The Washington Nationals ran into quite a snag when their starting catcher Jesus Flores injured his right shoulder. The backup role was filled by a mixture of Wil Nieves and Josh Bard.

In an effort to fill the starting role in case Flores can’t go, the Nationals signed former AL MVP and future Hall-of-Famer Ivan Rodriguez. Rodriguez signed a 2-year, $6 million contract.

Although it is obviously safe to say that Rodriguez is a big upgrade from Nieves/Bard, I am curious to see how Rodriguez will do with Washington. Do you think Rodriguez is better than Flores even at age 38? You have to remember that Rodriguez was once one of the best defensive and offensive catchers in the MLB.

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.

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).

The MLB Draft occurred just last week, but already, three first-round picks have signed with the teams who picked them.  The disadvantage of signing early is that you forfeit seeing what other players are signing for.  There is a possibility that you sign for less than you could make if you hold out until the deadline.  The positive is that you show goodwill to your signing team and get started within the organization as soon as possible.  Many teams will start you on a higher level, and you will be well on your way up the system while your colleagues are holding out for more money.

Normally, the signing deadline for drafted players is August 15th.  Because August 15th falls on a Saturday this year, the MLB has pushed the deadline  back to August 17th.  Expect a lot of first rounders to sign within minutes of the deadline.  But then there are those who have already signed, two months earlier than they had to.  Tony Sanchez is currently playing with the West Virginia Power of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization (where Dynasty has 2 clients: Kyle McPherson and Ryan Kelly), Drew Storen is with the Hagerstown Suns of the Washington Nationals organization, and Eric Arnett will be sent to Brewers Rookie Ball (Helena).

To be able to start playing in Class A or Rookie Ball now, is definitely a plus.  What about the signing bonuses?

• Tony Sanchez (#4 overall) – $2.5 million. College Junior – Catcher.
• Drew Storen (#10 overall) – $1.6 million. Draft-eligible College Sophomore – RHP.
• Eric Arnett (#26 overall) – $1.2 million. College Junior – RHP.

Last year, the #4 overall pick (Brian Matusz, College Junior – LHP) signed for $3.2 million, higher than Tony Sanchez’s bonus.  Left-handed pitchers are very valuable, but so is the skilled position of Catcher.  Additionally, the #5 overall pick was a College Junior Catcher named Buster Posey.  Drafted one slot later than Sanchez, Posey received the largest bonus of the draft – $6.2 million.  The Pirates spent $6 million on their 1st round pick last year (Pedro Alvarez), so Sanchez really could have probably made more if he held out a little longer.  But again, the positives of signing early..

Last year’s #10 overall pick (Jason Castro) was a College Junior Catcher from the same university as this year’s #10 overall pick – Stanford University.  Castro also signed for more money than this year’s #10 pick.  He received a bonus of $2.07 million.  Again, a highly skilled Catcher is very valuable, but Storen was seen as someone who could help out the Nats immediately.  Storen was also probably drafted in this position because of his signability.  Presumably, the Nationals knew that he would be a quick sign, which is why he was taken at #10 overall.

The #26 overall pick last year was Daniel Schlereth, a College Junior LHP from the University of Arizona.  As previously stated, LHPs are often valued higher than RHPs.  Schlereth received only a little more of a bonus ($1.33 million) than Arnett.

All three first round players that signed, did so below slot value.  I believe that Storen and Sanchez have legitimate reasons for doing so.  But maybe Arnett should have taken a little bit more time before agreeing to the terms of his deal.  What are your thoughts?

Boras is wisely positioning the righty from San Diego State as the next best thing since sliced bread—or Mark Prior, for whom the super-agent negotiated the current record deal for a draft pick of $10.5 million in 2001.

But for the Nationals, is the exceptional numbers that Boras will most certainly ask for really worth it? There is so much uncertainty with players who have yet to step onto a major league field. Injuries were the downfall of Prior and other “can’t miss” prospects like Kris Benson and Brien Taylor. $50 million is a lot of money for a lot of question marks.

Strasburg, though, is in fact worth a lot of money at this point as he comes with a lot of potential, but Washington has to be careful not to get caught up in the almost mythic magnitude that Boras is trying to make the 20-year-old live up to.

Who really has the upper hand in this negotiation that will most likely last up to the very end of the August 17 signing deadline though?

Strasburg is the top pick, so there’s no moving up if he were to not sign this year and enter the draft next year. There probably won’t be a chance to make as much money in Japan as he could in the States and what happens if Boras does take the phenom overseas for a year and ends up getting picked by another cash-strapped franchise that’s not willing to pay either. Boras can’t keep holding Strasburg out of the majors. Plus, both Strasburg and Boras have to be concerned about the potential for injuries or ineffectiveness if they choose to wait for the MLB.

So Boras has to work his magic.

He’s made the point that Strasburg is much better than any of the other draft selections; he’s used words such as extraordinary and premium in regards to his client, and he’s even referred to Strasburg as “a different breed of cat”—whatever that means.

For Strasburg to meet all of the expectations and hype that surrounds him would be as remarkable as the contract that Boras is trying to get for him. It’s going to be difficult for Strasburg to be the savior of baseball’s worst team when he can only march out there for his team once every five days.

