Know Your Nats-John Lannan

John Lannan grew up in Long Island. He attended the prestigious Chaminade, a private all boys high school in New York, where he lettered in Baseball and became the teams captain. Lannan was a standout but not a superstar. It's hard to stand out though when your fellow alumni have names like Bill Oreilly, Bob Mckillop and Al Groh. Continuing the Chaminade tradition of 100% of graduates being accepted to college, and 99% attending, Lannan elected to attend the small Sienna College. As one of the smaller Division 1 schools in the country, Sienna proved to be a perfect place for the crafty6 foot 5 lefty to learn how to become a dominant pitcher.

His freshman year was rocky, but Lannan earned the chance to pitch a lot of innings and learn under fire. His guts and his potential earned him the chance to start against the #1 ranked team in the nation, Florida State. He held is own only allowing five hits and two earn

ed in five innings, causing scouts to start to take notice of Lannan's talents. He finished the season with a 5.44 ERA in 44 innings.

Lannan continued to improve throughout his career at Sienna, culminating with his stellar junior season. Sienna won 29 games and Lannan tossed 10 of them, finishing with an impressive line of 10-2, 2.29 ERA, and 83 strikeouts in 82 innings. He also contributed 8 complete games in 12 starts. Pairing with another stellar junior, Ken Grant, Sienna went on to one of its best seasons and drew many professional scouts.

Lannan was selected in 2005 by the Washington Nationals in the 11^th round, as the 324^th overall pick. He signed and was in the organization in no time, pitching for the Vermont Expos. It was a rough professional debut for Lannan, producing poor numbers for low A Vermont with an ERA of 5.26 in 2005 and a slightly improved 4.46 respectively for high A Savannah in 2006. His poor performance was probably a result of fatigue more than anything else, he jumped directly into professional ball after pitching more innings than he ever had before at Sienna, without much of a break. Lannan was confident about his performance however, telling Scout.com:

“I felt like I did well for my first season. I enjoyed playing in Vermont and I was glad I got as many innings as I did. And, I was able to get a couple of wins for the team. The only thing I wish is that I didn't walk as many batters as I did."

Lannan also said he had trouble adjusting to professional hitters and the tighter professional strike-zone, a common problem for new pitchers. His velocity was still only peaking at 87-89 MPH on his fastball at this point, which is relatively slow for a pitcher with major league aspirations.

2007 was a brand new story for the young lefty. After adjusting his delivery, and working hard in the offseason to boost his velocity, the soutpaw made his move. He opened in Potomac, blazing the competition with a 6-0 record and a 2.13 ERA. He earned a quick promotion to double A Harrisburg where he continued to deal his junk to a 3-2 record with a 3.25 ERA. He earned yet another promotion to triple A columbus where his fast track to the majors continued with a 3-1 record and a 1.75 ERA. With the Nationals going nowhere, and their starting rotation dilapidated, Lannan earned his call up.

Lannan made his MLB debut July 26, 2007, and in stunning fashion. While his start only saw him pitch 5 innings, and allow 3 runs to the Phillies, his antics in the 5^th inning are what made him an immediate impact player. With one out Lannan hit fellow lefty Chase Utley with a fastball, causing him to break his hand and go on the DL. The very next pitch he hit Ryan Howard, forcing him to leave the game as well. Lannan was ejected, becoming the first pitcher to be ejected in his debut in over a decade. More importantly he became the object of much animosity from Philly fans, as a 'John Lannan must die,' movement began.

Lannan couldn't manage to get out of the spotlight in his third career start either. It found him pitching in San Francisco, in front of the national media...against Barry Bonds. Bonds was a homer shy of breaking Aaron's all time home run record, and Lannan was the man standing in his way. Lannan stepped up and preformed, as we would go to see him to many times.

Lannan started 2008 as an inexperienced, but potential filled starter. Expectations were low, but hopes were high that he could develop and be a permanent starter in the Nats rotation. He began the rotation behind Shawn Hill, Tim Redding, and Odalis Perez, but quickly moved up the ranks as he preformed at an ace level.

He finished the year with a 3.91 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 31 starts. It was an impressive first full season for the Nats lefty and a good foundation to build his career on. When the Nats were in a losing streak, and needed someone to pitch a gem, Lannan more often than not stepped up. His demeanor on the mound has fans excited and hopeful that he can develop into the ace this team needs.