What to do with Jordan Zimmerman

Ronald Burris might not be the only trailblazer coming to Washington in 2009.

Jordan Zimmerman has scorched through the minors at an unexpected rate and will have the opportunity to earn a spot in the Major League rotation this spring. We've seen this happen many times before in baseball; a young pitcher breaking into the bigs at a very young age and far ahead of schedule. Sometimes its positive (Roger Clemens, Josh Beckett) sometimes it's negative (Edwin Jackson and Bobby Witt), and sometimes they just burn out (Dwight Gooden, Dontrell Willis). 

But the proverbial question stands, should Zimmerman be brought up to the bigs in 09 if her earns it in camp, or should he be forced to spend more time in the minors developing?

There is a lot to be said for rewarding the kid if he comes out and has a great showing in spring training. If he can succeed in the spring against top talent, why wouldn't he be able to in May, June and August?

I urge the Nats to realize however that pitcher development is such a long process. The minors allow pitchers a place to learn under fire. It allows them develop skill during in game situations where in the majors they would just be relieved at the first sign of trouble. Don't we want our young pitchers to work through their problems? Not avoid them?

It's been said by many scouts that Zimmerman right now has very good stuff, but no great go to pitches. It seems to me that you can get minor league hitters out at a high rate without a go to pitch, but in order for a pitcher to be truly successful at the big league level he will need to have sharpened his pitches just that much more. A year more in the minors wont hurt anyone, certainly not Zimmerman.

But what do YOU think??

Jordan Zimmerman-Prospect # 1

It must have been hard for Jordan Zimmerman to have any optimism after his senior season at University of Wisconsin at Steven's-Point. He had just been plain unlucky. The kind of bad luck you'd only expect for a guy like Zach Grienke.

The first round talent prospect took a line drive off his jaw while pitching batting practice in the offseason which made it hard for him to prepare for the year. That, combined with awful Wisconsin weather (if you've been there you'd understand) all combined to attribute to his slow start his senior year. Oh yeah, and he missed time after getting his wisdom teeth pulled.

This string of unluckiness resulted in him falling to the second round where the Nationals picked him up with the 67th overall pick.

Today bad luck is nowhere to be found anywhere near Jordan Zimmerman. Since starting professional ball he has been nothing but good, very good. In his debut in Vermont he shined going 5-2 in 11 starts with 71 strikeouts in only 53 innings. He posted an ERA of 2.38 and only allowed 18 walks. The next year Zimmerman started the season in high A ball Potomac and once again dazzled. In 5 appearances he posted a 1.65 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. After a quick promotion he continued to produce in Harrisburg. In 20 starts he posted a 3.21 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched.

Zimmerman has progressed extremely well through the system in the last two years. This progression and his performance in 2008 has launched him atop the Nationals prospect lists across the board. This progression has surprised and impressed scouts as many figured he would need more time than most college pitchers coming form poor college competition at UWSP. 

Despite his performance and quick rise up the charts there are still doubts about his talent. Scouts point out that while he has been able to get hitters out in the minors none of his stuff is considered dominant. 'All of his pitches are good but he lacks that one knockout offering to project as an upper tier-talent,' says Baseball Prospectus.

While the naysayers will...well naysay... the only people JZimm will have to answer to are the batters he faces. He will be given the opportunity to compete for a starting job in the spring, and if he doesn't earn it the Nationals will be keeping the rotation spot warm for him until he is ready. He will have the opportunity to prove he has what it takes...and I know Nats fans are waiting to see what he will do. 

J-Zimmerman tops off the top 10

While the list wasn’t supposed to come out until tomorrow, apparently the Washington Times got their hands on an early copy.

 

Nationals Top 10 Prospects:

1. Jordan Zimmerman

2.Ross Detwiler

3. Chris Marrero

4. Michael Burgess

5. Jack Mcgreary

6. Derek Norris

7. Destin Hood

8. Adrian Nieto

9. J.P Ramirez

10. Esmailyn Gonzalez

1.

      Over the next 10 days I will talk about each one of these prospects and analyzing their future and their place on this list. 

Minor League Monday

Columbus Clippers

Yurendell Eithel de Caster – The Nats Blog last saw Yurendell ripping up double A Harrisburg. A former Olympian for the Netherlands, de Caster has never been able to crack the bigs for a consistent stay despite incredible versatility (plays first, second, third and outfield) and solid production. After an initial stumble upon his promotion to Columbus, de Caster has rebounded and is again making his case for a big league promotion. Since his move to Columbus de Caster has batted .321 with 3 homers, 16 RBI’s, and 39 total bases. It’s going to be hard for the Nats to promote him because the Major League club is so crowded right now. The only chance he has to come up before the rosters expand is if Willie Harris or Mackowiak falter and Dimitri Young’s rehab slows. It would still be nice to see though, for “Yunny.”

