Nationals Farm Authority

Baseball America has their weekly transaction post up.

Signed: RHP Dan Leatherman

Released: RHP Noel De Leon, C Agustin German, 3B Tony Batista, 3B Clint Pridmore

Leatherman only has a couple of years of minor league experience in the Minnesota Twins organization. He’s a local guy from Frederick, MD. Here is a Frederick News article on how he got signed by the Twins.

Leatherman got the attention of scouts following his freshman year at FCC. He did not throw hard, topping out at 88-89 mph. But Bennett said scouts became enamored with his ability to pitch.

“The key for Dan is he has three really good pitches,” Bennett said. “He just commands them so well. If you hit your spots, you can be successful

On to the released guys

• de Leon was 2-2 in ten appearances for the GCL Nationals in 2007
• German was in extended spring training trying to convert to pitching. He had spent his Nationals career as a catcher, maxing out with two games in Potomac in 2006
• Batista had already been noted
• Pridmore was a 2007 44th rounder out of Santa Rosa JuCo (CA). In 32 games for the GCL Nats, he hit 156/283/208.

• Future Focus - Catchers
• Future Focus - First Basemen
• Future Focus - Second Baseman

As a reminder, the Nats picks are as follows:

• 1st round: #9
• 2nd round: #55
• 3rd round: #87
• 4th round & out: #121 +30 (i.e. 151, 181, etc)

The first nine picks are

1. Tampa Bay
2. Pittsburgh
3. Kansas City
4. Baltimore
5. San Francisco
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. Chicago White Sox
9. Washington

The number of total picks in each round is as follows:

• 1st round: 1-30
• Supplemental 1st: 31-46
• 2nd round: 47-78 (two extra picks due to unsigned 2007 2nd rounders)
• 3rd round: 79-108
• Supplemental 3rd: 109-112
• 4th round: 113-142
• 5th round and on: +30 to each end

It’s true that the Nationals are not in need of a thridbaseman at the major league level. With Ryan Zimmerman manning the hot corner, the Nats are in the enviable position of having a position covered more than competently for the next three plus seasons at a minimum. However, there is always room for more depth in the farm system and there are a handful of college third baseman that would be attractive to the Nats if they are available. One as a potential first rounder and three or four others who could be good value selections with their second rounder. I’m again going to lean on MiLB.com along with PGCrosschecker, and Baseball America for some background on the potential 2008 draft picks.

1. Pedro Alvarez - Entering the 2008, season, the 21-year old Alvarez was the consensus top prospect in the draft. A broken hamate bone short-circuited the start of his season at Vanderbilt but the talent remains. In the 25 games since he returned, he is hitting 311/416/538 with 18 homers and 57RBI. He has the talent to remain at 3B moving forward but some scouts believe he may slide over to 1B or to a corner outfield spot. His bat plays well at any of those positions. There have been rumblings that the Alvarez might slide some in the draft and if by some miracle he were to be there at #9, I’d hope the Nationals would grab him. But the odds he lasts past the top 3 or 4 picks seems remote at best.
2. Ethan Martin -Better known as a right-handed pitching prospect, the 18-year old Martin was initially considered a two-way player. Per MiLB.com, he can throw “three above-average pitches for strikes” As a third baseman, he is a raw prospect who projects well. Martin is committed to Clemson, but is likely to sign if drafted in the first round. He is an overdraft at #9 and won’t make it out of the first round. I’d imagine he goes in the 15-20 range.
3. Lonnie Chisenhall - The 19-year old Chisenhall was considered a top talent in 2006 out of high school. PGCC had the following scouting report on him back then “++ LH bat with a ++ approach to hitting; ++ in BP early in year and gradually took power/hitting ability into games; uses the whole field . . . some scouts believe he is one of the best bats in the country—ranking ahead of even Chris Marrero and Travis Snider . . . getting just a bat only for some; he’s heavy legged, doesn’t run that well and is not overly athletic . . . a SS in HS, he’ll be a 3B at next level . . . on mound, FB is 88-91/92 with + movement, CU at 74-75 . . . a gamer and hard-nosed kid.” Drafted by the Pirates in the 12th round (due to signability concerns), Chisenhall ran into legal problems in college that led to his (and Nick Fuller, another top prospect) from the South Carolina team. They were arrested on grand larceny and burglary charges in connection with the theft of some computers. The lefthanded Chisenhall is playing for Pitt (NC) Community College where he is currently hitting 401/511/769 mainly playing 3B (he also pitches). There are makeup questions, for certain, but the talent is there. I’d imagine he’ll go some time in the supplemental first round but would be worth strong consideration at #55 on talent alone.
4. James Darnell - PGCC has the following scouting report, “Darnell is a complete package, but power is understandably his best tool. He attacks balls when he gets a pitch he can drive, and his balls leave the park quickly. Darnell also has above-average arm strength and adapted well to playing third base in 2007, both in college and summer ball, after spending the previous year in the outfield.” Darnell is currently hitting 309/373/583 with 15 homers and 65 RBI over 48 games for the Gamecocks. He might not be able to remain at 3B going forward and might ahve to move to a corner outfield spot. This is getting repetitive but he is without question a value pick at #55.
5. Conor Gillaspie - The 20-year old Gillaspie is currently batting 398/488/661 for the Wichita State Shockers. While he throws right-handed, Gillaspie has added value as a lefthanded hitter. PGCC scouting report …”He consistently hit the ball hard to all fields and showed much more power with wood than he did during the spring (.325-6-53). Gillaspie is a steady defender at third base but only an average athlete.” In there most recent draft rankings, Baseball America has Gillaspie ranked #23 overall. He appears to be a guy who could go anywhere from the mid-first round to mid-second round. My gut says he comes off the board in the supplemental first round. Likely a MLB team who traditionally focuses on college players. If available at #55, a value pick.
6. Zach Cox -Another two-way high schooler the 18-year old Cox has committed to the University of Arkansas. PG scouting report reads “Strong, mature frame. Top 2-way prospect. Heavy FB to 93, hard sweeping SL, fast arm, high energy delivery. Power hitting 3B, short swing, has bat speed/juice in bat, squares up very well. Quick actioned athlete, can play D at high level. Could excel either way” I’d imagine he’ll be around at #55 and is likely ranked right around that level overall.
7. Logan Fosythe - The 21-year old righthander is currently hitting 311/431/483 for the Razorbacks. PGCC scouting report … “Forsythe may be the most well-rounded player in college baseball, based on what he brings to the field in hitting, power, plate discipline, defense, base running and leadership.” He looks like a late second round option. #55 is likely too early but he’d be an intriguing option at #87 in the 3rd round.
8. Jermaine Curtis - The 20-year old Curtis is hitting 316/442/456 for UCLA. PGCC scouting report … “Curtis won’t blow you away with his raw tools, but he plays hard, has excellent makeup and finds a way to get the most out of his ability. He has a good line-drive swing … He should add power as he continues to get stronger. He’s an above-average defender at third base with good hands and excels at coming in on balls, though his arm strength—his weakest tool—is considered just marginal.” It appears a move to 2B might be in his future. He looks like a 3rd rounder. At #121 he might be available.
9. Ricky Oropesa -One more high schooler. One more two-way player. Though with the 18-year old Oropesa, his future appears to be on offense. Scouts rank him as one of the top high school pwer bats in the draft. His father was a member of the Cuban national track & field, baseball and basket ball teams in 1948. He’s committed to USC (SoCal) and there could be concerns about his signability. His talent makes him a second round option but the concerns about signability might lead to a slide into the 4th round or later. This is a potential 5th or 6th round gamble if a team believes they can encourage him to forego college with a large bonus.
10. Alex Buchholz - Blue Hen pride! I’m including him just because he plays for my alma mater (Universtiy of Delaware). He is currently hitting 331/407/523 in 38 games for the Hens. PGCC scouting … “He shows power to all fields and has a very strong throwing arm that has landed him at third base this season after spending his first two years at Delaware at second.” He is likely a fifth round selection or later.

