For those that missed the guidelines I am using for this series of posts, you can find them here.
Team #13: Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)
General Managers(since 1994)
Kevin Malone (1994-1995): 140-118
Jim Beattie (1996-2001): 434-538
Omar Minaya (2002-2004): 233-253
Jim Bowden (2005-2008): 287-282
Mike Rizzo (2009-Current): 59-103
Team Performance
Playoffs | Division Finish | ||||||
WC | League | Playoff App | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
All information is drawn from Baseball Reference.
Position | Name | Acquired | Years with Org. |
Stats with Organization |
Left? |
C | Brian Schneider | 1995 – 5th Rd | 12 | 757 gm, .252/.323/.377, 47 HR, 294 RBI | Traded to NYM – 11/30/07 |
1B | Geoff Blum | 1994 – 7th Rd | 7 | 317 gm, .254/.323/.409, 28 HR, 113 RBI, 11 SB | Traded to HOU – 3/12/02 |
2B | Brandon Phillips |
1999 – 2nd Rd | 3 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to CLE – 6/27/02 |
3B | Ryan Zimmerman | 2005 – 1st Rd (4) | 5 | 1 All Star Appearance, 1 Gold Glove, 1 Silver Slugger 693 gm, .286/.351/.483, 108 HR, 416 RBI, 20 SB |
Currently with Org. |
SS | Orlando Cabrera | Int’l FA – 1993 | 11 | 1 Gold Glove 904 gm, .267/.315/.405, 66 HR, 381 RBI, 93 SB |
Traded to BOS – 7/31/04 |
LF | Jason Bay | 2000 – 22nd Rd | 2 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to NYM – 3/24/02 |
CF | Grady Sizemore | 2000 – 3rd Rd | 2 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to CLE – 6/27/02 |
RF | Vladimir Guerrero |
Int’l FA – 1993 | 10 | 4 All Star Appearances, 3 Silver Sluggers 1004 gm, .323/.390/.588, 234 HR, 702 RBI, 123 SB |
Left via FA – 10/27/03 |
DH | Milton Bradley | 1996 – 2nd Rd | 5 | 109 gm, .222/.288/.332, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 9 SB | Traded to CLE – 7/31/01 |
SP | Cliff Lee | 2000 – 4th Rd | 2 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to CLE – 6/27/02 |
SP | Javier Vazquez | 1994 – 5th Rd | 9 | 64-68, 4.16 ERA, 1229.1 IP, 1076 K, 331 BB, 1.274 WHIP | Traded to NYY – 12/16/03 |
SP | Stephen Strasburg | 2009 – 1st Rd (1) | 1 | 5-2, 2.32 ERA, 75 K, 15 BB, 1.067 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
SP | John Lannan | 2005 – 11th Rd | 5 | 22-35, 4.19 ERA, 498 IP, 240 K, 192 BB, 1.434 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
SP | Armando Galarraga | Int’l FA – 1998 | 7 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Traded to TEX – 12/8/05 |
RP | Craig Stammen | 2005 – 12th Rd | 5 | 6-11, 5.29 ERA, 199 IP, 97 K, 51 BB, 1.372 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
RP | Miguel Batista | Int’l FA – 1988 | 3+1 | 12-15, 4.54 ERA, 333 IP, 232 K, 153 BB, 1.523 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
RP | Ross Detwiler | 2007 – 1st Rd (6) | 3 | 1-7, 4.71 ERA, 48 K, 36 BB, 1.568 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
RP | Marco Estrada | 2005 – 6th Rd | 4 | 0-1, 7.20 ERA, 20 IP, 19 K, 9 BB, 1.600 WHIP | Selected by MIL – 2/3/10 |
RP | Collin Balester | 2004 – 4th Rd | 6 | 4-11, 5.85 ERA, 112.1 IP, 72 K, 42 BB, 1.513 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
CL | Drew Storen | 2009 – 1st Rd (10) | 1 | 2-2, 2.73 ERA, 29.2 IP, 26 K, 14 BB, 1.281 WHIP | Currently with Org. |
BN | Mark Grudzielanek | 1991 – 11th Rd | 7 | 1 All Star Appearance 492 gm, .281/.320/.378, 19 HR, 161 RBI, 77 SB |
Traded to LAD – 7/31/98 |
BN | Roger Bernadina | Int’l FA – 2001 | 9 | 102 gm, .255/.317/.374, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 12 SB | Currently with Org. |
BN | Jamey Carroll | 1996 – 14th Rd | 9 | 336 gm, .269/.344/.338, 2 HR, 54 RBI, 14 SB | Purchased by COL – 2/11/06 |
BN | Wilson Valdez | Int’l FA – 1997 | 5 | No Major League Appearances with Org. | Selected by FLA – 3/29/02 |
BN | Ian Desmond | 2004 – 3rd Rd | 6 | 115 gm, .257/.296/.418, 10 HR, 54 RBI, 10 SB | Currently with Org. |
June Amateur Draft
For as bad as this team has been overall in the last 15 years, you would think that their first round picks would have developed a lot better. Stephen Strasburg gives a lot of hope for the organization, and Bryce Harper also will be there eventually. But the draft has been a lot of what could have been in Montreal if the ownership and the general managers could have held onto allow the team develop instead. Look at the list of players who made All Star teams for other teams: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Milton Bradley, Jason Bay, Brandon Phillips. This is a team that should have more to show for its draft than it does.
International Free Agency
The Nationals have done a lot better in international free agency than a lot of the other teams have done so far. Clearly, the cream of this crop has been Vladimir Guerrero. If only they had been under new ownership when he became eligible to be a free agent…. But the Nationals also had Orlando Cabrera and Miguel Batista, who have both had success in the Majors. While there aren’t a lot of players on this list who came this way, the quality is what makes me believe it is a better class.
Overall Grade
B. This is an organization that has definitely had some talent go through. This was one of the first teams where I was able to build a starting roster with a substantial amount of All-Stars, albeit not with the Nationals. The only weaknesses in the starting lineup to me were at C and 1B, but as good as the rest of the lineup is more than made up for it. The starting rotation is anchored by a pair of aces (Lee, Vazquez) and an ace-in-waiting with Strasburg. The only real weakness on the pitching side to me is the bullpen, which is mostly unproven or very raw.