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2008 Wrist problems only shelved Werth for a month last year, an accomplishment given that the joint ruined his 2005 and caused him to miss all of 2006. When he played, he toasted lefties the way he had back in 2004, hitting .375/.467/.591 against them. He's not the same hitter against righties, as he struck out in more than a third of his at-bats against them, but he did maintain his willingness to take a walk against the same-handed. This year, Werth will form a platoon with Geoff Jenkins, assuming he can stay off the DL. That caveat would be gratuitous with a lot of players, but in Werth's case it's absolutely necessary. 2007 The nightmare continues. Werth broke his left wrist in the 2005 spring-training opener, and when he was finally able to play, the injury hampered him significantly. After the season, doctors discovered that he`d also torn a ligament in the wrist. He had surgery, but his rehab went poorly, and he went under the knife again in August. Non-tendered by the Dodgers, he signed on to be the Phillies` fourth outfielder, reuniting with Pat Gillick, who was GM in Baltimore when the Orioles made Werth their 1997 first-round pick. At this writing, Werth has yet to resume baseball activities, including a hoped-for stint in winter ball. With luck he`ll recover to build on his promising 2004 campaign, but that seems unlikely. 2006 For bad omens as to how the Dodgers` season would pan out, only Gagne`s February knee sprain trumped Werth`s broken wrist, which came in the spring-training opener. It first seemed Werth would be able to play again in a few weeks, but he didn`t return until May 25. As it turned out, the wrist never fully healed, and he had off-season surgery to repair a torn ligament. He also had a bit of knee trouble repaired, and won`t be ready by the start of spring training.. Despite the knee problems, he showed good speed and played strong defense, even covering center field well. Once he`s healthy, bet on him to build on his 2004 and put last year`s nightmare behind him. 2005 One time Oriole catching prospect, now a super-utility man who can swing the power bat while nominally occupying a left-spectrum defensive position. Fully capable of putting up a big offensive season that would make him a very rich man. Given how tough it is to find 162-game players, a guy like Werth who can be worked into a rotation can be very valuable, particularly with the DH spot coming up a few times a year in interleague play. He'll likely see a time-share with Grabowski and Ricky Ledee, but Werth's a good enough player to be a bopping outfielder on a number of teams. 2003 Tossing aside the catching gear, Werth is officially an outfielder. A great athlete, he shines in either outfield corner and can even occasionally spell Wells in center. Hitting coach Mike Barnett wants to shorten his long swing in hopes of slicing his whiffs. Werth looks like he’ll be one of those undervalued players that don’t hit for a high batting average, but have strong secondary numbers. Given his huge platoon split, we might be looking at the next Gary Roenicke. 2002 Orioles’ super-genius Syd Thrift gave away former first-rounder Werth after he seemed to stall in Double-A. Throughout his struggles, Werth retained excellent control of the strike zone, and everything jelled the second half of last season. Despite the catching logjam at the upper levels, the immediate plan is to keep Lawrence, Phelps, and Werth sporting the tools of ignorance and see what shakes out, though Werth’s athleticism and rough defense may ultimately lead to a position switch. 2001 On one hand, Jayson Werth had a disappointing season. He started at Bowie and was demoted to Frederick, and his EqA declined. On the other hand, his isolated power was up a little, his walks continued to increase, and there was no increase in his strikeout rate. That performance indicates that the foundation of his hitting skills is solid, giving him a better than average chance of rebounding in 2001. His throwing arm isn’t good, which is why his catcher rating is so low; a move to the outfield might free up his hitting development. Werth was traded to the Blue Jays in November for a middle-relief prospect, a fairly inexplicable move. 2000 A tall, athletic catcher who’s drawn comparisons to Jason Kendall and Dale Murphy, Werth comes from a family of major leaguers. He’s a line-drive hitter who hasn’t yet shown power, but everybody assumes that will come before long. The statistical decline at Double-A is deceptive; he was tearing the league apart until a baserunning injury left him with a hairline fracture of his wrist, and he hit just .171 while playing through it. The biggest question is whether the Orioles will allow him to remain at catcher or move him to the outfield. 1999 The Oriole scouting department really has a bias for bloodlines. There's Luzinski and Hairston and DeCinces. Ripken, of course. McDonald's older brother is a Yankee. And Werth, the other first-round pick from '97: his mother is Dick Schofield's sister, his grandfather is Ducky Schofield, and his stepfather is Dennis Werth, who had a 139-AB career over four years. He's a good catcher - he nailed 64 would-be base thieves, second most in pro ball last year - but he’s big, athletic, and has such potential as a hitter that he may not remain there.
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