Washington staff has learned to make personnel decisions pay off
By Kevin T. Czerwinski


http://0rz.net/6e1DW


2005 Organizational Record

LEVEL LEAGUE  TEAM           W  L   PCT
AAA    PCL    New Orleans    81 81 .500
AA     EL     Harrisburg     64 78 .457
A+     CAR    Potomac        63 77 .450
A      SAL    Savannah       62 76 .449
SS     NY-P   Vermont        28 48 .368
R      GCL    GCL Nationals  21 32 .396


2005 Organizational Leaders

Average        .383   Rick Short
Home Runs        23   Dee Haynes
RBIs             90   Kory Casto
Stolen Bases     38   Brandon Watson
Wins             10   M. O'Connor, B. Price
Strikeouts      158   Mike O'Connor
Saves            20   Brett Campbell



When they were in Montreal and now Washington, the Nationals were always an
interesting organization to study. Despite being strapped for cash and
usually centered in uncertainty, the club has never failed to produce a
steady crop of youngsters who have achieved success on the Major League level.

It's surprising, considering the financial restraints placed on the
organization, which have contributed to a staff that's usually been smaller
than the average team's scouting department. A quick scan through
Washington's system shows there is still no shortage of talent. A plethora of
pitching prospects combined with some sought-after infielders give Washington
a strong nucleus for the future.

"The big thing is that the club has committed to me and my staff each year in
terms of signing players for the slot amount," said Dana Brown, the club's
director of scouting. "They gave us the budgeted amount. But we were
short-staffed and could have used a few more scouts. We just didn't have as
many area scouts as some other teams that have 17 or 18 and we have 12 or 13.
So it's been tough in that respect.

"As far as signing guys, though, we try to get the best player available, and
that's helped us because we've really had to look for a guy and make the pick
count. We really do have to do our homework and narrow it down because we
didn't have the extra money. It's very difficult without an owner because we
could say we need an extra $50,000 or $100,000 because we think someone is
worth it. We tried to make up the difference by knowing the kid's makeup, and
we've been very fortunate to put some good players in the system."

Five faves

Kory Casto, IF
Though Washington's third baseman of the future lost his spot on the hot
corner to Ryan Zimmerman, plans to have him move to second base were scrapped
this spring and for the time being he'll stay where he is. Perhaps in the
future, Casto will get a look at second, or maybe get back into the outfield,
but one thing is certain, his bat needs to be a lineup every day somewhere.
This season, it will probably be at Harrisburg. He hit .290 last season with
22 homers and 90 RBIs, picking up 84 walks in the process. Casto can spray
the ball to all fields just as easily as hitting it over the fence and should
figure into Washington's plans sometime in 2007. "He's going to start at
Double-A, and the consensus is that he's going to stay at third base," Brown
said. "He was originally an outfielder, and if he hits he'll probably go back
to the outfield. It's tough for a guy to keep switching positions, though,
especially at higher levels. When you move a guy to the middle of the
infield, it's a tougher adjustment going from third to second than it is from
right field to third. He's a really good hitter and has a really good eye,
and he's patient at the plate. He's more a hitter than a power guy but he
also has some power. So whether he plays third, second or the outfield, he
can hit, and when you can hit, the bat has to play."

Frank Diaz, OF
Diaz seemed to have found himself after spending a second season at the Class
A Advanced level, this time in the Carolina League. He made some swing
adjustments and wound up reaching career highs in average (.312), homers (16)
and RBIs (74). Diaz also made great strides defensively in center field,
climbing his way back onto Washington's radar after appearing to have fallen
off it following the 2004 season. He won't turn 23 until October but this is
a big season for Diaz, who'll have to contend with some tough pitching in the
Double-A Eastern League. "He'll be an everyday center fielder and after
having such a good year last year, we want to get him 500-plus at-bats this
year," Brown said. "Last year told us he can play with consistency and that
says a lot. He played at a good level all year and he looks like he's going
to take off."

