{"id":8320,"date":"2013-12-20T12:49:46","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T17:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8320"},"modified":"2013-12-21T15:46:39","modified_gmt":"2013-12-21T20:46:39","slug":"gclrookie-pitching-staff-year-in-review-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8320","title":{"rendered":"GCL\/Rookie Pitching Staff Year in Review; 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_7629\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/GiolitoLucas-Auburn2013-unk-via-federalbaseball.com_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7629\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-7629\" alt=\"Giolito was the story of the GCL for the 2nd straight year.  Photo unk via federalbaseball.com\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/GiolitoLucas-Auburn2013-unk-via-federalbaseball.com_-150x150.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7629\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giolito was the story of the GCL for the 2nd straight year. Photo unk via federalbaseball.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This is the 7th and final in the 2013 Pitching staff review series. \u00a0I don&#8217;t like double posting stuff this comprehensive but I wanted to get this out before the w\/e. \u00a0This is the review of the GCL\/Rookie league&#8217;s pitching staff for 2013. \u00a0Other parts of the 2013 series:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8246\">Washington\/MLB&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=7729\">Syracuse\/AAA&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=7732\">Harrisburg\/AA&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8274 \">Potomac\/High-A&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8291\">Hagerstown\/Low-A&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=8303\">Auburn\/Short-A&#8217;s 2013 review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For some historical perspective, here&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=4564\">2012&#8217;s version<\/a>\u00a0(<strong>Lucas Giolito<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0the feature pitcher)\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=2450\">2011&#8217;s version<\/a>\u00a0(<strong>Jack McGeary<\/strong>\u00a0the feature pitcher)\u00a0of this post specifically for Auburn\/Short-A. \u00a0Yes, Giolito was the GCL &#8220;man of the year&#8221; for the second year in a row. \u00a0This may be unfair to many of the DSL grads who pitched great for the GCL this year, especially the likes of <strong>Jefry Rodriguez<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Wander Suero<\/strong>. \u00a0Also; good luck finding a picture of Jefry Rodriguez to use for your blog; any google search with &#8220;Rodriguez&#8221; and &#8220;baseball&#8221; is so over-inundated with pictures of more famous Rodriguez&#8217; (Alex, Ivan, even Henry) that I gave up looking.<\/p>\n<p>All stats are courtesy of either milb.com&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&amp;cid=466&amp;y=2013\">GCL&#8217;s 2013 Stats<\/a> page\u00a0or via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/minorleaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=pit&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=0&amp;type=0&amp;season=2013&amp;team=163&amp;players=0\">Fangraph&#8217;s\u00a0GCL 2013 page<\/a>. \u00a0Also useful here are the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheet\/ccc?key=0AmkEIm1TLiXQdHExYldZVUZJZk9uckFjeEVCSmR5Umc&amp;hl=en#gid=26\">Big Board<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheet\/ccc?key=0AmkEIm1TLiXQdGhVRjRfNW81SG8xRlROQ1ZxZzNfbUE&amp;hl=en#gid=0\">Nats Draft Tracker<\/a>\u00a0since so many of these lower-minors guys are recent draftees.<\/p>\n<p>A caveat before starting this post: this is short-season ball, so nobody&#8217;s got more than a few dozen innings. \u00a0The staff leader had 49 innings. \u00a0So yes this is absolutely going to be some &#8220;Small Sample Size&#8221; analysis. \u00a0Which in some cases is unfair to the player (to the good or to the bad). \u00a0It is what it is.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>GCL starters<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 The rotation started the season with Suero, Jefry Rodriguez, Silvestre, Voth and Valdez. \u00a0It ended with JRodriguez, Silvestre, Suero, Ott and a slew of 5th\/6th starters here and there. \u00a0\u00a0Lets take a look at the starters:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Wander Suero<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0dominated the GCL this year, throwing lots of 4-5 innings outings in relief of other &#8220;starters&#8221; and leading the team in IP. \u00a0Final numbers: 8-1 with a 1.65 ERA. \u00a0His first season in the USA after 3 DSL seasons was a huge success and his age (22) should help him move upwards. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen\/spot-starter.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Jefry Rodriguez<\/strong><\/span> was the opening day starter and made 12 starts all told for the GCL, going 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA anda a 43\/20 K\/BB ratio in 48 innings. \u00a0The 19-yr old DSL graduate looked great all year, even if he averaged only about 4 innings an outing. \u00a0 He improved his K\/BB rate marketdly from his 2012 DSL season and should keep on moving upwards. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>XST and then Short-A rotation (I don&#8217;t think he can crack the low-A rotation).<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Hector Silvestre<\/strong><\/span> was the staff ace, going 7-0 with a 1.82 ERA in 13 games (8 starts) over a team leading 49 1\/3 innings. \u00a0He was absolutely dominant all August, throwing 26 scoreless innings to finish out the year (including the playoffs). \u00a0The 20-year old lefty has a ton of potential. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>XST and then Short-A rotation.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Austin Voth<\/strong><\/span> had two quick outings in the GCL before moving on up to Auburn. \u00a0See the short-A writeup for more.