Tag Archives: Sammy Solis

AFL Update: November 10, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 10, 2010 - 7:38 am | ,
5 Comments

A better game for the Nats, but the Scottsdale Scorpions fell 7-4 to Phoenix Desert Dogs to snap their four-game win streak. Highlights included:

  • Michael Burgess smacked a two-run HR (his 1st in the AFL), doubled, and scored two runs while going 2-for-4 and playing RF
  • Steve Lombardozzi went 0-for-1 off the bench and played 2B
  • Adam Carr tossed two scoreless innings, allowing no hits and just one walk
  • Cole Kimball gave up a hit but struck out two while keeping the Desert Dogs off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 8th

The Mesa Solar Sox also lost, thus the Scottsdale lead remains at two games with eight to play. Sammy Solis (0-0, 5.17)  is slated to take the hill this afternoon against former National farmhand Daryl Thompson as the Scorpions visit the Peoria Saguaros this afternoon. Bryce Harper is also expected to play.

AFL Update: November 8, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 8, 2010 - 7:03 am | ,
10 Comments

It’s a light update for the Nats in the AFL. Just one played in Friday’s game, obligatory SEO insert Bryce Harper, who went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts and was caught stealing. John Sickels, who was presumably in Arizona to catch the AFL Rising Stars game (Burgess made the lone Nat appearance, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout), had this to say about what he saw:

I got to see Bryce Harper play last night for the first time. It is hard to believe he just turned 18. I would rate his raw power at an 80 on the traditional scale. He’s got outstanding bat speed, and while he can be fooled at this point, he did make an effort to work the count and showed the ability to make adjustments in the same at-bat. It was just one game but I saw enough to completely buy into the hype.

I’m sure more folks will weigh in next week, but as the snarky strikethrough suggests, it’s pretty clear that the comparisons to A-Rod and Griffey may in fact be justified… so the baseball world is watching with baited breath, which leads to an awful lot of one-handed typing. I’m excited, too, but the hype is something I hate — especially with a fanbase that’s both impatient and imbued with an enormous sense of entitlement. Hey, what’s this soapbox doing here?

As we’ve done the past few Mondays, here’s a look at the AFL stats through Friday (22 games):

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 14 57 13 15 6 2 0 3 8 5 .263 .368 .439 1
Burgess 13 49 5 11 2 1 0 7 3 16 .224 .264 .306 1
Norris 12 36 7 9 3 1 3 15 11 13 .250 .429 .639 2
Harper 6 23 3 8 2 0 1 4 3 8 .348 .423 .565 0

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP H R ER BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Solis 0 0 0 5.17 4 15⅔ 19 12 9 6 8 1.596 0 0
Peacock 0 0 0 2.70 7 10 7 3 3 2 14 0.900 2 0
Kimball 0 0 1 1.00 8 9 6 1 1 1 11 0.889 0 8
Carr 1 0 0 3.00 7 9 5 3 3 2 6 .889 0 3

AFL Update: November 4, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 4, 2010 - 8:33 am | ,
10 Comments

A busier-than-usual day for the Nationals in the AFL, as five of the eight saw action in a 9-3 Scottsdale win over Surprise.

  • Steve Lombardozzi returned to 2B and the #2 spot in the order and had a 2-for-5 afternoon with a triple and two runs scored.
    He also helped turn two double plays.
  • Bryce Harper batted sixth and played RF, walking twice (his first two BBs), and scoring two runs in a 1-for-2.
    He also collided with the opposing team’s catcher in scoring one of the runs.
  • Sammy Solis allowed two runs on five hits and one walk over four innings. He also gave up a home run and stuck out one.
  • Brad Peacock allowed a run on one hit (triple) while striking out one in his lone inning of work
  • Cole Kimball pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing a hit and striking out one , lowering his ERA to 1.13

Adam Foster from Project Prospect was tweeting from yesterday’s game, and besides the Harper takeout play, which he described as “Nobody f’s with Bryce Harper,” he had the following tweets that are of interest:

…[Bryce Harper has a p]lus arm, good instincts, good speed, aggressive. Should be at least MLB average in RF.

…Brad Peacock’s FB last inning: 96, 94, 95, 95, 95, 95, 96, 95.

…If you like SP who command a low-90s FB with movement along with a changeup, you may like Sammy Solis. He has touched 94 today, too.

