AAP: Ehren Wassermann

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren Josef Wassermann, RHP

Born 12/6/1980 in Sylacauga, AL

6’, 185

Throws: R

Bats: S

 

OVERVIEW

Ehren Wassermann made his way into the Sox’ system via the hard road – an open tryout. Un-drafted after a few underwhelming seasons at Samford, Wassermann took a long shot in July of 2003, and his stuff was good enough for the organization to sign him. Ehren is noted particularly for his control, both with his fastball (90-92 range) and his breaking stuff (curve and change), which is unusual for a side-armer. And while he lacks the spectacular power stuff, he also doesn’t get himself into big trouble – during his minor league career, he has given up just .22 home runs per 9 innings (that’s about 1 HR per 41 innings). With the recent (July, 2007) struggles in the White Sox pen, Wassermann may get a shot at the big league club, which would be quite a feat for an undrafted try-out sign-on.

 

PERSONAL/PRE-COLLEGE NOTES

Finished his high school career 11-4 with eight saves, including a 2.70 ERA, 114 innings pitched, 502 batters faced, 44 earned runs, 105 strikeouts and 42 walks. But he can also hit: he batted .411, including 123 hits, 129 runs scored, 89 RBI, 32 doubles, 18 home runs, 223 total bases and 16 stolen bases in three years of high school baseball… His favorite athlete is Chipper Jones… Says he is really good at Spades.

 

COLLEGE

Played 2 years at Jefferson Davis community college, doing more hitting than pitching. Hit .315 and .382 in those two years, and went to the DII World Series as a freshman… Then played just 2 years at Samford, putting up fairly pedestrian numbers… His Junior year, had a 4.05 ERA, 1.30WHIP and a 65/20 K/BB ratio in 25 appearances... Senior year his ERA jumped to 6.25 working more as a starter, going 5-8... Worked from the bullpen mostly, but did start 14 games, and was also used at 3B and DH… Majored in Sports Medicine… Made the A-Sun All-Academic team in 2002.

 

SIGN/DRAFT

Undrafted, signed with the White Sox on 7/16/2003 after an open tryout

 

MINORS

Wassermann’s first stop in his professional career at Bristol (2003) was less than stellar, compiling a 14.73 ERA and a 3.27 WHIP in 4 relief appearances, but he was promoted to Kannapolis (A-) anyway… He turned it around at Kanny with a 1.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 6 games to finish 2003, and has excelled at every stop since… Started 2004 in Kanny, promoted to Winston-Salem (A+) mid-season… Started 2005 in W-S, promoted to Birmingham (AA) mid-season… Carolina league All Star in 2005… Played all of 2006 at B-Ham… Southern League All Star in 2006.

 

Stats…

2003-2006…

Team Lg Age Org Level W L ERA G GS CG SH GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WP BK H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP

2003

Bristol App 22 Chw Rk 0 1 14.73 4 0 0 0 2 0 3.2 9 6 6 0 3 4 3 22.09 0.00 7.36 9.82 3.27

Kannapolis SAL 22 Chw A 1 1 1.00 6 0 0 0 5 0 9.0 8 1 1 0 3 10 1 8.00 0.00 3.00 10.00 1.22

2004

Kannapolis SAL 23 Chw A 2 3 2.75 50 0 0 0 47 30 55.2 44 20 17 1 16 42 4 7.11 0.16 2.59 6.79 1.08

Winst-Salm Caro 23 Chw A+ 1 0 2.70 10 0 0 0 4 1 10.0 11 4 3 1 5 5 1 9.90 0.90 4.50 4.50 1.60

2005

Winst-Salm Caro 24 Chw A+ 4 2 1.37 42 0 0 0 20 46.0 41 10 7 0 9 37 3 0 8.02 0.00 1.76 7.24 1.09

Birmingham Sou 24 Chw AA 2 0 2.14 14 0 0 0 0 21.0 23 6 5 0 7 18 2 0 9.86 0.00 3.00 7.71 1.43

2006

Birmingham Sou 25 Chw AA 4 8 2.56 61 0 22 63.1 60 26 18 3 25 47 7 1 8.53 0.43 3.55 6.68 1.34

 

This Season so far…

W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG

2 2 1.79 35 0 0 0 5 40.1 28 10 8 0 17 32 1.90 .207

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL

Non-roster invitee to 2006 and 2007 Spring Training… Pitched in 3 games over those two ST’s, pitched 2.1 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 BB, no runs, and striking out 1… Played winter league ball in the Venezuelan league in early 2007, and got beat up pretty badly – 15 ER in 13.1 IP, and a 1-3 record.

