NationalsProspects.com

Sunday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 9-6 vs. Columbus,
6:30 p.m.		 Roark (3-5, 3.89) vs.
Seddon (4-3, 4.70)
Harrisburg Won, 5-4 vs. Reading,
2:00 p.m.		 Mandel (4-3, 3.40) vs.
May (5-2, 4.10)
Potomac Lost, 7-2 @ Lynchburg,
2:05 p.m.		 Olbrychowski (1-4, 7.20) vs.
Delgado (2-1, 4.15)
Hagerstown Won, 7-1;
Lost, 7-5 		@ Lakewood,
7:05 p.m.		 TBD vs.
Oviedo (1-0, 1.50)

Columbus 9 Syracuse 6
• Maya (L, 3-5) 5⅔ IP, 6H, 7R, 7ER, 3BB, 6K, HR
• Martin 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Teahen 2-5, 2RBI
• Negrych 2-4
• Solano 2-5, R

A six-run 5th put the wind in Columbus’s sails as the Clippers built a 9-0 lead and weathered a late rally by Syracuse, 9-6. Yunesky Maya was torched for seven runs on six hits, including a three-run HR in the 5th, and suffered the loss. Mark Teahen, Jim Negrych, and Jhonatan Solano each had two hits in the loss.

Harrisburg 5 Reading 4
• Demny (W, 4-2) 5⅔ IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 4K, HR
• Pucetas (H, 2) 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 4K, 1-0 IR-S
• Perez 3-5, R, RBI, SB
• Lozada 3-4, 2R, HR, RBI
• Pahuta 1-3, R, HR, 2RBI

Big flies and mayflies were both out Last Night In Harrisburg.

Lynchburg 7 Potomac 2
• Swynenberg (L, 3-3) 5⅔ IP, 8H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 2K, 3HR
• McCatty 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Ramirez 3-4, RBI
• Freitas 1-3, R, RBI

The month of May continues to be unkind to Matt Swynenberg, as the Lynchburg Hillcats smacked three HRs in a 7-2 win over Potomac. The staff ace lost for the second time in five starts and has seen his ERA climb from 3.24 to 4.94 over that span. J.P. Ramirez led the P-Nats offense with three of their nine hits.

Hagerstown 7 Lakewood 1 — GAME ONE
• Karns (W, 2-0) 7IP, H, R, ER, BB, 10K
• Souza 2-3, R, 2B, BB, 2RBI
• Skole 2-3, R, HR, BB, RBI
• Martinson 2-4, 2R, RBI, SB

Nathan Karns threw a one-hit complete game, striking out a career-high 10 as the Suns took game one of the doubleheader, 7-1. Hagerstown broke the game open in the 3rd with a four-run rally, highlighted by Steve Souza’s two-run double. Matt Skole connected for his 10th HR in the 5th while Jason Martinson singled twice as the Suns pounded out 10 hits in the seven-inning game.

Lakewood 7 Hagerstown 5 — GAME TWO
• Smith (L, 0-1) 1⅔ IP, 4H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, K, HR
• Hawkins 2⅓ IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, BB, K
• Skole 3-3, 2B, BB, RBI
• Goodwin 2-3, 2R, 2B, 3B, BB, RBI

The tables were turned in the nightcap as the BlueClaws roughed up Jason Smith in his Low-A debut with a five-run 2nd and held on for a 7-5 win. Matt Skole went 3-for-3 with two singles and a double while Brian Goodwin doubled and tripled as Hagerstown outhit Lakewood 9-5. Jason Martinson singled to extend his hit streak to seven games and scored twice to push his league-leading tally to 52.

14 Commments

  1. OK, with Erik Komatsu ending his excellent adventure with the Cardinals and Twins, should we hope for him back, or hope that the Twins arrange a trade to keep him?

    +1/2St.

    1. As Sensfan pointed out in the LNIHbg post: There’s already a logjam of OFs in AA/AAA unless they decide to cut the likes of Jason Michaels (given Rizzo’s deathgrip on Nady, that seems unlikely).

