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.

Nats Clients Shining At Every Level from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

• Lee Roberts got his very first taste pitching at a higher level than the Arizona League last night, and did not disappoint.  He went 2.2 innings in relief for the Burlington Royals, struck out one, and gave up no runs.  He picked up the win.  Make sure to follow Lee on Twitter.
• The Gary Amato story keeps getting better.  The Washington Nationals front office does not understand how the Pirates let this gem go earlier in the year, but they are happy to have him in the organization.  Last night, Gary went 3.2 innings in relief and picked up the win for the Vermont Lake Monsters.  He gave up 1 hit, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts.  If you get 8 strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief, you earn yourself special green text on the site.  Way to go, Amato!  His ERA on the year is now a ridiculous 1.08 through 25 innings pitched.  Opponents are only batting .181 when he is throwing.  In his last 18.1 innings, Amato has not given up a single earned run, and has 22 strikeouts.  I’ll throw you the green for that, too.
• Our newest client, Jack Adams probably misses Lee Roberts now that Lee has moved on to Burlington, but perhaps Jack is not far away from a call up, himself.  Last night, for the AZL Royals, he came in for an inning of relief and helped secure the win by giving up no runs, hits, or walks.

Pete Parise has had a couple of days off with the Memphis Redbirds losing the last 2 games…I have a feeling he will be getting a call to the mound tonight.  He is very close..

8/8/09 News & Notes from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Amato had a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings with the West Virginia Power (Single A affiliate of the Pirates), before he was cut earlier in the year.  He also had 7Ks and only 1BB.  The only thing going against him was opponents’ batting average, which was at .306.  So he got another chance with the Nationals.  And he is tearing it up.

Gary Amato is a Penn State Nittany Lion alum, and his school’s website recently had a nice blurb on Amato’s success thus far this year:

Ever since joining the Washington Nationals’ New York Penn League team Vermont, Gary Amato has pitched effectively in posting a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings out of the bullpen. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his previous four outings, spanning his last seven innings. He’s held batters to only a .242 batting average while racking up 10 strikeouts.

In his entire span with the Vermont Lake Monsters, Amato has held batters to an even lower batting average: .226.  In 15.2 total innings, he has struck out thirteen batters and only walked two.  That ratio looks very similar to his former teammate, Kyle McPherson, who is currently playing with State College in the Pirates organization.  McPherson has struck out thirty-three and walked four with the Spikes.

Last night, Amato continued to provide strong relief, pitching 2 innings, striking out 3, and giving up no runs.

Dynasty represents two other players in the Washington Nationals organization: Dan Leatherman (High A Potomac Nationals) and our newest client, Atahualpa Severino (Double A Harrisburg).

Gary Amato Is A Monster from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Become a fan of Nick Czyz on Facebook.  The left-handed pitcher has been blazing hot to start the season.  Nick Patterson has a solid write up of Czyz in the Everett Herald:

[Last night, Czyz pitched] seven strong innings as Everett (11-6) rattled off its fifth straight victory. The left-hander was at his masterful best, establishing the inside half of the plate early in at-bats and then using his changeup away as his out pitch. He gave up just one run on three hits and two walks, striking out seven in what was the longest outing by an Everett starter this season. At one point he set down 12 straight Bears.

And Czyz pulled it off against a Yakima team that slugged five homers and scored 14 runs one day earlier.

Remember the Gary Amato story?  The Nationals seem to have made a solid decision on picking up Amato after he was cut by the Pirates.  The former Penn State pitcher has an ERA of 2.79 through 4 games with the Vermont Lake Monsters.  Last night, Amato pitched 3 innings, gave up no runs on 2 hits, and struck out 2 batters.

Lee Roberts may just be an undrafted rook on the AZL Royals, but he is pitching like a top prospect draftee.  In 4 games of work and 8 innings pitched, Roberts has a 1.18 ERA along with 8 strikeouts.  Last night, he pitched 1.2 innings and picked up his first win of the season.  The AZL Royals won 10-7 even though the team committed 6 errors.

7/7/09 News & Notes from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

On Sunday, I reported that Dynasty added Gary Amato as a client to its growing baseball division.  Interestingly, we first started talking to Gary because one of his teammates on the West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate) was inquiring about what we offer in terms of representation.  We later found out that Amato is also friends with another on of our clients, Pete Parise.  They both played summer ball together and played against each other in college.  Anyway, we were elated with the signing of Amato.

A day later, Amato abruptly got cut by the Pirates.  They said that the decision had absolutely nothing to do with his ability, but was purely a business decision involving finances.  Bryan Swalley and I started to brainstorm.  Instead of panicking and getting angry at the fact that a client we had just signed a day before was now without a job, we called up people within a few organizations where we thought Amato might be a good fit.  At the top of our list was the Washington Nationals.

Already having a solid relationship with the organization (Leatherman is currently there and Gunderson was with the club before being traded to the Marlins), we set up a bullpen session for Amato to show his stuff in front of some of the Nats pitching coaches.  Lucky for us, Amato lives only a few minutes away from the Nationals Spring Training facility.  He showed up yesterday and has already received an offer to join with the Nationals in Extended Spring Training.  He will be with the club pending the completion of a physical.

This is just one example of how drive, persistence, opportunity, and a little bit of luck will get you far in this industry.  We are happy that Gary will be given another chance to prove he can make it and wish him the best as a National.

Gary Amato Is Now With The Nationals Organization from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Amato is a hard throwing sinkerball pitcher whose fastball touches in the low/mid 90′s.  At the advice of his pitching coaches, Amato started throwing from a sidearm motion for the 2009 season and it has paid off. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Amato in the 2007 draft. He has been used primarily as a reliever/closer ever since.

Amato is Dynasty‘s seventh signed client on a Minor League professional roster and is the first Pittsburgh Pirate organization client for the company.  Bryan Swalley will serve as Amato’s primary agent.

Dynasty Adds Gary Amato To Its Growing Baseball Division from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules