Dan Leatherman

Leatherman went into the 2009 season with more baggage than most players.  He had just lost his father, who he looked up to as his hero.  He missed a few games in Spring Training because of it, which set him back in the beginning of the year.  However, Dan would not allow his father’s passing set him back for long.  Instead, he dedicated the 2009 season to his father, and pitched his heart out to make it to the next level by season’s close.

Recently, Dan was interviewed by a site that I actually Co-Founded, AccessAthletes.

In the introduction to the interview, Dan received amazing praise, which I re-post below,

Today in sports, a Dan Leatherman is rare.  We often see professional athletes with egos the size of the stadiums in which they play in.  Leatherman has none of that.  None.  He might be what you would call a “blue collar” athlete.  He is thankful for both his career and his family, and promises that in the future he will give back to baseball, as it has afforded him so much joy and success.  We also know that Dan Leatherman has made a bond with baseball and that’s where his heart will always be.  Whether his dream of making a major league roster comes true or not, one thing is for certain—he’s no longer just pitching for himself, but for his late father, friend, and coach too.

Go ahead and read the entire interview at AccessAthletes.  Everyone at Dynasty is excited to see what Dan will do for the Nationals next year, as he will begin the 2010 not far beyond the MLB squad’s reach.

One class below Ata [Atahualpa Severino], and a former teammate of Severino, Dan Leatherman has been the staple of the High A Potomac Nationals.  No reliever on the team has logged more innings this year than Dan, who has a total of 69.2 after last night’s performance.  Last night, he came into a tie game in the 8th inning, and pitched 2 innings of no hit, no walk, no run ball, to keep the P-Nats in contention.  Dan also had 3 strikeouts.  The P-Nats won the game in the 11th.  The P-Nats have relied on Dan all season.  He has finished 20 of the 41 games he has appeared in and boasts a very impressive 1.25 WHIP.  His K/BB ratio is also right about 3/1 and Dan’s ERA is a respectable 3.23.  Dan also has 5 saves to go along with his 6-1 record.  While we have been hoping to see Dan called up to AA Harrisburg for quite a while, we know that it is just a matter of time before he is given a chance at a higher level and impresses with that team, as well.

“A matter of time” happened to only be two days.  Earlier today, Dan was notified that he should pack his bags, because he is heading to Harrisburg to join the AA Senators.  Honestly, this promotion could not have been granted to a more deserving guy.  Go show them your stuff in AA ball, Dan!

At Class AA, Atahualpa Severino, one of Dynasty’s newest clients, received a call-up to the Harrisburg club earlier this year.  At first, Ata had a rough time adjusting to the new level.  In July, he had a 7.11 ERA with the team, but nobody was worried.  He bounced back to have a ridiculous August, where he was inserted into 9 games, threw 13.1 innings, and only allowed the opposition to bat .146 against him.  In the 9 games, he picked up 2 saves and 5 wins.  And he did not give up a single earned run in the month.  Ata has already begun to put together a solid September, picking up a win in his first appearance of the month last night.  He went 1.1 innings and struck out 3 batters.  Remember that 7.11 ERA in July?  It’s now sitting at 2.14, which looks very good next to his 6-0 record.

One class below Ata, and a former teammate of Severino, Dan Leatherman has been the staple of the High A Potomac Nationals.  No reliever on the team has logged more innings this year than Dan, who has a total of 69.2 after last night’s performance.  Last night, he came into a tie game in the 8th inning, and pitched 2 innings of no hit, no walk, no run ball, to keep the P-Nats in contention.  Dan also had 3 strikeouts.  The P-Nats won the game in the 11th.  The P-Nats have relied on Dan all season.  He has finished 20 of the 41 games he has appeared in and boasts a very impressive 1.25 WHIP.  His K/BB ratio is also right about 3/1 and Dan’s ERA is a respectable 3.23.  Dan also has 5 saves to go along with his 6-1 record.  While we have been hoping to see Dan called up to AA Harrisburg for quite a while, we know that it is just a matter of time before he is given a chance at a higher level and impresses with that team, as well.

And then there is Gary Amato, formerly of the Pirates organization.  He was cut only two days after we decided to bring him on as a client, and instead of worrying, we found him a new home in the Nationals organization.  He developed some new pitches and worked on his technique in Extended Spring Training.  When he was ready to move on, he was placed in Class A Short-Season Vermont with the Lake Monsters.  Amongst relievers on the team, he is 2nd in innings pitched, with a total of 35.1.  In that span, Amato has yet to give up a single homerun, has a little better than a 4/1 K/BB ratio, and has only allowed the opposition to bat .180 against him.  In August, opponents really couldn’t hit Amato.  Collectively they had a.145 batting average against him in the month.

