Trying times in Washington

The Frontier League will hold a two-day open tryout today and Tuesday at Consol Energy Park. After the tryout, a draft will be held with each of the FL's 14 teams required to select at least two players.

While the tryout and draft provides any player who shows up in Washington -- provided they are less than 28 years old -- the opportunity to take a shot at living their dream and play for a professional baseball team, the odds are stacked against these guys.

There was a time when Frontier League teams stocked much of their roster with players from the tryout. In 1994, before the league's second season, there were only 100 players who showed up for the open tryout at Chillicothe's V.A. Memorial Stadium. More than half of those players were drafted.

Today, FL teams build much of their roster long before the tryout. Those rosters are heavily stocked with players released from major league organizations. Even with the Frontier League's Rookie rules, it has become increasingly difficult for players with only college experience to make it through a tryout camp and onto a FL roster, then stick around for more than a few games or weeks.

The Wild Things have been one of best teams over the last 10 years at finding diamonds in the rough at these tryouts, and even their success rate is less than stellar. There were, however, a few impact players for Washington who took a chance and attended the league tryout with only a glove, a bat and plenty of hope.

Here are the 8 best draft picks made by the Wild Things and the year they were selected:

1. Jack Headley (2004) - The Wild Things selected Headley, who had played at Santa Clara University and spent one year in the Philadelphia Phillies' system, with the 11th pick. The outfielder batted .325 and stole 18 bases, despite missing part of the season with an injury. He made the league's end-of-season all-star team.

2. Stephen Spragg (2005) - Spragg was a steal in the 2nd round out of NCAA Division II Augusta State. The sidearming right-handed relief pitcher played two seasons in Washington, winning 13 games and saving 16 others.

3. Kyle Werman (2006) - One of the Wild Things' first-round picks that year, Werman was a sure-handed second baseman who started for  1 1/.2 seasons.

4. Justin Mattison (2006) - The left-handed relief pitcher was drafted by the Wild Things in2006, but  he didn't play in Washington until 2007. Mattison signed with San Diego after the Frontier League draft, was released at seasons' end and then joined the Wild Things. He played one season, going 6-1, 2.37 with two saves as a reliever.

5. Rene Quintana (2007) - A valuable backup infielder, Quintana was selected in the first round out of Union (Ky.), an NAIA school. Quintana batted .286 in 87 games over two seasons.

6. T.J. Graves (2005) - The corner infielder was at the league tryout for only one day but was still drafted by the Wild Things in the first round. Graves spent the entire season on the roster and batted .309 with 11 stolen bases.

7. Dan Horvath (2008) - Lefty reliever out of Bowling Green was drafted in the first round (4th overall). He pitched in 38 games over one season had a 4-1 record.

8. Mike Grady (2005) - Another lefty reliever. Was Washington's third-round draft pick but made the team and had a 3-2 record over 26 appearances.

All-Decade Team: Reserve

Only one player who has worn the uniform of the Wild Things owns a Frontier League batting title.


The only problem with that is, Chris Carter's batting title in 2003 came when he played for the Kalamazoo Kings and hit .364. Carter didn't join the Wild Things until 2005, after a year-and-a-half stint in the Baltimore Orioles' system, where he advanced to the high-Class A level.

An outfieler, Carter spent two highly productive years in Washington. While it takes consistency to win a batting title, Carter was one of the streakiest hitters the Wild Things ever had, yet one of their best.

In 2005, when the Wild Things won the East Division title by 10 games, Carter was batting a highly respectable .299 at mid-June. Then, for a 44-game stretch, he became the hottest hitter in the league and led the Wild Things' runaway to the division title and league record 13-game winning streak. During the stretch, Carter batted .313 with a nine home runs and a whopping 43 RBI. He had 18 multi-hit games during the hot streak.

Carter finished the year with a .286 batting average.

In 2006, Carter had another season of streaks. He was scuffling along at the end of June, carrying only a .240 batting average. Manager John Massarelli even kept Carter out of the lineup for a few days, hoping the outfielder could clear his mind and kick-start his bat. It worked. Carter batted a blistering .363 over the next two months and led the Wild Things to another East Division title, this time by a half-game over Chillicothe. When Carter started his torrid hitting on July 1, Washington was 8 1/2 games out of first place.

Carter retired after the 2006 season and is currently the Director of Baseball Operations for his alma mater, Coastal Carolina University. He gets one of the reserve spots on the Wild Things' All-Decade team, leaving two roster spots to be filled.

All-Decade Team: Chris Carter (2005-06)

Here today, gone tomorrow

Six days after signing with the Wild Things, catcher Marco Davalillo has been released. I haven't talked to anyone with the organization today, so I don't know why. Davalillo is from Venezuela, so it might be a Visa issue, though that's only a guess.

Washington has only two catchers under contract, and teams like to have a minimum of three, and usually four, catchers in camp for spring training. You have to think that one of the Wild Things' picks in next week's draft will likely be a catcher, which is not good news. The crop of catchers is usually weak at these tryouts.

Another ex-major leaguer on coaching staff

The Wild Things completed their coaching staff Tuesday by hiring former major leaguer Jim Tatum as hitting coach. Tatum played parts of five seasons in the majors with five teams: Milwaukee, Colorado, Boston, San Diego and the New York Mets.

His major-league career ran from 1992 through 1998. Tatum played in 172 major-league games, including a career-high 92 for the expansion Colorado Rockies in 1993. In 14 minor-league seasons, including eight at Class AAA, Tatum played in more than 1,200 games with a .292 batting average and 152 home runs.

 "Jimmy Tatum has spent 19 seasons as a professional player. His experience and success will help our offense tremendously," Wild Things manager Chris Bando said.

Tatum's task will be to improve Washington's offense, which ranked last in the Frontier League in batting average, runs and walks last year.

Tatum, like many on the Wild Things' coaching staff and roster, is from San Diego.

The Wild Things will have a four-player coaching staff: Bando, Tatum, Lenny Randle and Tim Ferguson. Each is new to the Wild Things and Frontier League.

During an interview with the Observer-Reporter last summer, Wild Things owner Stu Williams said a priority for 2012 was to have a coaching staff with plenty of major-league experience. Bando, Randle and Tatum each played in the major leagues. In their first 10 seasons, the Wild Things had only three coaches/managers who played in the big leagues: Kent Tekulve, Joe Charboneau and Greg Jelks. Bando, Randle and Tutum played in a combined 1,809 major-league games and had 2,435 at-bats in The Show.

All-Decade Team: Reserve

Left-handed hitting catchers are a rare breed. They're hard to find, which is why they are a coveted commodity in professional baseball. When you find a good one, you try to keep the guy around as long as possible.

So when a team has a left-handed hitting catcher who also happens to be the best defensive player in the league at his position, such as the Wild Things had for two years in Randy McGarvey, you feel like you've struck gold.

McGarvey was simply the best defensive catcher the Wild Things have had, which is saying volumes when you consider the defensive exploits and pitch-calling ability of Shaun Argento. McGarvey was a pitcher's dream -- nothing got past him and his throwing arm was strong, quick and accurate. He shut down an opponent's running game simply by being in the lineup.

When you add in that McGarvey was a capable hitter for the two years he was in Washington, you understand why he gets a spot as a reserve on this guy's Wild Things All-Decade Team. McGarvey is the 21st player selected on the 24-man roster.

McGarvey joined the Wild Things in 2004 after two seasons in the Houston Astros' system. He was one in a long line of former Coastal Carolina University standouts to play for the Wild Things.

The left-handed hitting McGarvey batted .223 in his first season with Washington, then saw a spike in his offensive production in 2005, when he batted .306 and had an eye-popping .428 on-base percentage.

Meanwhile, McGarvey was rock solid behind the plate. He threw out more than 30 percent of the basestealers who dared to run on him. In 2005, he led all catchers in fielding percentage. He committed only three errors in two seasons.

While there were a few catchers who threw out a better percentage of baserunners than McGarvey, none impacted the game like the big red head. Only the league's premiere basetealers even attempted to test McGarvey's arm.

