Washington Nationals top prospect Stephen Strasburg successfully completed his first Triple-A start Friday night in front of a sold-out Syracuse Chiefs crowd. The 21-year-old simply dominated the Gwinnett Braves on the mound, and even drove in two runs at the plate. Dave Shenin wrote in Nationals Journal:

"Props to the Syracuse crowd. With two outs in the sixth, and a 3-2 count on Gregor Blanco, most of the fans at the stadium were on their feet, recognizing this would be Strasburg's final batter. After Blanco fouled off a 95-mph heater, Strasburg froze him with an 81-mph curve, then bounded off the mound as the crowd roared. This was a simply dominant performance by the phenom:This was a simply dominant performance by the phenom: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K. His ground-out to fly-out ratio was 12-to-0. He threw 65 pitches, 45 for strikes. And to reiterate: the only ball to leave the infield was the weak grounder up the middle by Blanco in the fourth."

Analysis: So much for that "rocky" final Double-A start for the future ace. Strasburg asserted himself again as the hands down best talent in the minor leagues as he made the Gwinnett Braves look like an overmatched little-league team for six innings Friday night.

What's getting scary is that as the competition he faces gets more difficult, he seems to get better and better. His numbers in the Arizona Fall League were very good but not spectacular. In Double-A he was blowing past batters at amazing rates, and tonight he didn't let any balls leave the infield in the air.

Strasburg is improving because he is implementing and mastering new pitches. Often forced to stick to his fastball and curve/slider while at San Diego State, Strasburg has unveiled a nasty changeup and a two-seem fastball that seems to be inducing ground balls better than even the top ground ball pitchers in the majors. While the Nationals certainly wish they could have the future star in their rotation now to help them compete, Nats fans will be thanking Mike Rizzo a few years down the road when the club has one more year of control over the potential superstar.

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Burgess has always drawn some controversy among Nationals observers.  Some believe that the outfielder was a good potential pick that could be a power hitter for a big league team one day, while others think the 2007 sandwich pick was wasted on a prep player that will never be anything more than a platoon player that strikes out too much to have a meaningful career.  He certainly provided some hope to his supporters a few years ago when he won the South Atlantic League's home run derby and led the league in home runs and RBIs for a period of time.

On the other hand, he has fueled the flames of the detractors as he struggled to hit and struck out at an absurd rate last year with the P-Nats.  Rumors have swirled that Burgess has changed up his long looping swing in order to hit for a better average and cut down on the strikeouts and so far it seems to be working for him.  This season, his walk to strikeout ratio is 15:17, while for the season last year he had a ratio of 54 BB:135 SO.  His current line .292/.406/.416 is drastically improved from 2009's line of .235/.325/.410.  While he has been hitting for average, the power has not been quite as prevalent as previous seasons.  Incidentally, his first home run of the season came this past week, a blast to the small porch of Pfitzner Field.  In his last four games, Burgess is 7-14 with 4 doubles, 6 RBIs, 3 walks, and only 2 strikeouts!  What may be even more ridiculous is Burgess' platoon splits.  Burgess has mostly struggled against LHP for his career and his line against such pitchers is .238/.320/.368 (vs RHP - .262/.359/.496). no comments

The Nationals top prospect Stephen Strasburg endured what was arguably his worst start as a professional today. In a game that was postponed by rain, Strasburg struggled with command issues in front of a hometown Harrisburg crowd. In total, the right hander allowed a season high six hits, three earned runs, and three walks over 4 2/3 innings against the Altoona Curve.

While the final line does not look good for Strasburg, Dave Shenin of the Washington Post says his actual pitching was not as bad as the numbers indicate:

"All told, Strasburg needed a season-high 30 pitches to make it through the inning, and only 15 of them were strikes. Strasburg was visibly frustrated with the strike zone of home-plate ump Jon Byrne (and pitching coach Randy Tomlin had some words for Byrne as he left the mound following a mid-inning visit to Strasburg). None of the three singles off Strasburg were well-hit -- one was an infield single, one a bloop into shallow center and the last a one-hopper over the head of first baseman Chris Marrero. A throwing error on second baseman Michael Martinez contributed to the carnage, and Strasburg was charged with three earned runs, and one unearned, in the inning."

