Nationals Finalize Roster

The Nationals, along with the rest of the MLB, are finally done with putting together their active roster. Finally, the Nationals look like they could be a .500 baseball very soon, if not next year. Billy Beane and Theo Epstein are both hailed as the best GM's in the majors, and they probably are, but Jim Bowden is right there with them. Bowden has used the draft and has picked up a nice group of players while trading away--or letting go of-- fairly useless spare parts like Ryan Church, Emilio Bonifacio, Luis Ayala and Brian Schneider. Below is the Nats' lineup, roster and depth chart for 2009--with projections and grades of course.

Washington Nationals, 76-86 in 2009

Lineup B+

CF Lastings Milledge (B), .275, 15 hr, 30 sb, 90 runs
SS Cristian Guzman (B-), .290, 7 hr, 90 runs
1B Nick Johnson (B), .285, 16 hr, 80 rbi, .370 OBP
3B Ryan Zimmerman (B/B+), .275, 25 hr, 100 rbi, 80 runs, GG
LF Adam Dunn (B+), .250, 36 hr, 95 rbi, .370 obp
RF Elijah Dukes (B+), .270, 20 hr, 20 sb
C Jesus Flores (B), .265, 12 hr
2B Anderson Hernandez (C), .260, 50 runs, 5.5 rfg
P John Lannan

Bench B

INF Ronnie Belliard (B-), .275, .450 slg
Util Willie Harris (C+), .255, .430 slg, 10 sb
C Josh Bard (C/C+), .285, .360 obp
OF/1B/C Josh Willingham (B-/B), .260, 18 hr, .465 slg, .350 obp
SS Alberto Gonzalez (C), .265, .380 slg, 4.5 rfg
OF Austin Kearns (B-), .265, .450 slg, .350 obp
CI Kory Casto Minors, (C-), .230, .380 slg

Rotation B-

1. John Lannan (B), 10-12, 3.85, 200 ip, 120 k
2. Scott Olsen (B), 12-11, 4.10, 200 ip, 115 k
3. Daniel Cabrera (C/C+), 6-10, 4.90, 170 ip, 110 k
4. Shairon Martis (C+/B-), 6-8, 4.60, 140 ip, 100 k
5. Jordan Zimmerman (B/B+), 8-8, 3.90, 150 ip, 110 k

Bullpen B

CL Joel Hanrahan (B), 3.50, 25 saves, 80 ip, 85 k
SU Joe Beimel (B+), 2.90, 60 ip
SU Saul Rivera (B), 3.90, 70 ip
MR Garret Mock (B/B+), 3.85, 65 ip, 65 k
MR Steve Shell (B), 3.40, 60 ip
LS/LR Mike Hinckley (B-), 4.10, 65 ip
RP Terrell Young (B-), 4.30, 40 ip

Minors B-
--> Note- Letter grade is potential for minors players.

LRP Julian Tavarez (C)
SP/CL/LHP Ross Detwiler (B+/A-)
SP Collin Balester (B)
SP/LR Wil Ledezma (C+)
SP Jack McGeary (B+)
SP Jason Bergmann (B-)
LR Luis Atilano (C+)
MR Marco Estrada (B-)
SP Mike O'Connor (C)
SP Tyler Clippard (B-)
SU/MR Justin Jones (B-)
SU J.D. Martin (B+)
MR Ryan Wagner (C)
DL Matt Chico (C+)


C Luke Montz (B-)
OF Michael Burgess (B+)
1B Chris Marrero (B)
SS Esmailyn Gonzalez/Carlos Alvarez (B+)
OF Justin Maxwell (C+/B-)
OF Roger Bernadina (C+)
OF Destin Hood (B-/B)
SS Ian Desmond (C+/B-)
1B Dmitri Young (C+)
OF Leonard Davis (C+)
INF Joel Guzman (B-)
C Gustavo Molina (C+)
C Wil Nieves (F)
OF Corey Patterson (B-)
INF Jose Castillo (C+)
1B Brad Eldred (C-)
1B Matt Whitney (C+/B-)
MI Freddie Bynum (C)

