Message #742658

[Smithian]

Career So Far
During four years with the Texas Rangers minor league system (three class-A affiliates and AA Frisco), Ryan Tatusko bounced between starting and relief roles, racking up 58 starts in 101 total appearances. In 2010, armed with a fastball that now reached 92-94 miles an hour, he posted a 2.97 ERA, 1.340 WHIP, and 5.4 K/9 in the hitter-friendly Texas League - allowing just two home runs in 100 innings.

So the Nationals acquired him, along with his teammate Tanner Roark, in exchange for Cristian Guzman midway through 2010. Tatusko's arrival in AA Harrisburg was nothing short of electric: six starts over which he pitched 36.2 innings, with a K/BB of 36/13 and a WHIP of 1.173. GM Mike Rizzo cited Tatusko's "great stuff" and "really good curveball" as inspiration for the trade, and no doubt his groundout tendencies as well: since the start of 2010, he's allowed 4 home runs in 149.2 innings (0.24 HR/9).