Nationals Farm Authority

From Nationals Journal, the Nationals finally made the roster move necessary to open up a 40-man spot for Johnny Estrada. The San Diego Padres claimed RHP Enrique Gonzalez off of waivers from Washington. Gonzalez was claimed late in 2007 from the Arizona Diamondbacks but never made an appearance for the Nats.

Of more interest was the signing of Japanese LHP Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league contract. As Barry reported

He went 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League … Maekawa had legal problems in Japan resulting from a hit-and-run accident. He did not pitch in Japan in 2007 because of the problems, and according to Japanese media, he had been driving without a license for as many as four years and was unofficially barred from the Japanese major leagues. He was the No. 1 draft pick by the Kinetsu Buffaloes in 1997. He’s 29, and was 1-7 with a 5.26 ERA with Orix in 2006

It’s unlikely that he’ll be anything more than an extra arm in Columbus, but the more interesting aspect is the fact the Nats have made their initial step into the Pacific Rim. It’s not a move on par with Ichiro or Hideki Matsui or Daisuke Matsuzaka, those moves appear to be farther out on the horizon. This move is similar to the signing of Esmailyn Gonzalez (though, Smiley seems more of a “prospect”). By signing any Japanese player, the Nats have identified themselves as a candidate for Pacific Rim options. Bill Singer and the Nationals scouting department are working on the Nats visibility in Asia. It’s going to be a longer process as they build a network within Japanese baseball.

What will be worth watching is whether the signing of a Japanese player with baggage back home will be viewed positively or otherwise.

Baseball America noted that MI/CF Alexei Ramirez, a Cuban defector who played in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, has selected Jamie Torres as his agent and is ready to come to MLB. Ramirez is reportedly 26-years old and has played CF for the Cuban National team in the WBC, SS for Pinar Del Rio in the Cuban National League, and also at 2B for the Cuban national team. From what I can find, he seems to most resemble Julio Lugo in terms of projected abilities.

If he can play center field, he seems to be an intriguing option for the Nationals this off-season. His salary demands would not seem to be at the level of the top tier CFs on the market (Andruw Jones, Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand) but it definitely would be a risk on whether he would provide a solid return.

Barry Larkin, a special assistant to the GM to Jim Bowden, is headed to Europe to join the coaching staff of Major League Baseball International (MLBI) for their third annual academy from August 9-30 in Tirrenia, Italy.

The European Baseball Academy features 55 of the top players aged 15-20 from 13 countries in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, the Ukraine, United Kingdom) and four African nations (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda). Participants were chosen by the Major League Scouting Bureau following tryouts across Europe in April.

This should be an ideal situation for Larkin to put into practice the concept proposed by Stan Kasten. Kasten has commented on numerous occasions that he wants to make the Nationals a major player on the international stage. While Larkin may not actually sign any players, he should at the very least bring back some firsthand scouting reports of potential targets for Bowden and Mike Rizzo to target.

In other international news, MLB has just launched their inaugural academy in China. MLBI and the China Baseball Association are conducting a similar academy from August 7 to 26 designed to provide professional instruction to the best of the potential prospects in China. This again should be an opportunity for the Nationals to make their presence known. Bill Singer is in charge of scouting for the Nationals in the Pacific Rim and I would expect him to be there to ideally identify and perhaps sign the Nationals first prospects from Asia.

In his weekly, DC Examiner column, GM Jim Bowden highlights several of the teenage prospects playing in the Gulf Coast League. It’s an interesting read from Bowden on the highly rated guys.

I overlooked Todd Jacobson’s final piece for the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star on P-Nats outfielders Mike Daniel, Justin Maxwell, and Chris Marrero.

The Red Sox reached a partnership agreement with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. I’ll use this again as my soapbox to recommend that the Nationals undertake a comparable agreement in order to build a global influence.

