Marquis has looked arguably the best of any starter this spring. Photo: AP/silive.com
After the 2nd week of games and the official halfway point of Spring Training, here’s some quick comments on how some various pitchers have looked in the second week of Spring Training Games. I’ve been keeping running commentary all week as each game happens. The link to my week one’s thoughts/observations is here, posted on 3/6.
Also, here’s perma- links to the NatsJournal blog‘s running game comments as well as box scores (when I could find them).
- 3/6: vs Braves, box score
- 3/7: vs Astros, box score
- 3/8: at the Mets, box score
- 3/9: at the Marlins, box score
- 3/10: split squad vs the Mets (box score), and at Astros (box score)
- 3/11: vs Astros (box score)
- 3/12: vs Yankees (box score)
The Good
- Jason Marquis: 4 ip, 2 hits and a walk against Atlanta on 3/9 to continue his scoreless inning streak further into spring training. Lots of ground balls, meaning he has his sinker back.
- Adam Carr: 6 up and 6 down on 3/8. This didn’t stop him from being cut from the major league squad, but a bright future awaits this fellow.
- Brian Broderick: continues to pitch well, but his Rule5 status complicates his ability to make this team (see my whole missive on Gorzelanny and his job-by-option-status post here).
- Cole Kimball: big time right handed power pitcher showing his worth by continuing to punch guys out with regularity. Could be first in line to replace a bullpen member who goes down with injury or non-performance.
- Ross Detwiler: Struck out 5 in 3 innings against a strong Braves lineup on 3/6. Stretched out to 4 innings on 3/11 and added a few more K’s (along with a couple runs) but reportedly looked decent. I agree with a couple other bloggers on this point; we talk about how Detwiler is competing for the 5th spot, but is it really Lannan that is in trouble? (see further down for Lannan comments).
- Todd Coffey: Struck out the side on 3/9, had 2 more K’s in a 1-2-3 inning on 3/7. Looks like he may be a decent replacement for Batista/Peralta from last year’s bullpen.
- Chad Gaudin: looked good against a very weak Mets team 3/10, pitching 5 shutout innings scattering a few hits and walks (final numbers: 5ip, 6K, allows 4 hits with a walk. 78 pitches 52 strikes, thanks to Craig Heist). Despite this he has no chance at the MLB rotation. I presume he’ll be in the AAA rotation to start the season and seems to be putting himself above other AAA starters such as Chico and Martis in the pecking order.
The Bad
- Atahualpa Severino: bombed on 3/8, he’s looking like he’s gonna be 2nd best in the Loogy race to Slaten. He’s already been optioned to AAA and may be vulnerable to being removed from the 40-man roster. That being said…
- Doug Slaten got rocked himself on 3/9. He’ll be given some room since he was so successful last year, but we need one of these two guys to own that Loogy role. We don’t want to waste Burnett on man-to-man matchups. In other news, the Nats signed Ron Villone to a minor league deal this week, which i’m predicting is partly (as Kilgore says) because they like him and part Loogy insurance.
- Garrett Mock: didn’ t help his cause by giving up a bomb against the Astros. He’s now given up 4 hits and 5 walks in 2ip. He’s looking like AAA bullpen fodder and possibly not long for the 40-man. I don’t care how good his “stuff” is; if he can’t compete against fringy roster guys in the middle innings of a spring training game, then he cannot be counted on in real games come April. Update: cut from the major league squad and will get into the AAA rotation.
- John Lannan: Did not look good in his 3/12 start; too many walks and too many hard hit balls. For the spring he’s sporting nearly a 9.00 ERA. With Detwiler looking so strong, is Lannan in peril of starting the season in the minors?
The Iffy or Possibly Concerning.
- Jordan Zimmerman‘s 3/8 start “looked” good but those on hand used words like “shaky” and “hit hard.” His fastball was 92-94 though. For Zimmermann, the velocity is the key. We know he has good stuff; we just need to know his fastball is recovered from TJ surgery.
- Yunesky Maya‘s 3/7 start was shaky at best. 5 hits and a walk in 2 2/3s innings versus a weaker Astro’s lineup. He threw again on 3/12, gave up an unearned run and seemed to struggle with his fastball locations (the unearned run was on a 3-base error that Cano smoked but Bernadina dropped). He pitched 4 complete, gave up 2 hits, walked 3 and struck out 3 (some with his loopy 12-6 curve ball).
- Drew Storen got lit up again on 3/7 but we had word that the coaches told him to spot his fastball. Well, that may explain why. Hey McCatty; tell us when he’s really trying out there so we know what is going on. He recovered for a decent outing on 3/10, punctuated with 3 straight Ks against AAA competition.
