Weekly Nationals Production chart

Updated for the past week.

Nats made up a little more than 5 million in value this past week. From -11,625,000 to -6,545,000.

I added value by position at the bottom of the sheet as well.

Top 5 players in term of value
1. Josh Willingham 5,400,000
2. Ryan Zimmerman 5,130,000
3. Tyler Clippard 4,799,000
4. Livan Hernandez 3,200,000
5. Scott Olsen 2,500,000

Production Chart

Espinosa, Perez announced to Futures Game

SS Danny Espinosa (AA Harrisburg) and OF Eury Perez (A- Hagerstown) have been named to MLB Futures Game that will be played the day before the 2010 MLB All-Star game in Anaheim.

Espinosa will represent the United States while Perez will play for the World Team.

On the year, Espinosa, the reigning AA Player of the Week, is hitting .245/.333/.428/.761 with 9 HR's and 26 RBI's.

Perez, a 20 year old playing against advanced competition in the Sally League is hitting a respectable .257/.303/.308/.611 with 34 runs scored and 23 stolen bases.

The full rosters for both teams can be found here.

Photo courtesy of http://www.bigleaguebaseballs.com

Who's pulling their weight for the Nationals in 2010?

So, who's pulling their weight for the Nationals in 2010? I'm glad you asked!

I've created a spreadsheet telling you exactly what you want to know.

Included in the spreadsheet is the 2010 salaries of all of the Nationals combined with the Hitting RAR, Fielding RAR, Pitching RAR, Replacement levels, Position value, Total RAR, WAR, WAR/Salary and the Total value of the player (positive or negative).

I know it sounds complicated, but just take a look and you should be able to figure it out pretty easily!

Note, this chart is not saying that some players are underachieving. Obviously, Adam Dunn is having a great year, and by the end of the year, he'll be well worth his salary... but for now, he still hasn't played enough to reach what he is being paid.

Once again, I can't stress enough that this is not a indictment on Mike Rizzo or the team, it's just a barometer on how players have performed this year... and who still has some work left to do to justify their salary at the end of the year.

So, without further adieu, here is my up-to-date 2010 Nationals productivity chart!

Washington Nationals 2010 Production Chart

The contract information comes from Cott's Contracts. You can visit their website here.

The RAR/WAR information comes from Fangraphs, you can visit their site, here.

Photo courtsey of: http://www.throwbackguy.com

MLBbonusbaby reviews the 2010 Nationals draft class

Here's a fantastic article on all 50 of the Nationals picks in the 2010 draft. Andy Seiler knows his stuff, so its well worth the lengthy read.

Washington Nationals 2010 Draft Review

Here's an excerpt to wet your pallet.

"Now that you've had profiles for each of the 50 Washington National draft picks,let's explore why I gave them a Grade A- and ranked them as my second favorite draft class overall. First, I think there's absolutely something to say for making a no-brainer decision correctly. By drafting Bryce Harper, Mike Rizzo and team have made the correct decision that wasn't necessarily an easy one. Just ask Pirates fans what it's like to have a great player on the board and bypass them. But Harper isn't why I have this class rated so highly. The additions of Solis, Hague, and Cole put this class over the top for talent, balance, and execution."

- Andy Seiler

Bloxom continues to rake

On Monday I wrote an article about Hagerstown 1B Justin Bloxom and his recently power surge.

To my surprise, not only did Bloxom confirm my diagnosis that he was on a hot streak, he only added to it by having a monster night at the ball yard.

Due to a rain out last night, Hagerstown played a double header against Asheville tonight and Bloxom went OFF!

Starting in both games, Bloxom went a combined 6-8, 1 2B, 2 HR's and 6 RBI's.

In his last 10 games, Bloxom is hitting .410/.439/.846/1.285 with a four game Home Run streak and 10 RBI's.

While Bloxom was snubbed for the SALLY All-Star team, it looks as if he has his sights set on a much bigger goal, earning a promotion to High Class A Potomac.

If he keeps up his hot bat, there's no doubt he'll earn his way soon enough.

For Bloxom's minor league player page, please visit here.

Vermont Lake Monsters announce 2010 Opening Day Roster

The Vermont Lake Monsters, Washington's short season A ball team, has announced their opening day roster.

You can find the PDF version of the roster here.