…Solis has a promising changeup, but his success with it will hinge on his ability to command it.

The only thing I can add is that Peacock’s velocity as a starter was 93-95. It’s not that hard to imagine that if he were being groomed as a setup man, he could could touch 97 or 98 after an offseason of rest and conditioning.

AFL Update: November 3, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 3, 2010 - 8:13 am | ,
5 Comments

The Scottsdale Scorpions lost again, falling to the Peoria Javelinas by a 7-4 count. Here’s a look at how the Nats fared:

  • Steve Lombardozzi led off and played SS. He went 3-for-4 with a triple, but was caught stealing for the second time.
  • Derek Norris batted sixth and drew two walks but went o-for-2 otherwise.
  • Michael Burgess batted eighth and extended his hitless streak to 15AB with another 0-for-4 game.
    He did, however, throw out a runner at the plate.
  • Adam Carr pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out one.

Sammy Solis, to clarify, is scheduled to start today as will (presumably) Bryce Harper. Yesterday, the AFL announced rosters for the 5th Annual Rising Stars Game and Burgess and Cole Kimball were named to the Eastern Division squad.

[Editorial]The selection of Burgess is mystifying as is the exclusion of Norris. At first glance, it would appear that catcher Tony Sanchez would have bumped Norris (the old “every team must have a representative” canard), until you notice that Pirate OF Andrew Lambo, who also plays RF, is batting .304/.351/.522. As noted yesterday in the comments, it would almost appear as if the managers got together, determined whose turn it was to play, and cobbled the rosters accordingly [/Editorial]

AFL Update: November 2, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 2, 2010 - 8:27 am | ,
2 Comments

Three Nats bats saw time in yesterday’s game, which saw the Scottsdale Scorpions’ winning streak snapped with a 7-4 loss to the Peoria Javelinas:

  • Derek Norris caught and batted sixth, going 1-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and two strikeouts. He also committed two throwing errors and allowed a stolen base
  • Michael Burgess played RF and batted eighth and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout
  • Steve Lombardozzi played SS and batted ninth, and also went o-for-4 with a strikeout. He committed an error as well

Sammy Solis is scheduled to make his fourth start tomorrow. Solis was one of several pitchers recently featured in The Hardball Times which contains some video but it’s from the spring, not this fall.

Also on our radar is the 2010 AFL Rising Stars game, which will be broadcast on Saturday night on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com. Rosters have not yet been released, but one would strongly suspect that they will find a way to make Bryce Harper available.

AFL Update: November 1, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | November 1, 2010 - 8:37 am | ,
10 Comments

Here’s a look at how the Nationals fared over the weekend in the Arizona Fall League…

FRIDAY
The Scorpions stung the Solar Sox by a 9-1 count.

  • Steve Lombardozzi played shortstop and batted from the two-hole, walking twice, scoring two runs while doubling once in three at-bats.
  • Michael Burgess played RF and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
  • Brad Peacock allowed a run on two hits over two innings, but walked none and struck out one.

SATURDAY
A five-run bottom of the eighth gave the Scorpions their third straight win with a 13-9 decision

  • Steve Lombardozzi led off but still played shortstop and went 2-for-5 with a double, a RBI, and two runs scored. He also committed a throwing error.
  • Bryce Harper homered in his first at-bat (pictured above), singled in his second at-bat, and doubled in his third at-bat but struck out in at-bats nos. four and five to post a 3-for-5 afternoon with 2RBI
  • Cole Kimball pitched a scoreless ninth, but gave up two hits while striking out one.

With 17 games in the books, the Scottsdale Scorpions lead their division by two games with five games scheduled for this week. Cumulative stats for the… wait for it… Nats:

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 11 44 11 10 6 0 0 3 8 3 .227 .364 .364 1
Burgess 10 37 4 10 2 1 0 7 3 13 .270 .317 .370 1
Norris 9 26 7 8 2 1 3 6 9 7 .308 .486 .808 2
Harper 4 17 1 6 2 0 1 4 0 5 .353 .353 .647 0

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP H R ER BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Solis 0 0 0 5.40 3 11⅔ 14 10 7 5 7 1.629 0 0
Peacock 0 0 0 2.00 6 9 6 2 2 2 13 0.889 2 0
Kimball 0 0 1 1.29 6 7 5 1 1 1 7 0.857 0 6
Carr 1 0 0 3.86 5 7 5 3 3 2 4 1.000 0 2

