The 25 Man Run Down- 6/18/10

Every Friday, in an attempt to figure whose headed up and who could be headed down, I’ll give my ranking of the Nationals major league roster.

”The Must-Watch Guys”

1. Stephen Strasburg– I’m currently an unemployed college student on summer vacation. A bingo hall 10 minutes from my house is hiring and asking that prospective employees come in at 4pm today. Stephen Strasburg will be pitching at 4pm today. I will remain unemployed for another day.

2. Adam Dunn- Good to see a 6-6 290lb power hitter is finally using that power. 6 homers in his last 50 at bats.

3. Ryan Zimmerman- Has been just average at the plate the last 2 weeks, but still scares the hell out of the opposition and provides stellar D.

4. Josh Willingham- While his uber-hot streak is over, he continues to get on-base at a high rate. Is on the All-Star bubble.

“The Good”

5. Tyler Clippard– Has gotten over some recent wild-ness and is back to being his dominating early season self. Could be the closer if Capps is traded.

6. Mike Morse- Is this too high? Maybe. But anyone who can literally play every position and has been hitting .407 since his call-up is good in my opinion.

7. Drew Storen- Has done nothing to suggest he isn’t the closer of the future. With his athleticism, he doesn’t need to be removed for a pinch hitter in certain situations.

8. Pudge Rodriguez- Continues to get big hits with runners on and has been huge for Strasburg.

9. Matt Capps- Is just a solid, ballsy closer at the end of games. However, Storen and Clippard make him expendable if the right offer is out there.

10. Roger Bernadina- Could be a future Gold Glover. Hits well enough but seems to be ceding some ABs to Morse.

11. Ian Desmond- Makes a ton of errors, but does provide a good offense for a young shortstop and a ton of range.

12. Cristian Guzman- Continues to be his same inefficient-self at the plate. But he hits .300 and plays multiple positions, I just don’t like him as a lead-off guy.

13. Tyler Walker- Has gotten through some struggles to become a pretty solid 5th-6th inning guy.  Could handle a promotion to the 7th should Capps be traded.

14. J.D. Martin- 0-2 in 3 starts , but has pitched well enough to win 2 of them. Really like the 12-1 K/BB ratio.

”The Bad”

15. Nyjer Morgan- A lead-off man who doesn’t hit, walk, or steal bases. Is really just an athlete without a clue.

16. Doug Slaten- He’s been okay, but is anyone afraid of him?

17. Livan Hernandez- He can only fool hitters for so long. Is valuable in that he always goes 6 or 100 pitches.

18. Alberto Gonzalez- Token decent fielding utility man.

” The Ugly”

19. Sean Burnett- A lefty specialist who can’t get left handers out.

20. Miguel Batista- Has been impressive at times, just a mop up guy at others.

21. John Lannan- Gah! He’s been a bad pitcher all year. If it wasn’t for Atilano and what Lannan did last year he’d be in Syracuse by now.

” Why are they in the Majors?”

22. Luis Atilano- Is simply put, one of the worst major league pitchers I’ve ever seen.

23. Wil Nieves- Bring up Derek Norris for Gods sake.

24. Adam Kennedy- Contributes nothing. Can’t hit, can’t field. Is somehow Dunns defensive replacement because he’s smaller.

25. Willie Harris- Is hitting ONE-EFFING-FIFTY-SEVEN. There are guys in low-A Hagerstown who could do that.