Had a chance to catch up with Nats pitcher Craig Stammen at the press conference for Nats manager Jim Riggleman last Thursday. The 25-year-old was a nice surprise in 2009 after arriving from Triple-A on May 21. He was a ground-ball pitcher who didn’t walk anybody (24 total in 19 starts). He shut out the World Series champion Yankees in New York on June 18. He pitched brilliantly in Colorado on July 6 – seven innings in a 1-0 loss – and his next start at Houston was a complete game with two runs allowed. Stammen’s ERA was down to 4.14 after a 7 1/3 inning, one-run effort against the Mets on July 22.
But it was all down hill from there as the elbow pain that had bothered Stammen all season began to flare up again. He ended up having surgery to remove a bone spur after an Aug. 29 start in St. Louis. We still have no clue what veteran pitchers the Nats will go after so it’s hard to project a starting rotation at this point. John Lannan – Stammen’s housemate this winter as both remain in the D.C. area – is a lock for one. Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has looked good in the Arizona Fall League and the organization could just slot him in the starting rotation right away. But that’s not guaranteed.
Recommended Stories
No matter what, Stammen should be in the mix. Of all the back-end rotation candidates – and Lord knows there’s six or eight of them at this point – he controls his pitches the best and was the most consistent when healthy. You’d have to slot Stammen ahead of guys like Garrett Mock, J.D. Martin, Collin Balester, Shairon Martis and even the rehabbing Matt Chico – at least going into spring training. Given how former first-round draft pick Ross Detwiler fared at season’s end, he’d likely be the only one ahead of Stammen. But are all these guys fighting for three spots? Two? Or maybe just one if general manager Mike Rizzo convinces enough veterans to sign on here.
But is he healthy? Stammen has been doing his rehab in Gaithersburg since the season ended. That’s where Nats strength and conditioning coach John Philbin is located. Stammen was expected to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks after surgery.
“[The elbow pain] was pretty much bothering me all season,” Stammen said. “It got a little worse towards the end where it was pretty painful. But it’s been taken care of. I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve already started throwing again. I would say I’m 100 percent right now. I’m throwing whatever I want to throw.”
Had to get Stammen’s thoughts on the hiring of Jim Riggleman on a permanent basis, of course, and at least a little stability heading into next season.
“I think that’s important to us as players. That’s one less guy we have to adjust to next year going into the season. If we want to change this thing around the less change there is the better off we are. Because if we stay as a cohesive unit hopefully down the [road] that pays off.”