After his two seasons in Washington, McGarvey played for the Atlantic League's Camden Riversharks for three years. In 2007, he batted a career-high .355 in 89 games.

All-Decade Team Reserve: Randy McGarvey (2004-05)

Outfielder added

The Wild Things picked up an outfielder Friday, acquiring Lyndon Poole from Abilene of the North American League for a player to be named.

Poole (6-1, 190) is a 25-year-old right-handed hitter. He is from Riverside, Calif., and played at Palomar College, a junior college in California's San Diego County. He was signed as an undrafted player by the Los Angeles Dodgers and and spent three years in rookie ball, with the exception of one game for Class AAA Las Vegas. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in that game.

Poole played the 2009 and 2010 season in independent ball, including 40 games over two seasons with Schaumburg, which played in the Northern League.

A career .208 hitter, Poole did not play professionally last year.

Shipped to the Pecos

The Wild Things cleared some room on their roster Wednesday by trading four players to teams in the independent Pecos League.

Washington sent catcher Brandon Peters, outfielder Rashad Taylor and left-handed pitcher Matt Kretchmer to the Roswell Invaders, and dealt former West Virginia University catcher Justin McDavid to the Alpine Cowboys. The Wild Things will receive players to be named in exchange for each of the four players heading to the New Mexico-based league.

Each of the players traded by Washington were signed during the offseason, and three had no pro experience.

Peters was the only catcher on the Wild Things' roster with affiliated experience. He was drafted by the Marlins and spent two years in rookie ball. Kretchmer played for several colleges including New Mexico State.

Taylor, you might recall, was signed out of Point Loma Nazarene University. Bando predicted Taylor would be "one of the most exciting players in the league. … I look for Rashad to catch everything in the outfield, steal bases and drive in runs."

These moves do clear room on the roster if Bando wants to sign more players who were released at the end of minor league spring training. According to my count (I've been using the Frontier League website's transactions page to keep track of the roster moves) Washington has 29 players under contract plus catcher Chris Anderson and pitcher Steve Grife, who are unsigned. Each FL team is permitted to have 34 players under contract, and all players chosen at the May 1 league draft in Washington are exempt from the 34-player limit.

UPDATE: The Frontier League just announced that Anderson has signed with Washington. The Wild Things also signed Marco Davalillo, a 21-yard-old catcher who spent two seasons playing for the Philadelphia Phillies' team in the Venezuela Summer League, and outfielder James Simmons. According to a story I found on the Internet, Davillilo's grandfather is the brother of former Pirates outfielder Vic Davalillo.

Though nothing has been announced by the Wild Things, I believe Simmons is a player who spent five years in the San Francisco Giants' system. He hit 10 home runs in high-Class A last year and was promoted to Class AAA Fresno, where he played 27 games and hit three home runs. In the five pro seasons, Simmons has a .239 career batting average and 81 stolen bases.

Clock is ticking

Two weeks until the Frontier League open tryout and draft at Consol Energy Park, which has me thinking ... shouldn't the London Rippers hire a manager or are they going to wait until after the all-star break?

Barnes is back

The Wild Things have re-signed another part of last season's starting rotation as Casey Barnes (pictured) will be returning to Washington.

Barnes was the Frontier League's Rookie of the Year last year when he was 5-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts before having his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies. The 2.34 ERA was third-best in the league.

Barnes was signed by Washington during spring training last year, after he was released by Traverse City. Barnes was a big reason why the Wild Things had the best ERA in the league and set the FL record for most quality starts.

Barnes was released last month by the Phillies.

Washington has re-signed four of its five primary starting pitchers from last year. Also back are Justin Hall (10-7, 3.22), Gary Lee (4-6, 4.18) and Jhonny Montoya (4-7, 3.77). That's a good starting point for new pitching coach Tim Ferguson.

In the last few days, the Wild Things have signed two other players who were released during minor league spring training. They also released one pitcher.

Signed were 6-5 left-handed pitcher Kevin Johnson and 21-year-old second baseman Nick Lockwood. Johnson spent two years in the Texas Rangers' system after playing at the University of Cincinnati. Lockwood was the Minnesota Twins' ninth-round draft pick in 2009. Johnson reached full-season Class A ball last year while Lockwood spent three years in rookie ball. Though he has played three pro seasons, Lockwood is a rookie by Frontier League standards because of his age.

Washington also acquired catcher Chris Anderson from New Jersey of the Can-Am League in exchange for a player to be named. Anderson, who has not yet been signed by the Wild Things, played at San Diego State and spent four years as an organizational filler catcher for the Atlanta Braves.

The Wild Things also released left-handed pitcher Dan Schmidt, who was signed in February and would have been the first Australian to play for Washington.

Parkersburg interested in return to Frontier League

Officials from Parkersburg, W. Va., were in Washington Wednesday to check out Consol Energy Park and reportedly met today with Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee to gauge the possibility of building a ballpark for a FL team.

Parkersburg was a charter member of the Frontier League and home to the original Ohio Valley Redcoats, who played from 1993 through 1998.

Here are links to two stories about Parkersburg's interest in returning to the league. The most interesting part of the two stories is the photo of the Ohio Valley College baseball team practicing on Bennett Stump Field, where the Redcoats played. You can see just how far the Frontier League has grown from its early years.

Read the first story here.

Read the second story here.

All-Decade Team: Relief Pitcher

Every baseball team needs a good multi-purpose pitcher, one who fills the role of long reliever, setup guy or emergency starter. This is true whether you're putting together an All-Decade team or running a squad in the Frontier League, where starting rotations seem to change weekly and bullpens blow up like cheap cigars.

The Wild Things have rarely bounced pitchers between the starting rotation and bullpen during a season. They have, however, often used young pitchers as relievers during their first year in the league and then converted them to starters in their second season. The strategy usually paid huge dividends. Brendon Davis, J.J. Hollenbeck and Justin Edwards all flourished after moving from the bullpen to the rotation. Sometimes it didn't work, as B.J. Borsa's conversion from reliever to starter comes to mind.

Edwards, Davis and Hollenbeck each had similar careers with the Wild Things. Edwards and Hollenbeck each spent three years in Washington; Davis only two.

Edwards, however, was the only pitcher whose numbers improved for three consecutive seasons. Signed as third baseman by Worcester of the Can-Am League in 2008, the West Liberty graduate and Wheeling native eventually was moved to the Tornadoes' bullpen.

Acquired by Washington in 2009, Edwards pitched 43 games as a reliever, getting four wins and three saves. After 19 relief appearances in 2010, Edwards was shifted to the starting rotation and impressed. He had a 5-2 record, a bunch of no-decisions and struck out 71 batters in 78.1 innings.

After having shoulder surgery between the 2010 and 2011 seasons, Edwards made a speedy recovery and spent the season in the rotation, posting a 5-3 record and 2.16 ERA in 14 starts. Though victimized again by a lack of offensive support that kept his wins total low, Edwards went into his final start of the season with a chance to win the league's ERA title. He eventually finished second, just .01 behind Gateway's Mark Brackman. Edwards was a big reason why Washington's pitching staff led the league in ERA last year.

For his three seasons in Washington, Edwards had a 14-10 record, 3.56 ERA. His 213 strikeouts are second on the Wild Things' all-time list.

After last year's Frontier League season, Edwards signed with the York of the Atlantic League and pitched for the champion Revolution during the September stretch drive. This year, Edwards will be playing for the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association.

Edwards is the 11th pitcher on the all-decade team and 20th player overall. Only four more sports remain.

All-Decade Team Relief Pitcher: Justin Edwards (2009-11).

Catcher sold to Rays

There were two roster moves Friday in the Frontier League and each had at least some connection to the Wild Things.

Washington catcher Adrian Bravo-Carmona had his contract purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays. Bravo-Carmona was signed a few months ago out of Mid-American Christian University in Oklahoma, an NAIA school. The move leaves Washington with three catchers on the roster and none with any significant pro experience. You have to think the Wild Things will sign a catcher with at least Class A experience or 300 at-bats in independent ball before the season begins next month.

