From Australia to Florida

The Wild Things announced Tuesday that the contract of right-handed pitcher Chris Smith has been purchased by the New York Yankees. He will go to minor league spring training in Florida with the Yankees in March.

Smith had a strong 2012 season with the Wild Things, posting a 9-6 record with a 2.92 ERA. He struck out 116 batters in 129.1 innings. Smith followed that with big season by playing this winter with the Brisbane Bandits of the Australian Baseball League. He was selected to play in the league's all-star game and had a 2.31 ERA in nine starts.

"Chris was a valuable part of our starting rotation and will be missed, but I wish him all the best in the Yankees' system. He has the skills that it takes to make it to the majors and I look forward to watching him develop," Wild Things assistant GM Steve Zavacky said.

5 Wild Things among top 20 indy prospects

Two Wild Things players have been ranked among the top 10 prospects -- and five are in the top 20 -- in independent baseball by Baseball America.

Switch-hitting shortstop A.J. Nunziato (pictured) is ranked the No. 4 prospect, and left-handed relief pitcher Alfonso Yevoli is ranked No. 5.

Outfielder Andrew Heck is ranked the No. 12 prospect catcher-first baseman Rick Devereaux is No. 16 and right-handed pitcher Chris Smith is No. 17.

The Frontier League produced four of the top 10 with Lake Erie relief pitcher Jonathan Kountis the highest-rated player at the No. 3 spot.

A rookie out of NCAA Division II Lander University, Nunziato batted only .238, but he hit six home runs and had 32 RBI. Nunziato proved to be a reliable fielder as committed only three errors in 51 games after joining the Wild Things in early July.

Here is what baseball America said about Nunziato:

It's much tougher to get signed out of independent ball as a position player than as a pitcher, in part because scouts are generally skeptical about the athleticism and defensive ability of independent league players. But Nunziato is a shortstop who should be able to stick in the middle infield if he makes the jump to affiliated ball.

A four-year starter at Division II Lander (S.C.), Nunziato is a switch-hitter who shows pop from both sides. He showed solid-average range while showcasing an average arm that is extremely accurate, and he had a .985 fielding percentage in the Frontier League.

Nunziato hit .391 as a college sophomore despite a back injury that forced him to take a redshirt year in 2009 as he recovered from surgery to fix a herniated disc. He has shown no ill effects as a pro. He is an average runner who needs to improve his pitch.

Yevoli, a hard-throwing lefty, had a 1-2 record and 2.62 ERA in 28 games. He struck out 34 in 34 1/3 innings. Yevoli, a rookie out of NAIA Tennessee Wesleyan, got steadily better as the season progressed. He allowed a run in only one of his last 17 appearances. During that late-season stretch, Yevoli struck out 24 batters and walked only two.

Here is what Baseball Amerrica said about Yevoli:

Yevoli pitched for three years at High Point, then transferred as a senior to Tennessee Wesleyan, helping the Bulldogs win the NAIA title this year. The move didn't improve his draft stock, however, so after his name didn't get called he signed on with the Wild Things.

Yevoli has quality stuff, sitting at 92-94 mph consistently and piling up a strikeout an inning with Washington. He generates good angle and his fastball has late life, although that sometimes affects his command. His slider is a hard breaking pitch, but he also struggles to throw it for strikes at times.

Pitching in

It has been rather quiet lately in the Frontier League as teams await minor league cuts from spring training.

The Wild Things did make two significant signings last week when pitchers Justin Hall and Jhonny Montoya (pictured) agreed to contract extensions. Washington now has four starting pitchers -- Hall, Montoya, Gary Lee and Chris Smith -- back for 2012.

Smith and Lee were acquired during the 2011 season. Smith made only five starts late in the year, but Hall and Montoya were with Washington from start to finish. You could make a case that Hall (10-7, 3.22) was as good as any pitcher in the league over the second half of last year. Pitching for a team that provided almost no offensive support, Hall was 6-3 with a 2.40 ERA after the all-star break. In his final outing, on the season's last night, Hall pitched 11 innings to win at Windy City 6-2. Hall gave up only seven hits and one walk while striking out a team-record 14 batters.