Collin Balester, RHP
The former fourth-rounder spent his first full season as a pro and was a
smashing success, going 8-6 with a 3.67 ERA for Savannah in the Sally League
just a year removed from high school. The opposition hit .222 against him,
and he limited lefties to a .186 average. The Nationals watched him closely
and did not allow him to work deep into games, so as a result he threw only
125 innings. He's improved his off-speed stuff and will likely begin the
season in Potomac, though there was some talk that he could break camp with
the parent club. "I wouldn't rule him out as being one of the first guys
moved to Double-A, especially if we're in need of starting pitching," Brown
said. "He can start at high A because he's so young [19], and if he makes a
good run early we can always move him. We want to build him up more because
you gradually do that with high school guys when you want to protect their
arm. It's a tough balancing act, but you start stretching him out as he gets
older and used to the durability part of the game."

Ian Desmond, SS
It won't happen this year, or for much of next season either, but there will
come a time when Desmond joins Ryan Zimmerman to form what the club hopes
will be a long-lasting and potent left side of the infield. Desmond split
time between the Sally and Carolina Leagues last season, hitting .250, with
seven homers and 38 RBIs. Desmond has good range at shortstop and is
aggressive, as his 39 errors would indicate. He made 19 of them in 55 games
at Potomac, the third-highest total among Carolina League shortstops. His
outstanding arm, though, makes up for many of his miscues. He's ticketed for
Harrisburg. "He's one of my favorites," Brown said. "He just keeps getting
better and better. He's a high-energy player. He's a good shortstop and he
has some pop in his bat ,and we think he'll hit for some power down the road.
He has a chance to start at Double-A."

Clint Everts, RHP
Everts got into 15 games last season (eight starts) after returning from
Tommy John surgery in 2004. He was 0-2, but posted a respectable 3.60 ERA
while averaging a strikeout an inning over the 35 innings he worked. The
former first-rounder (2002) was 9-5 in 2005, with a 2.45 ERA, across two
levels of Class A ball before his elbow gave out. Everts has outstanding
breaking stuff and the belief is that, in time, his fastball will return to
low-90s form. For now, he's Carolina League-bound but appears ready to make
the jump to Harrisburg quickly. "We have to wait for his velocity to come
back," Brown said. "If it comes back, we can definitely see this guy shooting
to the top. He definitely has the secondary pitches, the plus curve and the
changeup, but his velocity dropped after the surgery. But it usually comes
back 18 to 24 months after the post-operative period. He's got to stretch his
arm out and get that fastball back. We saw him at 90 to 94 in high school and
he's at 87-88 now, but he was at 84 to 87 before the surgery. So it takes
time."

Best of the rest: Mike Hinckley, LHP; Devin Ivany, C; Brandon Watson, OF;
Andre Enriquez, RHP; Lance Broadway, 1B

Cinderella story

Francisco Plasencia, OF
When the Brewers released Plasencia in 2004, he wound up sitting out the
season and heading back to Venezuela to work on getting in shape. The
Nationals took a flyer on him, did some work with him on his approach at the
plate, and he turned in a productive season (.300, 11 HRs, 56 RBIs] in the
New York-Penn League. After being out of baseball two years ago, this
21-year-old with solid gap power has resurrected his career and will look to
continue his revival at either Savannah or Potomac. "He's a very good
baseball player who knows how to play the game," Brown said. "He runs the
bases, drives his pitch when he gets it, a real headsy baseball guy who can
overachieve and be a good player. Sometimes we just look at big tools, big
tools -- and every now and then a good player with average tools comes along.
He doesn't wow you with his tools, but his tools are good enough and he has
that good baseball savvy and instincts."

Breakout year

Erick San Pedro, C
This former second-round pick (2004) was limited by a hand injury in 2004,
then upon his return to action last year, broke his leg. The Nats are hoping
his run of bad luck will end this season because when healthy, as he
demonstrated at the University of Miami, San Pedro has the skills to be a
top-flight backstop. He'll probably start back in the Carolina League this
season but will likely have some competition from Devin Ivany, who had a
solid 2005 in the South Atlantic League. "He's really good at handling all
the pitchers," Brown said. "He calls a good game, he's totally in control,
the tempo of the game is great and they have great chemistry, so he's special
in that sense. He just has to stay healthy and develop his bat, and he'll
have the chance to be a good everyday catcher in the big leagues. He just
needs some time to have his bat catch up to his catching. Once you see his
bat catching up, he can move quickly. He was only a 20-year-old college
junior when he was drafted so that plays in his favor, since he's gotten hurt
twice."