Note 1: I’m headed off on vacation starting early tomorrow morning so NFA will be quiet from May 8 through May 13. I may have a posting or two today but the Across the Affiliates and the regular posting schedule will resume on May 14 as we close in on the MLB draft on 6/5.

Note 2: I woke up this morning to see this posting from Capitol Punishment. Needless to say I was surprised. But moreso I’m sad to see Chris go. This stuff can certainly be a grind as I can personally attest. Whether or not you liked Chris’ style/opinion/snark, he provided a well-informed point of view from a hardcore fan and more importantly, he can write (circles around me). But the reason I wanted to highlight this is because NFA would never had existed without his encouragement (as well as that of my host here, Yuda). I wish Chris nothing but the best in his “retirement” and hope to see him commenting around the Natosphere for a long time.

RHP Garrett Mock has apparently turned the corner for the Clippers, checking in with another solid start in a 3-1 victory over Rochester (box/gamer). Mock allowed only one run on six hits over six innings of work. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. RHP Bobby Brownlie made his Columbus debut in relief, allowing two hits and one walk over 1 2/3 shutout innings and RHP Chris Schroder picked up his third save with 1 1/3 innings of two hit and one walk relief, striking out two. DH Alex Escobar was 2/4 with a double and a fifth inning RBI. SS Rey Olmedo was 1/2 with a solo home run. CA Javi Herrera was 2/3 with a fourth inning RBI. RF Elijah Dukes was 0/3 with a strikeout in another rehab start.

Record: Columbus 18-15, tied for 2nd in IL West (3.5GB)

Tonight: RHP Collin Balester (2-2, 4.13) takes on LHP Glen Perkins (2-1, 2.97) at 7:05PM

The Harrisburg defense was shaky in RHP Jordan Zimmermann’s Double-A debut as the Senators fell 5-2 to Connecticut (box/gamer). Zimmermann struck out four and was charged with three runs on four hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings though only one of those runs was earned as errors by 1B Andrew Lefave and SS Ian Desmond led to two unearned runs. RF Mike Daniel was 2/4 with a run scored, 2B William Bergolla was 2/4 with a double and run scored, and CF Roger Bernadina was 1/3 with a double and RBI.

Record: Harrisburg 20-11, 1st place in EL Southern

Tonight: RHP Tristan Crawford (1-0, 6.43) takes on Connecticut RHP Garrett Broshuis (2-3, 4.55) at 6:05PM

LF Marvin Lowrance’s three-run home run in the first inning got the ball rolling for the P-Nats as they bounced back from a loss on Monday, defeating the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-3 (box/gamer). Jemel Spearman played 1B on Tuesday and provided a spark from the leadoff position going 2/’4 with two runs scored. 3B Leonard Davis  was 1/4 with one RBI. This was enough offense for Potomac who saw RHP Adrian Alaniz move to 3-0 allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven. After a couple of hiccups early, Alaniz has settled down, allowing only three earned runs over his last four starts (23IP) with 24 strikeouts. LHP Yunior Novoa and RHP Carlos Martinez finished it off with four combined no-hit innings of shutout relief, allowing only one baserunner with seven strikeouts.

Record: Potomac 20-10, 1st place in Carolina League

Today: RHP Jhonny Nuñez (0-3, 5.40) faces off with Myrtle Beach RHP Kyle Cofield (1-4, 4.34) at 10:35AM

RHP Luis Atilano made a strong spot start for the Suns on Tuesday morning but the Hagerstown pen faltered allowing seven runs over 3 2/3 innings in an 8-3 loss to Greensboro (box). Atilano allowed only one unearned run on five hits and one walk over four innings with three strikeouts. LHP Atahaulpa Severino and RHP Martin Beno surrendered seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks. 2B Jake Smolinski, 1B Bill Rhinehart, and 3B Tim Pahuta were each 2/4 with a double.

Record: Hagerstown 15-17, 5th place in Sally Northern (4.5GB)

Hagerstown is off today

Baseball America touches on the situation in Richmond.

Cliff Notes

• No real fit for an International League franchise
• It’s on the “outskirts of both the Double-A Eastern and Southern Leagues; Bowie is currently the southernmost Eastern League club while; Carolina (located in Raleigh) is the northernmost Southern League club.”
• “[B]est geographic fits for Richmond would be the high Class A Carolina League and low Class A South Atlantic League”
• One Carolina League team has approached their President about moving
• At least one South Atlantic League team has contacted their President about moving

There is no official word, but the rumor is the Carolina team is the Kinston Indians who have seen their attendance dwindle to just 1,745/game in 2007.

As for the Sally League, the posting references the ongoing rumors of a move by Hagerstown

Rumors of a Hagerstown relocation is hardly news, but the Suns would certainly seem like a good fit in Richmond. The Suns play in Municipal Stadium, built in 1931, and are owned by Mandalay Baseball Properties, which owns six other clubs and has thrived in such markets as Dayton, Frisco, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Staten Island. A call to Mandalay Baseball officials was not immediately returned.

Richmond is not closer to DC than Hagerstown (~75 miles to Hagerstown vs ~100 miles to Richmond) but Richmond is an intriguing option (provided a stadium agreement can be reached) and a move south would allow the Nationals to expand their reach towards the southern part of Virginia and perhaps into North Carolina. The tradeoff would be leaving western Maryland.

RHP Steve Shell struggled in his first start for the Clippers on Monday night allowing five runs on six hits over five innings of work. Fortunately for Columbus, the Clippers rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eight inning to defeat Rochester 7-6 (box/gamer). LHP Mike Bacsik picked up the victory, giving the Clippers three innings of two-hit, one-run relief, striking out two and walking one. RHP Chris Booker made things interesting in the top of the ninth, walking two batters before LHP Charlie Manning came on to close out the game and earn his third save of the season. The Clippers managed only one run in five innings of work by Red Wings starter Francisco Liriano, an RBI single by 2B Pete Orr (1/3) in the bottom of the first. Once the Clippers got to the Wings pen, the game began to turn. The big blow in the eighth was a three-run home run by 1B Larry Broadway (1/3). CF Ryan Langerhans was 2/3 with a run and RBI and LF Tommy Murphy was 2/3 with a double and two runs scored. A rehabbing Elijah Dukes played RF and went 0/4 with two strikeouts. Notes: RHP Jason Bergmann was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending 5/4 … 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO … Columbus fans barely got to know Bergmann last season, as he made just five midseason starts for the Clippers while spending most of the season with the Washington Nationals. He made 21 starts for the Nats last year, posting a 4.45 ERA. The right-hander returned to the rotation out of Spring Training, but quickly appeared out of sorts, allowing 12 earned runs in his first two starts, then four runs in a two-inning relief appearance. With nothing working in the Majors, the Nats sent Bergmann down to Columbus, and after a disastrous pair of starts there, he looks to be straightening things out. Bergmann allowed nine runs in eight innings in his first two appearances, but has since worked 14 frames allowing just an unearned run over two starts. Bergmann pitched eight innings and struck out six on Tuesday, then went six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in his second home start Sunday.