The final bit of news has been discussed in the comments section, but I wanted to pull it up into a post of its own. All three of the primary sources had the note (Ladson, Svrluga, and Zuckerman). The quote in question from Bowden was:

“If we decide to go forward and sign a couple of players that we’re negotiating with, it might affect our ability to sign our first two picks. We may not be able to sign both of them because we may choose to spend the money on another key player of that type of talent. … We have to decide how to spend our money.”

Please keep in mind that this is not based on any insider information, just my opinion …

I believe that this is strictly posturing on behalf of Bowden. They are using this to hold a hard line in the negotiations with Ross Detwiler and Josh Smoker. There are stil 41 days for the two side to come to an agreement and this is just a negotiating tactic. The Nationals have flexibility in receiving a comparable pick in the 2008 draft if neither sign, but that should really be a last resort argument. The Nationals cut back on their major league budget with the stated goal of redeveloping the player development system. It would be a hard sell to the fans if they were not sign both guys. We have not seen any reports that either guy is asking for an exorbitant bonus so my best guess is that the Nationals are using the media to aid in their negotiations.

The statement also raises the issue of what the international market looks like. From what I can gather, the international prospect market does not necessarily have that one guy, the next Miguel Cabrera if you will, who is going to get a huge signing bonus. Meaning that there does not appear to be a multi-million dollar prospect waiting to take a chunk of the Nationals budget. There are several interesting guys (thanks to Baseball America for the names):

• Dominican Republic: 3B Bernardo Villar, OFs Angel Joseph, Edwin Barrera, Antonio Rodriguez, Melvin Rosario, Henry Pena, and Carlos Venezuela
• Venezuela: LHPs Carlos Flores and Martin Perez
• Korea: RHP Dae-Eun Rhee
• Australia: LHP Trent Baker
• Colombia: RHP Julio Teheran
• Panama: RHP Enrique Burgos

But none seem to be guys who are tied to the Nationals, according to BBA, or likely worth the large dollar investment. In actuality, it would probably be in the Nationals best interest to forego the huge splash this year and rather sign a slew of guys in the $50-100K range. The track record for these high bonus international prospects is spotty at best and more often it makes more sense to develop quality from quantity. This is all contingent upon the level of confidence the Nationals have in their guys on the ground in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, etc.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

UPDATE: Alan brought up the point that the Nationals should take a more active role in establishing a local presence in bringing baseball back to the youth of the city. MLB is taking the first steps to bring the RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities) program to DC.

I typically only focus on things that the Nationals do, but this story jumped out at me as something fans of the rebuilding process should hope to see coming out from Washington in the near future. Today, the New York Yankees signed two players out of the People’s Republic of China. In doing so, the Yankees become “the first Major League team to sign a player from the People’s Republic of China with approval from the Chinese Baseball Association.”

What bearing does this have on the Nationals?

Well, National President Stan Kasten has repeated time and again that he hopes to capitalize on Washington DC’s presence in the international community as a tool to expand the reach of the Nationals around the globe. Specifically, he has focused on working with the embassies located in and around the city to get the Nationals footprint in as many countries around the world as feasible.

The Yankees established a working relationship with the Chinese Baseball Association in January of this year and it is already paying dividends. Keep in mind that the odds are long that either of the two signings (a catcher and a lefthanded pitcher) will ever make the major leagues, but the first steps have been made and the Yankees are building upon their name recognition yet again.

The Nationals have stated that they personnel working hard to establish a similar presence. Jose Rijo’s complex in the Dominican Republic was a first step the Nationals took in re-establishing an international presence. back in February, Nationals executive Squire Galbreath brokered a working relationship with the Tabasco Olmecas Baseball Club of the Mexican Summer League. And, the Nationals have a scout, Bill Singer, in place in Asia with the goal of accomplishing comparable working arrangements.

As important a tool as the First Year Player Draft will be in rebuilding the Nationals player development system, an international presence deserves equal focus.

Jim Allen of the Daily Yomiuri Online has an interesting series of articles on Japanese baseball that are definitely worth the read. Japanese baseball is beginning to face issues from the influx of top tier Japanese ballplayers into MLB.

