Nationals Farm Authority

I was out of town and there were a few bits of Nationals minor league news that came out. In no particular order:

• The Nationals named their minor league player and pitcher of the year. For the second straight year, Kory Casto was named Player of the Year. He was clearly the top performer overall and his selection was no surprise. The choice as Pitcher of Year was much more unexpected, but not undeserved. 2006 6th round draft pick Zech Zinicola was tabbed as the pitcher. While his performance was solid, it was more a testament to the struggles of the top pitching prospects entering 2006. Pitchers like Collin Balester, Clint Everts, and Mike Hinckley underperformed thus allowing Zinicola to earn the honors.
• The Nationals also outrighted RHP Roy Corcoran, OF George Lombard and IFs Melvin Dorta and Henry Mateo to AAA New Orleans (Columbus beginning in 2006), they then reinstated OF Alex Escobar, LHP Micah Bowie and RHPs Shawn Hill and John Patterson from the 15-Day DL. This was a procedural manuever as teams are required to clear their DL prior to off-season activities. Corcoran and Dorta are the most likely to return in 2007, but only as minor league invites. The status of Lombard and Mateo are more uncertain.
• The Nationals are currently at 35 active players on their 40-man roster. In time, Luis Ayala and Cristian Guzman will be activated bringing that total to 37. Of those 37 players, four are free agents. OF Alfonso Soriano, CA/1B Robert Fick and RHPs Tony Armas and Ramon Ortiz are all likely to file for free agency, which will bring the Nationals to 33 on their 40-man roster (OF Jose Guillen is also a likely free agent but is on the 60-day and does not count against the 33).
• I’ve been remiss on keeping up to date on performances in Hawaii, here is a quick summary through the first week: