Holiday shopping
The Wild Things have been unusually busy this holiday season, adding some veteran players to their roster for the 2013 season.
We know about the trade that sent starting pitcher Casey Barnes and first baseman Michael Bando to River City, but what about the flurry of other moves? Washington has traded for catcher Pat Trettel, signed corner infielder Coty Patte and second baseman C.J. Beatty, and today announced the signing of outfielder Mario Yepez.
So, who are these guys? And what do their signings tell us?
First, it's apparent the Wild Things have been shopping for some power hitting, and I suspect that a power-hitting third baseman or right fielder is still on their wish list.
Trettel, a North Allegheny High School and Seton Hill University product, had spent parts of two seasons in independent leagues, including 45 games last year in the Frontier League with Normal. After posting huge numbers for Seton Hill, Trettel was signed by Lincoln of the American Association and hit 11 home runs in only 38 games with the Saltdogs. He was named one of the top 10 prospects in independent baseball by Baseball America.
Traded to Normal last year, Trettel's production slipped as he batted only .245 with five home runs in 45 games for the CornBelters.
Trettel was sent back to the American Association and played 23 games with Kansas City. He hit three home runs but batted only .188. He was sent to Wichita and then to Washington in the offseason.
Trettel should make the opening day roster, but I'm guessing it's as a platoon catcher who spends more time at DH. Trettel has thrown out only 22 of 135 basestealers (16.3 percent) in his pro career and that number must improve for him to be an everyday catcher.
Patte is a rookie out of Mars Hills, a Division II school in South Carolina that also produced Wild Things pitcher Justin Hall. He put up good power numbers, leading Mars Hill in home runs each of the last two seasons.
Beatty is a veteran guy with more than 1,110 career at-bats between the St. Louis Cardinals' system and two independent leagues. He has some power for a middle infielder -- three times hitting at least eight home runs in a season. His high was 17 homers in the hitter-friendly North American Baseball league two years ago. One thing I like about Beatty is he draws walks, averaging better than one per every 10 at-bats for his career, though his strikeout rate is high for a middle infielder.
Yepez comes to the Wild Things after spending six seasons in the Seattle Mariners' system. He had a good year in low-Class A in 2011, hitting .332 with 17 doubles. Last year, however, he was used as organizational filler, playing six games at Triple-A, five at Double-A and 44 in Class A, where the batted only .219. He does have a career .279 average in more than 1,400 pro at-bats.
Washington also made a procedural move, picking up the club options on 21 players off last year's roster.
We know about the trade that sent starting pitcher Casey Barnes and first baseman Michael Bando to River City, but what about the flurry of other moves? Washington has traded for catcher Pat Trettel, signed corner infielder Coty Patte and second baseman C.J. Beatty, and today announced the signing of outfielder Mario Yepez.
So, who are these guys? And what do their signings tell us?
First, it's apparent the Wild Things have been shopping for some power hitting, and I suspect that a power-hitting third baseman or right fielder is still on their wish list.
Trettel, a North Allegheny High School and Seton Hill University product, had spent parts of two seasons in independent leagues, including 45 games last year in the Frontier League with Normal. After posting huge numbers for Seton Hill, Trettel was signed by Lincoln of the American Association and hit 11 home runs in only 38 games with the Saltdogs. He was named one of the top 10 prospects in independent baseball by Baseball America.
Traded to Normal last year, Trettel's production slipped as he batted only .245 with five home runs in 45 games for the CornBelters.
Trettel was sent back to the American Association and played 23 games with Kansas City. He hit three home runs but batted only .188. He was sent to Wichita and then to Washington in the offseason.
Trettel should make the opening day roster, but I'm guessing it's as a platoon catcher who spends more time at DH. Trettel has thrown out only 22 of 135 basestealers (16.3 percent) in his pro career and that number must improve for him to be an everyday catcher.
Patte is a rookie out of Mars Hills, a Division II school in South Carolina that also produced Wild Things pitcher Justin Hall. He put up good power numbers, leading Mars Hill in home runs each of the last two seasons.
Beatty is a veteran guy with more than 1,110 career at-bats between the St. Louis Cardinals' system and two independent leagues. He has some power for a middle infielder -- three times hitting at least eight home runs in a season. His high was 17 homers in the hitter-friendly North American Baseball league two years ago. One thing I like about Beatty is he draws walks, averaging better than one per every 10 at-bats for his career, though his strikeout rate is high for a middle infielder.
Yepez comes to the Wild Things after spending six seasons in the Seattle Mariners' system. He had a good year in low-Class A in 2011, hitting .332 with 17 doubles. Last year, however, he was used as organizational filler, playing six games at Triple-A, five at Double-A and 44 in Class A, where the batted only .219. He does have a career .279 average in more than 1,400 pro at-bats.
Washington also made a procedural move, picking up the club options on 21 players off last year's roster.
Labels: C.J. Beatty, Coty Patte, Mario Yepez, Pat Trettel
posted by Chris Dugan at
11:31 AM
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