If he works out, it will definitely be a step in the right direction for the team in the Nation’s capital, but a mistake involving that much money could set Washington back even further—and Americans have seen how giving out large amounts of money in that area works out.

If Boras can persuade the Nationals that investing so much money in a relatively unproven prospect is worth it, even with all the risks that come with signing high draft picks, than he should start performing tricks in front of large audiences in Las Vegas.

Strasburg’s ability warrants record-breaking dollars, but if everything doesn’t go well, the money can quickly disappear.

Last week was tough for the Jupiter Hammerheads.  Thursday’s game was rained out, Friday’s double-header was rained out, and on Saturday, the team lost both of its games.  However, on Sunday, Jupiter picked up a solid 3-2 win over Fort Myers.  And Gundy logged his second save with the Hammerheads, going an inning with two strikeouts and maintaining his respectable 0.00 ERA in 7 total innings with Jupiter.

While I would love for Gundy to get moved up, it’s nice that he is currently in Florida.  I’m excited to be visiting him again on Tuesday.

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.

• Worth $18.35 million per year? [Selig’s pay climbs past $18 million].
• Hopefully the $36 million will serve as an incentive to hit the strike zone more often [Sources: Perez to return to Mets].
• Versatile, powerful, fairly inexpensive…will he put up another .285 BA? [Reports: Orioles snag versatile infielder]
• No one wants to sign you? The LA Dodgers don’t count I guess [LA doesn't close door on Manny].
• The Washington Nationals are having a fun offseason… [Salary Arbitration Update].
• I’ll take Orlando Hudson with all of the risk involved [A remaining free agent breakdown...].
• Of the 216 players who filed for free agency, one of every three still does not have a job [Confusion, or collusion, in free-agent market?].

Football

• You have one of the best QBs to ever play the game on your roster and you may end up paying more to your back-up in 2009…very interesting [Cassel franchise tag to be $14.65m].
• Maybe, but I can’t get the image of him punching Aaron Francisco out of my mind [Steelers' Harrison Ready To Cash In].
• Matthew Stafford has CAA in one corner and IMG in the other [Stafford hires agent who represents Ryan].

This year, a lot of players drafted hit the jackpot.

Three of the four largest up-front bonuses ever were paid out, led by the Giants giving No. 5 overall pick Buster Posey $6.2 million. The 27 first-round picks who signed received an average bonus of $2,484,963, more than $300,000 than ever before, and an increase of 18.4 percent from 2007, the biggest jump in the era of Major League Baseball’s recommendations for bonus slots.

The house kept the money on Aaron Crow, though. But when the house keeps its money, there is no guarantee that the clientèle will come back in the future. Jim Bowden, GM of the Washington Nationals (the team that selected Crow), is not too fond of this vegas-style system.

The system doesn’t work. And, you know, I think it would be in the best interest of the players and the clubs and the fans if there was a hard slotting system, whatever the numbers end up being — let’s take the numbers out. The player has to sign into the draft. They have to say they’re going to sign, and sign into the draft. The clubs then are allowed to take the best player, and wherever you’re drafted, the slotting system will pay you whatever that value is. … It should be a system where you don’t have small markets trying to do pre-cut deals or small markets not taking the best player because they can’t afford him. It should be a system where everybody gets to take the best player when it’s their turn to draft, and the player should sign and go. We shouldn’t sit all summer. Aaron Crow shouldn’t have to go home right now and play for the Fort Worth Cats and sit out and wait ’til next year’s June draft and then maybe until August 14 before he signs again. I don’t think that’s fair to him, I don’t think it’s good for baseball, it’s not good for the club, it’s not good for anybody.

I just think a hard slotting system would be the long-term solution for our sport. To sit there and have the negotiations that took place with several clubs between 11:30 and 12 where you’re talking about huge movements with lots of players where some teams didn’t even have conversations with the agent until quarter to 12 last night, and deals got done at 11:59 with literally, I understand, no conversations for long periods of time. I’m not sure that’s the best way to do business for a sport.

Is it not fair to Crow or is it actually more fair to him to be able to negotiate his value instead of fall into a hard slotting system? If the MLB were to use a hard slotting system, would we then not allow high school seniors to enter the draft? What about Junior College players? To stretch the question even further, should we then allow college juniors to declare for the draft? What if they get selected in the 40th round. They should have to sign also? Obviously, there are issues with the current system. Players are hurt by holding out until the last second and even having to play a year with an Independent Ball team. Teams are hurt because they cannot sign some of their best picks and lose valuable time training them if they sign right before the deadline. Buster Posey is happy right now, but many on both sides of the fence are not. Is there a solution to this mess?

HOLLYWOOD, FL – May 29, 2008, It did not take long for Dan Leatherman to prove to the Washington Nationals that the Minnesota Twins made a mistake by cutting him this past offseason. In 4 games of work with the Nationals extended Spring Training squad, he logged 7 innings with a 0.00ERA, 11 strikeouts, 3 walks, and gave up one solitary hit. On May 28, he was sent to Hagerstown, MD to play for the single A affiliate.

Dan is happy to have moved up in the Nationals organization, but early signs show that he is not content with staying in the Minors. One day after being acquired by the Hagerstown Suns, Leatherman logged two innings against the Delmarva Shorebirds, giving up only one hit and striking out three batters. No runs were given up by Leatherman in his performance.