What will the 2008 Nationals lineup/rotation look like

[mojobo]

Just wondering what everyone thinks our team will look like next year. It's pretty clear that our 3B will be zimmerman, and we will probably have Guzman at SS until he goes on the DL, then Belliard at 2B and then it starts to be a little unclear to me. What do we do with Dmitri now that Johnson will be able to play and who do we go after in the offseason that changes our lineup?

[argentina_redskins]

Rotation:

Jason Bergmann (high K guy, should do better)
Shawn Hill (only #2 because of health issues)
Matt Chico (the only starter who actually started every game. 3.20 ERA since coming back from AAA)
Tim Redding (pretty solid in his starts)
John Lannan/ John Patterson (Lannan looked pretty good in his first few starts. Patterson has the stuff but is always injured).

in AAA:

- Joel Hanrahan
- Colin Balester
- Patterson/ Lannan
- Simontacchi
- Levale Speigner

[Jofizz]

I wouldn't guarantee that Nick Johnson will stay here now that we have a solid first baseman in Young. There was talk of trying to move Dmitri to RF but he would have to lose around 20 lbs.

I would say Austin Kearns is a lock as well, and Nook Logan should be too, after the great second half he had here.

Wily Mo Pena will definitely be here. Bringing him to Washington was a brilliant move by Manny Acta.

Don't be surprised if there is talk of bringing Adam Dunn to the Nats this off-season, seeing that he will be a free-agent. He would add some serious power to our lineup. Bowden seems to go after his former Reds.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

I wouldn't guarantee that Nick Johnson will stay here now that we have a solid first baseman in Young. There was talk of trying to move Dmitri to RF but he would have to lose around 20 lbs.

I would say Austin Kearns is a lock as well, and Nook Logan should be too, after the great second half he had here.

Wily Mo Pena will definitely be here. Bringing him to Washington was a brilliant move by Manny Acta.

Don't be surprised if there is talk of bringing Adam Dunn to the Nats this off-season, seeing that he will be a free-agent. He would add some serious power to our lineup. Bowden seems to go after his former Reds.

I would welcome a Dmitri Young for Adam Dunn trade. To me, Young has his value as high as it will get, and its time to move him.

[Forehead]

Probably in the minority here, but I don't want Adam Dunn on the Nationals. I prefer hitters who give me 20-30 homeruns and a decent average over guys who hit .250 with 40 homers but strike out 180 times a season. That's pretty much what Dunn has averaged over the past four years. Also, as much as I love some players, the Reds haven't exactly been winning a lot over the last decade, so why bring in a ton of former players from that team?



Now then, as to 2008.

Catcher: Bryan Schneider. The guy has a great arm, and his offense can only get better, I hope. Flores showed a lot of promise, but now that he's not under the Rule 5 thing anymore, they may put him in AAA ball so that he can play every day for a year. This position is Flores' by 2010.

1st Base: Nick Johnson. Assuming health, which I know is asking a lot, especially with this guy. When healthy, he sees a lot of pitches, makes good contact, and he's much better defensively than Dmitri Young is. Young platoons/backs up as necessary.

2nd Base: Ronnie Belliard. They gave him a new contract, they may as well play him now. I would have done everything I could to trade Young/Belliard last season, but Bowden saw it differently. Felipe Lopez backs up.

Shortstop: Christian Guzman. I hate typing that, but he's ours for two years. Maybe we can package him in some deal. Lopez backs up here as well. My guess is that Guzman/Lopez/Belliard man the middle infield in various combinations throughout the season.

3rd Base: Ryan Zimmerman. Enough said, this guy is our cornerstone. I don't like that way his numbers dropped this season, but that's as much a function of the rest of the lineup not protecting him. Average dropped 20 points, OPS/SLG and RBI's all dropped. He did hit 4 more homeruns this year, and scored a few more runs. Will be interesting to see how much these numbers adjust with a full season in a smaller ballpark.

Left Field: I can't believe I'm typing this, but it might be Dmitri Young if the Nats just have to have his bat in the lineup. That might be a disaster. I'd like to see Ryan Church hold this down, but he never seems to be on quite the same page as management. Maybe they give Casto another shot.

Center Field: It's Nook Logan for now, though this could be addressed in the offseason. Justin Maxwell is probably two years away.

Right Field: Austin Kearns. Great arm, can't stay healthy, has never lived up to his power potential. He's 26 or 27 now, it's starting to be now or never. I want to like Kearns, but I'm not convinced we shouldn't be looking elsewhere for this position. One of the more vocal players about RFK's dimensions, so his power numbers had better skyrocket next year, or he needs to shut up.


Rotation: Shawn Hill, Jason Bergmann, Joel Hanrahan, Matt Chico, John Lannan.

Hill has a nasty sinker when he's healthy, this will keep him (and the team) in most games he pitches. He's not a true #1, but we don't have anybody who is. Bergmann is a competitor. Hanrahan, Chico and Lannan are young and need the experience, all have potential.

Of course, folks will ask about John Patterson. Well, he's been healthy one full season out of four, has only gone over 150 innings pitched once, has topped out at 9 wins, career ERA of 4.32. Let's just say that his body of work and injury history don't have me confident. Even when he's fully healthy, he's not a #1 on a good team. You can't mention him in the same breath as Peavy, Webb, Colon or even any of the younger guys like Hamels, Haren or Bedard. He's just not as good.