In the first installment of his Special Report, former MLB manager and current Chiba Lotte Marines manager Bobby Valentine comments on an eerie similarity

I think the real danger now is that Japan is closer to becoming the second coming of the Negro leagues

Valentine’s point is MLB is acquiring more and more Japanese baseball players, therbey reducing the starpower and potentially the viability of maintaining a high talent league. With Japanese teams posting more of their top talent for MLB, the league is finding that not only are they losing players to the US (and Toronto), but they are also discovering an even more challenging reality. An unintended consequence is that MLB is now looking beyond simply bringing Japanese players to MLB, they are now looking to establish a presence into Asia with teams in China, Taiwan, and South Korea.

In his his next installment, Allen discusses the shrinking talent pool in Japan. Allen offers a couple of suggestions including expanding the acquisition of foreign players in Japan (currently limited to 4 out of their 25-man rosters) as well as a “new [developmental] league with hundreds of extra games.” This on the surface seems counterintuitive given the reduction of major league ready players, but Allen (and Valentine) do a good job of explaining it in detail.

Allen intends to continue his report tomorrow with an explanation of how to “Build Japan as a World Brand.”

UPDATE: Just as I post this, I notice this story from Buster Olney at ESPN.

A contingent of executives from the New York Yankees will fly to China next week with the hope of concluding ongoing negotiations on a working agreement with the China Baseball Association. This could lead to the Yankees dispatching coaches and trainers to work with players in China, and perhaps, in years to come, beginning a baseball academy.

This is precisely the type of move I would hope the Nationals would make. Ideally, Nationals scout Bill Singer, who has been assigned to the Asian region, can work to get the Nationals “boots on the ground” (to borrow a phrase from Dana Brown).

After conducting a private workout this weekend in Venezuela, the Washington Nationals today agreed to terms on professional contracts with catcher Sandy Leon (17 years-old, switch hitter, throws right), shortstop Adrian Sanchez (16, switch hitter, throws right), center fielder Jesus Morales (17, bats and throws right) and first baseman Juan Urdaneta (17, throws and bats left).  Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo and Nationals Director of Scouting Dana Brown made the joint announcement. 

All four players are Venezuelan natives.  Rizzo and Brown conducted the workout, which included seven players, in Maracaibo , Venezuela .

“These four players from Venezuela, coupled with the four we signed from Dominican Republic last week — all of whom are 17 years-old or younger — continue to bolster our ever-growing stable of talent that will impact our minor league system beginning in 2007,” said Rizzo.  “Signings such as these continue to signal the Nationals’ arrival as an international franchise.”

Much like the players signed from the Dominican Republic, the timetable for a return on investment is not necessarily near term. However, the Nationals continue to re-establish an international presence.

Included in Mark Zuckerman’s story today about the Nationals signing of four players from the Dominican Republic was this line

Scouting director Dana Brown and assistant GM Mike Rizzo will travel to Venezuela tomorrow to scout five more young players

Whether or not they actually sign anyone to contract, it is good news to hear they are making the necessary effort to put the Lerners and Stan Kasten’s goal of making the Nationals an international presence into action.

After conducting an invitation-only tryout last month at their academy in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, the Washington Nationals today agreed to terms on professional contracts with left-handed pitcher Randy Almonte, right-handed pitcher Marcos Frias, catcher Ricardo Martinez and left-handed pitcher Francisco Vizcaino. Nationals Director of Scouting Dana Brown made the announcement.

All four are Dominican natives that participated in the December workout. Brown, Nationals Manager Manny Acta and Nationals Special Assistant to the GM Jose Rijo conducted the workout, which included 50 players in all.

“These signings are the most recent step in our commitment to scouting and signing young prospects throughout Latin America,” said Brown. “We are excited to add three pitchers, including 6-foot-6 lefthander Randy Almonte, who projects to have tremendous upside.”

