Trade Reaction – Gio Gonzalez/Brad Peacock/Tom Milone/Derek Norris

Jan 15, 2012 by Dan Wheelock

On December 22, the Washington Nationals acquired lefty hurler Gio Gonzalez and right-hander Robert Gilliam from the Oakland A’s for four prospects, including three of their top ten according to Baseball America. Pitchers Brad Peacock (#3), A.J. Cole (#4) and Tom Milone were sent back to Oakland along with catcher Derek Norris (#9).

Let’s take a closer look at the players that may be relevant to us this year.

Gio Gonzalez

The Nats obviously coveted the 26-year old Gonzalez and it was for good reason. Gio has thrown for just over 200 innings each of the past two seasons with an ERA of 3.23 and 3.12. He also strikes out batters at a clip of almost one per inning (his career K/9 is 8.6). The biggest issue with Gonzalez is his command. While it has improved since he entered the league (6.6! and 5.1 BB/9 in 2008 and 2009, respectively), he has walked 4.1 batters per nine innings in each of the last two seasons. The result is an un-sexy 1.31 WHIP. Gonzalez is entering his prime so perhaps there is hope that his control can improve a bit, but I wouldn’t bank on it. As I said about former teammate Trevor Cahill, you can expect an improvement in a pitcher’s ratios with a move from the AL to the NL because of the lack of a DH.

Gonzalez should still be a bargain on draft day as the name recognition still isn’t there as is the case with a lot of AL West players. He should perform as a top-20 starting pitcher this year without that kind of price tag. I wasn’t aware of the stats he was putting up until I was debating his keeper value with a fellow Grapefruit Leaguer and was forced to check out his stats. I tracked the A’s exciting trio (Gonzalez, Cahill and Brett Anderson) in the minors a few years back and was disappointed with Gio’s early results and have since lost interest in him. This happens with a lot of players that end up being post-hype sleepers. Don’t completely give up on these guys that come up and don’t live up to expectations right away. Anyway, I like Gio Gonzalez heading into 2012 and you should too.

Brad Peacock

Peacock, a 41st-round draft pick in 2006, seemingly came out of nowhere last year to dominate the high minors. In 146 2/3 innings in AA and AAA, Peacock sported a 2.39 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP and a strikeout ratio of 10.9. Those are numbers to get excited about! His success continued for the big club as he only gave up one run and 13 baserunners in 12 innings.

Peacock certainly won’t be drafted in mixed leagues but he’s worth keeping an eye on. The A’s have depleted their rotation recently and Peacock could earn a spot in it with a good spring training much like Michael Pineda did with the Mariners last year.

Tom Milone

Milone, like Peacock, could also be in the mix to be in the A’s starting rotation in 2012. The lefty progressed nicely through the Nationals’ farm system spending exactly a season at A+ Potamoc, AA Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse. Milone has a sterling walk rate (1.3 in 2010 and 1.0 in 2011) and has managed to strike out nearly a batter per inning (8.8 K/9 in 2010 and 9.4 in 2011) while keeping an ERA around 3.00.

Derek Norris

Norris, almost 23, was Baseball America’s 38th ranked prospect in 2010 before falling to #72 in their rankings before the 2011 season. He strikes out with the worst of them (117 times in 334 at bats last year) but he also has some pop (20 big flies). Don’t be surprised to see Norris up with the A’s at some point this season. They will surely be out of the playoff mix pretty early and it’s not like Kurt Suzuki is going to do too much to block him. Think of Norris as a J.P. Arencibia type player. He will destroy your average but provide some nice power from the catcher position. It just may not happen until 2013.

Photo from flickr user deb roby