The most impressive statistic from Hall's 2011 season had to be this one: only 22 walks in 145.1 innings.

We all know that in this league, if you consistently throw strikes and pitch ahead in the count, you'll be very successful.

Throwing strikes is what was a problem for Montoya (4-7, 3.77) last year. Though he was able to pitch in an out of trouble often enough to register 11 quality starts, Montoya too often left games early because of high pitch counts. He walked 51 batters in 117 innings. You have to expect that ratio will improve this year.

The Wild Things also continued to rebuild the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions by signing Allen Boyer. An outfielder, Boyer played for Point Loma in 2010 and 2011. He batted .312 with three home runs and 14 RBI last year, but did hit .350 with 13 doubles, 19 home runs and 51 RBI as a junior. Keep in mind that there was a significant change made to the aluminum bats in the college game last year, making them play more like wood.

Boyer gives Washington three former Point Loma Nazarene position players currently on the roster. A fourth was signed this offseason but recently traded to another league.

By my count, the re-signing of Hall and Montoya, and the signing of Boyer, give the Wild Things 30 players under contract. There are a four others players -- Steve Grife, Ross Gusky, Chris Sidick and Luis Rivera -- whose contract options have been picked up but have not yet signed for 2012. If Washington re-signs all four, picks up at least two more (which is mandatory) from the league tryout, then they'll have 36 players and that's not counting those signed after minor league spring training.

It's going to be very crowded inside the Wild Things' refurbished clubhouse in early May.

First player re-signed

The Wild Things have re-signed right-handed pitcher Chris Smith for the 2012 season.

Smith is the first player from last year's team to be re-signed by new manager Chris Bando. Smith pitched in six games for Washington after being acquired in August from the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League. Smith had a 1-2 record and 4.50 ERA for Washington but his final outing of the year was his best. Smith pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only one hit and earning a win in a game Sept. 1 against Lake Erie.

Back to 5

Sometimes the best laid plans can go awry in a hurry.

The Wild Things had been planning to go to a six-man pitching rotation beginning last night. Those plans were scrapped before they were put into motion.

Washington had signed right-handed pitcher Chris Smith to a contract Wednesday and had planned to have him start last night's game against Rockford. Smith first had to pass a physical, which is something he still hasn't done.

According to manager Darin Everson, Smith has inflammation in his shoulder and will be put on a seven-day program and then re-evaluated. Because he didn't pass the physical, Smith's contract was voided and he hasn't been placed on the disabled list.

"He probably could have pitched, but we don't want to put a guy out there who's not 100 percent," Everson said.

Prior to coming to Washington, Smith pitched in five games for the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League, an independent league based in New Mexico. In his next-to-last outing with White Sands, Smith pitched a nine-inning complete game and threw 141 pitches -- a total unheard of in minor-league ball for a 22-year-old pitcher. You have to wonder if that had anything to do with the injury.

Everson said he's still considering the six-man rotation but will keep the five-man setup through at least the open date on Aug. 8. There were several reasons for going to a six-man rotation, one of which being the doubleheader against Joliet in mid-August.

I was interested to see how a six-man rotation would work. I recall asking former Wild Things manager Jeff Isom back in 2003 if he had ever considered using a six-man. The reason being, it seems many starting pitchers in this league develop dead arms late in June. That, I reasoned, was because many were relief pitchers in affiliated ball and had not been a starting pitcher in at least two years. Plus, any college guy you put in the rotation probably has 80 to 110 innings for the year already on his arm.

Isom shot down the idea, saying scouts want to see guys pitch every fifth day, plus that's what the players want.

Another former Wild Things manager, John Massarelli, has made a habit of using a four-man rotation in the season's second half.

Banks gone, Smith signed

Ernie Banks' second stint with the Wild Things ended in the same fashion as his first -- with a trade.