Almonte was one of the players highlighted by Todd Jacobson back in December.

Aaron Fitt covers both college baseball and prospects for Baseball America. On January 12, Aaron will be releasing his Nationals Top 10 list. This marks the third season that Aaron has reviewed/ranked the Nationals minor league performance as a precursor to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook where you can find each team’s Top 30 list along with a recap of the 2006 draft for each team. He graciously agreed to answer some questions for me via email.

Nationals Farm Authority (NFA): What impact will the hiring of Mike Rizzo have on the Nationals rebuilding effort? Manny Acta?

Aaron Fitt (AF): When Rizzo was hired, it was unclear exactly how he and scouting director Dana Brown would interact, and who would have what responsibilities. Now it appears clear that Dana will still have plenty of autonomy, but Rizzo was brought in just to get another accomplished baseball mind in the organization. Rizzo has a terrific track record in Arizona, of course, and will have a bigger hand in player procurement and development in 2007, but not at Dana’s expense. Like Rizzo, Acta seems like a nice hire. By all accounts he did a good job handling the various egos on the Dominican team in the World Baseball Classic, and he doesn’t seem like the kind of manager who will bury young players. Definitely much more in line with the kind of long-term, build-from-within approach the Nationals seek than Frank Robinson.

NFA: What is your opinion of the direction taken by the Nationals new ownership (i.e. 2006 draft and in-season trades)?

AF: I’ve been impressed with the foresight shown by Lerner, who is no spring chicken. Too often in sports we see aging owners mortgage the future for a chance to win now, and that approach often leads to bad contracts for established veterans on the downside of their careers. Those types of contracts would be the worst possible thing for Washington to fall into, and you have to give Bowden and his staff plenty of credit for shipping off their older players and stockpiling whatever youth they can. It’s easy to blast him for holding onto Soriano and then losing him to free agency, but he insisted to me that there was not an offer on the table that was better than the pair of first-round picks Soriano will yield in free-agent compensation. So that might end up being the best long-term move for a franchise in long-term rebuilding mode. After all, the two first-rounders the Nats took in 2006 are two of their top three prospects (according to BA’s rankings).

NFA: What is the impact of the Nationals not signing 2006 second round draft pick Sean Black? Were the Nationals correct in apparently holding strong to the slotting bonus?

AF: There is no doubt they wanted to sign Black, but the sides just weren’t very close. Frankly, I was surprised the player stuck to his exorbitant bonus demands, because he was a fringe second-round talent who had just popped up on most draft radars in his senior season. I expected he would realize that his value had peaked and it would be wise to sign, even if he had to take slot money. I don’t blame the Nationals for not meeting his demands — he’s a very nice talent, with a tall, projectable frame and quality stuff, but he’s very raw — hardly a sure bet.

NFA: Should the Nationals continue their focus on high ceiling high school players in the 2007 draft?

AF: Yes, if for no other reason than because the strength of the 2007 draft will be high school players. The college crop is quite weak — once you get past Vandy’s David Price and a group of stellar closers, there’s little to get excited about. On the other hand, there will be some prep players who have a chance to become serious impact prospects. Washington’s in no hurry — they ought to target high-ceiling guys, even if they are far away.

NFA: How would you grade out the Nationals recent drafts?