All three players have very bright futures ahead of them.  The Washington Nationals have a huge need for pitchers with the big league club.  Severino, Leatherman, and Amato will be ready to help out as they continue to rise up the ranks of the organization.

Dan Leatherman stood to the right of the gate on the first side of Pfitzner Stadium signing autographs for children following his two-inning performance on Tuesday afternoon.

It is Leatherman’s custom to sign baseballs and cards and mingle with fans after games.

“It’s nice to hear fans telling you, ‘good job,’” Leatherman said. “That’s the reason why we’re here. We’re here for the fans.”

On this day, the Potomac Nationals relief pitcher earned the right to take a break from baseball after recording his fourth save this year.

His two scoreless innings, highlighted by Michael Burgess’s second spectacular catch of the game, helped the Nationals defeat the Frederick Keys 4-3 in game one of the three-game series.

Leatherman, a Frederick, Md. native, was the last of six pitchers Potomac manager Trent Jewett used. Combined, Potomac’s pitching staff was not great. It issued seven walks, hit two batters, allowed a home run and uncorked a wild pitch.

• Sometimes, even we forget that we have clients that aren’t pitchers.  Ben Billingsley, currently with the Everett Aquasox of the Seattle Mariners organization, hit a homerun last night, which is his 3rd of the season.  Not bad for the guy who is known for his defense and speed on the bases.  Billingsley had a short stint in Triple A earlier in the year.
• On the other side of the country, Eric Valdez, got the save for another Seattle Mariners affiliate (Pulaski).  In 1 inning of relief, he struck out two batters.
• Kyle Gunderson, usually inserted as the closer, came into a tight 3-2 game between the Jupiter Hammerheads and St. Lucie Mets.  He pitched a perfect inning to pick up his second hold of the season.
• Last night, the Potomac Nationals moved into a tie for first place in the Carolina league.  The P-Nats won the league last year, with Dan Leatherman being a major contributor in the playoffs.  Leatherman is once again pitching great in the latter half of the season.  Last night, he pitched the 9th inning, giving up no runs.  His ERA is now a very impressive 3.13 in 54.2 innings pitched (highest amongst P-Nat relievers).
• While Kyle McPherson was charged with the loss in last night’s game against the Hudson Valley Renegades, he did pick up his fifth quality start in his last six outings. McPherson went 6 innings and gave up only 3 runs, 4 hits, and struck out 2.  He did not give up a single walk, improving his K/BB ratio: 39/6.

Last night, Dan Leatherman, Pete Parise, and Ryan Kelly had terrific nights.

Dan Leatherman went 1.1 innings, struck out 3 batters, and did not give up a hit, walk, or run.  The Potomac Nationals won the game, and Leatherman lowered his ERA to 3.29.  Also remember that Leatherman currently has a 5-0 record on the year with the High A P-Nats.

Pete Parise must want me to call him Mr. Groundout again, because in 2 innings of work last night, he induced 5 groundouts and struck out one batter.  He only gave up 1 hit, and did not walk any batters nor give up any runs.  Parise’s ERA is at 5.24, which is inflated because of a couple of rough outings.  As he logs more innings in AAA, that number should go down.

Ryan Kelly went 2 innings last night, struck out 3 and gave up 2 hits.  He also gave up no walks or runs in his outing.  Kelly lowered his ERA to 4.33 with the West Virginia Power.

• Last night, Dan Leatherman picked up his 3rd save of the season. He pitched 2 innings, logged 3 strikeouts, and gave up no hits or no runs to improve his ERA 3.30.  Dan has been on fire as of late.  In his last 7 games, he has pitched 10.2 innings, given up 0 earned runs while striking out 12 batters, walking only 4, and giving up only 5 hits.  He has notched 2 saves in that span of games.  If Dan keeps it up, he won’t be in High A Potomac for long.
• Ryan Platt was not with the AZL Brewers for long.  The 2009 draft pick was just moved to Short Season Helena.  Enjoy the beauty of Montana!
• The site Rum Bunter at FanSided.com, is in the middle of a multiple part interview with Kyle McPherson.  Part I talks about McPherson’s class and the revamping of the State College Spikes.  Part II speaks of the role of Kyle’s father in Kyle’s life and has an interesting tidbit about him at the very end.  Part III will be up tonight.
• Enough about Pitcher U; our position players have been doing well, too.  Rand Smith went 2-4 with 2 runs scored last night for the Jamestown Jammers (Marlins affiliate).  The Jammers won the game by a score of 6-2.  And Tommy Johnson is having a great start to his season.  He went 1-4 with a walk and a run scored last night, and is batting .344 on the year.