Harrisburg Senators

Jordan Zimmerman- The Nationals top pitching prospect earned a promotion from single A Potomac after just 5 appearances where he went 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, 31/8 K/BB ratio, a .167 average against and yes, even 1 save. Since his promotion Jordan has continued to produce but now at a higher level. In 12 innings of work Zimmerman has a 2.92 ERA with 12 K’s and only four walks. Opponents are only hitting .200 against him and he has a 1-1 record. If Jordan continues this development we may get to see him make an appearance in Nats Park by the late summer. It’s another bright future for a Zimmerman in Washington.

Potomac Nationals

Adrian Alaniz – The Nats drafted Alaniz in the eighth round last year out of the University of Texas at Austin. At 24 Alaniz is getting a little old to be in single A but is currently doing everything in his power to pitch his way out of it. In seven starts for Potomac, Alaniz has a 4-0 record with a 2.19 ERA. He has 35 K’s with only 14 walks in 37 innings. Not only has he pitched well overall, but he has shown improvement, allowing only 3 earned runs in his last 23 innings of work. He is a four year college guy, so his age is forgivable if he shows quick improvement and maturity, which Alaniz has, expect him to get a promotion real soon.

Minor League Monday

Columbus Clippers-
Michael O’Connor- O’Connor is getting a little bit old to be considered a prospect anymore. Now at the age of 27, he got his first taste of the big leagues last year filling in for the never injured John Patterson. A George Washington alumni, O’Connor hadn’t done much in the National’s organization to warrant much more then an emergency call up in the middle of July. So far this year however, O’Connor has been arguably the best pitcher in the National’s system. In four starts for Columbus so far, the lefty has gone 2-0, with a 1.96 ERA. In 23 innings of work he has recorded 20 strikeouts and only allowed 4 walks.

Harrisburg Senators-

Yurendell Eithel de Caster-Who? Exactly…Yurndell de Caster is the epitome of a career journeyman minor leaguer. Signed by Tampa in 1996 at the age of 16, De Caster has only managed two career at bats (last year for Pittsburgh). Even more impressive then de Caster’s inability to make it to the show, is his unbelievable versatility. In 2005 with the Indianapolis Indians, de Caster recorded 28 games at third, 25 at first, 13 at second, and 58 in the outfield. Not only is de Caster’s story just plain weird, it warrant’s mention because of how unbelievably well he has preformed so far this year. In 17 games between Harrisonburg and Columbus, Yurendell has batted .328, hit 4 homers and driven in 19 runs. He’s reached base .434 percent of the time and is slugging just under .600. (Another interesting fact about Yurendell, he hit three bombs in the 2006 Olympics for The Netherlands…)

Potomac Nationals-
Jordan Zimmerman- Building upon last weeks no hit bid, Jordan Zimmerman continues to impress with yet another quality start. Friday night against the Wilmington Blue Rocks the 22 year old tossed 5 shut out innings striking out six and allowing only three hits, while lowering his overall ERA to .061 He is still a long way away from the Nationals clubhouse, but the continued development of the young righty is promising.

Minor League Monday

Columbus Clippers-
One of the Nats top pitching prospects, 23 year old Tyler Clippard, does not have the best numbers through his first two starts (0-2 5.40ERA, 10IP, 13H, 4BB, 13K). If you look at the breakdown of his two starts however, these stats are a bit deceiving. In Clippard’s last start for the Clippers he went only 4 innings, let up seven hits, four earned runs, and walked three batters. In his first start however he actually did quite well, Clippard pitched 6 innings allowing only one earned run while fanning 8 batters. At 23, Clippard is still way ahead in terms of development for a starting pitcher, if he continues to have more games like the first, he may find his way to the big league club in the middle of the summer.

Harrisburg Senators-
Louis Antonio Jimenez has come out of the gates slugging for the Nats Double A affiliate this season. Through 9 games Jimenez has batted .325, slugged 676, and has reached base .390. While it’s only a 9 game stretch that’s an OPS of 1.066, those are Pujols like numbers. Unfortunately for Jimenez, he’s a 26 year old in Double A playing for a franchise that has more then its share of overweight corner-infielders.





Potomac Nationals-
Jordan Zimmerman took a no hitter to the sixth inning in his last start to continue what has been a great opening of the season for this 21 year old prospect. So far he has a .92 ERA with a win in his only start, and a save in his only relief appearance. Zimmerman has also fanned 12 batters in only 9 innings.




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