 

REFERENCE

 

Nice article about Wassermann’s tryout

 

MVN Sox farm report from May of 2007

 

Wasserman in winter ball

 

MILB page

 

Baseball Cube

 

Samford page

[JPN366]

Ehren Josef Wassermann, RHP

Born 12/6/1980 in Sylacauga, AL

6’, 185

Throws: R

Bats: S

 

OVERVIEW

Ehren Wassermann made his way into the Sox’ system via the hard road – an open tryout. Un-drafted after a few underwhelming seasons at Samford, Wassermann took a long shot in July of 2003, and his stuff was good enough for the organization to sign him. Ehren is noted particularly for his control, both with his fastball (90-92 range) and his breaking stuff (curve and change), which is unusual for a side-armer. And while he lacks the spectacular power stuff, he also doesn’t get himself into big trouble – during his minor league career, he has given up just .22 home runs per 9 innings (that’s about 1 HR per 41 innings). With the recent (July, 2007) struggles in the White Sox pen, Wassermann may get a shot at the big league club, which would be quite a feat for an undrafted try-out sign-on.

 

PERSONAL/PRE-COLLEGE NOTES

Finished his high school career 11-4 with eight saves, including a 2.70 ERA, 114 innings pitched, 502 batters faced, 44 earned runs, 105 strikeouts and 42 walks. But he can also hit: he batted .411, including 123 hits, 129 runs scored, 89 RBI, 32 doubles, 18 home runs, 223 total bases and 16 stolen bases in three years of high school baseball… His favorite athlete is Chipper Jones… Says he is really good at Spades.

 

COLLEGE

Played 2 years at Jefferson Davis community college, doing more hitting than pitching. Hit .315 and .382 in those two years, and went to the DII World Series as a freshman… Then played just 2 years at Samford, putting up fairly pedestrian numbers… His Junior year, had a 4.05 ERA, 1.30WHIP and a 65/20 K/BB ratio in 25 appearances... Senior year his ERA jumped to 6.25 working more as a starter, going 5-8... Worked from the bullpen mostly, but did start 14 games, and was also used at 3B and DH… Majored in Sports Medicine… Made the A-Sun All-Academic team in 2002.

 

SIGN/DRAFT

Undrafted, signed with the White Sox on 7/16/2003 after an open tryout

 

MINORS

Wassermann’s first stop in his professional career at Bristol (2003) was less than stellar, compiling a 14.73 ERA and a 3.27 WHIP in 4 relief appearances, but he was promoted to Kannapolis (A-) anyway… He turned it around at Kanny with a 1.00 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 6 games to finish 2003, and has excelled at every stop since… Started 2004 in Kanny, promoted to Winston-Salem (A+) mid-season… Started 2005 in W-S, promoted to Birmingham (AA) mid-season… Carolina league All Star in 2005… Played all of 2006 at B-Ham… Southern League All Star in 2006.

 

Stats…

2003-2006…

Team Lg Age Org Level W L ERA G GS CG SH GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO WP BK H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP

2003

Bristol App 22 Chw Rk 0 1 14.73 4 0 0 0 2 0 3.2 9 6 6 0 3 4 3 22.09 0.00 7.36 9.82 3.27

Kannapolis SAL 22 Chw A 1 1 1.00 6 0 0 0 5 0 9.0 8 1 1 0 3 10 1 8.00 0.00 3.00 10.00 1.22

2004

Kannapolis SAL 23 Chw A 2 3 2.75 50 0 0 0 47 30 55.2 44 20 17 1 16 42 4 7.11 0.16 2.59 6.79 1.08