Some of the notable names on the Lake Monsters roster includes...

INF Jason Martinson - Rd. 5 2010 draft

C Cole Leonida - Rd. 6 2010 draft

RHP Aaron Barrett - Rd. 9 2010 draft

INF Blake Kelso - Rd. 10 2010 draft

And of course... the man, the myth, the legend!

INF Ronnie LaBrie - Rd. 38 2008 draft (Fellow Lynchburg College alum!!!)

Photo courtesy of http://www.sonsofsamhorn.net/

The Rise of Justin Bloxom

1B/DH Justin Bloxom

Justin Bloxom, the Nationals 11th round pick in 2009 is finally starting to flash some power for the Hagerstown Suns.

Bloxom, a 6'1" switch hitting 1B/DH was quietly having a solid season in his first go-around of the South Atlantic League; coming into June, Bloxom was hitting a respectable .295/.350/.392/.742 with 15 2B's and 2 3B's in 196 AB's.

Then the calendar hit June 1, and Bloxom took off.

In 49 AB's, Bloxom has posted the following line: .348/.375/.652/1.027 with 2 HR's, 6 2B's and 1 3B. His ISO power for the month is a whopping .304, that is just insane!

Obviously we're dealing with an extremely small sample size, but its nice to see a minor leaguer within the Nats system (not named Norris) actually hitting the ball with authority.

Bloxom is only 22, and is playing with players his own age... so to see these strides in recent days is a very positive sign. I don't think we're dealing with a legit prospect on the rise in Bloxom, but what's not to say that he couldn't reach a ceiling of bench bat/pinch hitter in the coming years?

Whatever the case, Justin Bloxom is a Nationals minor leaguer that is succeeding; I think that's something we all can be excited about.

Photo courtesy of http://cjonline.com

Nationals come to terms with 22 of their 50 draft picks

The Washington Nationals announced today that they have come to terms with 22 of their 50 draft picks.

- SS Jason Martinson (5th round)
- C Cole Leonida (6th round)
- RHP Aaron Barrett (9th round)
- SS Blake Kelso (10th round)
- RHP Neil Holland (11th round)
- RHP Christopher McKenzie (13th round)
- C David Freitas (15th round)
- RHP Mark Herrera (16th round)
- RHP Tyler Hanks (17th round)
- 2B Justin Miller (18th round)
- CF Wade Moore (19th round)
- RF Chad Mozingo (20th round)
- RHP Cameron Selik (22nd round)
- RHP Colin Bates (23rd round)
- LHP Christian Meza (25th round)
- LHP Christopher Manno (26th round)
- C Jeremy Mayo (31st round)
- LHP Ryan Sherriff (33rd round)
- 1B Robert Oliver (35th round)
- LHP Nicholas Serino (37th round)
- RHP Kevin Cahill (41st round)
- OF Dimetrius Hatcher (49th round)

In addition to the 22 picks that have signed, there were five non-drafted free agents signed.

- SS Mille Rogers (Carson-Newman College)
- RHP Tim Dupuis (Assumption College)
- RHP Mike Gallo (Milligan College)
- RHP Zach Gerler (Austin Peay University)
- RHP Ben Graham (Emporia State)

You can find the press release here.

Nationals ink 18th round pick Justin Miller to deal

2B Justin Miller

Middle Tennessee State's athletic site has announced that the Nationals 18th round pick 2B Justin Miller has signed with the team and will be starting his pro career shortly in Vermont.

Justin Miller will travel to Burlington, Vt., to play for the Vermont Lake Monsters. The Lake Monsters are the short season A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, who picked Miller in the 18th round.

Miller, a 6'0" Junior, led the 2010 Blue Raiders in HR's (20), RBI's (74), TB (156), SLG% (.639) and K's (45).

Photo courtesy of http://www.goblueraiders.com/

Nationals sign 16th round pick Mark Herrera

RHP Mark Herrera

According to the Baseball America website, the Washington Nationals have come to terms with their 16th round selection in the 2010 MLB draft, RHP Mark Herrera.

Herrera, a 6'3" Freshman from San Jacinto JC (Texas), appeared in 15 games during the 2010 season for the Gators posting a 2-2 record with an ERA of 1.03 in 26.1 innings pitched.

Photo courtesy of http://www2.sanjac.edu/athletics