While the Washington Nationals locked up the best record and home field advantage in the National League, some other players topped the charts in other categories. Let's take a look!
Most Wins (NL/MLB): Gio Gonzalez
Gio Gonzalez had a season certainly worthy of a Cy Young. The Nationals ace won 21 games and lost just eight. He finished the regular season with an ERA of 2.18 and fanned 207 batters. In 199.1 innings pitched, Gonzalez finished with a Walks, Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP) rating of 1.13. Opposing batters struggled mightily against him and had an average of just .206.
Least Amount Of Hits Allowed (NL): Gio Gonzalez
Yet another impressive stat that aids his candidacy for the Cy Young Award, Gonzalez allowed just 149 hits over 199.1 innings. He allowed 11 hits less than Edison Volquez.
Least Runs Allowed (NL): Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann
Zimmermann and Gonzalez both tied for tops in this category with 69 runs given up. Of those 69 runs, 64 of the runs were earned. That ties them for first in that category with Clayton Kershaw, as well.
Most Strikeouts (NL): Danny Espinosa
Poor Danny had a rough year at the plate. It started off well, however, as he was near the top of the charts in walks drawn to start the season. However, the old Danny returned as we moved through the season and he finished the season with an NL high 189 strikeouts.
Most Runs Scored by Rookie (NL): Bryce Harper
Who else but the run generating man himself? Harper scored 98 runs for the Nationals this season to lead all rookies in the National League by at least 15. Harper is most certainly in the running for Rookie of the Year after the sensational season that he had.
Most Triples by Rookie (NL/MLB): Bryce Harper
It could have been an infield hit and Harper would have tried to stretch it into a double. If he hit a bloop double into right field he would then try to stretch it into a triple. Harper led all rookies this season with nine triples.
Most Strikeouts by Rookie (NL): Bryce Harper
With great power comes great responsibility. Harper is going to have to learn when to take pitches and when to swing at them. He led all rookies with 120 strikeouts. Toward the end of the season, he started to get more patient in his at-bats, but he will still need to work on that in order to improve for next season.
The Nationals had a lot of great things happen this regular season. Adam LaRoche broke the 100 RBI barrier and Gio Gonzalez led the MLB in wins. As the Nationals head into the post-season, the Nationals will look to continue their winnings ways all the way to the World Series.
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Stat Source: ESPN.com
Showing posts with label Jordan Zimmermann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan Zimmermann. Show all posts
Friday, October 5, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Risky Business
Last night the Nationals drafted right handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. After his junior year of high school, Giolito was predicted to go first overall following his senior season. The Nationals got him at 16th overall. You may be asking....why so late?
Giolito sat out his senior season due to a sprained ligament in his throwing elbow. Since he had not seen legitimate game action in over a year, teams were nervous about drafting him. Teams also stayed away from him due to the injury that he sustained to his throwing elbow.
The Nationals and their fans know all too well what can happen when you injure your throwing elbow. Already, the Nationals have seen two of their own starting pitchers go under the knife for Tommy Johns surgery. Jordan Zimmermann had his procedure done three years ago and most recently Stephen Strasburg underwent to the procedure to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.
While the injury was a sprain and not a tear, the point still remains that Giolito's throwing elbow was injured. With that in mind, the Nationals need to be extra careful when bringing him through the system.
Many experts think that Giolito will move through any teams farm system quickly. However, the Nationals will want to take some time to make sure that everything is A-OK with his elbow. Trying to hustle the kid through the minors and into the majors would be a terrible mistake.
The last thing that Mike Rizzo and Co. want to have happen is stake their claim on this guy only to have him never make it past Class AA due to a reoccurring throwing elbow injury.
One thing that the Nationals do quite well is handle injuries. Strasburg and Zimmermann have both returned from their injuries just as good as, if not better than, before. They made a plan, patiently stuck to that plan, and the results have been fantastic.
Expect much of the same for Lucas Giolito. Don't expect the Nationals to try to quickly move him through the farm system. He is still a teenager and also an investment. He's got great stuff and can really be a big contributor to the Nationals for years to come.
The Nationals took a bit of a risk last night when they drafted Lucas Giolito. If they handle him just as carefully as they do the rest of their injured players, he's going to be a difference maker for this ball club.
Giolito sat out his senior season due to a sprained ligament in his throwing elbow. Since he had not seen legitimate game action in over a year, teams were nervous about drafting him. Teams also stayed away from him due to the injury that he sustained to his throwing elbow.
