March 29 - Nationals Roster Update
by
Asher B. Chancey,
BaseballEvolution.com
March 29, 2006
In a rather shocking move, the Nationals have decided that Ryan Church will begin the season in AAA New Orleans and Brandon Watson, complete with 40 career Major League at-bats, will be the opening day starting centerfielder. Apparently, Watson hustled his butt off this spring, while Church generally fizzled.
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The Starting Centerfielder . . .
for the Zephyrs | |
Church was reportedly shocked, saying he didn't even realize that there was a competition for centerfield, while Watson was apparently told from day one that he would have an opportunity to win the job. Watson will play center and bat leadoff for the Nationals, who finished in last place in the Majors in offense last season (by a lot).
This move has its upside and its downside. Ryan Church was a highlight reel player to be sure, with solid defensive credentials, but Watson has apparently proven to be no slouch in the field either. Watson is more of a traditional, Brett Butler style leadoff guy – bunting for hits, slapping singles, stealing bases. He also doesn't take many walks, which is a concern. His spring OBP was only about 50 points higher than his spring average. Last season in New Orleans, he hit .355, but his OBP was .400, which will make it harder for him to break slumps, and harder to contribute when he is having trouble putting the ball through the infield. But Church, to be sure, was not much better in this sense, anyway.
The best thing about this move is that it means that Alfonso Soriano will
not be batting leadoff for the Nationals.
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| Done Doing What's Worst for the Team? | |
I understood why Soriano batted leadoff for the Yankees in his days there – with so many power hitters, and Soriano as the only base-stealing threat, he won the position by default. But on any other team, particularly a poor offensive team, Soriano's power hitting and lack of on-base percentage make him, in my mind, more of a three four or five hitter, even despite his speed. He has registered 90 plus RBI the last four seasons, while faring far worse in the on-base department than you would want a leadoff guy to fare. As a cleanup hitter, Soriano is a bonus because he adds speed to his power, but as a leadoff hitter, Soriano is a detriment because he doesn't get on base.
So the Nationals outfield, for the time being, is comprised of Jose Guillen, Brandon Watson, and Alfonso Soriano, which is at least fast enough to be decent.
Clayton Officially the Starter
In other news, a quick check of the Nationals Depth Chart reveals a
huge improvement at shortstop as Royce Clayton is officially the starting shortstop for the Nationals, as Guzman will start the year on the 15-day disabled list. There are not a lot of teams in baseball, or in baseball history, for whom Clayton would be a huge improvement, but not a lot of players have performed as poorly as Guzman did last year.
So, the Nationals infield is now Nick Johnson, Jose Vidro, Royce Clayton, and Ryan Zimmerman, which has the potential to be very good, but could easily fizzle. Nick Johnson, as I explained in my preview, reminds me of Todd Helton when he is healthy, but that isn't often. Jose Vidro is an All Star, though a tad on the empty average side, Clayton is a solid defender, and Zimmerman has never been anything but successful, and hit two dingers yesterday.
You know, this team could definitely be worse.
To see Asher's full Nationals coverage, go to the
D.C. Daily Diary.
Disagree with something? Got something to add? Wanna bring up something totally new? Asher resides in Alexandria, VA, and can be reached at asher@baseballevolution.com.
