Minor League-day after memorial day monday

Columbus Clippers

Things are starting to come around for Tyler Clippard in Columbus. The 23 year old righty pitching prospect had struggled early this season despite high expectations, however in his last two starts he has returned to the form that excited so many scouts earlier in his career. His last two starts has seen him allow only one earned run in 11.1 innings pitched. He’s allowed only six hits and four walks. Despite his struggles early in the year, his strikeout rate has been high throughout, recording 53 K’s in 52 innings pitched. Clippard clearly isn’t ready yet as we can see with his inconsistency, however if he continues to pitch well we may see a midseason call up and a spot start.

Harrisburg Senators

In all the discussion about who to bring up for injured Austin Kearns, many have overlooked the 23 year old speedster in Harrisburg, Roger Bernadina. Bernadina is a major league level prospect who combines great athleticism with good plate patience and solid power. Currently through 45 games in Double A, Bernadina is batting .324 with a .381 OBP. He has 17 extra base hits, with 27 RBI’s and has walked 15 times. These numbers are solid enough to warrant a call up to Columbus, especially when you consider in his last 10 games he’s even hotter, batting .389. "He's got a very good collection of offensive and defensive tools, and now he's playing within those tools," said the scout, who's been following Bernadina for years. "He has good bat speed, his bunting is a weapon, he's a good aggressive base runner and a plus defender”- Baseball Prospectus

Hagerstown Suns-
Michael Burgess is quickly making a name for himself as one of the top power prospects in baseball for his age group. At only 19, Burgess is tearing up low A ball Hagerstown, to the tune of 11 homers and a .516 slugging percentage. While Burgess had gotten off to a good start in the power categories, he had struggled making consistent contact, batting below .250 for most of the season. In the last 10 games he has started to show more plate discipline batting .364 in that stretch. Burgess is still unpolished, and the lefty slugger has a way to go before he makes it to Nats Park… but the ceiling is starting to look good, real good.

Minor League Monday

Columbus Clippers-

Alex Escobar-Escobar was once the prize prospect of the New York Mets. He was way ahead of his age group and was expected to hit the majors as a potential 5 tool player by the age of 20. He was their Fernando Martinez of the late 90’s. Injuries however derailed his progress, and the Mets finally gave up as Martinez was more fragile then John Patterson. Years later he found himself on the Nats and when healthy he actually produced rather well for the young franchise. Now he finds himself the odd man out in an outfield that is packed with young talent. Escobar is making his case though, in 22 games with triple A Columbus Escobar is batting .329 with 3 homers and 14 RBI. He’s currently in the midst’s of a 10 game hitting streak where he’s batting .378. After the injury of Austin Kearns it may be nice to reward Escobar with another cup of coffee, but it’s probably not practical.

Harrisburg Senators-
Marco Estrada- Estrada (Not obese) was drafted in the 6th round by the Nats in 2005 off of a great Long Beach State team that included Jared Weaver, Evan Longoria, and Troy Tulowitzki. His 2006 and 2007 stints in the minors suggested that he may not have the talent to succeed at a higher level as he only succeeded at lower levels of play. Upon each promotion Estrada earned he put up ugly numbers, he couldn’t get out of rookie ball. Finally at the age of 24 he was promoted to double A in a put up or shut up situation, the Nats were running out of patience. Out of nowhere Estrada however has matured to put together a great start of the season in Harrisburg. Through seven starts this season he is 3-2, with a 2.77 ERA. Through 35.2 innings pitched he has 30 K’s and only 18 walks and is demanding a promotion to Columbus with his play.

Potomac Nationals-

Chris Marraro- Marraro was ranked by Baseball America as the Nationals top prospect this year. Last year at the age of only 18 he put up very solid numbers for low A Hagerstown, batting .293 with 14 homers and 121 total bases in only 57 games. So far this season in high A Potomac Marraro has struggled and has started to show his age (only 19). This season he is only batting .228 with five homers. He has stricken out 33 times in 39 games and is only getting on base at .319.

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- Elijah Dukes- Dukes made his debut in Columbus on his road back from injury Friday, going three for four with a double and a snagged base. So far his rehab with the Clippers has been pretty successful, he is striking out a bit more then the Nats would probably like (3 in 10 at bats), but after a few games in the minors he should work his kinks out. Overall he is batting .400, with a double, a triple and 3 RBI’s.


Harrisburg Senators- Luke Montz, who we wrote about last week as being red hot, hasn’t cooled down a bit. The 24 year old catch is batting .333 in the month of May with 5 RBI’s and a pair of bombs. Montz may be playing his way right out of double A at this rate, especially with the Nats deciding to keep 3 catchers on the big league club. The truth still remains for Montz however, that there is a stopgap between him and the majors as he is the 5th or 6th string catcher. For the Nats though, a 23 year old catcher with an OPS of 1.127 may be a good bargaining chip at the trade deadline.


Potomac Nationals- Cory Van Allen- The 23 year old lefty is starting to turn some heads after a one hit, seven inning performance last Tuesday where he struck out four and walked none. With those seven scoreless innings he has no ratcheted up 18 in a row. Van Allen is old for his status in the minors but is moving up the ranks at a very fast pace. In 5 games Van Allen is 3-0, with a 0.66 ERA, 0.93 WHIP19 K’s and only 7 walks. Look for him to continue to quickly move up the system, he’s a college guy, from Baylor, so he’s had the benefit of good coaching already.

Minor League Monday

Columbus Clippers
Jesus Flores- Jesus is not playing very heavenly. After getting the bump to the minors for Johnny Estrada many people were not very happy, myself included. The only silver lining was Flores could have some time to play everyday and develop in Columbus. Since his demotion he is hitting only .231 in the minors with 13 K’s in 39 at bats. He’s striking out 33% of the time! He was hitting .364 in the majors! I can’t explain it, maybe it’s a cold slump, maybe it’s a bad attitude about being demoted. Whatever it is, he better pick it up.

Harrisburg Senators
Luke Montz-Montz is a 24 year old catcher still in double A, he is trying to change that. In the last 10 games Montz is batting .412 with three homers and 15 RBI’s. Overall he is batting .373 with five homers and 23 RBI’s with a ridiculous OPS of 1.126. Right now Montz is simply on fire, he is on the fringe of prospect status but he’s getting a little bit old. Even if he did get the call up to triple A today he would still have to out play Jesus Flores just to get a chance in the majors.


Hagerstown Suns
Michael Burgess-Burgess hit four homers this week as his stock as a prospect skyrocketed. In 23 games in low A ball this season Burgess has 8 homers and 17 RBI’s. He combines incredible power with a good overall athletic frame that allows him to play solid defense in the outfield. With 27 strikeouts, and a batting average of only .253, Burgess has a lot of developing to do. However at only the age of 19, his power is proving to many why he is one of the best power hitting prospects in the minors.

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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