Winst-Salm Caro 23 Chw A+ 1 0 2.70 10 0 0 0 4 1 10.0 11 4 3 1 5 5 1 9.90 0.90 4.50 4.50 1.60

2005

Winst-Salm Caro 24 Chw A+ 4 2 1.37 42 0 0 0 20 46.0 41 10 7 0 9 37 3 0 8.02 0.00 1.76 7.24 1.09

Birmingham Sou 24 Chw AA 2 0 2.14 14 0 0 0 0 21.0 23 6 5 0 7 18 2 0 9.86 0.00 3.00 7.71 1.43

2006

Birmingham Sou 25 Chw AA 4 8 2.56 61 0 22 63.1 60 26 18 3 25 47 7 1 8.53 0.43 3.55 6.68 1.34

 

This Season so far…

W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG

2 2 1.79 35 0 0 0 5 40.1 28 10 8 0 17 32 1.90 .207

 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL

Non-roster invitee to 2006 and 2007 Spring Training… Pitched in 3 games over those two ST’s, pitched 2.1 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 BB, no runs, and striking out 1… Played winter league ball in the Venezuelan league in early 2007, and got beat up pretty badly – 15 ER in 13.1 IP, and a 1-3 record.

 

REFERENCE

 

Nice article about Wassermann’s tryout

 

MVN Sox farm report from May of 2007

 

Wasserman in winter ball

 

MILB page

 

Baseball Cube

 

Samford page

 

You misspelled his name! It's Ehrn Wasserman! That's what ESPN2 said.

[NorthSideSox72]

You misspelled his name! It's Ehrn Wasserman! That's what ESPN2 said.

Heh. ESPN2 needs to check their info I think. According to MILB, the Barons' site and his college, I got his name spelled correctly.

 

Wait... why was he on ESPN2?

[Kalapse]

Heh. ESPN2 needs to check their info I think. According to MILB, the Barons' site and his college, I got his name spelled correctly.

 

Wait... why was he on ESPN2?

AAA All-Star Game

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren Wassermann has been called up to the majors.

[Chisoxfn]

It will be interesting to see what he can do.

[NorthSideSox72]

Article from Phil Rogers at the Trib discussing (among other things) Wassermann's potential with the team.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Well, since Ehren ended up back in Charlotte, I figured it was worth updating his AAP page. Looks like we have to start from last July...

 

Wassermann was called up to the big club in July of 2007, when the Sox bullpen was a horrible mess. Not a lot was expected of Ehren, given his background, but he managed to emerge as being possibly the strongest reliever in the 2007 pen, outside of Bobby Jenks of course. He was used in a few different scenarios at first, before eventually slotting in as a ROOGY type. Here are some highlights...

 

IP: 23.0

ERA: 2.74

WHIP: 1.17

K/BB: 14/7

GO/AO: 3.46 (5th best in MLB among pitchers with 20+ IP)

 

The numbers were pretty darn good, but that GO/AO value is particularly interesting. Playing in a park like The Cell, where balls fly out in a hurry in the summer, his ability to get a lot of ground balls seems an ideal fit. And Wassermann rarely gives up home runs - he did not give one up in all of 2007, in 65.2 IP combined with Charlotte and Chicago.

 

One weakness did show itself for Ehren in 2007 though - he struggled against lefties while with the Sox. In 11 total batters from the left side (a somewhat small sample size), they hit a whopping .533 against him. This suggested that Ehren's future may be as a ROOGY specialist.

 

During the offseason, Wassermann was guided to do a few things to improve in this area. He started working on a change-up, and he made a few small adjustments to his positioning and stride. He also went on a strength program during the winter.

 

In ST, Ehren performed well. He put up a 3.09 ERA and a very nice 0.77 WHIP in 11.2 IP, striking out 6. But those numbers had more meaning when put in context - Ehren was not pitching in a ROOGY role. They were pitching him 1 or 2 full innings at a shot, facing righties and lefties alike. And yet his stats were about as good as they were facing mostly righties in 2007. This was a very encouraging sign that perhaps his offseason changes had worked, and that Wassermann may be ready for more than just a ROOGY slot.