AFL Update: October 29, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | October 29, 2010 - 8:35 am | ,
10 Comments

Scottsdale snapped its three-game losing streak with a 9-5 win over the Surprise Rafters. Sammy Solis got the start, Adam Carr relieved and three Nats appeared in the lineup. Here are the highlights…

  • Solis went five innings (70 pitches) and allowed five runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk while striking out three. He gave up a HR and committed a throwing error.
  • Steve Lombardozzi’s struggles continued with an 0-for-5 night in the leadoff spot, though he did help turn two DP’s.
  • Offensively, Derek Norris drove in five, three by an eighth-inning HR, while catching and batting sixth. He also doubled and scored two runs. Defensively, his streak of throwing out runners ended as St. Louis farmhand Adron Chambers swiped three bags and Detroit’s Francisco stole one. Norris also allowed a passed ball, his third of the fall.
  • Michael Burgess went 1-for-4 with an RBI while playing R, but struck out three times.
  • Adam Carr pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and stuck out a batter.

The win puts Scottsdale at 9-6, tied again with the Mesa Solar Sox for first place. Tonight they host Mesa, and tomorrow afternoon they face Peoria. Look for the weekend wrapup and updated AFL stats on Monday.

AFL Update: October 28, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | October 28, 2010 - 7:39 am | ,
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A six-run second inning wasn’t enough as the Scottsdale Scorpions fell for the third straight time 7-6.
Highlights from the Nationals that played…

  • Derek Norris drew three walks as the DH, stole his 2nd base, and scored a run.
  • Bryce Harper went o-for-4 with two strikeouts, but gunned down a runner at home plate as part of a double play.
  • Cole Kimball pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, striking out one batter.

Sammy Solis is scheduled to start this afternoon’s game versus the Surprise Rafters.

AFL Update: October 25, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | October 25, 2010 - 9:02 am | ,
11 Comments

Here’s a look at how the Nationals fared over the weekend in the Arizona Fall League…

FRIDAY
The Scottsdale Scorpions pounded the Peoria Javelinas 12-4

  • Steve Lombardozzi led off and played second base, helping to turn two double plays and going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI (via sac fly).
  • Sammy Solis started and got torched for four runs (all earned) on four hits and three walks over three innings. He struck out three.
  • Brad Peacock got his second hold with a scoreless inning of relief, alowing one hit and striking out two.

SATURDAY
Scottsdale cruised to its eighth win in eleven games with a 6-1 decision over the Phoenix Desert Dogs

  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup, swatting his second home run of the fall campaign in a 1-for-3 night with a run scored, a walk, a strikeout, and two RBI. He threw out another baserunner.
  • Michael Burgess batted seventh and played RF, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout.
  • Bryce Harper was the DH and went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Cole Kimball was touched for a run on two hits and a walk while pitching the ninth.

After 11 games, the stats…

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 6 24 6 6 4 0 0 2 4 2 .250 .367 .417 0
Burgess 7 24 2 6 1 0 0 4 3 8 .250 .321 .292 1
Norris 6 19 4 6 1 1 2 6 5 7 .316 .480 .789 1
Harper 2 8 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 .375 .375 .500 0

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP H R ER BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Solis 0 0 0 6.75 2 6⅔ 6 5 5 4 4 1.500 0 0
Peacock 0 0 0 1.50 4 6 4 1 1 1 12 0.833 2 0
Kimball 0 0 1 1.80 4 5 3 1 1 1 5 0.800 0 4
Carr 1 0 0 2.25 3 4 2 1 1 2 2 1.000 0 1

AFL Update: October 22, 2010

  By Luke Erickson | October 22, 2010 - 7:52 am | ,
3 Comments

In the downtime between Bryce Harper appearances, we’ll still keep you updated on how that Nats did in AFL action. Last night, three players were in the game, which the Scottsdale Scorpions lost 4-2…

  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup but went o-for-3 and threw out a baserunner.
    He was also hit by a pitch.
  • Michael Burgess played RF and batted eighth, going 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two strikeouts.
  • Adam Carr pitched a scoreless eighth inning and struck out one.

Scottsdale’s record stands at 6-3, tied for first place in the AFL American Division with the Mesa Solar Sox.
Sammy Solis is expected to get the start tonight against the Peoria Javelinas.