If Drew Storen stays on the Nationals' roster all season, he will pile up 140 days of service time this year, enough to have a good chance at Super Two status after 2012. There are no guarantees that relievers- young or old- can maintain enough consistency to merit a roster spot all season long. And there are no guarantees that Storen will accumulate a full year of service time in 2011 and 2012.
But Storen's pedigree (drafted 10th overall) and hot start (10.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9) suggest he's as likely as any 22-year-old to stay in the major leagues. If he does, he'll be a Super Two in a couple years and will cost the Nationals more because he will go to arbitration four times, instead of the usual three.
Jonathan Broxton, another reliever who arrived in the majors at a young age, will earn $12.825MM for his three arbitration years. That shows that relievers can make big money before they hit free agency. Of course, Broxton has been nothing but dominant since 2006 and it's premature to ask for that kind of consistency from Storen. But if Storen stays healthy and lives up to his potential as a top prospect, he could become a Super Two player and earn even more than Broxton through arbitration.
Im sorry, but no prospect should be compared to Broxton.. its like comparing someone to Mariano Rivera, these guys have dominated their positions and are some of the best at what they do… comparing a 22 year old to them is very premature.
*I know you were using Broxton because A. They are both closers with good peripherals, and B. Broxton just signed his deal, just saying that comparing them at Storen’s stage of his career is premature
Didn’t you just compare Broxton to Mariano, though?
No, or at least I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. I was saying that comparing him to one of the best in the NL is premature. Same for doing it with any closer and someone like Mo. While broxton is trying to earn the title as one of the best, no one is on the level of Mo when you consider age and level of dominance.
Have the Nats really done due diligence here on trying to see if Storen can start? He’s been fantastic as a reliever, but I’d have to think he’d be more valueable to them as a starting pticher even if that means taking a little longer to build up his arm strength.
He was a reliever throughout his college career, he was only selected so high because the Nats knew they’d be able to sign him and with the Strasburg pick they had to get someone with signability, so they chose their future closer.