A quick scouting report on Wang for those of you unfamiliar with him:
- SINKER: His money pitch is his sinking fastball. He throws it most of the time (near 80% of the time) and it can reach speeds of up to 96 MPH. The sinker has good horizontal movement and moves towards right handed batter's shins. This is a plus pitch and is needed by Wang in order to pitch at his elite level.
- SECONDARY: Wang also has a slider and change up which he uses about 10% of the time for each pitch. His slider is a good compliment to his sinker and his changeup is a decent pitch at around 10 MPH slower than his fastball. He will also throws a splitter late in counts when he needs an out.
- COMMAND: His command and control are excellent. He is able to locate pitches well and rarely gives up a walk (2.37 career BB/9). For his career, he averages 14.42 pitches/inning (better than anyone on last years Nats squad) and has earned a reputation for being able to go late into his starts with his power still intact. His repertoire and control allow him to maintain a high groundball rate (2.70 career GB/FB) and when he is healthy he will rarely let up the long ball. Wang has always struggled with lefties, but has not done so bad where it kills him.
- INJURY: He sprained his foot in 2008 while running the bases in inter-league play. Then in 2009, as he was just returning to form, Wang had arthroscopic surgery to repair a shoulder capsule and has been sidelined ever since. Needless to say, Wang has not played for much of the last two years and when he has it has been less than what Yankee fans had grown used to him from him. Alex Eisenberg, of Baseball Intellect, has suggested that many of Wang's problems may have been related to problems with his posture as well as timing issues.
- SECONDARY: Wang also has a slider and change up which he uses about 10% of the time for each pitch. His slider is a good compliment to his sinker and his changeup is a decent pitch at around 10 MPH slower than his fastball. He will also throws a splitter late in counts when he needs an out.
- COMMAND: His command and control are excellent. He is able to locate pitches well and rarely gives up a walk (2.37 career BB/9). For his career, he averages 14.42 pitches/inning (better than anyone on last years Nats squad) and has earned a reputation for being able to go late into his starts with his power still intact. His repertoire and control allow him to maintain a high groundball rate (2.70 career GB/FB) and when he is healthy he will rarely let up the long ball. Wang has always struggled with lefties, but has not done so bad where it kills him.
- INJURY: He sprained his foot in 2008 while running the bases in inter-league play. Then in 2009, as he was just returning to form, Wang had arthroscopic surgery to repair a shoulder capsule and has been sidelined ever since. Needless to say, Wang has not played for much of the last two years and when he has it has been less than what Yankee fans had grown used to him from him. Alex Eisenberg, of Baseball Intellect, has suggested that many of Wang's problems may have been related to problems with his posture as well as timing issues.
What is concerning is that the Nationals continue to fill their projected rotation with groundball pitchers (Marquis, Lannan, Wang), yet their projected infield defense will feature only one gold glover and three guys that could all potentially be worse than average defenders this season. Even if Wang makes it back 100% this season, he will not be fully effective without the support of an above average MI tandem. We will see what happens as spring training approaches, but this will definitely be a situation to keep an eye on.
This was a good signing for the Nationals at the tail end of a mostly successful offseason. If Wang returns to form, then the Nationals have him under control until after the 2011 season. They now have three solid options for the rotation and possibly a fourth if Olsen can come back from injury too. If he does not regain his former greatness, then it was worth the small risk the Nationals are taking to give him a shot. Compare the logic of this risk to the Bowden-inspired risk of guaranteeing a rotation spot to Daniel Cabrera last season and this looks genius. Additionally, the game of baseball is expanding into more and more global markets with East Asia emerging as a great source of talent. As Mark Zuckerman points out, Wang will be only the third Asian player to suit up for the Nats and will be the first to be considered a star in his home country. Signing players like Wang can increase exposure to these budding markets and will increase the likelihood that future players from Asia would be willing to sign with the Nationals. You will find from reading this blog that I am a huge advocate of international scouting/signings and this is a great first step for the Nationals. In the upcoming season, I would like to see them expand their operations in Latin America, Eastern Asia, and even emerging pools like Europe and Austrailia. Expect Wang to have a huge following at spring training, even if he does not pitch an inning.
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