Record: Columbus 17-15, tied for 2nd in IL West (4.5 games out)

Tonight: RHP Garrett Mock (1-1, 4.32) takes on Rochester RHP Phillip Humber (1-3, 5.63 ERA) at 7:05PM

LHP Cory VanAllen had a successful Double-A debut for the Senators allowing only one run on four hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings in a Harrisburg 5-2 win over Connecticut (box/gamer). VanAllen hit two batter, struck out three and even contributed on offense with a triple and run scored. RHPs Beltran Perez & Zech Zinicola finished things off with two shutout innings of relief, holding the Defenders hitless and striking out two. It was Zinicola’s second save in as many appearances. CA Devin Ivany was 1/4 with a two-run home run. 2B William Bergolla and CF Roger Bernadina each had two hits and an RBI in the victory. Notes: Barry Svrluga has a feature on the pitching in the Nationals farm system with a focus on Zimmermann, VanAllen, & Zinicola, among others.

Record: Harrisburg 20-10, 1st place EL South

Tonight: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (NR) makes his EL debut tonight against Connecticut and RHP Adam Cowart (1-1, 2.01) at 6:05PM

RF Edgardo Baez’ RBI single in the top of the ninth tied the Pelicans 2-2 in the top of the ninth but RHP Adam Carr allowed a walkoff home run in the bottom of the tenth in a 3-2 Potomac loss in Myrtle Beach (box/gamer). It ruined a solid 2008 debut as a starter by RHP Craig Stammen who threw five strong shutout innings allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out four. Recently added RHP Joe Norrito allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in his one inning of work. RHP Josh Wilkie provided two one-hit shutout innings allowing the P-Nats to tie the game in the ninth. Carr allowed only the one hit in his 1 1/3 innings but it was the walkoff homer. 3B Leonard Davis was 2/3 with a run scored and stolen base and 1B Chris Marrero was 0/4 with one RBI. Notes:  RHP Jordan Zimmermann was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending 5/4 … 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 G, 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO … Zimmerman was the highest drafted college pitcher last year to not come from a Division I school. The 6-foot-2 right-hander was taken in the second round following an illustrious career at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Carolina League is a long way from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, but hitters seem equally puzzled by Zimmermann, who was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg Monday morning. In five appearances this season, he has held opponents scoreless in three, including his lone start last week. On Wednesday, Zimmerman pitched seven scoreless innings against Winston-Salem, striking out nine to help the P-Nats secure a narrow, 1-0, win. All three of Zimmerman’s wins this season have come at home, where he’s allowed just one earned run in 21 1/3 innings.

Record: Potomac 19-10, 1st place Carolina League North

Tonight: RHP Adrian Alaniz (2-0, 2.08) looks to get Potomac back on track against Myrtle Beach RHP Deunte Heath (4-0, 1.80) at 7:05PM

Greensboro rode 15 singles, a double, two homers and five walks to a 14-7 drubbing of Hagerstown on Monday evening (box/gamer). RHP Brad Peacock continued to struggle allowing six runs on six hits and four walks over just 3 2/3 innings of work. RHP Ryan Harrison allowed an alarmiong eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks in only 1 2/3 innings of work. A highlight on the mound was RHP Kyle Gunderson who went 2 2/3 shutout innings allowing only three hits and a walk. LF Boomer Whiting made his Hagerstown debut, scoring three times from the leadoff spot. Whiting was 3/5 with a double and two RBI. 2B Jake Smolinski was 2/4 with a double and a run scored and 1B Bill Rhinehart was 1/4 with a double and two RBI.  Notes: RHP Ryan Harrison was added to the Suns roster bringing them to a full 25-man roster … 1B Bill Rhinehart was named the South Atlantic League Hitter of the Week for the weeke ending 5/4 … .474 (9-19), 5 R, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SO, 0 SB, .895 SLG … Drafted in the 11th round out of the University of Arizona last June, Rhinehart is enjoying a fantastic debut so far in full-season ball. The first baseman has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, collecting multiple hits in seven of them. Rhinehart slugged .400 in each of his four seasons at Arizona, so the recent resurgence of power in his game comes as no surprise. A week’s worth of home games may have helped Rhinehart claim this honor as the 23-year-old has been fantastic at Municipal Stadium all season, hitting .405. Rhinehart has been one of the best in the Minor with runners on base as he’s now 16-for-29 (.552) with ducks on the pond.

Record: Hagerstown 15-16, tied for 4th in South Atlantic North (3GB)

Today: RHP Luis Atilano looks for the split with Greensboro and RHP Cristhian Martinez (2-1, 3.86) at 10:35AM

The Nationals have begun to see results from their rebuilding effort. Since their relocation to Washington in 2005, only two of their full season affiliates finished with an above 0.500 record. And the two that did it, barely did it (Triple-A New Orleans 72-71 in 2006; High-A Carolina 69-68). The conclusion of April saw strong starts in both Double-A Harrisburg and Potomac.

Team	ActW	ActL	PythagW	PythagL
Columbus	12	15	12	15
Harrisburg	16	9	16	9
Potomac	17	7	16	8
Hagerstown	12	13	12	13
Total	58	43	56	45

That’s an overall winning percentage of 0.574.

Small sample size caveats stand, but the Nationals had a collective 0.449 winning percentage over their past three seasons.

As I have mentioned before, the Nationals typically won’t place too much emphasis on the winning percentages as an arbiter of the overall results of the rebuilding effort. But the signs of a turnaround are there and it will be interesting to watch if Harrisburg and Potomac can maintain and whether Columbus and Hagerstown can improve.

Columbus 13-14; Tied for 3rd in International League West

Team	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Columbus	115	228	10	107	109	184	21/35	245/326/353
IL Avg	110	218	19	102	89	192	22/31	249/323/381

Team	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Columbus	251	4.52	1.37	9.3	3.6	1.0
IL Avg	231	3.78	1.33	7.5	3.5	0.7

When rosters were announced in late March/early April, the focus in Columbus was on the starting pitching for the Clippers. Unlike 2007 which saw older Four-A type pitchers, 2008 brought Columbus some of the more highly thought of prospects in RHPs Collin Balester and Garrett Mock along with RHP Tyler Clippard who hoped a change in scenery for the Yankees might lead to a change in fortune moving forward, as well as LHP Mike O’Connor, who looked to build on a strong spring as he worked his way back from a disappointing 2007 season.

