Wednesday afternoon featured one of the better pitching contests one will see all season, as Jordan Zimmermann toed the rubber for Washington against David Price and the visiting Detroit Tigers. Washington has unfortunately had to deal with injuries to several of their hitters this spring, so I was curious to watch several of their reserves compete against a former Cy Young award winner.
In general the Nationals looked quite sharp Wednesday, defeating Price and the Tigers 9-2. Below are my scouting notes from the contest.
* Jordan Zimmermann appeared to be in midseason form, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 1 run on 2 hits with 4 strikeouts. Zimmermann was featuring a 89-93mph fastball (on the television radar gun) along with his impressive high-70s curveball and a sharp mid-80s slider. He pounded the zone well and appeared to be focusing on throwing inside, especially to righties. Zimmermann flew through the first two innings before seeming to tire slightly in the third, allowing a double to Anthony Gose and a sacrifice fly to Rajai Davis before being lifted for a reliever. This was a very solid outing and Zimmermann is trending toward another outstanding season.
* Currently ranked as my #8 Nationals’ prospect, Wilmer Difo has capitalized on the injury to Yunel Escobar to take advantage of the extra repetitions available this spring. Difo started at second base and batted leadoff for the Nationals on Wednesday, going 2-3 with 2 runs scored before being lifted from the game.
Difo was particularly impressive in his two at-bats against Price, ripping a double in the 1st inning and a triple in the 2nd. In his first at-bat the switch-hitting Difo flashed some legit bat speed along with his outstanding speed. The second time up, Difo worked the count before pounding the ball into the wind in left field for a triple, in which he went home-to-third in 11.22 seconds while coasting into third base. While his arm is likely not strong enough to play shortstop, Difo is an emerging talent with the potential for 5 average or better tools at the keystone.
These statistics have been compiled by the National Institute on Aging.Some major causes of memory loss are: “? Depression cialis generic pills and Anxiety – These disorders disrupt the in general daily functioning. There is a grass known to increase blood flow to the male cialis discount pharmacy reproductive system. Faulty veins drain the blood quickly from the male viagra generika organ. Each prescription viagra uk http://djpaulkom.tv/music-yelawolf-x-dj-paul-kom-light-switch-from-black-fall/ couple wants to make the most enjoyable sex moment. * Tyler Moore has been the offensive star of spring training thus far for Washington and although he went 0-2 with a sacrifice fly in the game, the results do not tell the story. Moore had three solid at-bats and scorched each of his three fly ball outs; in fact if the wind had not been such a factor, the first two outs would have gone for extra bases. He appears to have closed his stance slightly since last season (just my naked eye) and looks extremely quiet and confident at the plate, like he aggressively wants to drive the baseball. Certainly this is a small sample size, as the team has played fewer than 10 games, but Moore is well on his way to hitting his way to Washington for opening day.
* In the top of the 4th inning Wilson Ramos showed off his cannon-like throwing arm, posting a 1.81 pop time to second base in throwing out the opposing baserunner. So often we focus on his raw power at the plate or his lengthy injury history, but fans overlook how talented Ramos is defensively.
Wilson Ramos
* Somewhat forgotten prospect Drew Vettleson, one of three players acquired from Tampa Bay for Nathan Karns last offseason came over from minor league camp and flashed some impressive left-handed bat speed. In the 7th inning Vettleson turned on a 2-2 hanging slider and crushed a line drive over the right field wall. Vettleson has a short swing with extremely quick wrists which allow him to get the bat quickly through the strike zone. After an injury-riddled 2014, perhaps Vettleson is poised for a bounce back season in 2015.
* The other prospect in the Karns’ trade mentioned earlier, Felipe Rivero entered the game in the 8th inning and the wiry lefty showed an impressive, live arm. Rivero was sitting 94-95mph fastball along with a high-70s curveball with sweeping movement and a mid-80s changeup. Rivero’s delivery has plenty of effort involved in it, which when combined with his lack of mass, leads me to project him as a lefty reliever in the majors. However, with Jerry Blevins and Matt Thornton both free agents at the end of this season, Rivero could be a name to remember in the Nationals bullpen in the future.
* Finally, in his first game action of spring training, Nate McLouth served as the designated hitter and produced two quality at-bats. In the 5th inning, he worked a 10–pitch at-bat against Josh Zeid before finally striking out looking on a rather borderline call. Later in the 8th McLouth worked a 1-2 count before turning on a 91mph fastball for a single to right field. Certainly one single in spring training should be taken with a grain of salt, but considering McLouth could see plenty of action early this season due to injuries to Denard Span and Jayson Werth, it was a positive to see McLouth on the field and performing well.