 

Despite his performance in ST, Wassermann was not able to make a Sox bullpen that appeared much improved (with the additions of Linebrink and Dotel). Many of us felt he was a much better choice than Mike MacDougal, who struggled in 2007 as well as in Spring Training. Whatever the reasoning, Wassermann was sent back to Charlotte. So far in Charlotte this young season, here are some of his numbers...

 

5 games

4.2 IP

0 runs

0 hits

2 BB

4 K

5 saves in 5 chances

 

There is a significant chance that someone with the big club in the 7 man bullpen will either be demoted or DL'd during the season. If that happens, unless that person is Masset (who is on a long relief role that Wassermann isn't well suited for), Ehren is likely to come back up for another chance. So for the Sox, its good to know there is some solid backup if needed.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Wassermann has been called up to the big club. That didn't take long. Mike MacDougal has been optioned (his last option) to Charlotte, due to his lack of control and possibly Ozzie's lack of confidence in MacDougal.

 

Wassermann's final AAA numbers for 2008:

 

8 games

7.2 IP

26 batters faced

no runs

no hits

3 BB

10 K

0.00 ERA

0.38 WHIP

 

Needless to say, he was doing pretty well. Hopefully he can put up numbers in Chicago similar to (or better than) he did in 2007. If he does, he'll be a nice upgrade for the bullpen.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Wassermann struggled mightily after his call-up, having a number of bad outings early on. On 6/4, the Sox acquired Estaban Loaiza, and optioned Ehren back to Charlotte.

 

Here are his numbers with the Sox:

 

11 Games

6.2 IP

0-1

ERA: 14.85

WHIP: 2.70

K/BB: 5/4

 

This was the first time in Ehren's professional career that he truly struggled - he'd been solid at every level, including with the Sox in 2007. Hopefully it was an aberration, and he can put it back together in Charlotte.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

End of June Update.

 

Since Ehren went back to Charlotte, here are his numbers...

 

W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG

0 0 0.45 17 0 0 0 7 20.0 13 1 1 1 7 19 1.00 .191

 

Needless to say, he's been doing well. Pretty much shut-down, in fact. If anyone in the Sox pen should go down before September who isn't long man, I'd say Wass would be next up. Hopefully he can show that his 6 IP in the majors this year was an aberration. If he doesn't come up before then, he'll probably be brought up in September.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Wassermann was called back up to the Sox, when Linebrink went to the DL, on July 25th.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Not sure if he really needs to be discussed as a prospect anymore, but, he's in the minors, so...

 

Ehren was in Spring Training, where his numbers were mediocre. He was outrighted to Charlotte (which means he cleared waivers), and is no longer on the 40 man roster.

 

Here were his spring numbers:

7 games, 7.0 IP, 5.14 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 6/1 K/BB

 

Link will probably close for Charlotte, so Ehren will probably be his setup guy.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Erhen's first month report for Charlotte. Similar to 2008, after missing the Opening Day roster, he got shelled a couple times - ERA of 18.00 his first two outings. But since then, he's been as dominant as he was most of 2008 in Charlotte (and almost as good as 2007 in Chicago): 9.2 IP, 0.93 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 1 BB, 10 K.

 

His overall numbers so far:

 

8 games, 12.2 IP

0-1

4.97 ERA

1.50 WHIP

.309 AvgA

1.30 GO/AO

2 BB (none in last 5 appearances)

14 K

1 HR

 

If he keeps up his recent pace, and if Carrasco or Broadway struggle or get hurt, Wassermann is a likely call-up candidate. Russell and Link are better suited for short innings, and Gobble would replace a lefty.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

So, again like in 2008, after Ehren was demoted to Charlotte this year, he struggled a few games at first, but has been lights-out since.

 

In 7 June games, he has a 0.69 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 11 K vs 2 BB in 11 IP.