Player	GS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Tyler Clippard	5	0	3	5.61	1.44	25.67	25	18	16	2	12	28
Collin Balester	5	1	2	4.24	1.24	23.33	20	11	11	2	9	20
Michael O’Connor	4	2	0	1.96	1.00	23.00	19	5	5	2	4	20
Garrett Mock	4	1	0	4.74	1.79	19.00	26	10	10	3	8	17
Jason Bergmann	3	1	2	5.06	1.50	16.00	18	10	9	1	6	15
Jason Stanford	3	0	2	12.65	2.25	10.67	17	17	15	3	7	7
Dennis Tankersley	2	1	0	5.40	1.43	10.00	8	6	6	2	4	6

Clippard’s early struggles began to turn around later in the month and his initial start in May was strong. Balester’s overall numbers have been OK but the consistency is still not there. O’Connor’s start was strong enough to earn him a promotion to Washington in the middle of the month while Stanford pitched himself out of the organization (he ended up back within the Cleveland organization). Mock is truly puzzling, based upon his abilities, the Nationals expect more but the results thus far have been what have plagued him over recent history, he is too hittable. Bergmann struggled in Washington, was demoted and subsequently struggled in his first couple of starts for the Clippers, but like Clippard he’s rebounded to post 14 consecutive scoreless innings (bleeding into May).

Player	G	W	L	SV	HLD	GF	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Steven Shell	9	1	0	0	3	1	2.37	1.21	19.00	17	5	5	1	6	21
Mike Bacsik	9	2	1	1	1	2	3.00	1.00	18.00	12	6	6	4	6	14
Charlie Manning	10	0	0	2	3	3	2.30	1.15	15.67	10	5	4	1	8	24
Brian Sanches	11	0	0	5	0	8	1.17	0.78	15.33	9	2	2	1	3	23
Dennis Tankersley	6	0	1	0	2	0	3.46	1.35	13.00	13	5	5	1	6	14
Chris Booker	8	0	2	2	1	4	7.00	1.78	9.00	9	7	7	1	7	12
Chris Schroder	5	2	0	1	0	1	1.08	1.32	8.33	8	1	1	0	3	14
Eude Brito	5	0	0	0	0	4	10.80	1.65	6.67	8	9	8	1	3	11
Arnie Munoz	3	0	0	0	0	2	16.62	2.77	4.33	5	8	8	2	7	4
Jason Stanford	2	2	0	0	0	0	2.45	0.82	3.67	2	1	1	0	1	5
Giuseppe Norrito	2	0	0	0	0	1	5.40	2.40	3.33	8	2	2	1	0	1
Larry Broadway	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.00	1.00	0	0	0	0	0	0

The bullpen was a strength for the Clippers in April with Shell, Manning, Sanches, Bacsik and Schroder combining to make a rather daunting series of options for Tim Foli late in the game. The five arms combined for 76 1/3 innings with a 2.12 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9. Their efforts resulted in a 5-1 record with seven holds and nine saves.

Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA/OBP/SLG
Pete Orr	27	105	19	32	1	17	8	13	6	1	305/368/524
Ryan Langerhans	27	89	19	28	3	17	22	21	3	2	315/447/472
Larry Broadway	25	81	10	19	0	10	9	23	1	2	235/304/358
Ray Olmedo	24	81	5	20	0	6	7	4	2	1	247/303/296
Garrett Guzman	22	73	6	11	0	6	11	5	3	2	151/259/205
Tommy Murphy	18	71	17	20	0	0	11	22	2	1	282/386/394
Tony Batista	17	62	3	14	1	6	4	9	0	0	226/273/306
Jason Dubois	22	60	6	14	1	8	10	16	2	1	233/347/333
Jesus Flores	13	48	5	9	1	6	4	15	0	0	188/278/313
Bret Boone	13	46	4	12	0	8	6	11	1	0	261/327/348
Yurendell de Caster	11	42	3	12	0	8	2	11	0	0	286/318/357
Ed Rogers	9	35	4	7	1	2	1	5	0	2	200/222/286
Kory Casto	7	30	4	8	1	3	3	6	0	0	267/333/367
Wil Nieves	9	25	3	6	0	2	3	6	1	0	240/321/280
Alex Escobar	7	23	4	7	1	4	1	3	0	1	304/333/478
Javi Herrera	7	13	1	3	0	3	3	2	0	1	231/375/385
Pat Nichols	4	8	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	000/111/000

While there are pitching prospects of note in Columbus, the Clippers bats are predominantly comprised of what is referred to as “Four-A” players, guys who are good enough for Triple-A (maybe better) but have never really caught on in the major leagues for extended periods of time. This is a function of the modern day MLB organization where teams stock their Triple-A roster with bench players who can come up and fill in when injury dictates. Both Pete Orr and Ryan Langerhans had very nice Aprils at the plate. Each of them played in every Clippers game and tied for the team lead with 17 RBI.

Hitter of the Month: Pete Orr 305/368/524 1HR 17RBI 6/7SB

Starter of the Month: Mike O’Connor 2-0 1.96ERA 1.00WHIP

Reliever of the Month: Brian Sanches 0-0 5SV 1.17ERA 0.78WHIP

Harrisburg 16-9; 1st place in Eastern League South

Team	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Harrisburg	149	241	23	136	119	154	35/50	276/364/408
EL Avg	116	221	17	108	94	171	21/30	257/333/384

Team	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Harrisburg	229	3.77	1.41	5.7	3.8	0.7
EL Avg	225	3.97	1.40	6.9	3.8	0.7

After struggling through a disappointing 2007, the Harrisburg Senators rode a combination of strong hitting and pitching to a successful April. And for those interested in the current status of the rebuilding effort, the contributions came not only from the organizational type of guy but also from the pieces the Nationals are viewing as the major leaguers of the future.

Player	GS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Bobby Brownlie	5	3	0	2.79	1.21	29.00	26	12	9	2	9	11
Shairon Martis	5	1	0	2.73	1.18	26.33	23	9	8	2	8	15
Marco Estrada	5	2	2	3.46	1.65	26.00	28	13	10	1	15	18
Josh Hall	5	1	3	7.94	1.90	22.67	32	23	20	4	11	11
Ismael Ramirez	3	0	2	8.79	1.81	14.33	20	14	14	2	6	3
Tristan Crawford	2	1	0	6.43	1.86	7.00	11	5	5	0	2	5

A former #1 draft pick from the Chicago Cubs, Bobby Brownlie, made a strong first impression in his debut for the Nationals. His performance was strong enough to earn him a May promotion to Columbus. Both Martis and Estrada made the most of their debuts in Harrisburg. Martis was impressive over his five starts with a 1.18 WHIP and 2.73 ERA. Though he had two wins, Estrada struggled with his command, allowing 28 hits and 15 walks in his 26 1/3 innings. Hall, Ramirez, and Crawford had a forgettable April, finishing a combined 2-5.

