By the time the 2009 baseball amateur draft concluded last June, the Washington Nationals had added 50 players to their minor league system.
But really, other than the first two—Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen—the other 48 were unknowns who would quietly slip into the anonymity of the low minor leagues, likely never to be heard from again.
A player’s first year can be very telling regarding his hopes of making it to the major leagues. Let’s take a look at the “lower 48” and see how they did in 2009:
Second Round: Jeff Kobernus (2B) Cal Berkley
Batted .220-0-2 in 10 games for the Vermont Lake Monsters. Hopefully, his .273 on-base percentage and .244 slugging average are the result of a small at-bat sampling.
His father was a minor league player in the 1980’s. Kobernus batted .341-8-17 his junior year before being drafted by the Nationals.
Third Round: Trevor Holder (RHP) University of Georgia
Overall, Holder was 4-3, 6.97 in 11 starts. However, he was 2-0, 3.55 for Hagerstown before being promoted to Potomac, where he was clearly in over his head, going 2-3, 9.26 in six starts.
Holder averaged 13 hits, 3.0 walks, 7.2 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Holder was thought to be a sure first-round pick in the 2009 June draft but shoulder tendonitis caused his stock to drop. He was picked by the Marlins in the 10th round but did not sign. Holder had an up-and-down season in 2009 and fell to the Nationals in round three.
General Manager Mike Rizzo believes that Holder will one day be a middle-of-the-rotation starter for Washington.
Fourth Round: Anthony Morris (RHP) Kansas State University
Though Morris went 0-3 in 10 starts with the Gulf Coast Nationals and Low-A Hagerstown, he had a very impressive 3.38 ERA, allowing 9.3 hits, 1.7 walks and 8.4 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Morris was the Big-12 Pitcher of the Year in 2009, going 14-1, 2.09 with 100 strikeouts. He has a 92 mph fastball and a “plus” slider.
Fifth Round: Miguel Pena (LHP) La Joya High School, Texas
Pena didn’t sign with the Nationals, opting to play for San Jacinto Junior College instead.
Sixth Round: Michael Taylor (SS) Westminster Academy, Fla.
Taylor had planned to attend the University of North Florida but was swayed by the Nationals offer of a six-year contract. He signed quickly—on June 11—but it looks like he has yet to make his professional debut.
He played for the Nationals’ Instructional League team in Florida last month.
Seventh Round: Andrew Weaver (RHP) University of Georgia
A teammate of Trevor Holder, Weaver split his first season between the Gulf Coast Nationals and Vermont Lake Monsters of the New York-Penn League. In 10 games, he was 0-1, 3.55 with two saves, allowing 9.9 hits, 2.8 walks and 7.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Weaver was the closer for the Bull Dogs, saving 10 games while going 4-2, 3.60 in 29 games. With Drew Storen as the team’s future closer, Weaver’s status long-term is uncertain.
Eighth Round: Roberto Perez (SS) Dorado Academy, Puerto Rico
Perez signed in late August and has yet to make his debut with the Nationals. He is considered a defensive shortstop with some pop in his bat. He was going to attend Oklahoma State before signing with Washington.
Former big league shortstop Dickie Thon is his uncle.
Ninth Round: Taylor Jordan (RHP) Brevard Community College, Florida
Jordan started six games for the Gulf Coast Nationals, going 2-0, 3.63. He allowed just 6.5 hits and 2.3 walks per 9 innings while striking out 8.6.
10th Round: Paul Applebee (LHP) Cal State Riverside
Applebee played for the GCL Nationals and Vermont, going 0-2, 3.24 while allowing just 8.4 hits and 1.1 walks per 9 innings, striking out 7.5.
11th Round: Justin Bloxom (LF) Kansas State University
Bloxom, teammate of fourth-round pick Anthony Morris, batted .228-3-24 in 228 at-bats for Vermont. He had a decent .346 on-base percent, though.
12th Round: Nathan Karns (RHP) Texas Tech University
Karns signed just before the deadline and has yet to play for the Nationals.
In 13 starts for the Red Raiders, Karns went 4-5 with a 4.20 ERA. Obviously, his talent doesn’t show in his college stats.
13th Round: Patrick Lehman (RHP) George Washington University
Lehman was outstanding for Vermont and low-A Hagerstown, going 4.2, 1.97, allowing 6.5 hits, 0.3 walks and 4.6 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Wait, 0.3 walks per 9 innings? Wow. In 59.1 innings, Lehman walked two batters.
14th Round: Naoya Washiya (RF) College of the Desert, California
Washiya went .246-0-14 for the Gulf Coast Nationals with a .331 on-base percent and a .314 slugging mark.
15th Round: Corey Davis (1B) Coffee High School, Georgia
I can’t find any information about Davis; I don’t think he signed.
Among the remaining 35 rounds, many picks didn’t sign and those who did had a kind of first year you’d expect from a late-round draft pick. However, there were some exceptions:
21st Round: Mitchell Clegg (LHP) University of Massachusetts Amherst
Clegg was very impressive for the Vermont Lake Monsters this past season. In 10 starts (13 total games), he went 2-4, 2.20, allowing 8.8 hits, 2.0 walks per 9 innings while striking out 4.7.
Those are good numbers for even a third or fourth round pick. Perhaps the Nationals found a sleeper in Clegg.
2nd Round: Dan Rosenbaum (LHP) Xavier University, Ohio
Rosenbaum’s impressive stats need to be taken with a grain of salt because he was a 21-year-old pitching against 18-year-old kids in the Gulf Coast League.
That said, he went 4-1, 1.95, allowing 7.1 hits and 2.2 walks per 9 innings. He struck out 9.2 per 9 as well.
29th Round: Evan Bronson (LHP) Trinity University
Bronson was a closer for Vermont of the New York-Penn League, going 3-0, 0.55 with four saves. He allowed just 5.1 hits and 0.5 walks per 9 innings while striking out 6.9
Those are very impressive numbers (especially the three walks in 49 innings) and should earn him a promotion to Hagerstown in 2010.
The Nationals seem to have an excess of closers in their minor league system.
It’s very difficult to predict future greatness based on just one year, but the Nationals’ 2009 draft seems to be well stocked with pitchers and bereft of any standout position players.
The offensive players hit .220, .228, .246, .269, .214 and .238 (several of the position players signed late and have no statistics to look at).
The pitcher’s ERA was 6.97, 3.38, 3.55, 3.63, 3.24, 1.97, 7.20, 2.20, 1.95, 3.51, 4.15, 4.35, 0.55, 3.91, 3.44 and 3.95.
It has been the policy of the Nationals, under both former general manager Jim Bowden and current GM Mike Rizzo, to draft pitchers over position players so that one day—hopefully—the team would have enough depth to stock the big club and trade the excess for hitters.
Bowden has often said (and Rizzo agrees) that it's easy to draft a bat but no one ever has enough pitching.
With this draft, I think the team is there. I’d look for the Nationals to draft college position players, and a lot of them, in 2010.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments