AFL Update: November 1, 2010
Bryce Harper homers, Scorpions take third straight
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 |
the Nats red and white home jersey looks a tad like the Stanford Cardinal red and white scheme.
Now that Maxwell is out for a while. I wonder who Rizzo might turn to as an athletic outfield option off the bench in a revised OF bunch- maybe pick up a Brandon Boggs from TEX or take a flier on Jeremy Hermedia???
Wait what did I miss – maxwell is out?
He had TJ surgery on his left (non-throwing arm): http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/10/justin_maxwell_had_tommy_john.html
Oh man 🙁
When I tell my kid she’s going to cry in front of the Justin Maxwell shrine in her bedroom. LOL
I hope for a speedy recovery for him. He’s one of my fav players since being in Hagerstown and having some close ties to him.
Fangraphs picked Lombardozzi as one of five notable AA batter that are not on hte mainstream prospect radar and ran his ML projections.
Link: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/szymborskis-mles-five-notable-double-a-batters/
Nats Fan (TX): Note that Lombardozzi was the youngest (22) on the list, and that opposing players & coaches like him more than the scouts. That tells me he’s doing a lot of the ‘little things’ well, but lacks the “wow” factor that catches a scouts’ eye immediately. I personally think the kid has the potential to be a MLB-caliber MI bench player (low end), or a steady starting 2B over 6-8 years for a number of clubs (high end).
I bet the new 3b coach has ties with Rizzo in AZ. or Harris in TEX.
lets see who left in the AZ. changes??? Chip hale would be nice since Mets are under shift with
Alderson.
two ex-Giants to add to bench IF the rotation of regualr 8 changes with Dunn and Kennedy departure. Mike Fontenot and Fred Lewis add to mix. RogBern surely should get more ABs with a shift for Willingham. |Morse, Ian, Espinoza, RogBern are a nice mix. But, just WHO could be the greyhound to play CF with Nyger??? Rizzo will find out…
jeff e: Regarding Fontenot – IMO, probably not. He’s already 30, and into Arb-eligible years; While he offers more pop at the plate than AGonz, he’s not as versatile (or competent) defensively.
Should the Nationals lose Dunn at 1B (90%+ probability), either Morse (85%) or Willingham (15%) would move to 1B, barring a FA signing. That opens a spot in the OF for a starting corner OF. Fred Lewis might be in the mix, but would be somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd tier of possible replacements.
jeff e: Not sure that Rizzo will have all that much input in Listach’s replacement – I’d think he’d leave it up to Riggleman to nominate a few guys he’s comfortable with, then the two of them will do the interviews.