SB Nation - Ryan Mattheus

Washington Nationals' Possible Candidates for September Roster Expansion

Dave at Nats News Network — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:54:55 -0000

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Collin Balester could rejoin the team as early as Sept. 1 when the major league rosters expand. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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With September 1 literally just hours away, major league teams can expand their active roster to include anyone occupying a spot on their 40-man roster. Traditionally, teams have utilized the "September call-up" in one of several ways:

1) For contenders, it's a chance to give their regulars a night off here and there in preparation for the gruel of the playoffs

2) For middle of the pack teams, it's often a reward to long-time minor leaguers or AAAA-types toiling in obsurity

3) For bottomfeeders, it's an opportunity for a chance to see that prospect that everyone is excited about, even for just a quick appearance

The Nats seem to fall into all three categories this year.

The Nats have already indicated that they will wait until Syracuse's season is over before calling anyone up, though. So any help will still be at least a week away from arriving in D.C.

Because of the rash of injuries, trades and bullpen struggles, general manager Mike Rizzo has already made the bulk of his September call-ups before the roster expansion happened. Jorge Padilla, Pete Orr, Justin Maxwell, Mike Morse...even pitchers like J.D. Martin, Tyler Clippard and Jorge Sosa would have been prime candidates, were it not for the need earlier in the season.

So who is left? Let's take a look!

ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER

By my count, with Justin Maxwell's impending promotion there are currently 14 players on the 40-man roster NOT on the active 25-man roster:

C: Jesus Flores (15-day DL), Luke Montz (AA-Harrisburg)

SS: Ian Desmond (AAA-Syracuse)

OF Austin Kearns (15-day DL), Nyjer Morgan (15-day DL)

LHP: Scott Olsen (15-day DL), Ross Detwiler (AAA-Syracuse), Matt Chico (AA-Harrisburg)

RHP: Collin Balester (AAA-Syracuse), Shairon Martis (AAA-Syracuse), Marco Estrada (AAA-Syracuse), Luis Atilano (AAA-Syracuse), Ryan Mattheus (minor league DL), Stephen Strasburg

60-day DL: OF Roger Bernadina, RHP Terrell Young, 1B Dmitri Young, RHP Jordan Zimmermann

Players on the 60-day DL do not count toward the 40-man roster, so there may still be some wiggle room to place a player or two on the 60-day to open 40-man space.

Of the 14 players on the 40-man, Flores, Morgan, Olsen and Mattheus are out for the season with injury. And from the sounds of this, Kearns is probably joining them. So we can rule all of those players out.

Rizzo has already been on record that Chico is not likely a candidate, and Strasburg's plans have been laid out in excrutiating detail. Additionally, Rizzo has all but ruled out a cameo for Drew Storen, blazing his way up the minor league chain after being selected No. 10 overall in this year's amateur draft.

That leaves Desmond, Detwiler, Balester, Martis, Estrada and Atilano off the 40-man roster eligible. It's been assumed that the Nats will recall a couple starters to relieve some of the burden from young arms accumulation of innings. But with the signing of Livan Hernandez, who eats innings as well as any pitcher in the majors, maybe that goal has already been achieved.

Still, I can envision seeing Balester, Detwiler, Martis and Estrada all being recalled and utilized as starters or swing-men in September.

And I'll also pencil in Desmond. He's had a terrific season, and the Nats have to be wondering if the best arm and range in their minor league system can handle the bat enough at the big league level to replace the very quickly aging Cristian Guzman and his bunions.

Atilano is 2-0, 2.45 in two starts since his promotion to Syracuse, and the one-time first round draft pick of the Altanta Braves has enjoyed a fine season overall, but the Nats are probably happy to let him finish the season and head into spring training.

As for players currently not on the 40-man roster? There are certainly some candidates, and most of them are bullpen guys that could again help manage the workload of some of the young starters.

OTHER PITCHERS

There are six relievers in Syracuse that could certainly get "The Call" : RHPs Zech Zinicola, Zack Segovia, Josh Wilkie, Clint Everts and LHPs Jack Spradlin and Yunior Novoa.

Segovia has some major league experince, a 2.70 ERA and five saves for Syracuse. Everts was the Expos 2002 first round pick. In 2009, in over 57.1 IP at three levels (Potomac, Harrisburg & Syracuse), Everts has been outstanding (8-1, 1.41 ERA, 1.116 WHIP, 10.4 K/9). Spradlin is 4-3 with four saves and has a 3.19 ERA and 1.212 WHIP across AAA-AA in 44 games. He has struck out an even 7.0 per nine.

