Nats Farm Report (4/3)

Rosters have settled since our last report.
We pretty much covered Columbus (AAA) in our last report as far as roster. Clippers open their season tonight against the Charlotte Knights. Mike O’Connor will be the opening day pitcher for the Clips tonight.

Harrisburg (AA):

Starting Rotation:

• Bobby Brownlie
• Josh Hall
• Ismael Ramirez
• Marco Estrada
• Shairon Martis

Notable on the Roster:
CF Justin Maxwell, one of the top prospects and expected everyday outfield for the Nats by possibly next season, starts out in Harrisburg. Maxwell joined the Nationals late last season and got some good at bats and a whiff of major league baseball, but will spend his season in Harrisburg to refine his skills. 1B Andrew LaFave starts at 1B. LaFave is a prospect obtained from the Cardinal via the Ray King trade last season. The Nationals have some confidence in LaFave and he will be a prospect to watch. he hit .345 int he South Atlantic last year. Ian Desmond will put in a full season as well, the Nats are hoping his bat picks up where it left off last year. Once the number one prospect in the system, Desmond struggled at times but seem to regain his hitting last year that got him a look in the Nats spring training program this Spring. Along with LaFave, we’ll keep an eye on Desmond this year. Michael Daniel will join Maxwell in the Senators outfield. Daniel had a good season in Hagerstown and Potomac last year.

Potomac (A):

The Potomac Nationals could have a super solid season as many of the top prospects that have earned the Nationals an ‘A’ in the last two drafts, filter up.
Projected Starting Rotation: Ross Detwiler (1st Rd., 2007), Jordon Zimmerman (2nd Rd. 2007), Adrian Alaniz (8th rd, 2007), Craig Stammen, and Cory Van Allen
Nice strong rotation featuring two of the top pitching prospects int he Washington National’s system, Detwiler and Zimmerman. Detwiler was the 6th overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft and is expected to become an ace in DC sooner rather than later, perhaps by mid to the end of this season. We will obviously chart his progress. The guy we were excited about last year who is vaulting up the system quickly is second round Jordon Zimmerman. Zimmerman has some wicked nice stuff and dominated in Vermont last year going 5-2 with a 2.38 ERA and 71 strikouts in 53 innings. We’re excited to see how Zimmerman perform in Potomac.
We’ll also keep our eye on Adrian Alaniz. The 8th round pick from last year’s draft dominated just as well, if not more so, posting an 8-2 record with a 2.39 ERA. he recorded 62 strikeouts as opposed to yielding just 8 walks.
The bullpen looks to be pretty strong as well with Adam Carr anchoring the pen. Carr is another that got a look in the major league camp because of how well he pitched last season. Many seem Carr as the possible closer someday in DC. Overall, between Vermont and Potomac, Carr was 4-1 with an impressive 1.78 ERA in 48 games. He also recored 12 saves.
Offensively, the baby Nats will host the number one prospect int he Nationals system, 1B Chris Marrero. How long? We don’t know, I suspect at some point, Marrero will be moved to Harrisburg. Marrero was the Nats first round pick in 2006 and listed by Baseball America as the number one prospect in the system. He combined to hit .278 with 23 homers and 88 RBIs.

Hagerstown (A)

Things will be a bit more exciting along Interstates 70 and 81 just south of Pennsylvania.   As with Potomac and Harrisburg, the organizational teams, will start to improve on the field and in the standings as the Bowden delivered prospects of 2005, 2006, and 2007 begin filtering up the farm system.  Hagerstown is no different.
The Hagerstown Suns will add two potent prospects to their roster to fuel attendance.  2006 second rounder Colton Willems will start in Hagerstown after a dominating season in Vermont.  In 12 starts, Willems was 3-2 with a 1.84 ERA.  The Nationals have high hopes that Willems some day soon will anchor a starting slot in DC for years.  Willems is considered the 10th best prospect in the Nats system.
Included with Willems is 25007 4th rounder OF Michael Burgess.  Burgess is considered one of the best bats in the farm system, in fact, Baseball America ranks him 4th for the Nats, and with an extended look in Hagerstown, I can see Burgess moving to Potomac quickly.  Combined last season, Burgess hit .318 with 11 homers and 42 RBIs between the Gulf Coast Rookie League and Vermont.  In addition, one of the surprises of the 2007 draft class was OF Aaron Suess.  Suess hit .293 last season with Vermont.  Joining Suess and Burgess from the 2007 draft class is SS Jacob Smolinski, high on Washington’s ‘to watch list’.  We’ll keep an eye on Smolinski’s progress as well.  Last season in the Rookie Gulf Coast league, Smolinski hit .306.  Kyle Gunderson is going to be fun to watch develop.  In the Rookie GCL, out of the bullpen, Gunderson finished 0-1 with 4 saves and a whopping ERA of just 0.48.  He gave up 1 unearned run in 18.2 innings fo relief work.
Other notable prospects gracing Hagerstown:  P Hassan Pena, P Cole Kimball, P Jeff Mandel, SS Stephen King, 1B Bill Rghinehart, and OF Stephun Englund, all draft picks.
Finally, in Vermont, the Lake Monster will get to have the presence of 2007 draftees and super prospects Jack McGeary and Joshua Smoker in the rotation.