As Bill Ladson reported earlier this week, todays start will likely be Strasburg's last for Class AA Harrisburg, and he is likely to make his next start for Triple-A Syracuse. If this was his last start for the Senators, he will have pitched 22 innings, allowed 13 hits while striking out 27 and walking only six. no comments

Every month we will update our Federal Reserve Prospects Big Board. These updates will serve as a power ranking system for Nationals prospects, based on overall play and potential. While the season is only 20-25 games in for these players, we did our best to make assessments based on the small sample size (in later months this will be less of a problem).

Major changes in this edition from our initial Big Board include Ian Desmond being removed from the list (he is now officially a rookie), and Josh Smoker falling out of the Top 15.

1. Stephen Strasburg - Strasburg has done nothing to remove him from this spot as he has absolutely dominated Double-A pitching. In four starts he has three wins, a 0.52 ERA, and 23 strikeouts in 17.1 innings. While Washington sent him back to the minors after a stellar spring so he could work on pitching with runners on, he hasn't had a chance as he's allowed only 10 base runners this season. Nevertheless, Strasburg is right on schedule to get his promotion to Syracuse within the next few days, and eventually his call up to Washington in late May.

2. Drew Storen - Storen had nothing left to prove at the Double - A level, which is exactly why he earned his promotion to Syracuse yesterday. In 35 appearances as a professional, Storen has shut down batters with a 1.75 ERA and by averaging 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Triple-A will serve as a new challenge, but it's one he should easily be able to handle. Storen moves up one spot on this list because he has taken the next step to helping the big league club, where Norris has been stalled with injuries.

3. Derek Norris - Norris has only appeared in one game this season with Potomac. Complications with his hamate bone, the same injury Ian Desmond had last year, are causing him to miss valuable time in the minors and could push his eventual major league debut even farther into the future. Norris still has the best bat in the system, but will have to work on his defense and game calling behind the plate when he returns from injury.

4. Aaron Thompson - Thompson also earned a promotion to Syracuse this week after dominating his Double-A opponents. Thompson, who was acquired in the Nick Johnson trade, throws hard for a lefty and brings a strong sinker-changeup combo. In his first start at Triple-A last week he pitched seven innings to earn the win against Phillies prospect Phillipe Aumont. At only 23-years-old, Thompson may very well find himself in a Nationals uniform before this season is over, and may compete to join the likes of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Lannan, and Marquis in the 2011 rotation.

5. Danny Espinosa - Espinosa was also injured for the first two weeks of the minor league season, but showed he did not lose a step upon his return hitting .303 with an .844 OPS. Espinosa is solid in both his offensive and defensive play. He also has incredible patience at the plate. Last year he was second in the Carolina league in walks and this year, through 11 games, already has eight. Espinosa struggles to get hits when he is behind in the count and gets thrown out more than one would like on the basepaths. There is also the question of where he will play if he makes it to Washington given the emergence of Ian Desmond at the shortstop position.

6. Michael Burgess- Burgess has traditionally been a three outcome (BB, extra base hit, K) type of guy throughout his career, but he adjusted his swing over the winter in hopes of decreasing his strike outs and making more contact. While he started the season off hot, he has cooled down recently and reverted to his old ways (.266 BA, 16 SO). The power has been missing so far, as he hit his first home run of the season last night, but he is still taking walks (12 this season). He has struggled throughout his career against lefties (.231 BA vs LHP), but is 7 for 21 against them in 2010. His defense profiles well in RF (good range, good arm), but he will have to improve his hitting if he ever wants a shot at the big leagues.

7. Chris Marrero - Marrero is slipping down the back end of this list and it's not because there are other prospects climbing their way up. Still in Double-A, the 21-year-old has seemingly lost grip of his biggest tool, his ability to rake. As a bumbling first basemen/outfielder, Marrero's prospect status lies soley in his ability to mash baseballs; however, through 20 games this season he is only hitting .254/.316/.394 with two homers and 11 RBI. Again, he is only 21, but at this point he is moving in the wrong direction.

8. Destin Hood - Perhaps the sting of missing out on a college football national championship was exactly what Destin Hood needed to kick it in gear. Hood signed with the Nationals, foregoing a football scholarship at the University of Alabama. After struggling in his first season and a half as a pro, Hood is on a tear in his first 21 games batting .368/.385/.483 with a homer and five doubles. If he continues to hit for a high average and improves on his defense, he should see a promotion soon.

9. Bradley Myers - Myers has yet to pitch in 2010 due to some muscle spasms before the season started...he should be back in a week or two.