- Tom Gorzelanny: my post questioning his acquisition garnered quite a spirited response. The comments i’m about to make probably will too. His first outing in the spring did not exactly vindicate his nearly-guaranteed active roster spot. His line: 2.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K against a weakened Astros split squad. He only managed 23 strikes in 47 pitches. Nobody seems to have mph readings but he was clocked only in the upper 80s earlier this week. For him to stick and be successful we need to see a return to 92-93.
- Livan Hernandez: his 3/11 start did not garner confidence, apparently getting hit all around the park. Bad defense behind him (and some generous scoring) made his line (3ip, 7hits, 1bb, 1k, 3ER) look worse than it was. We know that Livan will put up a stinker every once in a while; just can’t make it a habit.
What a difference a week makes. We went from wondering how the Nats were going to find room for Detwiler and Maya at the big league level to wondering if any the presumed starting five other than Marquis will at least hold their own. My prediction is that Lannan and Gorzo will be in the Opening Day rotation but will be on a short leash should they fail to pitch well.
bdrube
13 Mar 11 at 12:49 pm
My thoughts exactly. Gorzo has to be in the opening day lineup b/c of option status, but i’m beginning to wonder about Lannan. Undoubtedly both will be on a short leash, but Gorzelanny has to stay on the active roster.
I can see a scenario arising where Lannan and Gorzo pitch poorly, Lannan gets optioned down, Detwiler comes up, Gorzo replaces someone like Balester or Stammen as long-man out of the bullpen and Maya comes up. Gaudin’s lack of 40-man status really hurts him in this discussion, but we’ll get at least one perhaps two active roster spots come opening day as we move Strasburg and (probably) Wang to the 60-day DL.
Todd Boss
13 Mar 11 at 2:05 pm
Good stuff, Todd. Have a question for you and anybody else. If Gorzelanny is optioned to Syracuse, does anyone claiming him have to pay him his full salary, or just the league minimum & the Nats having to pay the rest?
The answer to this really changes the dynamic!
Mark L
13 Mar 11 at 9:48 pm
My understanding of the situation is thus: Gorzelanny has no options; he would have to be “designated for assignment” if we wanted to send him to AAA. If he successfully cleared these waivers and would be off our 40-man roster and “owned” by Syracuse. I’m assuming he’s on a full major league contract with no minor league language, so we’d still be on the hook for his entire $2.1M major league salary.
Meanwhile, if someone claimed him on waivers i’m pretty sure they’d immediately pick up his entire salary. This is the essence of the waiver-wire dumps we see post trading deadline each year. But for someone like Gorzelanny I don’t see how it’d be that big of a deal; he’s only on $2.1M salary and someone would undoubtedly take a shot at him.
However … if he’s designated for assignment and is not claimed, then after X number of days (believe 10) he could just refuse the assignment and become a free agent. At that point its exactly as you say; the Nats are on the hook for his guaranteed salary and then he could sign on with anyone else for a league minimum. I’m guessing that min salary gets removed from what the Nats are already paying the guy (he doesn’t get double pay).
Todd Boss
14 Mar 11 at 11:41 am
Thanks Todd. I’m not sure why they don’t allow 2 way contracts for this sort of thing. Let him go down and get better and bring him up later.
This reminds me of what happened with Bruney last year.
Mark L
14 Mar 11 at 3:14 pm
Well, they definitely create two-way contracts for players. Villone is on such a contract now. If he makes the majors he’s paid $750k, otherwise he’s on a minor league contract at AAA rates. I found this on a blog dated 2008, no idea if its accurate:
First contract season: $850/month maximum. After that, open to negotiation
Alien Salary Rates: Different for aliens on visas–mandated by INS (Immigration).
Triple-A–First year: $2,150/month, after first year no less than $2,150/month
Class AA-First year: $1,500/month, after first year no less than $1,500/month
Class A (full season)–First year: $1,050/month, after first year no less than $1,050/month
Class A (short-season)–First year: $850/month, after first year no less than $850/month
Dominican & Venezuelan Summer Leagues–no lower than $300/month
Meal Money: $20 per day at all levels, while on the road
Todd Boss
14 Mar 11 at 4:30 pm
coincidentally about Bruney, I think his debacle last year was traceable directly to his arbitration hearing. The Nats trade for him, then take him to arbitration to save a few hundred thousand dollars AND bring in a closer over top of him. He goes from being a closer candidate to clearly being at best a 7th inning guy, and gets to listen to his new employers tell him how crummy a pitcher he is to save some cash.
I’m very happy to see we had no arb hearings this year.
Todd Boss
14 Mar 11 at 4:31 pm