\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A rotation.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Philips Valdez<\/strong><\/span> had a few starts but worked mostly out of the pen en route to a dominant 1.95 ERA and 0.87 whip in 32 IP. \u00a0He&#8217;s another older DSL signee who, like Suero, could make an impact a couple levels above GCL next year. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen competition, perhaps falling back to Short-A.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Nick Pivetta<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0started 3 games in Viera but averaged less than 4 innings a start before getting bounced up to Auburn. \u00a0\u00a0See the short-A writeup for more.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Deion Williams<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0failed in Auburn and got just 13 innings in the GCL this year. \u00a0He&#8217;s young (just turned 21) so he has a bit of time to sort things out. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: XST and another shot at Short-A in the bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Lucas Giolito<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0went <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?pos=P&amp;sid=milb&amp;t=p_pbp&amp;pid=608337\">2-1, 1.94 ERA<\/a>\u00a0with 39\/14 k\/bb in 36 2\/3 innings, 28 hits mostly in the GCL. \u00a0All Nats prospect fans should know of Giolito\u2019s status these days; he has come back from surgery, pitched effectively in the rookie league and was lights out in 3 starts in short-A (one run conceded in 14 innings). \u00a0Per comments and scouting reports his velocity is back, he seems healthy, and he could be just a season away from being breathlessly talked about as one of the best prospects in the game. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A rotation.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Travis Ott\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>went 3-0, 4.03 ERA with 32\/12 K\/BB in 29 innings in the GCL, 24 hits. \u00a0The rare mid-20s round high schooler who signs, Ott was used as a starter in the GCL and was mostly good all year. \u00a0His seasonal numbers were skewed by one bad outing where he gave up 6 earned runs in 1 2\/3 innings in mid-July. \u00a0This tall, lanky left-hander (6\u20194\u2033 170lbs) seemingly has room to grow and is very young; he turned 18 at the end of June. \u00a0Looks like the Nats might have a find here. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>XST \u00a0and repeating GCL; he&#8217;s only 18 and could use the seasoning.<\/li>\n<li>A slew of relievers got one start here and there; its kind of hard to assign GCL guys to &#8220;the rotation&#8221; when they get a start and only pitch 3 innings. \u00a0Instead, they&#8217;re discussed in the reliever section.<\/li>\n<li>Rehabbing Starters from other levels:\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Brad Meyers<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0got two re-hab starts for GCL this year, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Chris Young, Ryan Mattheus, Cole Kimball<\/strong><\/span>, and <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Sammy Solis<\/strong><\/span> got one each.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>GCL Relievers:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>this section is done mostly by IP, though we&#8217;ll start with the clear &#8220;closer&#8221; for the GCL Nats.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Jake Walsh<\/strong><\/span> got 8 saves in 16 games, posting a\u00a01.40 ERA with 17\/5 K\/BB in 19 1\/3 innings closing in the Rookie League. \u00a0He was promoted to Hagerstown on 9\/3\/13 to provide lefty bullpen coverage in the playoffs. \u00a0 \u00a0He was probably too old and too experienced for the rookie league but showed enough promise to get a two-level call-up for the post-season. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>low-A bullpen loogy competition.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Kelvin Rodriguez<\/strong><\/span> was a middle reliever for the GCL nats, throwing 29 innings across 13 outings and posting a 3.07 ERA. \u00a0He wasn&#8217;t quite as dominant as some of his DSL graduates, and I suspect it will keep him (despite his age) in XST to start 2014. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>XST and then Short-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Matt Derosier\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>was 2-1, 2.43 ERA with 20\/5 K\/BB in 19 relief innings mostly in the GCL, 24 hits. \u00a0 Derosier may have been a Juco guy but he\u2019s young; he turned 19 in July of this year. \u00a0After a brief stint to start the season in Auburn he pitched in middle relief for the GCL Nats, getting at least 4 long enough stints to earn a \u201cgrade\u201d in my monthly starter grades. \u00a0 He posted good, solid numbers, nothing flashy, nothing bad. \u00a0A 4\/1 K\/BB ratio is great. \u00a0He\u2019ll move up next year, looking to stick as a younger member of the bullpen in short-A. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>short-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>David Ramos<\/strong><\/span> posted an ugly 6.35 ERA in 22 middle relief innings for the GCL Nats. \u00a0His first state-side season could be his last, given his age (22). \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>XST and repeating the GCL bullpen, release candidate.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Joey Webb<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0went 2-0, 1.89 ERA with 25\/6 K\/BB in 19 innings in the GCL, 13 hits. \u00a0 Webb comes from a very small baseball school (NAIA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.menloathletics.com\/article\/4906.php\">Menlo College in California<\/a>) and may not have been ready to compete with a bunch of Division I guys in Short-A, despite already being 23. