 63 walks and a .444 OBP. Batted .278 (63-for-227) with 12 doubles, 10 homers and 38 RBI in 70 games.
RHP P.J. Dean (selected in 7th round of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - The NY-Penn League All-Star went 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA (8 ER/46.0 IP) and a .169 (26-for-154) batting average against in 10 starts.
Rookie-level GCL
SS Esmailyn Gonzalez (signed as an international free agent, July 2, 2006) - Was named the GCL MVP and earned season-ending All-Star honors after hitting .343 (62-for-181) to win the batting title and helping lead the GCL Nationals to the East Division title. The 18-year-old also paced the GCL with a .431 OBP, while ranking among the league leaders in hits (2nd, 62), runs (2nd, 42), RBI (T3rd, 33), total bases (T5th, 86) and doubles (T10th, 12).
LHP Jack McGeary (selected in 6th round of 2007 First-Year Player Draft) - Led the GCL with 64 strikeouts. Posted a 4.9/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (64 K/13 BB) in 12 starts.
Hardball | 23-Sep-08 at 4:50 pm | Permalink
I see nothing wrong with the MiLPOY selections. Shouldn’t it go to the player who has the best overall year in the organization, regardless of position or what round they were drafted in? Congrats to Leonard & Jordan. At some point in time we need to find guys who can actually play the game and produce, not just keep waiting for and talking up the guys paid the big bonuses. Let’s find some guys who can win games!
estuartj | 24-Sep-08 at 8:17 am | Permalink
Great game from our guys last night and SEA finally won a game so no harm done on the Strasburg Stakes.
Mark | 24-Sep-08 at 10:57 am | Permalink
Joe - what I mean by ‘unexciting’ is that while Davis has had a good year, this is clearly the most that’s ever been discussed about. Yes, he was the best selection, but he’s been mostly under the radar (undeservedly) and we fans have just not focused on him a whole lot - probably because he was playing 3rd. Jordan Z. was on everyone’s radar early in the year when he was blowing out the lower ranks, but seemed to settle down once he faced stiffer compitition. Not every POY has to wow people - they were both consistent over the whole year and they were the best choices of all those who were not promoted to DC. They were the right selections.
bangzoom | 24-Sep-08 at 10:55 pm | Permalink
Zimmermann has legit stuff. Fastball topping out at 94, a filthy slider and a changeup that can be a real weapon against left-handed hitters. Double-A hitters had a very hard time against him on most nights.
With Davis, who knows? This was his breakout year. We should know in a year or so whether he can sustain these kinds of results at higher levels.