NationalsProspects.com

Tuesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitcher
Syracuse Cancelled
DH vs. SWB		 vs. Gwinnett,
7:00 p.m.		 Yunesky Maya (1-8, 5.30) vs.
Steven Shell (2-2, 2.74)
Harrisburg OFF DAY @ Akron,
7:05 p.m.		 Shairon Martis (7-4, 3.05) vs.
Paolo Espino (6-0, 2.44)
Potomac Lost, 2-0 @ Kinston,
6:30 p.m.		 Erik Davis (0-2. 6.57) vs.
Clayton Cook (8-8, 3.98)
Hagerstown Won, 3-2 vs.
Lexington,
7:05 p.m.		 Robbie Ray (2-2, 2.29) vs.
Mike Foltynewicz (4-9, 4.19)
Auburn ALL STAR
BREAK		 N/A N/A
GCL Nationals Lost, 9-2;
Won, 10-4
@/vs. GCL Marlins		 OFF DAY N/A
DSL Nationals Won, 5-0
@ DSL Marlins		 @ DSL Yankees1,
10:30 a.m.		 TBD vs. TBD

Syracuse-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — CNCLD
Rain cancelled Monday’s doubleheader, which, as the final meeting between the two clubs this season, will not be made up.

Harrisburg Senators — OFF DAY
It’s the stretch run for the Sens, as they embark on their penultimate road trip with a three-spot in Akron, sporting the Eastern League’s best record at 68-53 and a one-game lead over the Baysox in the Western Division.

Kinston 2 Potomac 0
• Olbrychowski (L, 4-7) 6IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4K
• Wort 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Souza 2-3, 2B, BB
• Lozada 2-4, 2B

Potomac batters struck out 18 times against Kinston in a 2-0 loss. Team leader Steve Souza (109) was the only batter not to whiff, and in fact, was one of two hitters to reach base three times (Jose Lozada was the other). The season-long inability to hit with RISP (236 in 1002 chances) was on display with an 0-for-11 night and nine runners stranded. Adam Olbrychowski put in a quality start with two runs allowed obver six innings but took the loss. Rob Wort pitched two scoreless frames to keep the game close. The loss drops the P-Nats to 26-24, five games behind Frederick, while a doubleheader loss by Lynchburg keeps the Hillcats six back of Potomac in the Carolina League Northern division.

Hagerstown 3 Lexington 2
• Slaten ⅔ IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K
• Swynenberg (W, 6-1) 7⅔ IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 3K, HR
• Freitas 3-4, R, RBI
• Keyes 2-3, R, HR, 2RBI

Handed a 1-0 deficit with two outs in the 1st by rehabbing Doug Slaten, Matt Swynenberg still managed to finish the game as the Suns won their fifth straight, 3-2 over the Legends. Swynenberg got his sixth win with seven and 2/3rds of one-run ball (a 4th-inning solo shot), giving up three hits and three walks, and striking out three. The 3-4-5 combo Adrian Sanchez, David Freitas, and Kevin Keyes accounted for all three runs in the 6th, as Sanchez doubled, Freitas singled, and Keyes homered in consecutive at-bats. The win keeps pace with Kannapolis, which still leads Hagerstown by three games as the two teams head towards a four-game showdown in N.C., starting on Thursday.

Auburn Doubledays — ALL STAR BREAK
Yesterday and today are the last scheduled off days this season in the New York-Penn League, which will fete its All-Stars tonight at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Massachusetts.

GCL Marlins 9 GCL Nationals 2
• King (L, 1-4) 4⅔ IP, 4H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 1K
• Ferrer ⅔ IP, 4H, 5R, 4ER, 0BB, 0K 3-0 IR-S
• J.C. Valdez 2-3, 2RBI
• Difo 1-3, R, 2SB

A five-run 6th turned a 4-2 win into a 9-2 beatdown in the first game of the doubleheader. Brandon King took the loss with five runs given up over four and 2/3rds innings. Jean-Carlos Valdez drove in both runs and went 2-for-3, but the G-Nats were held to just five hits total.

GCL Nationals 10 GCL Marlins 4
• Mieses 2IP, 1H, 3R, 3R, 3BB, 1K, HR
• Santana (W, 2-2) 3IP, 1H, 0R, 3BB, 3K
• J.C. Valdez 3-4, R, 3B, 4RBI
• Mesa 2-3, R, BB, RBI

The shoe was on the other hand as the G-Nats put up a six-run 3rd to break open a 4-3 lead as the G-Nats took the second game by a 10-4 count. Jean-Carlos Valdez kept up his hot hitting with a 3-for-4 game, driving in four. Andy Santana got the win with three scoreless innings of relief of Adalaberto Mieses, who went the first two innings and allowed three runs on a home run in the 2nd. With the split, the fourth-place G-Nats move to 17-30, two games up on the fifth-place G-Astros.

DSL Nationals 5 DSL Marlins 0
• Silvestre (W, 3-1) 7IP, 4H, 0R, BB, 7K
• K Rodriguez 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Mercedes 2-4, R, 2B, 3RBI
• W Rodriguez 2-2, 2R, 2BB, 2SB, 2CS

Hector Silvestre and Kelvin Rodriguez combined to shut out the DSL Marlins, 5-0. Silvestre struck out seven and walked one, allowing four hits over seven innings, while Rodriguez tossed two scoreless and hitless frames, walking one and striking out one. Yermin Mercedes drove in three of five runs with a 2-for-4 effort to lead the offense. The win improves the D-Nats to 32-33, 10½ back in the B.C. South.

16 Commments

  1. Quick question for the moderator or crowd….what exactly constitutes a ‘quality start’? Is there a specific criteria? I.e., X # of IP, + X # of H or BB allowed? Or is it a vague reference to when a SP goes at least 6 IP and leaves the game ahead? Thanks!

  2. At least 6 or more innings pitched AND 3 or fewer earned runs allowed. Many folks point out that a line of, say, 6-7-3-3-2-4 is pretty pedestrian (4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) but the reality is that very few QS fit the bare minimum — roughly 10% — and the team victory rate when a QS is thrown at the MLB level is about 67%.

    To paraphrase what its inventor, John Lowe, wrote at the time it was conceived (late 1985):

    “If a pitcher goes at least six innings and gives up no more than three earned runs, he has done his job. He has taken his team to at least the seventh inning, the stage where the good relievers usually can start coming in. And even if his own team is being shut out, it is behind by no more than 3-0 (barring a faulty defense that has caused some unearned runs). A 3-0 deficit can be erased by one or two big hits.”

    If you want to more than anyone needs to about Quality Starts, there’s the inestimable Joe Posnanski’s take.

    1. Excellent….thanks Sue for adding to my rudimentary knowledge base of advanced baseball stats!

  3. Hi everyone, if you, like me, are confused about what signing a major league contract really means, as the Nats have done with both Rendon & Purke, I think I have finally found a relatively simple explanation here.
    It’s MLBTrade Rumors quoting Keith Law, but it makes it a lot easier, at least for me, to understand.

    “2011 draft pick Trevor Bauer already received a Major League deal from the Diamondbacks, and a few more players might receive one today. Via email, Baseball America’s Jim Callis named Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Danny Hultzen (Mariners), Dylan Bundy (Orioles), and Anthony Rendon (Nationals) as candidates. Be sure to follow Jim on Twitter to get all of the latest draft pick signing scoops.

    In a 2008 article, ESPN’s Keith Law explained that “a typical minor league contract signed by an amateur player will fix his signing bonus and his salary for the first year of his minor league playing career.” A Major League deal, meanwhile, benefits the player by placing him on the 40-man roster and therefore making it easier to promote him to the Majors later. The player also has the potential of seeing a domino effect on future salaries, as his salary cannot be less than 80 percent of his total compensation from the previous year. For example, the Tigers’ Rick Porcello is earning $1.536MM even though he is not arbitration eligible until after the season, and that lifts up all his future salaries.

    The team loses roster flexibility with a Major League deal for a draft pick, though it gains the advantage of lowering the average annual value by spreading it over multiple years. This advantage can be gained through two-sport deals without the sacrifice of a 40-man spot. Callis notes that Bubba Starling and Archie Bradley will get this type of contract.

    Players have three or four years in which they can be optioned to the minors without clearing waivers, and with a Major League deal the first option is typically going to be used in the player’s first year. This sometimes accelerates a player’s timetable and forces the team’s hand”.

    1. That’s a good overall view, Mark; Thanks.
      Draft choices who team management believes to be on the fast-track to the majors will get MLB contracts & be up with the show before their options are exhausted, and their signing bonus is parsed out over the contract period. However, the option strategy can backfire, should a player be seriously injured (TJ/shoulder/ACL surgery) while still in the minors.

      For draft picks signed to minor-league deals, the team retains control of that player for either three or four years (based on College/HS experience & age) before they are exposed under RuleV if they are not under the MLB 40-man ‘security blanket’ at the time of the RuleV draft for that year.

      From a management point-of-view, each type of contract (MLB vs MiLB) has its flaws. With players on a 40-man deal, you hope they stay healthy & provevalue beyond their initial contract. With players on a MiLB contract, you hope they progress & grow value within the orginization.

    2. I just wanted to let you know that I posted a response to your inquiry earlier. I apologize for the delay.

        1. I forgot about Mock, and agree with you 100% there. Maya is interesting, as a trip to the man who fixed John Lannan might do him some good. I think Tatusko has really turned it around in the second half, and that was right after he put out is blog post about “just pitching”. If you havent read it its a good read

  5. Wait, this morning the Syracuse game was going to be Brad Peacock v. Julio Teheran. I was planning to watch that on milb.tv. Instead it’s Yunesky Maya v. Steven Shell? Now I’ll have to spend time with my wife or something…

    1. Sorry. Noticed it while doing the probables for tomorrow morning. Thought it might be better to have folks prepared for a decidedly different matchup. Should caught it earlier — perhaps a subliminal wish that they’d skip over Maya?

      1. I’m fed up with Maya. What a collossal waste of money for a guy with 1 -8 record and a 5.30 ERA in AAA. I thought this guy was supposed to be good, and I figured with him being older he would be able to handle it. Arggh!

    2. In honor of your moniker: “My wife and I have the secret to making a marriage last. Two times a week, we go to a nice restaurant, a little wine, good food….. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays.”

Comments are closed.