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>short-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Elliott Waterman<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0bounced down and then back out of the GCL this year. \u00a0See the short-A write-up for more. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen loogy competition, release candidate.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Niko Spezial<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>went 1-0, 3.32 ERA with 21\/8 K\/BB in 19 relief innings mostly in the GCL, 16 hits. \u00a0Spezial started the season with Auburn but got the quick demotion after just 3 1\/3 relatively non-descript innings. \u00a0A college senior draftee, he did not belong in the rookie league. \u00a0Nonetheless he pitched effectively for the record-setting GCL Nats. \u00a0Spezial needs to show how he fares against someone his own age, which hopefully he\u2019ll get a chance to do in 2014. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>short-A bullpen, release candidate.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Michael Boyden<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0posted a 4.61 ERA with 15\/14 K\/BB in 13 2\/3 innings, 17 hits for GCL. \u00a014 walks and 17 hits equates with a balloned 2.27 whip for this 23-year old in the rookie league (which means he\u2019s likely throwing against guys 4-5 years younger than he is). \u00a0It is hard to understand why he was back in the GCL after having shown he could handle Short-A in 2012. \u00a0Either way, his control issues from last year caught up with him in 2013 and I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll be long for the organization. \u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen loogy competition, release candidate.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Ryan Ullmann<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>started in the rookie league, being a senior coming from an NAIA school, but by season&#8217;s end he was in the Auburn rotation. \u00a0See the short-A write-up for more. \u00a0 \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Cory Bafidis<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>briefly worked in the GCL bullpen. \u00a0See the short-A write-up for more\u00a0\u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season<\/strong><\/em>: Low-A bullpen.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Justin Thomas<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0threw 3 \u00a0innings in Viera during his tour of the Nats farm system in 2013. \u00a0See low-A post for more. \u00a0<em><strong>Outlook for next season:<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>High-A bullpen competition.<\/li>\n<li>Other Relievers who got 10 IP or less:\n<ul>\n<li>Rehabbing relievers from other levels: <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Pat Lehman,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Rafael Martin,\u00a0Cameron Selik,\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Brian Broderick<\/strong><\/span>, each of whom got a handful of innings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mike Sylvestri<\/strong>\u00a0was dominant in his 9 innings of GCL work after getting demoted from Auburn. \u00a0See Short-A write-up for more.<em><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<li><strong>Luis Reyes<\/strong> was called up from the DSL to make an appearance in late August; he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings and was sent back to the D.R.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Andrew Cooper<\/strong> threw 2 innings in Viera then bounced up to Auburn. \u00a0See Short-A write-up for more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>John Simms<\/strong>\u00a0threw 2 innings in Viera then bounced up to Auburn. \u00a0See Short-A write-up for more.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, infielder\u00a0<strong>Kyle Attl<\/strong> threw 1\/3 of an inning somewhere along the line, giving up a homer before getting an out for an ERA of 27 and a FIP of 42.20 on the season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The GCL Nat&#8217;s record breaking season was borne on the backs of a slew of arms rising to the GCL from the DSL, and despite some of them being slightly &#8220;old&#8221; for the level they helped the team achieve greatness in 2013. \u00a0This also marks a great collection of DSL graduates that should start matriculating upwards, moreso than we&#8217;ve had to follow in quite a while.<\/p>\n<p>(Editor&#8217;s Note: I corrected Jefry Rodriguez&#8217; name after the fact; thanks to commenter Melissa).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the 7th and final in the 2013 Pitching staff review series. \u00a0I don&#8217;t like double posting stuff this comprehensive but I wanted to get this out before the w\/e. \u00a0This is the review of the GCL\/Rookie league&#8217;s pitching staff for 2013. \u00a0Other parts of the 2013 series: Washington\/MLB&#8217;s 2013 review Syracuse\/AAA&#8217;s 2013 review [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1968,1815,72,232,20,349,100,1974,2137,1874,944,2006,206,1991,1876,1985,1967,1977,1917,2139,852,2138,1981,939,1986,1965,63,2136,69,86,1987,19,1982,1877],"class_list":["post-8320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-minorspitching","tag-andrew-cooper","tag-austin-voth","tag-brad-meyers","tag-brian-broderick","tag-cameron-selik","tag-chris-young","tag-cole-kimball","tag-cory-bafidis","tag-david-ramos","tag-deion-williams","tag-elliott-waterman","tag-hector-silvestre","tag-jack-mcgeary","tag-jake-walsh","tag-jefry-rodriguez","tag-joey-webb","tag-john-simms","tag-justin-thomas","tag-kelvin-rodriguez","tag-kyle-attl","tag-lucas-giolito","tag-luis-reyes","tag-matt-derosier","tag-michael-boyden","tag-mike-sylvestri","tag-nick-pivetta","tag-pat-lehman","tag-philips-valdez","tag-rafael-martin","tag-ryan-mattheus","tag-ryan-ullmann","tag-sammy-solis","tag-travis-ott","tag-wander-suero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8320"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8358,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8320\/revisions\/8358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}