Category Archives: Interviews with MLB Stars

One-on-One Exclusive Interviews with MLB Stars, Prospects and Baseball Personalities

ON THE VERGE- RYAN TATUSKO, WASHINGTON NATIONALS

MLB reports: At MLB reports we will be running an occasional series titled “On the Verge” where we profile a prospect about to hit the MLB scene. In today’s feature, we profile Ryan Tatusko of the Washington Nationals.

Ryan was born March 27, 1985. Standing 6’5” and weighing a solid 200 lbs, 2010 represented a breakout year for the right-handed pitching Tatusko. He was drafted in the 18^th round of the 2007 draft by the Texas Rangers out of Indiana State University (hometown Merrillville, Indiana). After the 3 ½ seasons climbing up the Rangers system, Tatusko was traded on July 30, 2010 with fellow pitcher Tanner Roark for shortstop Christian Guzman. At the time of the trade, Tatusko was pitching for AA Frisco, both starting and relieving. After being acquired by the Nationals, Tatusko finished 2010 exclusively as a starter for AA Harrisburg.

From 2007-2009, Tatusko did not have numbers that jumped out. ERAs each year of 4.13, 4.46 and 4.64, records of 3-7, 3-11 and 7-6, in addition to WHIPs of 1.347, 1.372 and 1.338. A young developing pitcher, but not one on the “radar” so to speak. In the 1^st half of 2010 with Frisco, Tatusko pitched in 24 games, 13 as a starter. His record was 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.340 WHIP. Definitely solid numbers, but a breakout was still in order. That breakout occurred in the 2^nd half of his 2010 season with Harrisburg, where Tatusko pitched in 6 games entirely as a starter, to a sparkling 3-1 record, 1.72 ERA and 1.173 WHIP. His SO/BB ratio with Frisco was 1.45 and ballooned to 2.77 with Harrisburg. When I review these numbers, I see a Kyle Drabek type pitcher at the beginning of 2010 and a Stephen Strasburg clone at the end.

Looking at Ryan’s final 2010 numbers combined in AA, we see a 12-3 record, with a 2.63 ERA and 1.295 WHIP. From an 18^th round pick with a microscopic chance of advancement in professional baseball, Ryan is a pitcher likely ticketed for AAA to start 2011 and could end up with the big club sometime between the all-star break and September.

I have had a pleasure to chat with Ryan on a couple of occasions by e-mail and did some research on him as well. Tatusko has a strong curveball as well as good command of 3 other pitches- fastball, changeup and slider. The debate early in his career was whether he would remain a starter or be moved permanently to the bullpen. Young pitchers in the minors are often eased through both roles in the hopes that they will excel in one given spot. As a 4-pitch pitcher and coming off a strong finish in 2010, Tatusko will likely be a full-time starter for the foreseeable future. A student of the game, Tatusko keeps journals of his work and watches video in working on and perfecting his mechanics. A tireless student of the game, Tatusko has the will and ambition to succeed at the pro-level, which is often described as “90% mental and 10% physical”.

Running into growing pains and adversity early in his career was likely a very good thing for Ryan. Too often in the MLB we see hotshot prospects rushed to the majors, only to have their careers cut short by injuries or failed confidence. By building his time up in the minors the right way, Tatusko has been able to prove himself and rise up the prospects ladder. The Nationals going into 2011 are in an interesting situation pitching wise. They have a young highly touted closer in Storen, that is expected to close for the club for the next decade. The starting rotation however, is filled with questions marks and landmines. Livian Hernandez is currently tabbed as the opening day starter. Enough said. From there we see the other potential starters being Marquis, Zimmerman, Lannan and Maya. In the mix we have injured starters Strasburg and Wang who are not certain as to the roles they could play in 2011. As soon as an opening arises, Tatusko will be one of the first to be called up this year. If Ryan is able to grow in 2011 the way he did in 2010, his first stay in Washington could be permanent.

Ryan Tatusko is a man who eats, breathes, sleeps and bleeds professional baseball. Talking to him, I got the sense that this was a ballplayer with no sense of entitlement that has worked hard and earned everything that he has accomplished. Good luck to Ryan on the 2011 campaign and we all look forward to watching you as you continue your baseball journey to the show.

