BY RICH CAMPBELL
WASHINGTON--
Collin Balester watched during April as two of his fellow starting pitchers at Triple-A Columbus were called up to Washington.He can hardly wait to join them.
Balester, the Nationals' top-ranked right-handed pitching prospect according to Baseball America magazine, has advanced to the cusp of the major leagues this spring by steadily increasing his velocity into the mid-90s. With a bit more consistency, he could become the Nationals' next pitching prospect to arrive.
"I would say I'm very, very eager, but I'm not thinking about it so much that it would make me not perform good or get mad that I'm not up," Balester said this week.
"I think about it, and everyone thinks about it, but you've got to keep it in the back of your mind and kind of not read about what's going on up there. You just perform on the field and good things are going to happen."
Balester, 21, has steadily ascended through the farm system since being drafted out of high school in Huntington Beach, Calif. in the fourth round of 2004, the franchise's last season in Montreal.
He is currently 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA in five starts at Columbus. In 23 innings, he has 20 strikeouts and nine walks.
At 6-foot-5 and 194 pounds, he has developed a reputation as a power pitcher. He's always had a good fastball, but he has taken it to new level recently.
He has reached 95 mph this season, significantly faster than any of the Nationals' current five starters. In high school, Balester maxed out at 92, but he'd consistently throw in the high 80s.
Once he was drafted, though, he began lifting weights to strengthen his leg and core muscles. In 2006, he began working with trainer Alan Jaeger in Jaeger's popular yoga and long-toss program.
His fastball soon improved.
"It's something we didn't see the last couple years," general manager Jim Bowden said. "Obviously, we're very pleased with the velocity that he's showing. He's continues to get better and develop, and I think he's a starter that will certainly be in our consideration between now and the end of the year."
That's exactly what Balester wants to hear, especially after John Lannan and Mike O'Connor were promoted last month.
Lannan, one of Balester's good friends, has been brilliant for the Nationals so far. He stays in frequent contact with Balester and offers encouragement.
"I tell him not to think about it that much, when he's getting called up, because it can eat you alive if you think about it all the time," Lannan said. "If you think about, 'Why aren't they calling me up?' you can't do that. I try to just tell him, 'Go out and have quality starts and not worry about it.'"
For Balester to get the call he craves, he must be more consistent and win more games, Bowden said.
He has mixed in some strong outings (six shutout innings on Apr. 10) with some bad ones (three innings, five earned runs on Apr. 27).
He appreciates, however, the learning experience that the ups and downs provide.
"Doing bad ultimately makes you better," Balester said. "I'm young and I'm glad I get to learn all these things--learn how to fail and all that stuff--when I'm young. So when I'm 22, 23, 24, hopefully up there, I've already been through that stuff. It's good that I'm young and learning right now."
So he doesn't mind if his major-league debut has to wait a bit. He just doesn't want to wait too much longer.
"I don't want to get up there from someone getting hurt or something like that," Balester said. "I want to earn my way. I'm just trying to do well every start and see what happens."
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com