Player	G	W	L	SV	HLD	GF	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Beltran Perez	9	1	0	1	2	4	3.31	1.22	16.33	13	6	6	0	7	21
Tim Bittner	9	0	1	1	3	2	2.76	1.04	16.33	9	5	5	2	8	15
Jim Ed Warden	11	2	1	2	1	10	1.29	1.07	14.00	9	3	2	0	6	8
Josh Perrault	9	1	0	0	2	2	2.63	1.17	13.67	12	4	4	2	4	10
Mike Hinckley	7	2	0	0	1	2	4.15	1.85	13.00	14	7	6	1	10	5
Steve Schmoll	6	1	0	0	1	2	4.09	1.55	11.00	15	6	5	1	2	7
Arnie Munoz	6	1	0	1	0	3	0.00	1.13	8.00	4	0	0	0	5	5
Levale Speigner	3	0	0	0	2	0	0.00	0.50	6.00	3	0	0	0	0	3
Eude Brito	4	0	1	0	0	0	11.12	3.00	5.67	13	8	7	1	4	5
Ismael Ramirez	2	0	0		0	0	4.50	2.25	4.00	7	4	2	0	2	4
Alex Morales	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	3.00	0.67	1	2	0	0	1	2

Much like their counterparts in Columbus, the Senators had a reliable bullpen spearheaded by Beltran Perez, Tim Bittner, Jim Ed Warden, and Josh Perrault. The four combined for a 4-2 record with four saves and eight holds. They had a 2.54 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 54 strikeouts and 25 walks over 60 1/3 innings.

Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Roger Bernadina	23	97	22	31	2	11	8	23	12/13	320/377/433
Mike Daniel	22	90	11	27	1	5	8	19	6/9	300/357/356
Justin Maxwell	24	86	23	20	2	16	27	18	8/11	233/412/407
Ian Desmond	24	84	11	18	3	8	9	21	4/7	214/290/345
Jorge Padilla	22	72	18	26	0	9	12	9	1/2	361/459/403
Luis Antonio Jimenez	17	63	11	19	5	17	9	8	0/0	302/389/571
William Bergolla	15	63	12	16	0	10	9	4	1/2	254/342/333
Luke Montz	18	62	9	23	5	24	6	10	0/0	371/420/677
Andrew Lefave	19	62	8	16	1	13	10	6	1/3	258/356/387
Yurendell de Caster	15	56	11	18	4	16	10	15	1/1	321/441/625
Marcos Yepez	11	33	5	9	0	2	4	5	1/1	273/351/303
Ofilio Castro	9	31	2	5	0	1	1	2	0/0	161/188/194
Ed Rogers	7	27	2	4	0	0	0	2	0/0	148/148/148
Javi Herrera	8	23	4	5	0	1	5	6	0/1	217/357/261
Pat Nichols	4	6	0	1	0	0	1	2	0/0	167/286/167
Devin Ivany	1	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	250/250/250

Montz had a breakout April, hitting 371/420/677 with five home runs over 18 starts. Maxwell, Daniel, Bernadina and Padilla combined to hit a collective 301 with an OBP and SLG over 400, including 27/35 stolen bases. Jimenez provided a solid source of power, hitting five homers over 63 AB.

Hitter of the Month: Luke Montz 371/420/677 5HR 24RBI

Starter of the Month: Shairon Martis 1-0 2.73ERA 1.18WHIP

Reliever of the Month: Beltran Perez 1-0 1SV 3.31ERA 1.22WHIP

Potomac 17-7; 1st place in Carolina League North

Team	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Potomac	104	182	18	95	76	156	17/26	233/305/367
Car Lg Avg	101	196	12	89	83	183	30/44	239/317/351

Team	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Potomac	211	2.43	1.13	8.0	2.4	0.4
Car Lg Avg	219	3.37	1.27	7.5	3.4	0.5

Pitching, pitching, pitching. That was the main reason the P-Nats had such a strong open to the 2008 season. Whether it was the starters or relievers, Potomac saw pitching performances that helped to offset an offense that was below league average. Starters (less the rehabbing Shawn Hill & Chad Cordero) were a combined 9-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 112 strikeouts and only 38 walks over 118 innings of work. Relievers were an equally impressive 6-2 with eight saves and a 2.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP.

Player	GS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Jordan Zimmermann	5	3	1	1.65	0.84	27.33	15	6	5	1	8	31
Cory VanAllen	5	3	0	0.66	0.91	27.33	18	6	2	1	7	19
Jhonny Nunez	5	0	3	5.11	1.26	24.67	28	14	14	3	3	31
Adrian Alaniz	4	2	0	2.70	1.30	20.00	19	8	6	0	7	14
Ross Detwiler	5	1	1	4.74	1.79	19.00	21	10	10	2	13	17

While Detwiler was the name most were watching, it was the performances of Zimmermann, VanAllen and Alaniz who put up the strongest numbers. Eight wins. Almost 75IP. 1.57 ERA. 0.99 WHIP. 64 strikeouts and only 22 walks.

Player	G	W	L	SV	HLD	GF	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Carlos Martinez	8	0	0	0	1	0	1.04	1.15	17.33	16	4	2	0	4	8
Craig Stammen	6	0	0	1	3	1	2.25	0.88	16.00	11	6	4	2	3	14
Yunior Novoa	6	1	0	1	2	2	2.08	0.92	13.00	10	3	3	0	2	8
Zechry Zinicola	8	2	0	3	0	6	0.00	0.49	12.33	3	0	0	0	3	15
Jack Spradlin	7	1	0	1	0	4	3.86	1.82	9.33	15	5	4	1	2	6
Adam Carr	7	2	2	1	0	6	4.00	1.44	9.00	10	5	4	0	3	13
Josh Wilkie	7	0	0	1	0	3	3.12	1.27	8.67	10	3	3	0	1	5

Zinicola and Carr provided a solid back of the rotation options for the P-Nats, accounting for four saves as the set up man and closer fo the P-Nats. The two had four wins and a 1.69 ERA & 0.88 WHIP with 28 strikeouts in just 21 1/3 innings of work.

Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Christopher Marrero	23	85	9	17	2	8	10	16	0/0	200/284/353
Frank Diaz	22	83	10	21	1	7	4	15	3/3	253/287/373
Matt Rogelstad	21	80	8	26	2	10	4	6	1/3	325/360/488
Seth Bynum	21	76	8	17	1	12	4	15	1/2	224/263/342
Edgardo Baez	21	70	16	17	2	11	12	14	1/1	243/354/429
Marvin Lowrance	20	63	9	16	2	6	11	19	0/0	254/365/381
Dee Brown	16	56	10	14	2	6	3	12	2/2	250/300/429
Ofilio Castro	13	55	2	13	0	6	1	6	1/2	236/250/291
Devin Ivany	11	40	7	10	1	6	4	8	0/0	250/318/400
Jemel Spearman	10	39	7	9	0	5	5	7	5/6	231/333/282
Brian Peacock	11	37	5	6	1	8	3	11	1/1	162/225/297
Leonard Davis	10	30	6	7	4	7	4	11	1/2	233/343/633
Michael Martinez	7	25	3	4	0	0	3	2	1/2	160/276/160
Steve Doetsch	10	24	3	2	0	2	3	9	0/1	083/179/083

The performances of the P-Nats at the plate were not as impressive. Only Rogelstad had a batting average above 0.260. Davis led the way on offense with four home runs in only ten games played.

