CASTO LEAVING?
[July 28th] -- Where or where has Kory Casto gone, where oh where can he be?dd
Well, that was a rhetorical question, of course. He's playing pretty well for the Columbus Clippers this year. After averaging .283-20-83 over the last three seasons, Casto was given the opportunity to show what he could do at the major league level.
dd
It wasn't pretty, was it?
dd
In 54 at-bats for the Nationals this spring, Casto batted just .130 with an even worse .325 OPS. He looked over matched in virtually every at-bat during his short time in D.C., kind of like that kid who batted last for your Little League team. He was soon back in the minor leagues, plying his trade at 'AAA' Columbus. In 278 at-bats, he's hitting .255-11-40 with a solid .350 OBP. Had he remained in the minors all year, he would have likely had a year very similar to his previous years; about 20 homers, 80 RBI's and a batting average somewhere near .270.
dd
So why does is he now longer part of the team's future? Many hall-of-famers looked horrid early in their careers but were able to eventually hit big league pitching. It's not that the Nationals have lost faith in Casto, it's more like he's a victim of bad timing.
dd
With Ryan Church, Nook Logan, Ryan Langerhans (and the rest) doing so poorly, and with Alex Escobar still unable to mend properly, it would seem logical to give Casto another chance this year. My guess is, however, that the powers-that-be have put themselves in the position of creating a good team by next season, and they just don't have the time to give to Casto.
dd
The Nationals have promised an increased payroll next year and Barry Svrluga said earlier this week that he believes that it might reach upwards of $70 million next season. It's almost a certainty then that the team is going to upgrade left field after Ryan Church finally got the chance to show what he could do (and didn't do it very well). Heading into the new stadium, I don't think the Nationals can take the chance of going into spring training with an open competition between Church and Kory Casto in left. They need someone with a track record, someone who has produced corner outfielder numbers in the past and who will again. Casto can't play center and Austin Kearns, for better or worse, is set in right. He's not going to play third, and though he has played second, he didn't look particularly good there. That leaves first, and while he's not playing there now, Chris Marrero is likely the team's first basemen of the future.
dd
That said, Casto's future is not with the Nationals.
dd
The 2-year deal that Dmitri Young is about to sign tells me a couple of things. First, the Nationals' are still not comfortable with Nick Johnson's health. Johnson said this week that he's not going to return to the Nats until he gets the opportunity to play some rehab games, and the minor leagues close down in about a month. If he's not ready by, say, August 15th, then he's not going to play until next year, making first a very big question mark. Young, then, becomes insurance at first for Nick Johnson if he doesn't fully recover. He also becomes a logical choice for left field next year if Nick does return. Young has said several times that if the team is willing to resign him, he'd be willing to lose 25 pounds and play the outfield for the Nationals. I actually saw Young play the outfield years ago for the Cardinals, when he was much slimmer (and much younger). He wasn't as bad as you might think.
dd
If that happens (and there is no reason to doubt it at this point), Kory Casto has no future in Washington. If, as we are hearing, Jim Bowden is "buying" and not "selling," then Casto could be trade bait. There is no question that Casto isn't going to be a major league all-star. He has never been able to hit lefties, and that isn't something that changes out of the blue. But he does have the talent and ability to be a very strong platoon player. Remember, Mike Epstein hit 30 homers in 1969 in just 403 at-bats. Lefty platoon players play a great deal.
dd
If - somehow - Jimmy boy pulls off one of those "building" and not "burning" trades before the deadline, look for Casto to be at least one of the pieces heading out of town. With four solid years now in the books, Casto has proven that he can get it done; he just has to go out now and do it.
dd
I'm certain that Kory Casto will be nowhere to be found come next spring. That's very sad, because he's the guy we all rooted for to come save our embarrassingly bad team over the past couple of years. However, that the team can now get better without him says a great deal regarding how far we've come as a team.
dd
See ya Kory.
I'M STILL HANGING ON ... HANGING ON
[July 24th] -- Well well, look who's actually posting on his blog. I know, it's been two months or more since I last had something of consequence to say.
First, to all those who have continued to ask about my health, I am beginning to == finally! == feel better, and am quite certain that I'll soon feel well enough to begin blogging on a regular basis again. No question, much has changed since I last posted - a lot of good and some bad - and too much change is in the offing for me to remain on the sidelines for much longer.
My top 10 surprises of the 2007 season thus far (in no particular order)
1. Chris Marrero: His value dropped after a not-so-stellar senior year in high school. It seems now that Marrero's junior year was more indicative of his ability and maybe - just maybe - the Nationals got a top five pick in the middle of the first round. If he keeps this up, he just may be getting his first cup-of-coffee with the Nats next September. And wouldn't that be great!
2. John Lannan: I pride myself on knowing everything about everyone in the Nats' minor league system, but I first heard about him this year when he started the season 6-0 for the Potomac Nationals. Now, two promotions and 12 wins later, he seems poised to join the rotation (at least temporarily) almost any day. Could he really be as good as he's seemed this year?
3. Ryan Zimmerman: I thought 2007 would be his breakout year, but he's returned to flailing at those outside pitches again. Perhaps he's trying to do too much, trying to be "the man" in the lineup when there are no other men in it. Or perhaps he's just touching the periphery of the sophomore jinx. No question he'll rebound, though. If he's going to have a flat season, this is one where it doesn't make a lick of difference.
4. Jesus Flores: I know, he's not ripping the cover off the ball, but he is doing exceptionally well for a kid six months out of 'A' ball who gets to play once or twice a week. Remember, he would likely be playing for the Mets' 'AA' affiliate right now had he not been drafted by the Nationals. No questions he's the team's catcher of the future. Also, no question that Brian Schneider is playing as well as he can; there is no more upside to the guy. Is the upside enough for now? I think the question really is, "When will Flores be ready to take over?"
The Ronnie Belliard signing caught me by surprise, and it suggests something very interesting. There is little question in my mind that Jim Bowden would have pulled the trigger and traded Belliard had he received something of value in return. Not seeing any hope of trading for a "real" prospect," he elected to keep Belliard. Might this happen over and over again as the trade deadline nears? Rather than accept sub-standard prospects (something we had all to many of when the team moved here in 2005), Bowden seems happy to keep/sign some of these guys who are currently on the market. Either way, we'll know soon.
The word out of Arizona is that Livan Hernandez is available. How cool would it be to re-sign Livan during the off-season and let him pitch - and teach the kiddies - for a couple of years until more of the team's young arms mature. No question that we could afford him, and maybe, just maybe, he still wants to be the starting pitcher for the first game at the new park. Hmmm???
Have you noticed that no one is talking about Kory Casto anymore? After an embarrassingly bad stint in D.C. earlier this season (.130-0-3, 9 k's in 29 at-bats), it seems that "the gem of the farm system" is suddenly persona-non-grata. Why? Countless hall-of-famers absolutely sucked in their first call-up in the big leagues. I still think that Could hit .270-20-70 as a platoon player in the outfield (he just doesn't hit lefties very well). Casto, and Alex Escobar (or someone like him) could provide an inexpensive yet reasonable answer to the team's outfield woes in 2008. I say bring him up in September and let him play in the outfield for the rest of the year. What would it hurt, after all?
All for now. I wish all my readers well, and keep checking back. I'll return for good soon.