10. JP Ramirez- The Nationals gave Ramirez big money as a 15th round pick in 2008, but they knew that's what it would take to keep him from going to college (besides they saved a bunch on not signing Aaron Crow!). Some questioned his ability at the major league level because of his smaller stature, but Ramirez was considered one of the best pure hitters in the draft. Ramirez struggled in 2009 but has seemingly found his stroke early on this year. In 20 games he is hitting .284/.356/.862 with three homers and 19 RBI. Only 20-years-old, Ramirez could catapult up this list if he continues to develop down in Hagerstown.

11. Jeff Kobernus- The Nationals second round draft pick was off to a good start in Hagerstown before getting hurt. In 14 games the second baseman was batting .309/.338/.338. Basically, he was hitting a lot of singles and not walking very much. He battled injuries last season as well.

12. Eury Perez - Only 19-years-old, Perez embarked on his fourth professional season with high expectations. Last season in 205 plate appearances the outfielder batted an eye-oppening .381/.443/.503 with 16 stolen bases in rookie ball for the Gulf Coast Nationals. Entering 2010 in Hagerstown, Perez has had trouble finding his bat, hitting only .232/.284/.261, leaving many to wonder if perhaps his outstanding performance in the Gulf Coast League last season was only because he was more advanced than his competition.

13. Adrian Nieto - Nieto, a 5th round pick in 2008, has been splitting the starts at catcher with Sandy Leon so far this year in Hagerstown. After having a disappointing season last year in the GCL, he has gotten off to a hot start hitting .348/.500/.348 for the Suns. The switch hitting Nieto has a very good batting eye, but has yet to display any power. His defense behind the plate is above average and he has a very good arm. Like Ramirez, at age 20, he still has a lot of room for growth.

14. Jack McGeary - After initially splitting time between taking classes at Stanford and training with the Nationals in Florida, McGeary decided to take the plunge in 2009 to play professional baseball full time. McGeary, who was one of the top prep pitchers in the nation when he signed with Washington, struggled in his pro debut. In 26 starts between A-Ball and the New York Penn League the lefty posted a 5.54 ERA with only 89 strikeouts to 86 walks. While he isn't all the way back, the 21-year-old has posted a 4.29 ERA in four starts with Hagerstown this season. He still has the potential, the Nationals just need him to learn how to pitch and throw strikes.

15. Tom Milone - The left-handed Milone does not have overpowering stuff but is a pitcher who has great control and command of the strike zone. For his minor league career, he has a WHIP of 1.19 and BB/9 of 1.96. He already has 20 strikeouts through 4 games this season, after getting only 103 in 25 games last season, though he has also walked 6. He is reminiscent of another Nationals left-hander, John Lannan, in the sense that when he is on point he fools batters and pitches to contact, but when he is off of his game he is very hittable. This is reflected in the fact that he has had two very good outings and he has had two outings where he was knocked around. He profiles as a back of the rotation type.

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The Washington Nationals promoted right-handed relief-pitcher Drew Storen to Triple-A Syracuse. The move is considered the last step before the 2009 first-round pick makes his plunge to the majors for the second half of the season.

In seven appearances this season at Double-A Harrisburg, the 22-year-old has recorded four saves while posting a 0.96 ERA. In 9.1 innings pitched, Storen has struck out 11 while only walking one. His latest placement was just one in a line of several successful stops since signing with Washington last summer. In 35 appearances as a professional, he has posted a 1.75 ERA while averaging 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

While the Nationals drafted Storen in an attempt to gain instant help to a floundering bullpen last summer, Washington has upgraded it's relieving corps this winter and has had early success this season. Perhaps most notably, Matt Capps has dominated as the Nationals closer this season saving 11-out-of-11 chances while posting a 0.68 ERA. As a result Storen will likely have to wait his turn to become the Nationals full-time closer. While the 22-year-old may have envisioned being Washington's full-time closer by 2010, he will likely have to serve as a set-up man along with Tyler Clippard to the 26-year-old Capps until he is traded or his contract expires.

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The Nationals called up Roger Bernadina from Triple-A Syracuse to help with a banged-up bench, while optioning lefty Jesse English to make room. Bernadina got the nod after going on a tear, he's batted .377/.426/.541 in 61 at bats in Syracuse while stealing two bases.  English on the other hand had been very effective in the bullpen, posting a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances.

General Mike Rizzo told Bill Ladson:

"We told him, 'This is not a demotion. This is a strategic roster move, because we feel that we need to get a healthy position player in there. He didn't get as much work as we wanted to. We want him to go down there, pitch and get more work."