The other move was a trade between the Lake Erie Crushers and Abilene of the North American League. You might recall that in February the Wild Things shipped relief pitcher Mickey Jannis to Abilene in exchange for catcher Michael Surina. Jannis was the most experienced player the Wild Things signed during the offseason, having reached high-Class A in the Rays' system.

Now, Jannis is back in the Frontier League and playing for Lake Erie. The Crushers acquired Jannis in a trade with Abilene, but Lake Erie gave up a lot, dealing starting pitcher Thomas Campbell. Campbell was one of the top true rookie pitchers in the Frontier League last year. He was 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in 10 starts.

Gusky returning

Right-handed pitcher Ross Gusky has been signed to a contract extension for the 2012 season.

A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Allderdice High School in the City League, Gusky made his pro debut last year, posting an 0-1 record with one save and a 3.32 ERA. He struck out 36 in 38 innings after being signed out of Valdosta State University.

Gusky gives the Wild Things 31 players under contract, including 16 pitchers. Only one player (relief pitcher Steve Grife) among those who had their contract option picked up during the offseason remains unsigned.

Why stop at Bridgeport?

Last week, Wild Things ownership announced plans to put a Frontier League team in Bridgeport, W.Va. Today, the News and Sentinel reported that local officials from Parkersburg, W.Va., will meet with Wild Things officials about establishing a team and ballpark in that city.

According to the report, Parkersburg mayor Bob Newell is putting together a delegation that will be in Washington next week.

"They are excited. Very excited with the possibility of a team being in Parkersburg," Newell said of the Frontier League. "When (the league) expanded they need to do two teams and Parkersburg is a choice for one of them."

Wild Things owner Stu Williams confirmed that his group is interested in a Parkersburg team.

"Is there interest on our part? Yes," Williams told the newspaper. "There is serious interest. Is there a path forward? Yes."

Read the story here.

Where are they now?

Monday was the day most minor league teams announced their rosters. Four former Wild Things pitchers will begin seasons in affiliated ball this week. Here's where they were assigned:

Tom Cochran - Will be in the starting rotation for Lehigh Valley, the Philadelphia Phillies' Class AAA affiliate.

Alan Williams - After moving from the Frontier League to rookie ball and then to low-Class A last year, Williams has been assigned to the Brevard County Manatees, the Milwaukee Brewers' high-Class A affiliate. The pitching coach at Brevard County? Former Wild Things coach Mark Dewey.

Vidal Nuno - Last year's opening day starter for the Wild Things will open this season with the Tampa Yankees, New York's high-Class A club.

Mark Williams - Has been assigned to the low-Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Milwaukee Brewers' system. It appears that Williams will be a starting pitcher. The Timber Rattlers' home field is the same one on which Williams and Marietta College won an NCAA Division III national championship.

All-Decade Team: Relief Pitcher

Back in 2003, if you wanted a Frontier League pitcher who could protect a lead late in a close game, then the Wild Things' Anthony Kozol was a good choice.

If you also needed a stand-in for actor Lou Diamond Phillips, Kozol was a good choice, too.

Kozol was the Wild Things' closer in 2003. He was a late signing, joining the club midway through spring training after being released from the San Diego Padres' high-Class A affiliate in the California League. Kozol had pitched in the Frontier League in 2001 with Canton, and joining Washington reunited him with former Crocodilles manager Jeff Isom and coach Joe Charboneau.

Kozol was a pitcher who didn't impress you with his fastball. He wasn't overpowering. What he did do was rely on getting movement on his pitches and working ahead in the count. He did that well enough to tie Kenosha's Derek Lopez (remember the Kenosha Mammoths?) for the league lead in saves with 16.

Kozol had a 3-3 record, 2.62 ERA and converted 16 of 20 save opportunities. He did his best work early in the season as he didn't allow an earned run over his first 10 outings.

Kozol pitched again in the Frontier League in 2004 (for Mid-Missouri and Windy City), then was out of baseball by 2005.

What did Kozol do after his baseball career? Who knows? Maybe he was a stand-in for Lou Diamond Phillips. Kozol's teammates and coaches often mentioned they thought he had a striking resemblance to the actor.

All-Decade Team Relief Pitcher: Anthony Kozol (2003).