One to Watch
Donnie Biggs/News & Messenger
Jordan Zimmermann is scheduled to make a pitching appearance for the Potomac Nationals tonight.
Advertisement
Text size: small | medium | large
By Dave Utnik
Published: April 7, 2008
When Jordan Zimmermann is really bringing it, his best pitch often lights up a radar gun at 94 mph.
The curveball that tumbles out of the strike zone is often a thing of beauty too.
But here’s the real reason that Potomac Nationals manager Randy Knorr believes the 21-year-old right-hander is destined for great things in the big leagues.
“He’s got a little fire in him,” Knorr said. “And I like that.”
Nearly two years ago, after a line drive caught Zimmerman squarely in the jaw during an off-season workout, he reacted the way he does to everything else that happens on the mound: He went on to earn All-American honors for the second time in his collegiate career at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and was named the MVP of the Division III World Series.
Now, as he begins his first full season as a minor leaguer for the Washington Nationals, Zimmermann has already established himself as one of the organization’s top-rated prospects.
“This kid looks good. He throws strikes, he keeps the ball down,” Knorr said. “He’s got three good pitches and he’s working on the changeup now.”
That changeup is another weapon — an 82 mph complement to the curve ball, slider and fastball that makes Zimmermann even more deceptive.
“In spring training he had some innings where it looked like guys couldn’t touch him,” Knorr said. “Being young, he had some innings where he left the ball up, but he can pound the strike zone. I think he’s going to be one of our best.”
That seems to be the consensus throughout an organization that has based its entire future on the development of young players.
Part of a 2007 draft class that is being hailed as the best in the Nationals’ brief history, Zimmermann signed quickly for $495,000 and then went 5-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 13 starts for the Vermont Lake Monsters in the short-season New York-Penn League.
“It’s been a fun ride so far,” said Zimmermann, who was the 67th overall pick in last summer’s draft — going to Washington in the second round behind pitchers Ross Detwiler and Josh Smoker and outfielder Michael Burgess.
“I’d actually only talked with Washington once so I wasn’t really expecting them to take me,” Zimmermann said on the day before the P-Nats opened the season in Salem. “I was just watching the board with my family and my college coach and a couple of other people and I got the call from my agent. It was pretty sweet.”
Though Zimmermann initially chose Wisconsin-Stevens Point because it was close to his Au-burndale home, it wasn’t long before baseball took him places he never expected to see.
Not a single Division I team recruited the 6-foot-2 hurler out of high school, but there were plenty of scouts hanging around during his final two college seasons. Zimmermann, who went 20-7 overall and was 10-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 2007, wound up becoming the first Pointers player selected in the Major League draft since 1992.
This summer, he might find that the Carolina League isn’t much different than the Wisconsin In-tercollegiate Athletic Conference, except that he’ll need more than a fastball to make the all-star team.
“You can’t make mistakes, that’s for sure. If you leave a fastball up here you’re going to get hurt,” Zimmermann said. “You have to be able to mix in all your pitches and if you keep everything down, you’ll be fine.
“We’ve got an unbelievable team and it’s going to be really exciting. I’m just going to go out and perform and chances are if I do well I’ll get bumped up quickly.”
After striking out 71 batters — and issuing only 18 walks — in 53 innings during his first profes-sional season, Zimmermann takes the hill for the first time tonight as Washington’s No. 7 prospect. Washington’s Shawn Hill will start the game with Zimmermann to follow.
Now that he has everyone’s attention, the major leagues don’t seem that far away.
“The one thing about our big league GM is he’s not afraid to move guys,” Knorr said. “He’ll take a chance on you if he believes in you. I can see him liking Jordan Zimmermann.”
Post a Comment
The commenting period has ended or commenting has been deactivated for this article.
Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