Wilkie was an unheralded pitcher from George Washington University (sound familiar?) and has been promoted twice this season. Novoa has a great change but has only been "just decent" this season, despite being promoted three times this season. Zinicola (6.04 ERA) has struggled this year.

OTHER HITTERS

Most of them are already with the big club. Rizzo said the other day he doesn't envision calling up a third catcher just for the heck of it. Montz is the only other catcher on the 40-man, and he's really regressed this season (.184/.295/.314 in 347 plate appearances) after hitting 16 homers last season.

Could Seth Bynum (.263/.306./453, 18 HR, 62 RBI in 433 ABs), Kory Casto (.268/.332/.373, 7-55), Norris Hopper (.291/.342/.344, 23 SBs), Brad Eldred (.267/.338/.478, 16-56) or Daryle Ward (.235/.320/.389, 12-45) get promoted? Possible, but not likely. The only compelling possibility is Hopper, who is a plus defender in center. But you have to figure whatever at bats Wee Willie Harris doesn't get are going to go to Justin Maxwell, in what could make or break his tenure in the organization.

SURE TO BE INCORRECT PREDICTIONS

The Nats add a bunch of arms, but just one more hitter, injury notwithstanding.

From the 40-man: RHPs Balester, Detwiler, Martis, Estrada and SS Desmond

Need to be added to 40-man: RHP Everts and Segovia and LHP Spradlin

Your guess is as good as mine, though. Let's hear 'em in the comments.

Instant Analysis: Beimel Trade

Jabberwocky — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:29:08 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

Joe Beimel is a patriot.

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Using the handy-dandy Trade Value Calculator, the utility of which I've explained here, here's a breakdown of the Beimel trade from a WAR dollar value standpoint:

Joe Beimel

Beimel has established himself as a slightly above replacement-level reliever and will likely deliver about 0.2-0.5 WAR to the Rockies over the rest of this year (I'm projecting 0.3) at a cost of $800,000.

His primary value lies in his Type B free agent status, worth $2.5 million to Colorado. Here's what the calculator spit out given his contract situation and projected future production:

Year	Sal (M)	WAR	Val (M)	Net (M)	Sal (M)
2009	$0.4	0.3	$1.6	$1.2	$0.4

FA Picks			$2.5
Total	$0.4	0.3	$4.1	$3.7

To the Rockies, Joe Beimel is worth about the same as Rafael Betancourt as a trade chip.

UPDATE: The Rockies are only paying $400,000 to Beimel for his services, making Beimel even more valuable to the Rockies. The numbers have been adjusted accordingly.

Prospects

The Rockies gave up Ryan Mattheus and Robinson Fabian, players that weren't even graded by Sickels--basically meaning that they has very little (or, more likely, no) major league value.

Conclusion

This is effectively a salary dump for the Nationals, as they received very little in return for Beimel--who could at least be moderately useful on the field and could be much more useful in terms of a compensatory draft pick. Is Beimel the left-handed savior to the Rockies bullpen, the piece that will put them over the top into the playoffs? Probably not, but he doesn't have to be--he's the sort of final piece that contending teams add to shore up their bullpens.

While the Betancourt trade was a pretty fair swap, this Beimel deal looks like a very clear win for the Rockies. This is a great trade for Dan O'Dowd, who in my opinion should definitely be back in years to come. In addition, the Monforts should be applauded for taking on the salary necessary to shore up the bullpen.

Wednesday Rockpile: Poor National (Ball) Security Helps Rockies

Jabberwocky — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:16:42 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

On second thought Joe, maybe you should have stayed in Los Angeles...

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Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
Oh the Places You'll Go, Dr. Seuss.

The Rockies (44-39) won an error-filled, gift-wrapped game 5-4 over the hapless Washington Nationals (24-57). For the most part, the Nationals seemed to be playing against themselves, contending to see who could blow the game first and most creatively.

Willie Harris, perhaps too used to playing in the outfield, eschewed wearing a cup--which predictably turned a routine grounder to second into a painful incident and ultimately two Rockies runs that tied the game in the fourth. Then there was Cristian Guzman (he who is among the last five for the All-Star team slot) just flat out missing a routine chance to short in the seventh. And finally, Joe Beimel came on with two on and one out, got an easy comebacker, and promptly threw it past the base, enabling the Rockies to eventually push across the go-ahead run.

This on a night in which Washington left five runners in scoring position with two outs (six runners stranded from the sixth on), against a pitcher (Jason Hammel) who admitted "It could've been really bad. I honestly had nothing -- fastball all over the place, couldn't even get to the off-speed stuff because I couldn't locate a fastball."