Banks (above left) was traded Wednesday by Washington to the Southern Illinois Miners. In exchange for the first baseman, the Wild Things acquired rookie relief pitcher Joe Tarallo and the Miners' first-round draft pick next year. That pick will likely be No. 10 or 11.

Unlike his first go-around in Washington, Banks struggled mightily at the plate, hitting only .207 in 42 games. He had two home runs (each during the last road trip) and only 13 RBI.

Banks will be heading to Southern Illinois for the second time. He started last season with the Miners, playing 29 games before ending the season in another independent league.

Banks will have an opportunity to play regularly as Southern Illinois has lost first basemen Matt Fields (wrist) and Gordon Gronkowski (foot) to injuries.

"We were definitely looking for another pitcher, and there was some interest from other teams in Ernie," Washington manager Darin Everson said. "He's going back to a place he's been before. The trade narrows out lineup a little bit. Instead of having two experienced hitters on the bench each night we only have one. What is means for the guys who are here is more playing time. It's time to make a push."

In Tarallo (0-0, 3.38), the Wild Things get a pitcher who has appeared in 16 games with Southern Illinois and Florence. He averages more than one strikeout per inning.

The trade was part of a flurry of moves by the Wild Things.

Relief pitcher Michael Cotter (0-0, 6.35) was released. Washington picked up Cotter in a trade with a team in another league only three weeks ago.

The Wild Things signed Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who had been playing in the independent Pecos League after beginning the year with Traverse City. He was released by the Beach Bums after only two relief appearances, including one against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park.

Smith was a draft pick of Lake Erie last year but lasted only one outing. He will start Friday night against Rockford as the Wild Things switch to a six-man pitching rotation.

TRIVIA: Banks is not the first player traded twice by the Wild Things. I can think of one pitcher. Anyone willing to guess who that might be?

Useless information, V2.0

Some random thoughts and notes about the Wild Things and Frontier League:

* Has any Wild Things player ever had a better road trip than the one Chris Sidick (pictured) is having? In the first five games of the current six-game trip to Traverse City and Rockford, Sidick is 14-for-21 with 11 runs, 5 RBI, 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases. He has raised his batting average from .243 to .286.

A few other guys I recall having good road trips were Josh Loggins, Chris Carter and Mike Arbinger.

Loggins had a trip to Evansville and Chillicothe in 2003 in which he went 7-for-17 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI and was signed by Colorado during the trip.

When Washington ran off a 13-game winning streak in 2005, Arbinger and Carter were the catalysts. During a nine-game road trip to Gateway, River City and Mid-Missouri, Arbinger was 17-for-44 with 2 homers and 16 RBI. On the same trip, Carter went 15-for-38 with 5 homers and 15 RBI.

* According his Twitter account, Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who has been playing with the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League, has signed a contract to play with the Wild Things. Smith, who is from Louisville, was Lake Erie's first-round draft pick in the Frontier League draft in 2010. He played two games for Traverse City this year, including a rough outing out of the bullpen against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park in May. Smith later signed with White Sands. In the Pecos League, Smith had a 3-0 record and 1.39 ERA in four outings. He struck out 28 in 26 innings.

According to the Twitter post, Smith said he will be a starting pitcher with the Wild Things.

* Former Wild Things relief pitcher Alan Williams, who was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers early in the Frontier League season, has been promoted from rookie ball to Class A. Williams was sent from Helena (Mont.) to Appleton (Wisc.), where he will play for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. Williams pitched in nine games with Helena and had a 1-1 record, 4 saves and 2.57 ERA. He struck out 28 in only 14 innings.

* When Luis Rivera homered in the fifth inning Wednesday at Traverse City, it was the first time all season the Wild Things received a home run from the cleanup spot in the batting order. That one came 52 games into the season.

* Remember Steve MacFarland, who pitched for the Wild Things last year until an injury ended his season? McFarland was the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9th-round draft pick in 2006 but never made it past low-Class A with the Bucs. He was traded by Washington to another independent league last offseason. Since then, MacFarland has been released from three different indy leagues but is back in the Frontier. He was signed this week by the Florence Freedom.