Lost and Found: Nationals Prospect Nathan Karns
Editor’s note: Lost and Found is an offseason series in which one underrated prospect from each of the 30 MLB clubs will be discussed in a short, snappy post.
Lost: Nathan Karns, a 12th-round pick, signed too late to pitch in 2009, underwent shoulder surgery in 2010 and wasn’t cleared to take the mound halfway through the 2011 season.
Found: Let the numbers speak for themselves.
2012: 24 G — 18 GS — 11-4 W-L — 2.17 ERA — 116 IP — 148-47 K-BB — 2 HR — .174 .AVG at Class A Hagerstown, Class A Advanced Potomac
So Karns was lost, now he is found. Now, about the Nationals’ returns: What do those numbers imply? Health and the results of his remade mechanics. Nearing his 25th birthday this month and now Washington’s 16th-ranked prospect, Karns simply needs to keep his 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame on the mound. He has the above-average fastball and plus curveball to be middle-of-the-rotation starter (or late-inning reliever) in the Majors. He should begin 2013 with more of a challenge at Double-A Harrisburg, but he has the stuff to keep it rolling there.
(By Gary Darze)