Credit the Rockies though: they took advantage of two out of the three chances given by the Nationals' errors. In addition, Colorado's bullpen, anchored by the return of Franklin Morales, was nails: five men combined for 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up only two hits. Morales provides the possibility of a power arm, a long man, and a LOOGY--in other words, he's a valuable commodity to have in the bullpen.

Perhaps the most remarkable element of an unusual win by the Rockies was the fact that Alan Embree's mere presence was sufficient to cause Austin Kearns to fall on his face on the basepaths as he was picked off--meaning that in his winning effort Embree never actually threw a pitch. It was only the second time in recorded history (since 1986, when STATS, Inc. starting keeping track) that this had occurred.

Rowbots (and Rowbettes), you just witnessed history last night--the kind of history that, when you took the strange game into context, oddly made sense. Troy Renck likened it to a circus, a particularly apt description.

More news and analysis after the jump...

Local Media

Franklin Morales is happy to be back. Also mentioned in the article is speculation that the Red Sox could trade for Garrett Atkins due to Mike Lowell's injury. I hope that such a deal can get done, because Boston has a surplus of bullpen arms from which to deal from.

On a sour note, Rockies bullpen prospect (and member of the 40 man roster) Ryan Mattheus needs Tommy John surgery, knocking him out of the picture for the near future. The article does mention that star prospect Christian Friedrich is working his way back into the starting rotation of Modesto after suffering left elbow inflammation.

Draft Update

As Rox Girl noted yesterday, the Rockies signed 34th overall pick Rex Brothers as well as second-rounder Nolan Arenado and third rounder Ben Paulsen. Troy Renck has more on these prospects, while Baseball America's Jim Callis notes that Brothers and Paulsen both signed slightly above their slot recommendation.

Brothers signed for $969,000 (slot $918k) while Paulsen was inked for $391,000 (slot $387k).

For more information on these prospects, see my previous Purple Row post that links to scouting reports and video of the prospects.

National Media

Ken Rosenthal chimes in with notes on Jason Hammel, Everth Cabrera, Clint Barmes, the Rockies' schedule, and Eric Young, Jr. Rosenthal ponders Barmes for Matt Capps--a deal that I would do in a New York minute.

Two methods of power rankings: Larry Dobrow of CBSSports puts the Rockies eighth while Nino Colla of the Bleacher Report groups teams by class, placing the Rockies squarely in the middle.

Wednesday Pebble Report:

Russ Oates — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:27:07 -0000

Colorado Springs, 7-7, suspended due to rain: Mark Bellhorn knocked a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Carlos Gonzalez also chipped in two RBI. Mike McCoy scored three times and stole his 15th base of the season.

Ryan Speier and Ryan Mattheus combined to allow six runs in the eighth inning, putting the score at 7-7. Five of the runs came on two-run and three-run homers.

Tulsa: The Texas League had no games scheduled yesterday.

Modesto: The California League didn't schedule any games, too.

Asheville, W 2-1, L 0-2: In the first game, Scott Robinson and Thomas Field knocked in the runs, and Delta Cleary stole his seventh base. Ethan Hollingsworth threw a seven-inning complete game. He struck out seven and allowed four hits.

In the second game, Jordan Pacheco went 3-for-3 with a double, and Tyler Massey hit his second triple of the season. The Tourists managed five hits (Kiel Roling had the other one). Jonnathan Aristil threw three innings of shutout baseball before giving way to Isaiah Froneberger. He allowed both runs on four hits and two walks.

Saturday Pebble Report: Three wins and a loss

Russ Oates — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:04:04 -0000

Colorado Springs, W 4-2: Carlos Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI in this victory. He had RBI singles in the third and fifth innings. On the former one he tried advancing to second on the throw but wound up recording the second out of the inning there. Eric Young, Jr. stole his 23rd base.

Alan Johnson went seven innings, allowing a run on four hits and striking out six. Ryan Matheus allowed three hits in his inning of work and struck out two.

Tulsa, W 5-1: Esmil Rogers turned in a fine start by pitching seven innings of three-hit ball and striking out eight (he did allow the run). Ryan Speier walked one batter in his inning of work, but he did get all three of his outs as ground balls.

Michael McKenry went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer (4), and two RBI. Chris Nelson and Ryan Harvey each had two hits, the former driving in a run and the latter scoring a run

Brad Corley, originally drafted out of high school by the Rockies in the 16th round of the 2002 draft and then drafted out of Mississippi State by the Pirates in the 2nd round of the 2005 draft, is now with the Drillers. He's currently batting 1.000 after going 1-for-1 with a fielding error.

