Washington Nationals March 2009

The Nationals, like the Royals will surprise the baseball world in 2009 with their young talent. Lasting Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Wily Mo Pena and Adam Dunn are all hitters that can hit 30 homeruns some day, and Milledge could with a batting title and steal 30 bases.

Lineup (B+)

LF Lastings Milledge (B)
SS Cristian Guzman (C+)
3B Ryan Zimmerman (B)
CF Elijah Dukes (B+)
RF Josh Willingham (B-)
1B Adam Dunn (B+)
C Jesus Flores (B)
2B Anderson Hernandez/Alberto Gonzalez (C)
P John Lannan (B)

Rotation

LHP John Lannan (B)
RHP Collin Balester (B)
LHP Scott Olsen (B)
RHP Daniel Cabrera (C+)
RHP Shawn Hill/Jason Bergmann (C+)
RHP (6) Jordan Zimmerman (B+)


Bullpen (B)
CL- Joel Hanrahan (B)
SU Steven Shell (B)
SU Saul Rivera (B)
MRP Garrett Mock (B)
LSU Ross Detwiler (B+)
LRP Shairon Martis (B-)
Lefty Mike Hinckley (C+)

The staff is talented but still developing. Lannan and Olsen are the veterans while both are under 27. Balester just turned 23 and his capabloe of putting up an ERA two points lower than his 5.51 ERA last year. Detwiler could start, but looked better coming out of the bullpen were he can save his splitter for k's. Hanrahan is a solid closer, with one of the best sliders in the game. Shell is a nice set up guy and put up a 2.20 ERA in 2008. Mock is a horse like Rivera and both could pitch 80 innings of 4 era ball. Hinkley and Martis are semi-prospects and both can eat innings as well. Cabrera was exiled and given up on by the Orioles only for the neighboring Nationals to pounce. His 96 mph fastball still has some use. Shawn Hill and Jason Bergmann are both injury risks, however, Hill has a better stuff than Bergmann-a power sinker --when healthy.


Bench (B-)

INF Ronnie Belliard (B-)
C Luke Montz (C+)
SS Alberto Gonzalez (C)
OF Austin Kearns (C+)
1B Nick Johnson (B)


They are a good all around team, capable of winning eighty games is all goes well. Dunn is a 40 home runs hitter while Dukes could hit 30 and steal 30 bases. Zimmerman could easily hit 30 but he needs to keep his wait in check while Guzman and Milledge could both hit .300. Flores is an emerging catcher capable of 15-20 homeruns, while Willinham can put up 25 homers yearly and even play some catcher. Austin Kearns has shown what he's made of since his days in Cincinnati but he will be a valuable asset off of the bench. Alberto Gonzalez plays A+ defense while Anderson Hernandez can do the same--neither has a bat though. Ronnie Belliard is a good player and flashed some serious power in 2008.

Minors (B-)-

Jordan Zimmerman (B+)
Ross Detwiler (B+)
Chris Marrero (B-)
Esmailyn Gonzalez (B+)
Ian Desmond (C+)
Luke Montz (C+)
Leonard Davis (C+)
Roger Bernadina (C+)
Justin Maxwell (C+)


The Nationals don't have a great minor-league system considering their recent struggles. Jordan Zimmerman is one of the greatest pitchers in the league and WILL start for the Nationals some time in 2009. He's never put an ERA over 4.00 up in higher A ball levels. Chris Marrero has power but doesn't have much else--a good arm but no speed and will probably be relegated to first base before long. Detwiler has been iffy with his wind-up but can throw a 93-97 mph fastball and an 85 mph splitter-- he could be a good closer. Esmailyn Gonzalez, whos name nobody REALLY knows, is a good hitter and hit over .300 in 2008 in High A ball. Ian Desmond has power but can't make contact, hitting .251 with 12 homeruns in half a triple A season, and needs more time refining his approach in the minors. Leonard Davis was their minor league player of the year, just like Jeff Larish was for the Tigers and both are the same type of hitter. Luke Montz has good power for a catcher and a nice approach to his defense, hitting ,.280 with 14 homeruns in a half season in AAA. Bernadina hit .323 in AAA and played some shitty ball with the Nats in 2008. With their glut of outfielders, Justin Maxwell can't be considered a prospect after his injuries in 2008. After that, the Nats don't have much else.

Short End of the Stick

There are quite a few players the get chewed out by fantasy geeks in their descriptions. I say leave 'em alone, outside of a few flukes, each of these players has earned their right to start or atleast hold down a useful role in the majors.

Mike Jacobs was an aging 1st Basemen, in a huge park with average power before 2008. Last year he flashed some serious bat, bashing 32 home runs, many of the in one of the hardest parks to hit a home run out of. Keith Law as well as Buster Olney have a serious problem with Law and they've them him know that through their articles--calling him overrated and letting him know that he doesn't get on base enough to make their fantasy teams a winner with him on it. Peter Gammons however hasn't trashed Jacobs, he's actually taken the point of view that the guy is a pretty nice fit for first base on the Royals. KC, an emerging powerhouse needs a guy to hit--well--for power out of the 5 spot. Putting Jacobs with Guillen would make him a nice RBI man. He doesn't walk, true, but he would never be a run guy anyway and 40 walks really isn't THAT bad.