The Nationals and their fans know all too well what can happen when you injure your throwing elbow. Already, the Nationals have seen two of their own starting pitchers go under the knife for Tommy Johns surgery. Jordan Zimmermann had his procedure done three years ago and most recently Stephen Strasburg underwent to the procedure to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.
While the injury was a sprain and not a tear, the point still remains that Giolito's throwing elbow was injured. With that in mind, the Nationals need to be extra careful when bringing him through the system.
Many experts think that Giolito will move through any teams farm system quickly. However, the Nationals will want to take some time to make sure that everything is A-OK with his elbow. Trying to hustle the kid through the minors and into the majors would be a terrible mistake.
The last thing that Mike Rizzo and Co. want to have happen is stake their claim on this guy only to have him never make it past Class AA due to a reoccurring throwing elbow injury.
One thing that the Nationals do quite well is handle injuries. Strasburg and Zimmermann have both returned from their injuries just as good as, if not better than, before. They made a plan, patiently stuck to that plan, and the results have been fantastic.
Expect much of the same for Lucas Giolito. Don't expect the Nationals to try to quickly move him through the farm system. He is still a teenager and also an investment. He's got great stuff and can really be a big contributor to the Nationals for years to come.
The Nationals took a bit of a risk last night when they drafted Lucas Giolito. If they handle him just as carefully as they do the rest of their injured players, he's going to be a difference maker for this ball club.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Nationals Draft Pitcher
Last night marked day one of the three-day 40-round 2012 MLB Entry Level Draft. The first two rounds (round 1 and 1A) were completed last night. The Nationals selected once throughout the evening with the 16th overall pick.
With that pick, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. That's right, he's fresh out of prep school.
A bigger guy standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds, Giolito was anticipated to go first overall following an impressive junior high school season. However, a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (in the elbow) kept him off the field for his senior season.
According to many scouts around the league, Giolito has three very good pitches that he can go to when on the mound.
His fastball has been clocked at 96 MPH on the radar gun, but usually tops out at 93 MPH. His changeup comes out looking like a fastball, breaks like a split-fingered pitch, but is slow enough to get batters to swing way out in front of it. He also throws an excellent curve that one scout said has a very sharp break when it hits the plate.
Another thing that scouts rave when talking about Giolito is his location. He keeps the ball down in the strikezone. Doing so allows him to get a many ground-ball outs which also allows for quick innings.
One thing that worries me about this pick is his injury history. He has already injured a ligament in his throwing elbow. Nationals fans know all too well the dangers when dealing with an elbow ligament injury (see Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann).
It would seriously put a damper on things if Giolito doesn't have the stuff that he used to have. However, if he's anywhere close to it, the Nationals have made a great pick.
The Nationals have certainly figured out what they want to build their team around. Starting pitching was a focus during the offseason and it was certainly one last night.
Follow me on Twitter @SkinnyOnSports and don't forget to look the blog up on Facebook: The Skinny on Sports!
With that pick, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. That's right, he's fresh out of prep school.
A bigger guy standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds, Giolito was anticipated to go first overall following an impressive junior high school season. However, a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (in the elbow) kept him off the field for his senior season.
According to many scouts around the league, Giolito has three very good pitches that he can go to when on the mound.
His fastball has been clocked at 96 MPH on the radar gun, but usually tops out at 93 MPH. His changeup comes out looking like a fastball, breaks like a split-fingered pitch, but is slow enough to get batters to swing way out in front of it. He also throws an excellent curve that one scout said has a very sharp break when it hits the plate.
Another thing that scouts rave when talking about Giolito is his location. He keeps the ball down in the strikezone. Doing so allows him to get a many ground-ball outs which also allows for quick innings.
One thing that worries me about this pick is his injury history. He has already injured a ligament in his throwing elbow. Nationals fans know all too well the dangers when dealing with an elbow ligament injury (see Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann).
It would seriously put a damper on things if Giolito doesn't have the stuff that he used to have. However, if he's anywhere close to it, the Nationals have made a great pick.
The Nationals have certainly figured out what they want to build their team around. Starting pitching was a focus during the offseason and it was certainly one last night.
Follow me on Twitter @SkinnyOnSports and don't forget to look the blog up on Facebook: The Skinny on Sports!
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