Hitter of the Month: Matt Rogelstad 325/360/488 2HR 10RBI 1/3SB

Starter of the Month: Cory VanAllen 3-0 0.66ERA 0.91WHIP

Reliever of the Month: Zech Zinicola 2-0 3SV 0.00ERA 0.49WHIP

Hagerstown 12-13; 6th place in South Atlantic League North

Team	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Hagerstown	125	215	25	108	81	204	19/31	245/314/394
Sal Lg Avg	119	218	17	106	77	205	30/40	249/315/372

Team	IP	ERA	WHIP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9
Hagerstown	225.33	4.47	1.44	7.8	3.3	0.6
Sal Lg Avg	226.33	3.80	1.30	8.2	3.0	0.7

Hagerstown slugged their way to a near 0.500 record. The Suns slugged 394 with 25 home runs, second most in the South Atlantic League.

Player	GS	W	L	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Colton Willems	5	2	2	3.04	1.13	26.67	23	11	9	3	7	19
Jeff Mandel	5	1	1	5.68	1.70	25.33	37	18	16	1	6	24
Brad Peacock	5	0	2	7.94	1.46	22.67	26	22	20	6	7	16
Cole Kimball	5	1	1	4.15	1.43	21.67	18	11	10	1	13	26
Terrence Engles	3	2	0	0.64	1.00	14.00	9	2	1	0	5	8
Hassan Pena	2	1	1	3.00	1.33	9.00	10	3	3	0	2	9
Randy Matias	1	0	1	11.25	2.25	4.00	8	5	5	1	1	3

This is the biggest area where the Suns hope to see progress in April. Aside from Colton Willems and Terrence Engles, Hagerstown’s starting pitching was not that remarkable.

Player	G	W	L	SV	HLD	GF	ERA	WHIP	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Atahualpa Severino	7	1	1	1	0	2	5.65	1.47	14.33	16	11	9	0	5	16
Erik Arnesen	8	1	0	0	0	2	4.61	1.61	13.67	16	7	7	0	6	19
Kyle Gunderson	8	0	0	0	2	3	1.38	0.62	13.00	7	3	2	0	1	9
Martin Beno	8	0	1	2	0	5	3.00	1.42	12.00	9	4	4	0	8	12
Clint Everts	8	0	2	2	0	4	4.63	1.37	11.67	7	7	6	0	9	10
Edulin Abreu	8	1	0	0	0	4	5.06	2.16	10.67	16	7	6	2	7	9
Kai Tuomi	5	1	1	0	0	3	5.40	2.00	10.00	18	9	6	1	2	7
Luis Atilano	2	0	0	1	0	1	2.57	1.57	7.00	10	5	2	0	1	1
Terrence Engles	3	1	0	0	0	0	5.40	0.95	5.00	4	3	3	0	0	4
Randy Matias	1	0	0	0	1	0	4.50	2.00	2.00	2	1	1	0	2	1
Jamie Lehman	2	0	0	0	0	0	10.80	3.60	1.67	6	2	2	0	0	2
Trevor Lawhorn	1	0	0	1	0	1	0.00	1.00	1.00	1	0	0	0	0	0

The bullpen helped to pick up some of the slack but aside from Gunderson was mainly average.

Player	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB/SBA	BA/OBP/SLG
Daniel Lyons	25	101	13	25	2	11	7	22	6/12	248/310/356
Jake Smolinski	25	98	10	19	2	9	7	24	1/1	194/252/327
Bill Rhinehart	25	94	16	30	2	18	11	11	0/0	319/393/468
Michael Burgess	25	91	17	23	8	18	9	30	0/0	253/330/571
Stephen Englund	23	84	8	15	1	7	8	23	1/1	179/263/274
Aaron Seuss	22	83	10	24	1	7	6	18	0/2	289/341/386
Francisco Plasencia	19	75	15	20	2	5	7	25	2/3	267/329/493
Steven Souza	17	57	10	14	2	9	5	17	8/9	246/317/386
Tim Pahuta	19	55	7	14	2	5	6	10	0/0	255/328/418
Jhonatan Solano	16	55	6	12	1	5	6	6	1/2	218/302/309
Trevor Lawhorn	14	39	4	9	1	7	2	12	0/0	231/268/333
Travis Reagan	7	21	3	4	0	3	3	1	0/0	190/292/238
Stephen King	4	16	5	4	1	3	2	3	0/1	250/333/500
Sean Rooney	4	10	1	2	0	1	2	2	0/0	200/333/200

In 2007, Rhinehart got off to a hot start in Vermont which he has duplicated thus far in Hagerstown. Burgess started off slowly but has slugged his way to an organization leading eight home runs in April.

Hitter of the Month: Bill Rhinehart 319/393/468 2HR 18RBI

Starter of the Month: Colton Willems 2-2 3.04ERA 1.13WHIP

Reliever of the Month: Kyle Gunderson 0-0 0SV 1.38ERA 0.62WHIP

MiLB.com’s weekly news & notes …

Columbus Clippers

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Clippers were 5-2 last week to improve to 15-15. They are tied for third in the West Division with Indianapolis, 4 1/2 games behind front-running Toledo.

WHO’S HOT AND WHO’S NOT: 2B Pete Orr has batted .318 with 10 runs scored in his last 10 contests. … OF Ryan Langerhans has hit .306 with two homers, 10 RBIs and nine runs scored in his last nine games. … 1B Larry Broadway has batted .208 in his last nine games.

YOUTH WILL BE SERVED: Before the season began, the Clippers had a pair of Major League veterans on the roster in Bret Boone and Tony Batista. Both are gone: Boone played 13 games before returning to his native California, while Batista was released on May 1. Boone hit .261 with a homer, while Batista was batting .226 with one homer before his release.

APRIL SHOWERS (OF HITS): OF Ryan Langerhans probably was unhappy to see April end. Over 27 games in the season’s opening month, he hit .315 with three homers, 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored. The 19 runs tied teammate Pete Orr and several others for the league lead.

Harrisburg Senators - link to notes not up as of 2:00PM Monday

Potomac Nationals

WEEK IN REVIEW: The P-Nats had another productive week, going 5-2. Potomac opened and closed the span with a loss, winning five straight in between, including a three-game sweep of Winston-Salem and the first two against Frederick. With a 19-8 mark, the Nationals own the league’s best record and hold down first place in the Northern Division.

WHO’S HOT: RHP Adrian Alaniz refuses to cool off. He has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts, covering 18 innings, though he has only two wins to show for it. In that span, Alaniz has given up 11 hits and four walks while striking out 17 batters, including a season-high eight whiffs in a no-decision against Frederick on May 1.

WHO’S NOT: C Brian Peacock went hitless in three games and eight at-bats last week, and has failed to hit safely in his last seven contests, a span of 22 trips to the plate. SS Seth Bynum has only four hits in his last 27 at-bats over eight games.