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Posted in Interviews with MLB Stars, MLB Player Profiles, On the Verge: MLB Prospects

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Tags: baseball, guzman, mlb, nationals, rangers, tatusko, texas, washington

Meet Tony Sanchez – Future All- Star Catcher of the Pittsburgh Pirates

Jan 26

Posted by Jonathan Hacohen

MLB reports: “With the 4^th overall selection of the 1^st round in the 2009 Major League Baseball Entry Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates select, Tony Sanchez, Catcher, from Boston College.” With those words spoken, life would never be the same for Tony. Much publicity surrounded the most recent 1^st round pick of the Pirates, centering around the reasons for his selection. To fully understand what was transpiring, one would need to look back briefly at the recent 1^st round draft history of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

2008: Pedro Alvarez 3B – 2^nd overall

2007: Daniel Moskos P – 4^th overall

2006: Brad Lincoln P- 4^th overall

2005: Andrew McCutchen OF – 11^th overall

2004: Neil Walker C- 11^th overall

2003: Paul Maholm P- 8^th overall

2002: Bryan Bullington P – 1^st overall

2001: John VanBenschoten 1B- 8^th overall

2000: Sean Burnett P- 19^th overall

With the Bryan Bullington pick still fresh in Pirates’ fans minds, the 2006 and 2007 drafting respectively of Lincoln and Moskos were difficult to swallow. The moves were seen largely as cost-sensitive selections, with the Pirates foregoing Morrow, Miller, Kershaw, Lincecum and Scherzer in 2006 and Wieters, LaPorta and Bumgarner in 2007 respectively. Some missed players could be pointed to poor scouting and drafting, but others were seen by many as being salary restrictive. The most notorious omission being Matt Wieters, a “can’t miss” catching prospect nabbed by the Baltimore Orioles in with the following 5^th pick in the draft. After selecting Pedro Alvarez in 2008, the Pirates maintained their 1^st round selection of position players by choosing Tony Sanchez with the 4^th overall pick. Players left on the board were Mike Minor, Mike Leak and Drew Storen. 2009 was an interesting draft in the sense that Trout, the 25^th overall pick of the Angels was just selection as MLB’s top prospect for 2011; proving that drafting is truly more of an art than a science. But the Sanchez pick was not hailed as a victory by the analysts. Reports seemed to indicate that the Pirates were attempting to make up for their Moskos/Wieters blunder by grabbing the best available catcher with the 4^th pick, although Sanchez was considered by some to be a late 1^st rounder. Money was also thrown into the equation as Sanchez was seen as an easy sign for Pittsburgh. But who is the aforementioned Tony Sanchez? Lets take a look at the man behind the pick.

Standing 6’1” and weighing a solid 213 pounds, Jorge Anthony (Tony) Sanchez was born on May 20, 1988. Tony attended Boston College and played the catcher position as a junior upon being drafted by the Pirates. Known for having taken the “Jared Subway” diet, Tony committed himself to training and exercise and excelled on the diamond in his last season at Boston College. In his 1^st season of pro ball, Sanchez split his time between 3 minor league spots, finishing at a .309 average in 48 games, with 7 homeruns, 48 rbis, .408 obp and .539 slg. Building upon that season, Sanchez was enjoying a solid 2010 season in Bradenton which ended prematurely by suffering a broken jaw after a beaning. The final 2010 stat line for Sanchez was a .314 average in 59 games with 4 homeruns, 35 rbis, .416 obp and .454 slg. Solid numbers for any hitter, especially a catcher. Sanchez was named to the 2010 All-Star Futures Game and his future appeared to be very bright. Despite having his season ended early, Sanchez fought weight loss and rust by rehabilitating and joining the Mesa Solar Sox for the Arizona Fall League season. Despite subpar statistics, Sanchez did enjoy a 2-home run game on November 11^th and was named a Rising Star in the AFL and most importantly, proved his health and commitment to playing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, its fans and the MLB community at large.

On February 13, 2011, Tony Sanchez will be reporting to spring training with the Pirates in Bradenton, Florida which ironically was his home field this past 2010 season. The only other catchers drafted in the 1^st round by the Pirates were Neil Walker in 2004 and Jason Kendall in 1992. If the Pirates get a solid major leaguer like Kendall from Sanchez, the team and its fans will be overjoyed. Baseball America has rated Sanchez as having the potential to being the first Pittsburgh catcher gold glove winner since Mike “Spanky” LaValliere in 1987. It is time for the fans of Pittsburgh and baseball to let go of the ghosts of drafts past and live in the present and future. Tony Sanchez, in addition to Pedro Alvarez and 2010 1^st round pick James Taillon represent solid Pirates building blocks for years to come. In his short time in baseball, Sanchez has shown that he has a potentially live bat and has received strong reviews for his work with the glove. With an MLB ETA of 2012, the Tony Sanchez era in Pittsburgh will soon be upon us. With a blue collar approach to the sport that will be well received in his new hometown, Tony Sanchez is starting to silence the critics and build upon the hype surrounding his play. Remember the name: Tony Sanchez, catcher, Pittsburgh Pirates.