Pitching purge complete

The Wild Things made another roster move involving an L2 player. Starting pitcher Mike Schellinger was traded to the Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League in exchange for left-handed pitcher Craig Snipp.

Schellinger, pictured, tied for the team lead in wins last year as he posted a 9-6 record and 3.95 ERA. Opponents batted only .236 against Schellinger.

Snipp (6-1, 190) is a from Lexington, Ky., and played at the University of Kentucky. He spent the last two years in the Can-Am League. Snipp was with the Grays – the league's traveling team – in 2007 and last year played for Sussex. He was 8-5 last year (4-0 in his last five starts) with a 3.94 ERA and has a 10-7 career record.

Snipp doesn't seem to be much of a power pitcher as he struck out only 57 batters in 107.1 innings last year.

Snipp was 7-5 as a senior at Kentucky and walked only 25 batters in 106 innings. At Kentucky, he was a teammate of former Wild Things pitchers Cory Hahn and Adam Revelette.

Snipp is classfied as an L1 by Frontier League roster standards.

Losing Schellinger completes the Wild Things' purge of last year's starting rotation. Aaron Ledbetter aged out of the league, and Schellinger, Brooks Dunn, J.J. Hollenbeck and Zach Groh have been traded. The only puzzling thing about this is the starting rotation wasn't the Washington's problem - it was the bullpen.

The Wild Things will have five new starting pitchers – Snipp likely will be one of the five - come opening day.

As for the Wild Things' L2 dilemma, Washington now has the rights to only three L2s (one over the limit): Jon Lewis, who is signed for 2009, Jacob Dempsey and Nathan Messner. Washington also has one open Veteran spot.