Analysis: This is exactly the opposite of what we suggested earlier this week. The Nationals extra inning loss to the Cubs on Monday was a direct result of having an exhausted bullpen. Clippard, Capps, and Batistia were seemingly unavailable and Brian Bruney was forced to pitch in a situation he obviously wasn't comfortable in, resulting in the walk-off-walk. We at The Nats Blog suggested the Nationals bring up Storen or perhaps a Triple-A starter to throw in the bullpen until the starting pitching gets more stable. Now, instead of getting more help for a bullpen that has had to chew up a lot of no comments

Batter of the Week - Justin Bloxom, 1B/DH, Hagerstown

Bloxom fell in between the cracks last season after be selected in the 11th round and behind another Kansas State product A.J. Morris.  After playing a full college season, his numbers suffered a bit during his stint with the Lake Monsters, where he posted a line of .228/.346/.303 in 67 games.  At K-State, Morris had a power surge in his junior year, knocking out 12 home runs and racking up 16 doubles in 62 games, but the power has yet to show up in his professional career.  While the power might not be there, the hitting skill is being displayed nicely and in this last week Bloxom was 11-28 (.393 AVG) with four doubles and seven walks.  Hagerstown manager Matt Lecroy has also been impressed with Bloxom's bat and has recently been batting him in the cleanup spot.  Bloxom showed off some wheels on the basepaths as well, swiping four bags in the seven day span (he is 5 for 7 on SB attempts this season).  Currently, he is in the top 10 for the South Atlantic League in hits, doubles, and OBP.  Besides Chris Marrero, the Nationals lack any solid options at first base, so a hot hitting another skilled hitting 1B is a welcome addition to the system.  At his age, a promotion to Potomac may be in line sooner than anyone may have originally thought for this late round pick.


Thompson, a former first-round selection by the Marlins, was acquired last season in exchange for Nick Johnson.  The left-handed pitcher uses a sinker-changeup combo along with a pretty sharp slider to attack hitters.  Thompson had two starts this week, both of which he pitched favorably.  In his first start, he took on highly regarded Phil's prospect Phillipe Aumont and went seven innings to pick up the win (Storen closed out for the save).  He was then promoted to Syracuse to make a spot start and picked up his second win of the week.  His total line for the week was 15.0 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO, 12 GO:8 FO.  For the year he has a 2.81 FIP and 1.20 WHIP and has yet to let up a home run.  Thompson is on the 40-man roster and impressed many with his exceptional performance in spring training, but finds himself in a situation rare to D.C:  too many starting pitchers.  The current Nationals rotation has been performing well over the last week and even the Syracuse roster was too crowded for Thompson, who was sent back down to AA today.  Despite this, Thompson is yet another reason for Nationals fans to be excited about the future and will be up with the big league club soon enough.  Until then, dominating performances like this week's will only increase his value. no comments

Washington Nationals top prospect Stephen Strasburg pitched five strong innings today allowing only one hit. The righty struck out six and walked only one batter. So far on the season for AA-Harrisburg he has pitched 12.1 innings, allowed one earned on seven hits and three walks...he has also struck out 17 batters.

Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore:

"He's doing the things he needs to do to progress to the next level. You can see from the stretch he's gathering himself a little more, and not losing any velocity, which is something we were worried about. He's about 1.24, 1.25 [seconds to home plate], which is where we want him to be. He also handles the bat. Offensively, he knows what he's doing.... The stuff is solid, and the little nuances he's getting a feel for. The changeup has come a long way, even since spring training. That's a real weapon for him now."

Analysis: He should be up in Syracuse soon. It's becoming evident to just about everyone that he is only in the minors for financial reasons. Hopefully when he finally does make it to Washington they will still be somewhere near .500 and he can help them compete. If he can't be in the majors right now, Strasburg needs to be pitching in AAA, not AA. He isn't gaining anything by pitching against players who are slightly above college level talent.

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SYRACUSE CHIEFS - AAA

After 12 games, the Syracuse Chiefs find themselves atop the International League North Division with a record of 8-4. A number of players have stood out for the Chiefs in this young season. The offense has been paced so far by second baseman Chase Lambin, who has hit a scorching .367 with a .441 on-base percentage and .567 slugging percentage in nine games. Just behind him are Kevin Mench (.351/.435/.459) and Roger Bernadina (.333/.375/.500). On the mound, starters J.D. Martin and Luis Atilano have been very impressive. In three outings, Martin is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA, while Atilano is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his two starts. If these two continue to post numbers like this, it remains entirely possible that they are called upon to plug the gaps in the Nationals' underperforming rotation.

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