HOME SWEET HOME: Jordan Zimmermann likes the comforts of home. In his last 52 2/3 innings while pitching in his home ballpark at either Potomac or Class A Short-Season Vermont, the right-hander has allowed only one earned run. This season, he is 3-0 at Pfitzner Stadium (plus a four-inning save April 8) after tossing seven shutout innings April 30, when he allowed three hits and no walks with nine strikeouts in a 1-0 triumph over Winston-Salem. Zimmermann retired the final 12 batters he faced in a game that took only one hour and 54 minutes to complete. “One thing about Jordan is he has four quality pitches,” Potomac manager Randy Knorr told the Potomac News. “He goes after guys and mixes it up well.”

NO HITS? NO PROBLEM: The P-Nats were no-hit in the second game of a doubleheader April 29 yet still managed to emerge with a 3-2 victory over Winston-Salem. Potomac loaded the bases on two walks and an error in the sixth inning and plated its first run on a passed ball. After Leonard Davis was intentionally walked to reload the bags, RF Edgardo Baez walked to force in the second run. LF Dee Brown then followed with an RBI force out, giving the Nationals all the runs they would need in the seven-inning contest.

WELCOME: Potomac received RHP Clint Everts from Class A Hagerstown on April 30. Everts owned an 0-2 record with a 4.63 ERA in the South Atlantic League at the time of his promotion. LHP Cory VanAllen, who leads the Carolina League with an 0.66 ERA while going 3-0, was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg during the week.

Hagerstown Suns

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Suns went 4-3, and at 15-14 through Saturday, were third in the SAL Northern, 2 1/2 games behind Lake County.

WHO’S HOT: 1B Bill Rhinehart pushed his average to .333 (35-for-105) by hitting .438 (7-for-16) last week. He leads the SAL with 23 RBIs. OF Aaron Suess is up to .289 (28-for-97). RHP Martin Beno (0-1, 2.77) has a trio of saves and has allowed just four earned runs in 13 innings.

WHO’S NOT: OF Stephen Englund is battling at .183 (17-for-90). IF Jake Smoliniski is scuffling at .209 (23-for-110). RHP Brad Peacock (0-2, 7.94) has allowed 20 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings.

NEWS & NOTES: Seuss had a career night Friday as the Suns eclipsed West Virginia, 12-3. He was 3-for-4 with his first professional grand slam and a career-high six RBIs. Selected in the 27th round of 2007, the native of Riverside, Calif., hadn’t driven in more than three runs in any previous game. He batted .293 with four homers and 37 RBIs in 69 games with Class A Short-Season Vermont of the New York-Penn League last year.

DID YOU KNOW? The Nationals remain confident that Smolinski, who showed signs of better offensive last week, will have a solid season. He was a second-round pick out of Boylan Catholic High in Rockford, Ill., in 2007 after being named Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year for Illinois. He hit .305 (32-for-105) in 35 games for the Gulf Coast Nationals in 2007.

Over lunch, I was scanning some MLB articles and one jumped out at me.

The Buffalo News reports that the Cleveland Indians are going to recall OF prospect Ben Francisco. What jumped out at me was who the Indians might consider moving off of their 25-man roster to open up a spot for Francisco

There’s no word on what the Indians might do to make room for Francisco. But it’s likely they will either designate third baseman Andy Marte for assignment in hopes he can clear waivers and come back to Buffalo or give outfielder Jason Michaels his outright release.

The name that jumped out is Andy Marte (major league #s/minor league #s).

Marte was formerly a top prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization. He was traded from Atlanta to Boston in 2005 for SS Edgar Renteria and then was sent on from Boston to Cleveland as part of the trade that acquired OF Coco Crisp.

As his major league stats show, the transition to the major leagues has been a challenge for the 24-year old third baseman. But given the Nationals lack of higher level position players, he is worthy of consideration if he is, in fact, designated for assignment.

Baseball America has ranked Marte among their top 100 prospects in four different seasons:

• #40 in 2003
• #11 in 2004
• #9 in 2005
• #14 in 2006

Here is his Baseball America scouting report from 2005-06, when he was (briefly) the top prospect in the Red Sox system

Strengths: Marte has everything teams want in a third baseman, starting with tape-measure power. His stroke has a natural uppercut that generates plenty of loft, and the ball jumps off his bat to all fields. He’s an aggressive hitter who punishes mistakes, and he has the bat speed and aptitude to hit for a solid average. His walk rate has increased in each of the last three seasons. Marte also provides quality glovework at the hot corner. Managers rated him the best defensive third baseman in the Triple-A International League—the fourth consecutive year he earned that honor in his league. He moves well to both sides and has a strong, accurate arm. His 15 errors and .950 fielding percentage in 2005 were career bests. The Braves gave him high marks for his maturity and approach.

Weaknesses: As with most power hitters, Marte will pile up some strikeouts to go with his homers. His swing can get long at times, and he occasionally gets overanxious and chases breaking balls out of the strike zone. His speed is slightly below average, and he’ll get slower as he continues to fill out. However, he’s a smart runner who’s not a liability on the bases. Marte’s elbow bothered him slightly during the season but it wasn’t considered a serious problem. There were reports that the Devil Rays backed out of the three-way trade over concerns that Marte had a torn ligament. But the Red Sox found his medical records to be clean, and he played without problems in the Dominican League this offseason.

He has yet to live up to that promise at the major league level, but he will still only be 25 at the end of the 2008 season. Given the rebuilding effort the Nationals currently have underway, taking a chance on a former high ceiling guy like Marte is, in my opinion, a worthwhile gamble.

He would need to be placed on the 25-man roster, meaning the Nationals would have to get rid of one of the players they currently have.

But in all honesty, it would be a better gamble to take a chance on a younger guy who might come around instead of an older bench guy like Rob Mackowiak or Johnny Estrada or Aaron Boone. I understand the value of a more experienced player on the bench but if a guy like Marte becomes available it would not be a foolhardy decision to bring Marte on board to serve as a backup option to Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson at corner infield.

One additional move, the Suns added OF Boomer Whiting from extended spring training. Whiting was a 28th round draft pick in 2007 out of Louisville. Over 62 games for the Vermont Lake Monsters in 2007, he batted 250/347/323 with 37/42 stolen bases. Whiting replaces OF Francisco Plasencia on the Hagerstown roster. Plasencia was promoted to Potomac.

Additional roster note, both RHP Jamie Lehman and Hassan Pena are on the DL in Hagerstown. That puts the Suns at 24 players out of a 25-man limit, meaning there is one additional move to be made in Hagerstown.

Columbus 

• Friday - Defeated Lehigh Valley 4-3 (box/gamer)
• Saturday - Defeated Lehigh Valley 3-2 (box/gamer)
• Sunday - Defeated Lehigh Valley 8-1 (box)

After dropping the series opener, the Clippers bounced back to take the next three games from the IronPigs. On Friday night, RHP Collin Balester evened his record at 2-2, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks over five innings with three strikeouts. The Columbus bullpen shut down Lehigh Valley over the final four innings as LHP Charlie Manning and RHPs Chris Schroder & Brian Sanches allowed only two hits an one walk. LF Elijah Dukes made his first rehab start, going 3/4 with a double and two RBI. 3B Yurendell de Caster hit his first Triple-A home run for the Clippers.