2005 Draft recap

1. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
.397 BA, .419 OBP, .569 SLG (Minor Leagues)
.336 BA, .377 OBP, .564 SLG (Major Leagues)

Zimmerman became the poster boy for doing it the right way out of college. He
didn't haggle and hold out, showing faith in his ability rather than trying
to make a killing at the team's expense. He jumped right into the action and
sped through the system, hitting 11 homers and driving in 38 runs in 250
Minor League at-bats, earning a promotion to Washington at season's end. He
showed no signs of slowing down upon reaching the big leagues, and after a
strong Arizona Fall League season, will be the big club's third baseman this
year.

2. Justin Maxwell, OF

Maxwell didn't sign until October, so he's had plenty of time off to rest and
recuperate. That's not a bad thing because he could be one of the most
injury-prone players to come along in quite some time. Maxwell missed most of
last year with a broken hamate bone. That injury came on the heels of a
broken finger that sidelined him for much of the 2004 Cape Cod League season.
He also missed his junior year at Maryland with a broken arm. When healthy,
Maxwell has decent speed, a decent arm and could be an exciting center field
prospect.

3. Ryan DeLaughter, OF
.248 BA, .304 OBP, .432 SLG

The Texas high school product averaged a strikeout every 3.2 at-bats in the
Gulf Coast League, struggling to handle the off-speed pitches that he didn't
see as a prep star. Still, he managed to hit six homers in 33 games and drive
in 21 runs. But he needs to work on patience (six walks) and pitch
recognition before playing in another rookie league this summer.

4. Marco Estrada, RHP
1-3, 5.08 ERA, 33 2/3 IP, 31 H, 37 K, 16 BB

The Long Beach State product worked his way into pro ball by splitting time
between the rotation and the bullpen in Vermont, starting six of his nine
appearances. He has some life on his fastball and can be a dominant strikeout
pitcher. Estrada also has an effective curveball, but will need to sharpen a
third pitch as he moves up.

5. Mike Daniel, OF
.260 BA, .351 OBP, .357 SLG

The North Carolina product had a solid debut in the New York-Penn League,
smacking three homers and driving in 25 runs. He picked up 29 walks, second
on the team, and showed that he wasn't afraid to run, attempting 13 stolen
bases. He was caught seven times, but his aggressiveness wins him points.

Predictions

Pitcher of the Year: Prior to his 2004 Tommy John surgery, Clint Everts had a
rather pedestrian 11-12 record in 36 Minor League starts. His 193 strikeouts
in 190 innings drew attention, as did the fact that he was holding the
opposition to a .226 batting average and pitching to a 2.61 ERA. He made 15
appearances (eight starts) last year upon his return and posted a 3.60 ERA
with 36 strikeouts in 35 innings. Healthy and ready to roll for an entire
season, Everts will return with a vengeance and take top honors this year.

Player of the Year: What's not to like about Kory Casto's bat? His numbers
have improved steadily each season, and he's looking good for the nod as the
Nats' player of the year. We'll go one further and say he'll make a run at
Eastern League MVP.

Watch these guys: If all goes according to plan, Potomac could have a
starting rotation of Everts, Collin Balester and Daryl Thompson. If that
comes to fruition, it would be a nice top three, one of the best in the
Carolina League, making this an interesting group to keep an eye on.

Comeback complete: After arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder, former top
prospect Mike Hinckley is ready to return to the form he displayed prior to a
forgettable 2005 season. Look for him to pick up 12-15 wins and split the
season between Harrisburg and New Orleans.

Quotable

Brown on some of last year's draft picks:

"Maxwell and Estrada can make big impacts quick. Estrada is a starter with
three really good pitches. His stuff is average but his pitchability is real
good, and every now and then he'll reach back and throw harder for strike
three. It's just a matter of him getting used to throwing to professional
hitters. Maxwell played really well in the Cape League, and he had some good
years at Maryland. But he didn't play a lot of college ball because he was
hurt. Still, here's a guy that's talented and has a history of doing well
with a wood bat. He can really turn the corner because he's such a special
makeup kid. He's the first one in there in the morning and the last one to
leave. He's working hard to make up for lost time."