Modesto, W 3-2: Jeff Cunningham's RBI double in the top of the seventh inning broke the 2-2 tie and sent Modesto on its way to victory. Cunningham went 3-for-4 with two doubles. Jason Van Kooten also had three hits.

Brandon Durden (every time he appears in a Pebble Report I want to write "Tyler Durden") went six innings and allowed both runs, though only one was earned. Craig Baker picked up his 13th save.

Asheville , L 6-7: The lone affiliate to lose last night, Asheville struck out 15 times. Beau Seabury struck out four times and Carlos Martinez did it thrice. Delta Cleary was the only hitter not to strike out, and he went 3-for-4 with a double and his second homer of the season. Scott Robinson hit his first homer of the season, and David Christensen had a triple.

Robinson Fabian allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings, though the final two runs credited to Fabian scored with Michael Marbry on the mound. Marbry allowed two more runs in the seventh on a homer.

Saturday Pebble Report

Russ Oates — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:15:54 -0000

Colorado Springs, W 8-4: Sal Fasano clubbed a three-run homer and Matt Miller knocked one out of the park in this Sky Sox victory. Mike McCoy had a triple and two RBI. Josh Fogg allowed three runs (two on a homer) in 5 1/3 innings.

Tulsa, L 7-9: Mike Paulk hit a three-run homer in the first inning as part of his 2-for-3 night at the plate. Darin Holcomb knocked in two runs. Keith Weiser allowed two two-run homers as part of the seven runs he saw cross home plate in six innings of work. Ryan Mattheus took the loss after he allowed two runs in the top of the ninth.

Modesto, W 6-5 in 12 innings: In the bottom of the 12th, Hector Gomez singled and then advanced to third on a Brian Rike single. After Jason Van Kooten grounded out, Jay Cox reached base on a fielding error that allowed Gomez to score the winning run. Gomez went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Charlie Blackmon collected four hits, a run scored, a triple, and an RBI.

Modesto pitchers piled up the strikeouts last night, starting with Connor Graham's seven. He did, however, allow those five runs in 5 2/3 innings. Hector Luna actually inherited three runners and allowed all three to be charged to Graham. The pitchers combined to strike out 17 Giants, including Ryan Speier's two. Speier allowed a hit and a walk but no runs.

Asheville, L 1-5: Jimmy Cesario hit his third homer of the season, and that was about it for the offense. Robinson Fabian allowed four runs in seven innings and struck out five.

Erik Wetzel went on the DL for a broken hand, leading to RHP Stephen Dodson taking that spot on the roster.

Wednesday Pebble Report: Rain, rain, go away.

Russ Oates — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:32:02 -0000

Colorado Springs, L 2-4: Dan Ortmeier had a two-run single in the first, and that was about it for the Sky Sox offense last night. Josh Fogg allowed four runs on four hits and three walks in six innings. Jarrett Grube struck out three batters in his inning of work.

Tulsa: Postponed due to rain.

Modesto, L 3-4: Despite taking the loss, Ryan Mattheus made his 2009 debut. It was a rough one, though. He started the inning by hitting a batter, which was followed by a Wilil Rosario passed ball. After a strikeout, there was an intentional walk. This all led to a run-scoring single to put Rancho Cucamonga up 4-3. Brandon Durden (I really want to call him Tyler Durden) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and striking out seven.

Radames Nazario went 3-for-4 with two doubles and Hector Gomez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Asheville: Postponed due to rain.

Tuesday Rockpile: Hirsh, 12 others sent to minors; Injury Report

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:00:10 -0000

As you may know, RHP Jason Hirsh has been assigned to minor league camp. The monstrous starting pitcher was viewed as a solid candidate for the fifth starter position but has greatly disappointed, as seen by the continued presence of Jhoulys Chacin, Greg Reynolds, Matt Belisle and Josh Fogg, all whom Hirsh was favored over to start Spring Training.

Also sent down were RHPs Samuel Deduno, Shane Lindsay, Ryan Mattheus, Matt Daley, Brandon Hynick and Steven Register, IFs Hector Gomez, Chris Nelson and Eric Young, Jr., LHP Cedrick Bowers, C Michael McKenry and OF Matt Miller were also assigned to the minors.

RHP Jhoulys Chacin may have posted a 9.00 ERA in his start Monday, but he pitched much better than that number would indicate. Thanks to Troy Renck, Clint Hurdle's take on the youngster's start:

He does have a feel for what he’s doing. He’s being challenged at this level and we wanted to get him out there in a starting opportunity. I saw a kid with good mound presence that can sink the ball. I haven’t talked that far (on whether he will get another another start)

Tracy Ringolsby updated his rankings for the LF, 5th starter, bullpen and bench spots. Nothing too surprising, although he has Omar Quintanilla ranked higher than both Jeff Baker and Ian Stewart.

Injuries: Baker really hasn't had much of a chance to make his case due to injury, but Baker will start at third base today. Greg Smith is scheduled to return to the mound Wednesday in a minor league game. Troy Renck reports that Garrett Atkins isn't getting any better, as his hip flexor injury has apparently mysteriously migrated to his groin.

If spring stats meant anything, we'd know that Todd Helton's back surgery completely reversed his ability, as his SLG% now sits 4 times higher than his OBP this spring. All kidding aside, it sure is sweet to see Todd leading the team in home runs again.

What's on tap: Ubaldo Jimenez returns to the Rockies to pitch against the Kansas City Royals at 2MDT at Hi Corbett Field.

Rockies Find New Ways to Keep the Streak Alive; Now 0-7

theoldgrizzlybear — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:35:42 -0000

It is another day, meaning the Rockies lost another Spring Training game, this time falling to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix.

This one was different, though, as the Rockies offense was able to muster up 6 runs against the Brew Crew's pitchers (mainly just Carlos Villanueva and Mitch Stetter), and got 2-run homers from Dan Ortmeier and Seth Smith. Omar Quintanilla added to his impressive spring totals with 2 more hits, and Eric Young Jr. and Paul Phillips each chipped in with RBI singles as well. However, the bullpen (and pitching in general) failed the Rockies again, with the final dagger coming when Ryan Mattheus served up a 2-run home run off the bat of Trot Nixon in the bottom of the 8th inning - the last of four gopher balls that the Rockies gave up on the afternoon.

Colorado likely stuck to their strategy of feeding meatballs to the opposition, a statement backed by the following pitching lines:

Greg Smith - 3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR

Greg Reynolds - 3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 HR, 2 K

Ryan Mattheus - IP, 3 H (all XBH), 2 ER, HR

In between all of the fail, Alan Embree pitched a solid 1-2-3 inning in which he struck out a batter (Prince Fielder).

The Rockies are off tomorrow, and will be back at it again (hopefully, not in typical fashion) Thursday in an exhibition (isn't every ST game an exhibition?) game against Mexico's WBC team.

Wrap rating:

via willbecontinued.files.wordpress.com

Tuesday Pebble Report: Compiled Top Prospects Lists for the Colorado Rockies

Russ Oates — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:30:07 -0000

Here's a look at how our PuRPs list compares with three of the more reputable prospect rankings. Baseball America won't have the Rockies list until January 26.

Rank	Minor League Ball	BP	PuRPs	BA
1	Dexter Fowler	Dexter Fowler	Dexter Fowler	?
2	Jhoulys Chacin	Jhoulys Chacin	Jhoulys Chacin	?
3	Christian Friedrich	Wilin Rosario	Christian Friedrich	?
4	Wilin Rosario	Christian Friedrich	Brandon Hynick	?
5	Connor Graham	Casey Weathers	Michael McKenry	?
6	Michael McKenry	Michael McKenry	Eric Young, Jr.	?
7	Eric Young, Jr.	Hector Gomez	Chris Nelson	?
8	Aneury Rodriguez	Connor Graham	Casey Weathers	?
9	Casey Weathers	Eric Young, Jr.	Charlie Blackmon	?
10	Charlie Blackmon	Charlie Blackmon	Connor Graham	?
11	Darin Holcomb	Seth Smith	Aneury Rodriguez*	?
12	Will Harris	-	Hector Gomez*	?
13	Dan Mayora	-	Wilin Rosario	?
14	Hector Gomez	-	Keith Wesier	?
15	Seth Smith	-	Darin Holcomb	?
16	Chris Nelson	-	Chaz Roe	?
17	Brandon Hynick	-	Joe Koshansky	?
18	Parker Frazier	-	Shane Lindsay	?
19	Chaz Roe	-	Delta Cleary	?
20	Delta Cleary	-	Cory Riordan	?
21	-	-	Everth Cabrera**	?
22	-	-	Matt Miller	?
23	-	-	Christian Colonel	?
24	-	-	Esmil Rogers	?
25	-	-	Jeff Kindel	?
26	-	-	Ryan Mattheus	?
27	-	-	Corey Wimberly	?
28	-	-	Jonathan Herrera	?
29	-	-	Juan Morillo	?
30	-	-	Aaron Weatherford	?

* - Tied for 11 on PuRPs list.

** - With the Padres right now after being chosen in the Rule 5 draft.