In the Washington Nationals inaugural 2005 season, their expansion roster consisted of a few solid players (Jose Guillen, Livan Hernandez, and Jose Vidro), some declining veterans (Vinny Castilla, Esteban Loaiza, and Brian Schneider), and several promising youngsters. While most fans remember Ryan Zimmerman and Chad Cordero among those precocious prospects, no one player on that roster had more talent and superstar potential than RHP John Patterson.

Patterson was the 1st round pick, 5th overall, of the Montreal Expos in the 1996 MLB Draft. However, due to a technicality in the negotiation process, the Expos lost Patterson’s exclusive draft rights, and major league baseball declared him a free agent. After this decision, Patterson quickly signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a monster $6.075 million signing bonus. Patterson made his major league debut July 20, 2002 for Arizona and made a positive impression in his rookie season, posting a 3.23 ERA in his 30.2 innings pitched.

However, Patterson was unable to build off his successful rookie season and suffered a rough sophomore slump for the Diamondbacks, posting a 6.05 ERA over 55 innings pitched. Following this disappointing season, Arizona decided the following offseason to trade Patterson back to the organization that originally drafted him, the Montreal Expos, in exchange for lefty-specialist Randy Choate.

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After a promising but inconsistent first season in Montreal in 2004, Patterson blossomed when the team moved to Washington, making 31 starts for the 2005 Nationals, pitching 198.1 innings with a 9-7 record, a 3.13 ERA, a 1.195 WHIP, and 185 total strikeouts. Blessed with a blazing mid-90s fastball with late life, a devastating 12-to-6 hammer curveball, and a sharp, hard-breaking slider, Patterson had the look of a #1 starter and was considered one of the elite young starting pitchers in baseball.

Unfortunately, as rapidly as his reputation grew throughout baseball, the promise in Patterson’s pitching arm dissolved equally as quickly. Patterson was able to make only 8 starts in 2006 before coming down with a rather mysterious right forearm injury which forced him to undergo surgery in July and ended his 2006 season. Patterson returned in 2007 to serve as Washington’s Opening Day starter, but was a shell of his former self, providing the Nationals with a 7.47 ERA in only 31.1 innings before the organization shut him down for the season.  Soon thereafter Patterson underwent yet another surgery on his forearm.

As it turns out, 2007 was the last season Patterson would pitch in the majors, as the Nationals released him late in spring training in 2008 due to lingering forearm problems. Patterson was quickly snatched up by Texas, but they released him two months later, and he announced his retirement the following winter. For his career, Patterson finished with an 18-25 record with a 4.32 ERA, a 1.351 WHIP, and 415 total strikeouts in his 454.1 career innings.

After his retirement from baseball, Patterson moved back to his hometown Texas and is married to the former 2005 Miss District of Columbia, Shannon Schambeau. While other pitchers will go on to have lengthier careers in Washington, the first Ace of the franchise was arguably ole #22, John Patterson.

Nearly 10 days ago the Washington Nationals somewhat surprisingly promoted RHP Joe Ross to fill a vacancy left in the starting rotation by injuries to Doug Fister and Stephen Strasburg. In his first outing against the Chicago Cubs, Ross allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and no walks against 4 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched. This solid outing, along with the slow progress from injury by the Nationals’ veteran pitchers, provided Ross the opportunity to make another start, this time against the Milwaukee Brewers.

San Diego’s 1st round pick, 25th overall, in the 2011 MLB Draft and younger brother of All-Star Tyson Ross, Joe Ross had a rapid ascent through the Padres’ minor league system before being a part of a 3-team trade this winter that landed him in Washington.  Due to his aggressive promotion from Double-A and his potential future value to the organization, I decided to dust off an old feature and write an Armchair Evaluation of Joe Ross’s second career major league start, a game the Nationals won 7-2.

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From a scouting perspective, Ross’s delivery features more movement than is ideal, but his natural athleticism allows him to have a rhythmic tempo and repeat his delivery fairly well. He has a bit of an arm stab and a natural crossfire but these flaws do not seem to impact his command of the strike zone. Ross’s fastball rates as above-average to plus due to the velocity, command, hard sinking action and the impressive arm-side movement. His slider is also an above-average offering with short, quick biting action that he can locate for strikes or bury in the dirt.

The changeup needs work from this viewing, as it did not move much and certainly did not fool the opposing hitters. Wisely, he scrapped the pitch midway through his outing, much to the benefit of his statistical line but also showing a savvy beyond his years. Finally, Ross pitches with a moxie and confidence not often seen from a 22-year-old in his first month in the major leagues.

Ross has been extremely impressive in his first two big league starts, outpitching his box score in his first outing and shutting down a powerful Milwaukee lineup in an important game for the slumping Nationals on Saturday. He has a terrific pitcher’s frame, a solid repertoire, a repeatable delivery and the wisdom of a pitcher several years his elder. Certainly he could use some additional minor league experience to improve his changeup and continue to refine the movement during his delivery, but Ross is nearly a finished product. He does not project as a top-of-the-rotation starter due to his lack of elite velocity or a massive secondary pitch, but Ross’s durable frame and command of his pitches allow him to profile as a strong #4 starter – and if he can improve his changeup and polish his delivery, Ross has a ceiling as an above-average #3 starting pitcher.