Other/Non 40-Man Roster

LHP Gustavo Chacin
SP/LR Josh Towers
SP Kip Wells
LR/SP Jorge Sosa



Overall B-



The Nationals probably won't get to .500 because of their iffy pitching staff, lack of experience and tough division. However, a respectable record, somewhere in the realm of .500 is very possible. Their pitching staff gets a lot of guff but I believe its a little bit underrated. John Lannan and Scott Olsen are both very solid pitchers, Jordan Zimmerman is a future front-of-the-rotation-starter, Daniel Cabrera still has plenty of potential and Shairon Martis has shown consistency and flashes of brilliance at times. If one of these guys performs poorly or gets injured, then the Nats have prospect Collin Balester and veteran Jason Bergmann waiting in the minors. Shawn Hill will be trying to come back from injury as well. All and all the rotation is looking pretty decent.

The bullpen has been rebuilt and actually looks like a good one. Rule 5 draftee, Terrell Young is underrated and could be a good set up man some day. Steve Shell and Garret Mock are both good relievers. Mock has power stuff and racks up strikeouts while Shell is a reliable late-inning reliever. The closer, Joel Hanraham, has a repetoire that consists of a mid 90's fastball and a biting slider. He'll be solid. Saul Rivera is a nice veteran to have with this young bullpen and can be relied upon for some quality, but not spectacular, innings. Newly signed Joe Beimel is a very good lefty, capable of getting very tough hitters to pop-out. Mike Hinckley will dabble in long relief as well as a LOOGY role. In the minors Wil Ledezma, Jesus Colome, Julian Tavarez and Jason Bergmann will all get a look by the All Star break.

The lineup and bench are the Nats' strength. Adam Dunn is an established star, and likely the most underrated player in the majors. Ryan Zimmerman, Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge all project to be future All-Stars and possibly Silver-Slugger and Gold Glove (Dukes and Zimmerman) winners. Nick Johnson is a solid as they come, and can get on base, produce runs and hit 20 homers. Cristian Guzman is a consistent veteran, and is good for a .280-.300 average and solid all-around play. Anderson Hernandez and Alberto Gonzalez will share time with Willie Harris at second base, and all of them will compete for the starting job well into the season. Hernandez and Gonzalez are very good defenders while Harris has a solid bat and is fast. Ronnie Belliard can play both of the corners and second base, and although his defense is sub-par, he provides a .450 slugging percentage and a good average off of the bench. Austin Kearns is a favorite of Bowden and will look to bounce back in 2009. He could find his stroke again, especially now that Adam Dunn is his teammate once again. He plays very good defense, and when he's hot, he's an All Star caliber hitter. Wil Nieves will play a backup role in the minors because of his experience with young pitchers, but he has the worst bat AAA ball much less the majors. Josh Bard will take over the backup role, and has the potential to bat near .300- Mike Redmond type.


The Nationals' prospect pool is fairly average, overall. The brightest prospects they have are still in the top stack of MiLB prospects and can compete with many of the top 100. The brightest stars in their MiLB system are Carlos Alvarez (Esmailyn Gonzalez), Ross Detwiler, Collin Balester, Jack McGeary, J.D. Martin, Destin Hood, Chris Marrero and Michael Burgess. Detwiler will replace Zimmerman as the top pitching prospect in their system, and will flourish once he is inevitably converted to a closer in the mold of Billy Wagner. Destin Hood is a good athlete, but is super young and raw, and won't even sniff the MiLB until 2012 at least. Jack McGeary has good stuff and struck out 64 batters in 59 ip in 2008, but needs much more experience. Alvarez (formerly Gonzalez) could be a .300 hitter in the majors some day, and will probably also be able to steal 30 or more bases. Now that J.D. Martin has been converted to a setup man, he is one of the top relief prospects in the MiLB. Collin Ballester has a very good curve, two good fastballs and a decent change and could be a solid (but not spectacular) MiLB pitcher by 2010. Both Marrero and Burgess have a ton of power and nice potential, but neither fields or makes good contact. They have a long way to go until they're MLB ready. Ian Desmond and Luke Montz are also prospects and both have power--neither are particularly good at making contact however. Montz will push for a backup catcher's role if Bard fails or gets injured while Desmond has a shot at some at MLB reps in the middle infield. Shairon Martis, Terrell Young, Alberto Gonzalez, Mike Hinkley, Anderson Hernandez and Jordan Zimmerman have all made the MLB roster for 2009.