Alex Gordon, on the Royals as well, seems to get shitty press everyyear, reminding him that he's not living up to his potential. Ryan Zimmerman puts up comparable numbers and wins a gold glove, a ROY and is considered the Savior by Nats fans. Gordon hasn't hit more than 16 homeruns in a season yet, but the kid is still well under 27 years old. His batting average is always around .280, he can steal 10-15 bases and he plays good defense. At the hot corner that's more than enough to get from a young gun. He could easily hit 30 homeruns within the next few years, maybe even 35, and with Butler as his 2 hitter, 120 RBI's is in reach.

Scott Olsen, traded to the Nationals this offseason is another guy that pitches 200 innings yearly and doesn't get any credit for doing so because of his lax approach. He drinks way too much and gets in trouble for it, but he's gotten in better shape lately and his 200 innings last year was a nice garnish to his reliable stuff. He hits 92 on the radar gun, and tosses a pretty nice cutter, slider and change-all average to decent pitches. The Nats will look for the 26 year old to slot in as their no. 2 starter behind Lannan, but he may very well finish the year no. 1.

The Top of the Heap

There are hundreds of prospects every year that have a good shot at the majors but only a few turn into Chris Davis or Ryan Braun, the rest turn into Ed Yarnell and Wilson Betemit. It has been a long time since the Yanks put together a decent farm system, and even after losing their three best pitchers, they still have plenty of life...

1. Madison Bumgarner, LHP, (A), San Francisco Giants- Bumgarner is a perfect pitcher. He doesn't need more than a pitch to get buy, throwing only a four seamer and the occasional 12-6 curve. His fastball is clocked between 94-97 and the kid is still only 19. In my opinion Bumgarner is the best pitching prospect in baseball in the body of Tim Lincecum and will do a nice job rounding out a young and powerful staff within the next few years. I'd call him up sooner but there's too many rules stopping young pitchers from blowing their arms out in the bigs...

2. Matt Wieters, C, Baltimore Orioles, (A)- It would be a crime for Wieters to not make this list. He won a batting title in AA last year and hit .365 with 12 homers in only 208 at bats. He's a perfect catcher, kind of like Mauer but with more power. He calls a good game, is smart, strong and actually, very witty when you meet him.

3. Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas Rangers, (A)- Smoak is the carbon copy of Mark Texeira. In the midwest league the kid had an .873 OPS through 50 at bats. Straight out of college, Smoak will need some time to marinate, but he could easily break through the MLB barrier within the next year. He has lots of power, makes good contact and plays good D'. Could you ask for anything more?

4. Gordon Beckham, SS, Chicago White Sox, (A-)- Beckham gets ranked this high because he's a shortstop and a damn good one. His .865 OPS in Kansas City caught my eye, and although his footwork needs improvement he has the arm to play short into his 30's. With Alexei Ramirez, the Sox might want to push Beckham to have a nice tandem up the midde, but he needs more time in the minors as well. He's shown a LOT more than the other Beckham already...

5. Brett Wallace, 3B/1B, St. Louis Cardinals, (A-)- Wallace needs to work on his shotty D', but his bat is already the best in the minors. He is a career .337 hitter with a 1.109 OPS in the minors and his .427 OBP looks pretty good too. Even though he looks like Josh Beckett he's a strong kid, and doesn't bite his nails furiously like Beckett does. When in the majors, as early as next season, he'll be in contention for a batting title.

6. Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants, (A-)- Posey is Joe Mauer. BP has a very good bat and has a career .341 batting average in the minors and has 1.044 OPS to go along with it. He's another guy that could easily take home a batting title some day. Mauer is in the AL, but Posey has a shot to transfer Mauer's skills to the NL West and keep them there for a long time. He has a good arm, catches well, hits well and has developing line-drive power. He's sick.

7. Jesus Montero, C, New York Yankees, (A-)- At this point Montero is still a raw 19 year old. He has the most power of any player still in the minors including Brandon Wood. His power is ranked a perfect 80 on the scouting scale and his rocket arm is a plus as well. The Yankees are doing their best to cultivate him, but with Posada's shoulder and Molina aging, Montero and Romine better get to the MLB quick and put out the fire.

8. Colby Rasmus, CF, St. Louis Cardinals, (A-)- Rasmus slipped up last year watching his batting average drop to the .250's for the first time in his career. Outside of that, Rasmus is near perfect. He's a left who has alreadty racked up 64 home runs in the minors and his 74 stolen bases make him look like a 30-20 guy. He may have a lower ceiling because of his already packed/swollen body, but whatever ceiling he gets too will be good enough to make him an All Star.

9. Jose Ceda, CL, Florida Marlins, (A-)- Like Montero, Ceda is raw and young. The Marlins snatched his little Dominican ass up from the Cubs, giving only Kevin Gregg up. Ceda has pitched 180 innings in the minors and struck out 227 during that span. His 2.08 ERA sparkled in 2008 and he clearly has the potential to close for the Marlins. He throws hard, has developing control and strikes out guys by the handful.

10. Pablo Sandoval, C, San Francisco Giants, (A-)- I still have to consider Sandoval a prospect because unlike Maybin he doesn't have a regular job in the majors...yet. His bat is super-dooper kiss my pooper good and he would've nearly won the batting title last year with a full season of at bats. The guy and his .337 and .549 slugging percentage were obviously first on the ShitBoxes, and its an added plus that he can play so many different positions on the diamond-- catcher, 1B, 3B, LF, RF... Before 2008 he wasn't on the radar, but now that he's put up numbers like these, he'll be starting for the Giants for sure in 2009.