RHP Tyler Clippard had his second straight start without allowing an earned run. Over 6 2/3 innings, Clippard allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out six. After a rough start on April 17, Clippard has gone 18 2/3 innings allowing only three earned runs on seven hits and eight walks with fifteen strikeouts. Schroder picked up his second save of the season allowing two hits and one walk over one inning of work, striking out two. Dukes was 1/4 with a triple and one RBI, 1B Larry Broadway was 1/3 with one RBI and his first home run of 2008.

After a rough first two outings, RHP Jason Bergmann had another strong start to even his record at 2-2. Bergmann threw six shutout innings allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out five. RHPs Dennis Tankersley & Jim Ed Warden and LHP Manning pitched the final three innings allowing only an unearned run. Dukes was 0/2 with a walk before being ejected along with Clippers manager Tim Foli for arguing strikes in the 6th inning. SS Rey Olmedo was 1/3 with two RBI. And, 3B de Caster, 2B/LF Tommy Murphy, RF Alex Escobar, LF/CF Ryan Langerhans, and CA Jesus Flores each had an RBI for the Clippers.

Tonight: RHP Steve Shell (1-0, 2.37) takes the mound as Columbus opens a series with Rochester and RHP Kevin Slowey (0-1, 3.60) at 7:05PM

Harrisburg

• Friday - Defeated Reading 8-2 (box/gamer)
• Saturday - Lost to Reading 6-3 (box/gamer)
• Sunday - Defeated Reading 5-4 (box/gamer)

Harrisburg took the three-game series from Reading with wins on Friday and Sunday. On Friday, CA Luke Montz (1/3 with two runs and three RBI) continued his hot hitting with his seventh home run of the season, a three-run shot in the third. LF Justin Maxwell hit a home run in his second straight game, going 1/3 with two runs. SS Ian Desmond was 2/4 with a home run and three RBI. RF Mike Daniel was 2/4 with a walk. All of this was more than enough for RHP Shairon Martis who moved to 2-0 on the season, allowing only two runs on five hits and three walks over six innings with five strikeouts.

The Senators fell on Saturday as RHP Josh Hall allowed five runs on nine hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. Montz was 2/5 with a double and two RBI. That game moved Montz to a 0.384 BA and 31 RBI on the season. 3B Ofilio Castro was 2/4 with a double and one RBI.

Harrisburg took the series edging Reading 5-4 on Sunday behind strong pitching from RHP Marco Estrada struck out seven over five innings of work. Estrada allowed only one earned run on four hits and two walks, as he moved to 3-2 on the season. RHP Zech Zinicola picked up his first save in his first appearance for Harrisburg this season, striking out one in one inning of work. LF/1B Andrew Lefave was 2/4 with three runs scored. Over his last ten games played, Lefave is hitting 0.417 with a home run, eight RBI and eight runs scored. Desmond was 2/3 with a home run and four RBI and Daniel was 1/5 with a solo home run.

Tonight: LHP Cory VanAllen (NR) makes his Eastern League debut against Connecticut (pitcher TBD) at 6:05PM

Potomac

• Friday - Defeated Frederick 6-4 (box/gamer)
• Saturday - Lost to Frederick 10-6 (box/gamer)
• Sunday - Lost to Frederick 2-6 (box/gamer)

The bats finally broke out for the P-Nats on Friday as they had ten hits and six runs in a 6-4 win over Frederick on Friday. 1B Chris Marrero was 2/4 with a home run and three RBI; 3B Leonard Davis was 2/4 with a solo home run and two runs scored; and, SS Seth Bynum was 1/3 with a two-run homer. On the mound, the P-Nats saw four pitchers combine to allow four runs on seven hits. RHP Jhonny Nuñez lasted only two innings surrendering two runs on two hits and two walks. RHP Clint Everts & LHP Yunior Novoa combined for the next six innings allowing only one unearned run on five hits and one walk while striking out six. RHP Adam Carr picked up the save with a scoreless inning of relief.

RHP Terrence Engles made his first start for the P-Nats allowing seven runs (though only four earned) on six hits and three walks over two innings of work. LHP Jack Spradlin pitched the next three innigns allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out four. Marrero was 2/5 with a run scored; Davis was 3/5 with a run and RBI; and RF Edgardo Baez was 2/3 with a two-run home run.

LHP Ross Detwiler made the start on Sunday, dropping to 1-2 on the season after giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk over 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. RHP Chris Lugo made his 2008 debut for the P-Nats, finishing the game off with the final 3 2/3 innings allowing one earned run on four hits. Marrero hit his second home run of the series.

Notes: OF Francisco Plasencia was promoted to Potomac from Hagerstown. The numbers game does not match for the P-Nats. They have lost four players: Jordan Zimmermann, Cory VanAllen, & Zech Zinicola were promoted to Harrisburg; and OF Steve Doetsch was released. They have added five players: Chris Lugo, Craig Stammen, Terrence Engles, and Joey Norrito along with OF Francisco Plasencia. One spot needs to be opened up (the Norrito move is not noted on the latest release from Potomac)

Tonight: The P-Nats open a road series at Myrtle Beach and RHP Tommy Hanson (3-1, 0.79) at 7:05PM (P-Nats SP TBD)

Hagerstown

• Friday - Defeated West Virginia 12-3 (box/gamer)
• Saturday - Defeated Greensboro 5-4 (box) & 4-3 (box/gamer)
• Sunday - Lost to Greensboro 11-5 (box/gamer)

The Suns bashed their way to a win on Friday. 1B Bill Rhinehart was 2/2 with a home run, three runs scored, and three RBI; DH Aaron Seuss was 3/4 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI; CF Stephen Englund was 1/4 with a solo home run; and, SS Dan Lyons scored four runs. RHP Jeff Mandel picked up the win allowing one run on four hits and two walks over six innings. RHP Edulin Abreu picked up a three-inning save allowing two runs on four hits.

RHP Brad Meyers made his 2008 debut as the Suns won a game suspended from April 27. Meyers allowed two runs on four hits and three walks. RHP Martin Beno picked up the sace with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth. Seuss was 2/4 with two doubles and a run scored. Rhinehart was 2/4 with two RBI. 2B Jake Smolinski was 2/2 with two runs scored.

In the regularly scheduled game, RHP Cole Kimball allowed three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings with six strikeouts. LHP Atahaulpa Severino picked up the win with 2 1/3 shutout innings, walking and striking out two. RHP Kyle Gunderson picked up his first save with a scoreless 1 2/3 innings of relief. Seuss, 3B Steve Souza, DH Francisco Plasencia, and Englund each had an RBI for the Suns.

RHP Colton Willems was roughed up for six runs on nine hits and one walk over four innings. RHP Justin Phillabaum made his 2008 debut for the Suns (no word on corresponding move though it could be in place of Plasencia). Phillabaum allowed two earned runs on three hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings. Rhinehart was 2/3 with a double and four RBI. Rhinehart hit his fourth homer of the season and now has 27 RBI.

Tonight: RHP Brad Peacock (0-2, 7.94) faces Greensboro RHP Brett Durand (3-0, 4.50) at 6:35PM