Calgary product dreams of majors
Jim Henderson in Nationals system
ALLEN CAMERON CALGARY HERALD

Geographically, Jim Henderson is but 30 minutes away from the major leagues of baseball.

The lanky Calgary product finds himself this season Woodbridge, Va., working out of the bullpen of the Carolina League's Potomac Nationals - the better of the two single-A affiliates of the Washington Nationals, and a convenient half-hour drive for team officials from RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Realistically, though, the 23-year-old right-hander acknowledges he's still a work in progress, and making the jump to the Show likely is a few seasons off.

Still, a guy can dream, can't he?

"It's tough to be patient," said Henderson, a few hours after Sunday's scheduled home date against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans was rained out. "But then you see something like Mike O'Connor, who started (Saturday for Washington) against the Braves, and he was in Potomac last year. You see that, and you know you've got a chance at some point. The next step is Double-A, and they bring guys up from Double-A every year."

That Henderson is still part of the Nationals organization is something of a feat in itself. A 26th-round selection of the Montreal Expos in 2003, Henderson has survived a purge of the Nationals' minor-league system in order to right a ship that has resulted in the big-league club staggering through the early part of the season, paying the price for a lack of depth in the minors.

"I was just thinking about that the other day; some guys who were in my draft class were released during spring training, but I'm still here," said Henderson, a product of the Calgary Dawgs. “We haven't really had the most winningest organization over the last two years; I think we've been at the bottom of the heap. But this year, our team first in the division and the Double-A team is doing very well. They (Nationals) have a whole bunch of new personnel this year, we have new bosses and their attitude is all about winning. They're trying to develop players, but they really want to win this year, and they're pushing hard to win a lot of games. I think they're sick of being laughed at."

Since signing with the Expos/Nationals following the draft, Henderson has had stops in Vermont in the New York-Penn rookie league and spent last season Savannah, Ga., the low-A affiliate. He started this season in Potomac, was sent back to Savannah for a week, and moved back up to the high -A team, where he's been ever since.

"I'm kind of the last one put on the (Potomac) roster, as far as pitching goes at the beginning of the season," he said. "I knew going in that I was just one injury away from making it up to high-A, and they told me that. I think I'm here for good now - plenty of guys have moved up to Double-A, and other guys have moved down to Savannah, so I'm staying put"

Henderson, who's hit 94 mph on the radar gun, has appeared in eight games, all in relief, posting a 1-0 record with a 5.29 ERA, striking out 15 and walking five in 17 innings of work. "I've had a couple rough outings, but they like the idea that I'm a starter and I can be used in long relief, and I'll get a chance to make some spot starts here and there," he said.

"When I was first told I was going to the bullpen, I was a little disappointed because I enjoy starting. But it's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. It's kind of fun to go out there; it's a different perspective at the end, when you get there and the game's close. I'd probably still prefer to start, but it's fun both ways, I'm enjoying it."