MLB Network host Hazel Mae welcomed Baseball America and FOXSports.com analyst Tracy Ringolsby and his ten gallon hat onto the MLB Net's Hot Stove broadcast last night where the two talked about the Washington Nationals' starter Jason Marquis and rookie reliever Drew Storen, both of whom the hosts believe will make a significant impact on the 2010 Nationals' roster...
Hazel Mae: "Now one former free agent, not a Scott Boras client, and yes there are players out there who are not represented by Mr. Boras, one guy is Jason Marquis. Now on the surface, his signing wasn't such a big blockbuster deal, but why would Marquis joining the Nationals give their fans some hope, what's the story here?"
Tracy Ringolsby: "Well he's [Marquis] is baseball's rabbit's foot, you know he's a walking rabbit's foot. He's a guy that's been in the big leagues for 10 years and he's played on 10 teams that have gone to the postseason, nobody's ever done that before when they've moved around like he has, whether it's Atlanta, St. Louis, the Cubs, or even this past year, Colorado, all his teams advance into October. That's what everyone's shooting for, particularly a franchise like the Washington Nationals, they came into existence in 1969 in Montreal, they've been to the postseason once, that was in 1981, back when we had the split-season because of the strike."
When you recover from the shock of learning that the Nationals' franchise had a history in Montreal, find out which rookie pitcher Mr. Ringolsby thinks will make Washington's 2010 Opening Day roster after the JUMP...
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Hazel Mae: "Well it's still up in the air whether this "rabbit's foot" will be joined in the Nationals' rotation by No.1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg, but the Nationals have another rookie who's really caught your eye, tell us about this guy?"
Tracy Ringolsby: "Yeah, I think Drew Storen's gone underneath the radar a little bit. He was also a 1st Round pick last year, he just went nine selections after Strasburg, he went 10th overall. The thing about Storen was he signed right away, he wanted to get out, he wanted to start playing and he did a good job when he went out. He pitched at three levels in the minor leagues, he had 49 strikeouts in 37.0 innings, and the key for him is he's a bullpen guy. He doesn't have to have command of three pitches, he's got two real quality pitches, he can make that jump a little bit quicker, they can protect him a little bit, I think he's the one rookie pitcher from last year's draft that will stick with Washington when the season starts."
? For The DC Faithful...
Will Storen, one of three Nationals' prospects to make Baseball America's 2010 list of the Top 100 Prospects in baseball, make the Opening Day roster?
LINK: Check out Drew Storen's Baseball America Prospect Chat from Tuesday, 2/23/10.