NATIONALS Report
How different are things for the Nationals? Major League Baseball’s annual draft begins on Monday, and there is absolutely no buzz outside the organization. Inside it’s a different story. Washington general manager Mike Rizzo has long maintained it’s one of the most important days of the year for his club — the culmination of hours upon hours of work by scouts in the field, national cross-checkers, assistant general manager and the like.
But after three consecutive years drafting two phenoms (Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper) and a player considered the best hitter in last year’s draft (Anthony Rendon) with another first-rounder (Alex Meyer) and a compensation pick (Brian Goodwin), the Nats are picking 16th overall this time. There’s still hope they can pull a nice prospect — but that’s as much based on who the teams in front of them select. It’s really out of Rizzo’s hands this time.
This is a good thing, of course. High draft picks mean your team struggled the year before, and the Nats have had enough of that now. Excluding the compensation picks — Goodwin, Meyer and Drew Storen (2009) — in the seven drafts since moving to the District, Washington has picked out of the top nine just once — in 2006 when they took Chris Marrero No. 15 overall.
mlb STORYLINES
1 Cubs fire sale » Reports surfaced this week, including a story in USA Today, that everyone was on the trading block on the north side of Chicago. The Cubs are bad, and new team president Theo Epstein might as well embark on a true rebuild now while he has the political capital. Or before Cubs fans get wind of some of the truly awful contracts Epstein inked when he was still with Boston. Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, though. Epstein immediately dampened the flames when he said shortstop Starlin Castro, one of the game’s best young up-the-middle players, and pitcher Jeff Samardzija are not available.
2 Missing MVP » The Dodgers thought they had weathered the storm after losing outfielder Matt Kemp for 14 games this month with a strained hamstring. Still in first place in the National League West, Los Angeles welcomed last year’s league MVP back this week. Unfortunately, in the first inning of his second game back, Kemp pushed it too hard trying to score on an Andre Ethier double and did more damage. The team announced Thursday that Kemp would miss at least four more weeks. A weak showing by its division rivals so far should give Los Angeles a shot at holding on to its lead until Kemp returns — again.
3 Markakis surgery » The Orioles were already in the midst of their longest losing streak of the season as a surprise start begins to fade. But the news of outfielder Nick Markakis needing surgery to remove the hamate bone from his right wrist is a serious blow. Yes, Markakis has been a slight disappointment since signing his six-year, $66 million extension in 2009. But he is still a fine defensive player and a doubles machine. Unfortunately, the home-run power he does have likely won’t return any time soon. That surgery tends to sap a player’s power for up to a year afterward. Markakis could be out up to a month.
WHO’S HOT?
1. Carlos Gonzalez » After a slow start, the Rockies outfielder hit four homers in four consecutive at-bats earlier this week.
2. A.J. Burnett » The Pirates righty has won three straight starts and hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last two games.
3. Melky Cabrera » The Giants left fielder led the National League in batting average (.376) entering Saturday.
WHO’S NOT?
1. Pedro Alvarez » The Pirates’ former top draft pick has committed 10 errors at third base and is batting .205.
2. Ubaldo Jimenez » Indians traded for him last summer, but a 5.79 ERA is not quite what they had in mind.
3. Kurt Suzuki » The Athletics catcher has the worst OPS in the majors (.502) and is hitting .205 entering Saturday.