 

His season numbers to date now look pretty good (he is being used as a setup guy right now):

 

24 G

39 IP

36 H

15 ER

9 BB

40 K

 

3.46 ERA

1.15 WHIP

1.53 GO/AO

.242 AvgA

2.07 BB/9

9.23 K/9

 

If he keeps this up, depending on the team's needs, don't be surprised if he gets a September call-up. He's not on the 40-man roster though, so he may be behind some other righties like Link, Marquez and Russell, who are all on the 40.

 

Its possible the best thing for Ehren might be to go to another organization, where they have more glaring bullpen needs. It seems his disappointing 2008 campaign has made the likelihood of his getting another real chance with the Sox very small.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren had a sort of meh July, but a large chunk of his bad numbers (3 of the 7 ER) can be traced to one game on 7/30 where he gave up 3 ER in 1 IP. Here are his numbers for the season thus far at Charlotte:

 

34 Games

6-3 W-L

 

3.76 ERA

1.27 WHIP

.269 AvgA

 

52.2 IP

54 H

22 ER

3 HR

13 BB

51 K

 

So he's having a good but not great season. He's 28, has had some success, but also some failure, in the majors. He's mostly shown he has no problem with AAA hitters. At this point, he'd need some injuries or trades to make the big club, with Nunez, Link and possibly Rodriguez ahead of him in line. He may get a September call-up, if there is room on the 40 man for him.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Even though the season for Charlotte isn't officially over, Ehren is now off the team, training with the World Cup team (USA). So his numbers for 2009 are complete. Here is his 2009 in Charlotte....

 

43 Games

7-3 W-L

63.2 IP

72 H

26 ER

3 HR

18 BB

57 K

1 Save

 

3.68 ERA

1.41 WHIP

.290 AvgA

1.73 GO/AO

8.05 K/9

2.54 BB/9

 

So, the good news is, Ehren continues to strike people out at a pretty good rate, walks few batters, gives up few HR's, and induces a lot of ground balls. Bad news is that batters are hitting .290 against him, and due mostly to that his baserunners allowed are still too high. Not a great year, considering he was nails in 2008 in the same league (1.15 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, .212 AvgA, 42 K in 39 IP).

 

The future doesn't look great for Ehren. He's got multiple relievers ahead of him in the Sox system (Nunez, Link, possibly Hernandez). He's a 28 year old repeating AAA and seeing his numbers actually diminish. He's not on the 40-man roster and wasn't called up on 9/1. If he's going to make the majors, its probably going to be for a different team with serious bullpen struggles. He does have major league experience and was solid his one long-term season there, so he may get a serious look somewhere. But even that is a long shot at this point.

 

Hopefully, he gets a look somewhere in Spring Training in 2010.

 

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I'll be shocked if he's not with the Padres, Rays, or A's by next ST. The Padres need whatever help they can get and both the Rays and A's organizations love guys that come from down below like Wassermann does. The Pirates and Nats could be great fits too.

 

I'm actually really surprised Wassermann is still here. I figured someone would want him by now, and I still feel like he has a shot at a career as a righty specialist. The problem is you CAN'T pitch him against lefties, which during Wassermann's tenure here has been something Ozzie has just had to do, over and over again.

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren has been playing with the USA team in the Baseball World Cup, currently taking place in Europe (Kroeger and Harrell are there too). Wassermann has been the team's closer, and has been doing pretty well. Last night in the 3rd round game against Cuba, he pitched 2.1 innings scoreless for the save.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren has been pitching in the Mexican Winter League. Interestingly, he has STARTED 4 games.

 

His stats as a starter:

4 G, 19.1 IP

3.26 ERA

1.24 WHIP

7 BB vs 10 K

 

Overall:

9 G (4 starts), 32.1 IP

3.34 ERA

1.29 WHIP

10 BB vs 20 K

 

Should be interesting to see where Wassermann ends up for the 2010 season. I wonder of the Sox wanted him to try starting, or if Ehren just went to that league to give it a shot of his own accord. I'd have to think someone would give him a spring training invite, if the Sox don't.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Ehren Wassermann has signed with the Phillies.

 

Closing.