Dan Leatherman of the Potomac Nationals went 3.2 innings in relief in a shortened 7 inning game (Potomac played a double header).  He only gave up 1 hit and 0 earned runs.  Dan has been getting a lot of time lately and has lowered his ERA in the process.  On the season, his ERA is sitting at 4.61.  For relievers on Potomac, Dan leads the team in innings pitched with 27.1.

Pete Parise is also leading his team in innings pitched (among relievers).  Pete has been on an absolute tear in his first season with the AA Springfield Cardinals, and has some newspaper columnists calling for his assignment to AAA Memphis.  Last night, Pete threw another 2 innings in his normal set-up position and added another tally in the hold column.  He struck out 2 and gave up 0 ER.  ERA is sitting at 2.79.

Kyle McPherson of the West Virginia Power went 5 innings in his start.  He only gave up 2 earned runs and left the game with his team ahead.  Unfortunately, the Power could not hang on, and ended up losing the game.

Baseball

• Dan Leatherman – Last night, he picked up the win for the Potomac Nationals.  His final line was: 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.  This improves him to 2-0 with a 5.32 ERA on the season with the High A Potomac Nationals.  Leatherman has not walked a batter in his last 7 outings, which spans 12.2 innings.
• Pete Parise – Parise threw 2 perfect innings (1 K) in Springfield’s loss last night.  Parise has now thrown 11.1 consecutive scoreless frames over his last 8 outings and has a 0.59 ERA over his last 10 outings.  His season ERA is 2.86 in 34.2 IP (26 K’s).  We showed you a powerpoint slide on him yesterday.  His stat line has only gotten better since.
• Kyle Gunderson – Recently, Hi-A Jupiter placed Kyle on the reserve list.  Kyle is healthy and looking forward to returning back to the active list soon.  The Marlins put him on the reserve list as a precautionary measure to give his back some rest.  Since joining the Jupiter Hammerheads in a trade for Logan Kensing, Gunderson has a WHIP and ERA of 0.90 in 10 IP.
• Kyle McPherson – In his last 4 starts, McPherson has 3 wins and 1 no-decision. In the 22.1 IP over that span, Kyle has racked up 13 K’s and only walked 2 batters.  His overall record on the year with the West Virginia Power is 4-1.
• Ryan Kelly – R.Kelly has provided solid relief for the West Virginia Power thus far.  His ERA is sitting at 3.06.  When A-Rod was making his way back to the majors with rehab assignments, he could not get a hit off of R. Kelly.
• Brendan Murphy – Brendan got off to a scorching hot start with the Kalamazoo Kings of the Frontier League, but has cooled off a bit ever since.  He still has 2 HR in 8 games played, along with 6 RBI.
• The rest of our boys: Tommy Johnson, Nick Czyz, Ben Billingsley, and Zach Rosenbaum are doing very well in Extended Spring Training and will be on their respective teams’ Short Season A teams.

Bowling

• Our latest bowling client is Jason Belmonte.  He is currently in his home of Australia making the rounds with the press, but will be back in the U.S. shortly to bowl in the PBA’s Summer Series.  We have big plans for Belmo.  In the meantime, become a fan on his Facebook page.

Football

• Rulon Davis is doing well with the Denver Broncos.  The team needs all the help it can get on Defense and Rulon is just the type of guy who can give them that edge they so desperately need.
• Andrew Johnson had a very successful mini-camp tryout with the Cleveland Browns, but unfortunately, was not retained by the team.  We are now searching for other options for Drew.
• Kevin Grant is considering various options, but we still believe that he belongs in the NFL.  We continue to find the right fit for the former 4-year Akron LB.

Basketball

• We have recently added a bunch of new clients including, Terrrance Woodbury (leading scorer at UGA for the past 2 years), John Gilchrist (former standout at University of Maryland), and Jamarcus Ellis (University of Indiana – named Honorable Mention All Big-Ten).  All of them are receiving considerable interest in the United States (NBA/NBDL) and overseas.

Coaches

• Been working on a new website.  Jason and I have been given important positions in a particular coaches association.  More information will be posted in the near future.

Entertainment

• Hopefully you know about the new EntertainmentAgentBlog.com.  The new site alone, has allowed us to receive more leads for our clients.  Additionally, we are starting to move away from being “agents” to our clients, to taking on more of a managerial role.