AF: I really like their 2006 draft, even though Black got away. Marrero, Willems, Englund, King and Gibson are exactly the kind of players they should go after — guys with a chance to make a major impact down the road. Gibson was probably my favorite prospect in the whole draft — wonderful sleeper from Long Island who got overlooked largely because he dominated against inferior high school competition. He has projection, feel for pitching, command and a pair of very good secondary pitches — the whole package, and he’s a lefty. I’m not sold on Van Allen, but his talent is undeniable, so it’s not a bad low-risk, high-reward pick. Zinicola is a fast-track guy, and you saw what he did in his debut. The Nationals love Hassan Pena and Adam Carr, and any time you can get a legit prospect after round 10, you’re doing OK. I give the draft an A-. The 2005 draft is probably a B+ — big points for landing Zimmerman, of course, but Justin Maxwell and Ryan Delaughter had disappointing seasons in 2006, and there aren’t a lot of impact guys past that. Estrada, Stammen and Lannan are all prospects, but none has a ceiling much higher than No. 4 starter. The Nationals love Mike Daniel internally, but I’m skeptical. 2004 is probably a B… Balester in the fourth round carries it, Bray worked out fine, but San Pedro was a bust in the second round. The jury is still out on Ian Desmond — the subject of much debate here in the BA office, with the general consensus that he’s a longshot. Ivany and Peacock are their two best catching prospects, but Marvin Lowrance and Leonard Davis have not lived up to their talent.

NFA: What are some of the Nationals organizational strengths? Weaknesses?

AF: All of a sudden, Washington has pitching depth, thanks largely to the 2006 trades for Mock, Chico, Nunez, Martis, Atilano, etc. The draft also helped, so the regression of Hinckley and Everts is masked. As for position players, the Nationals have concentrated on building depth at shortstop, with the idea that those players will have more value in trade if they can stick at short, or they can be moved to another position where their athleticism will come in handy. That’s not a bad strategy, but as a result the system is weak at the other infield positions. It also could use more power hitters, though Marrero was a good start. The biggest weakness of the system is a lack of impact talent at the upper levels of the minors. Most of the top prospects haven’t even played professionally long enough to know if they’re truly top prospects.

NFA: With the hiring of a new slate of scouts, the Nationals presently have 23 scouts on staff? How do the Nationals stack up against other MLB teams?

AF: The dark days are over for Dana Brown and his staff — the recent hires put the Nationals about on par with the rest of baseball.

NFA: Stan Kasten has said he wants to establish an international presence for the Nationals, how have the first steps progressed (signing of Esmailyn Gonzalez, setting a scout up in Asia)? How long a process is this typically?

AF: The Nationals overpaid for Gonzalez, outbidding everyone by as much as a half-million dollars, but he is a very nice prospect nonetheless. You’re starting to see fruits of Washington’s new Dominican complex and the efforts of Jose Rijo, though it takes some time. Signing Gonzalez was intended largely as a statement to Latin American players and agents that the Nationals are serious players in that market. Now the process of establishing a presence there should accelerate.

NFA: Which Nationals prospect was the biggest surprise in 2006? Biggest disappointment?

AF: Biggest surprise was probably Adam Carr, who had barely pitched in college but showed great stuff while dominating low Class A in his pro debut. I’d also throw Brett Campbell’s name into the mix — his stuff is fringy, but he keeps climbing the ladder. There are far too many candidates for biggest disappointment for Washington’s liking, and you could make a case for Clint Everts, Mike Hinckley, Ian Desmond, Leonard Davis, Francisco Guzman, Tyrell Godwin, Justin Maxwell, or a number of others. I’d probably go with Everts — I really thought he’d bounce back stronger than he did. Next year’s really make or break for him.

NFA: Who is the most over hyped Nationals prospect? Most underrated?

AF: Most over-hyped is probably Desmond, and I probably bear some of the responsibility for that. I ran him up my 2006 top prospects list to No. 4 on the basis of his talent and makeup, but he’s never actually produced results. Time to take a step back on him. For underrated, I might go with Larry Broadway, just because he put up a solid season and has decent power and defensive skills at first base, yet he doesn’t appear to be in Washington’s plans at the big league level. He might get a chance this year if Nick Johnson’s recovery goes slowly, but I’ve also heard Washington’s name mentioned in rumors for veteran first-base free agents. Broadway’s no longer a great prospect, but you could do worse as a short-term solution.

NFA: Who is the one Nationals prospect to watch in 2007?

AF: I’ll stick with my earlier praise for Glenn Gibson and go with him. I’ve got a feeling this guy could end up as a major break-out arm in 2007.