Redding, Simontacchi and Bacsik can be mixed in as necessary for injuries, as can Patterson. If you insist on having Patterson in the rotation, send Matt Chico to AAA ball, he could use a little more time down there.

Closer: John Rauch. I know it's going to be Cordero, this is wishful thinking on my part. Rauch is a better pitcher, and is a more intimidating presence. Truly, we don't have a good closer on the roster, but I think Rauch is best suited to it and could surprise.

So where does that leave us?

Field:
Schneider/2nd Catcher
Johnson/Young
Belliard/Lopez
Guzman
Zimmerman
Church
Logan
Kearns

Pitching:
Hill/Bergmann/Hanrahan/Patterson/Lannan
Simontacchi/Redding/Bacsic

That leaves us with six roster spots, as I'm leaving Chico in AAA to start. I assume Rauch/Cordero/Ayala/S. Rivera and Colome are our relievers, with this Schroder kid taking the last roster spot if we carried 14 pitchers. That usually doesn't happen though, so I'm going to drop Lannan to AAA to start and plug Redding into the 5th spot in the rotation. Use the last roster spot on a 3rd catcher or another outfielder if you aren't comfortably having Young in left field.

Of course, we will have injuries. We have a ton of pitching sitting at A-AAA ball, and Maxwell and Chris Marrero waiting for the call to come up and hit. Marrero will eventually be our first baseman. Some of these names may be traded for a power hitter. We shall see.

[RedskinsNation]

Phoward12 -- Guzman's contract expires after this upcoming season. We have him one more year, not two.

WM Pena will play LF before DYoung does. Neither are goldglovers but i dont think one can put YOUNG in LF w/a straight face and expect much.

Nook Logan is at BEST a bench player next year...I'd bet he will be gone this offseason (traded/released).

Kearns will be in RF but he's so mediocre...the team wont upgrade him cuz his contract is for 3 more years and I doubt he has a ton of trade value. That leaves CF as the position in need. JMax could start and play there but i doubt they will have him start off as the primary CF. I think they will push to sign someone....Hunter/Rowand/Jones. Therefore they can develop JMax along slower in the minors for another half season or let him be the 4th OF'er.

I dont think Church has a future here. He is a tweener guy. His max output is about 15hr's, 75RBI and maybe a .270 average. He is the poor man's Austin Kearns.

Batista, Fick & Jimenez will be gone. MAYBE Jiminez stays cuz M.Acta loves him.

We need to dump F.Lopez but I doubt we will. Belliard is a great BACKUP or role-player but I think we need a full time 2nd basemen.

[skinfan2k]

i dont think we can bring in anyone who costs more than zimm

[TheDoyler23]

i dont think we can bring in anyone who costs more than zimm

Zimmerman will be in year 3 next year, he'll make a million bucks or so.

[Posse81]

A few comments. I think some way, some how, the team will bring in another starting pitcher, maybe two to anchor the rotation. I'm betting it will be via trade but I think they get it done. Say they bring in one, then you fill in with Hill, Bergmann, Chico, Patterson/Lannan/Hanrahan behind him.

Either way, we have a little depth there. Yes, it's a bunch of #3 and #4 starters but I wouldn't feel bad about any of those guys starting for us.

Justin Maxwell could possibly stick next year. He's already 24 so I don't think they want to wait until he's 26 to give him a shot. He played pretty well in September. But I still think they go after a CF to play between Pena and Kearns. Maxwell can start the season in AAA and come up when someone goes down.

[SkinzWin88]

No way should Nook Logan be our full-time Center Fielder. This team will lose at least 90 games next season if that happens.

[SkinzWin88]

Barring any free agent signings, here's how I'd like our 2008 opening day roster to look as of now:

C - Brian Schneider/Jesus Flores (Schneider with all of his starts against righties)
1B - Nick Johnson
2B - Felipe Lopez
SS - Cristian Guzman
3B - Ryan Zimmerman
LF - Wily Mo Pena
CF - Ryan Church/Nook Logan (straight-up platoon)
RF - Austin Kearns

Bench: Flores, Dmitri, Belliard, Jimenez, Batista, Logan

SP - Shawn Hill
SP - Jason Bergmann
SP - Matt Chico
SP - Tim Redding
SP - John Lannan

Bullpen:

Chad Cordero
Jon Rauch
Luis Ayala
Saul Rivera
Jonathan Albaladejo
Micah Bowie (situational lefty)

Hopefully, Collin Balester, Ross Detwiler, Josh Whitesell, and Justin Maxwell can all find their way to the big league roster around midseason.

[skinfan2k]

skinswiz so you have us bringing in no1?

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

No way should Nook Logan be our full-time Center Fielder. This team will lose at least 90 games next season if that happens.

Agreed. Nook Logan is the bane of my existence. Viva la Brandon Watson.

[SkinzWin88]

skinswiz so you have us bringing in no1?

No, that's the roster I think we should have if we don't make any free agent signings.

I think it would be best if we acquire Dontrelle Willis and one of Dunn/Rowand/Hunter for the outfield.

[Funkyalligator]

Willy Mo has to be in the line-up for us....I think with a winter and such under his belt working with Harris and such, he could become a fearsome all around hitter for us....he could belt a ton of home runs especially in the new ball park...he is still young and is a freaking beast