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05/28/2009 3:01 PM ET
Washington Rotation Is Positively Potomac
All five current starting pitchers were P-Nats within last two years
By Anthony Masterson / Potomac Nationals
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 Brad Meyers leads all Carolina League pitchers with a 1.79 earned run average.
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WOODBRIDGE, Va.- In 2008, the Potomac Nationals had a year-long slogan of "Nationals Today, Nationals Tomorrow," which illustrated the rapid rise of potential prospects through the Washington Nationals system as well as the high quality of baseball being played right here in Woodbridge. Players such as John Lannan, Justin Maxwell, Mike Hinckley, and Kory Casto all spent time with Potomac before making their Major League debuts early on in their professional careers.
The wealth of talent the Nationals possess in their minor league ballclubs was on full display last year as the season culminated in the P-Nats winning the 2008 Carolina League championship, the first such title for a Nationals affiliate since the team moved from Montreal in 2005.
The title was a true testament to the Nationals' newfound emphasis on player development and the draft, which allowed them to replenish a farm system that had been depleted considerably in the team's last few years north of the border before making the move to the Beltway.
Now, the fruits of their labors are starting to ripen as P-Nats fans can look at the big club and see more than a few familiar faces. As it stands currently, all five pitchers of the Washington Nationals starting rotation pitched for Potomac within the last two seasons, breathing new life into a team struggling to find consistency in a very difficult division.
John Lannan leads the bunch as the staff ace, an honor he earned in 2008 after going 9-15 with a 3.91 ERA as a rookie while getting the fifth lowest run support in the National League (3.76 runs a game.) Lannan enjoyed the most meteoric rise of any Nationals pitcher, going from Potomac all the way to Washington in 2007. He made eight starts for the P-Nats that season, going 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA, and made his Major League debut July 26 against Philadelphia, earning his first win August 1 against Cincinnati. He also stymied Potomac Hall-of-Famer Barry Bonds as Bonds sat on 755 home runs on August 6 of that year. Bonds went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the contest against the rookie southpaw.
In 2009, Lannan is 2-4 with a 4.11 ERA but owns a 2.25 ERA at Nationals Park.
The hurler with the highest ceiling is Jordan Zimmermann without a doubt. Ranked as the top prospect in the Washington system by Baseball America entering 2009, Zimmermann earned an invite to spring training to cut his teeth with the big club, grabbed hold of a spot in the rotation, and never let it go as he broke camp with the Major League team as their fifth starter. Owner of a wicked assortment of pitches, the Wisconsin-born righty started 2008 in Potomac, but did not remain for long as he went 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA in five starts, earning the callup to Double-A Harrisburg.
Zimmermann won his first two starts in the big leagues and is currently 2-2, but he has been hampered by first inning troubles, allowing 31 runs in 46 innings with 15 of those coming in the first frame. He is still averaging over a strikeout an inning with excellent control.
Shairon Martis put his name on the radar with his seven-inning no-hitter against Panama in the 2006 World Baseball Classic while pitching for Team Netherlands. Martis continued to develop quickly and pitched well enough in spring training to earn a spot in the Nats rotation in 2009. In 2007, Martis went 14-8 for Potomac in a year where he started 26 games for the P-Nats. Those 14 wins are still a single-season record for the team. Martis made his debut last year, earning his first big league win September 23 against the Florida Marlins.
Martis now leads the Nationals in victories, boasting a 5-0 record highlighted by a complete game victory May 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals where the righty struck out a season-high six batters without walking a soul.
Two young guns fill out the last two spots with lefty Ross Detwiler, the sixth overall pick in 2007, earning a start May 18 against Pittsburgh, going five innings and giving up just two earned runs. The southpaw left with the lead, but the bullpen was unable to hold the advantage.
Detwiler went 8-8 last year with Potomac, making his biggest contribution in the playoffs when he dueled with Wilmington lefty Everett Teaford in Game 3 of the Division Series. Potomac went on to win the game 1-0. He also struck out nine Myrtle Beach batters in Game 2 of the Mills Cup Final. With the Nationals, Detwiler has pitched very well, owning a 2.45 ERA in two starts as he looks to build on the solid success he has found as he searches for his first Major League win.
Just three days after Detwiler's starting debut, fellow prospect Craig Stammen made his first big-league appearance against the same Pittsburgh team. Stammen retired 19 of the first 20 batters he faced before tiring in the seventh, earning a no-decision in the game. Stammen pitched for Potomac in parts of three seasons from 2006-08, enjoying his best stretch on the mound in 2008 when he went 4-2 in nine starts for the P-Nats with a 2.21 ERA before earning a callup to Columbus.
With the P-Nats' solid start in 2009, they hold a 25-19 record as they head to first-place Lynchburg for a three game set starting Friday at 7:05 ET, they have their starting pitching to thank for their success. Brad Meyers (3-1, 1.79), Jeff Mandel (6-1, 2.20), and Tom Milone (3-2, 2.98) have paced a pitching attack that leads the Carolina League in shutouts with eight, six more than any other team. Erik Arnesen, another solid starter, began the year with the P-Nats, going 4-1 with a 2.23 ERA before earning a callup to Double-A Harrisburg where he has continued his stingy ways (2-1, 2.84.)
The future is now for the Washington Nationals with a pack of young hurlers anchoring their starting rotation, but with the performances of the P-Nats' equally fresh staff, the outlook for the next few years also appears promising.
Come down to Pfitzner Stadium to see the future of your Washington Nationals in action before you see them at Nationals Park sporting the curly "W" of the hometown team.
For information on P-Nats tickets or daily promotions at Pfitzner Stadium, call (703) 590-2311 or log onto www.potomacnationals.com to join the party all year long!
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.
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