      I have to wonder, though, if the Twins are willing to deal to keep him – that org. is in serious disarray right now. Letting him go back to DC is probably the path of least resistance.

      1. What logjam?

        In AAA, Carroll is 30. Michaels has been dreadful, is injured and 36.

        In AA, Rahl is 28 and holding his own at AA (hardly an accomplishment). Valdez is 27 with an empty .292 avg (just an .080 ISO and 5 BB).

        In what world would any of these four guys be prioritized over Komatsu, who’s only 24, can play all 3 OF spots, and hold an OBP around .300 in the big leagues (something which Michaels and Valdez have struggled to do in the minors).

        Michaels and Carroll were brought in for the purpose of filling a hole left by Komatsu. Valdez and Rahl are non-prospects who’ve managed to hang around long past their expiration date only because there’s no better options. Rizzo would be insane to not welcome Komatsu back with open arms in favor of a inferior player 4-12 years his senior.

        1. You’re misconstruing my point: Rizzo will more than likely take Komatsu back but anybody who’s hoping that such a move will result in a release is more than welcome to take a look at this land I have for sale in Florida…

          1. Unless there are some roster spots that are currently open at AAA or AA, someone would have to be released (or at least demoted) to make room for him, right? So I don’t understand your point that one would be naive to expect a release, unless you’re saying Rizzo is unlikely to take Komatsu back (which would contradict your first point).

            The other option would be to work out a trade with the Twins, but that sounds like a dumb idea, unless the Twins really like Komatsu and would overpay for him, which doesn’t appear to be the case as they just DFA’d him for a reliever. Otherwise, if he really doesn’t fit into the Nats’ plans (a point I take exception to), they can bring him back and negotiate a trade with any team, not just the Twins.

  2. Or put on the DL. And for the record “logjam” does not equal “he really doesn’t fit into the Nats plans.” Follow the bounding ball… players have been shuffled on/off rosters willy-nilly and despite the huge number of players in XST, just one full-season player has been released (Winters).

    1. I have heard reports that Evan Bronson was let go, but he hasnt shown up on any transaction reports from BA, MiLB lists him as active, and he hasnt shown up in the independant leagues. Maybe it was an injury keeping him out of ST? Guess we will have to wait and see

    2. I take your point about shifting the rosters around, but as I mentioned, the players are Michaels, Carroll, Rahl and Valdez (throw in Paul in to the mix too, if you like) that would have to be moved, whether that be cut, demoted or DL’d.

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t just send one of those guys to XST. That works in A ball, but all these guys are 27+, and I don’t think they’d take kindly to a non-injury stint on the DL or a few weeks in Florida away from competitive ball.

      1. I believe Michaels may be eligible for the June 1 opt-out clause described by BA here, but I could very well be wrong about that. Michaels was released March 29, but it’s not clear if his release and re-signing eliminated that clause or not.

        As of 5:36 p.m. 5/27, all signs point to Bernadina getting DFA’d and Brown getting added to the 40-man. Of course, if there’s a way to exploit this coincidence (Komatsu/Tracy/Brown), Rizzo, et al will find it. Do not be surprised, for example, if a trade is consummated out of this. Rizzo routinely throws me for a loop — J.R. Higley getting assigned instead of designated yo-yo Chris Curran (who’s at least played some “competitive ball” thus far), for example. Of course, Rafael Martin’s stint on the TIL says to me that another move or two are definitely in the works (not to mention three catchers on the roster).

        1. What does this mean for Rafael Martin? Is he being sent back to training (in Florida)? Moving up? Is he being traded? TIL means inactive for 3 days, is that enough for him to get back or get sent elsewhere? Do they usually sent players back to Florida training during the season?

          1. No, he’s likely going to be reactivated after three games — after throwing two innings on Saturday night, that’s roughly how many games he would have been on the shelf anyway. It’s been used in Hagerstown unabashedly thus far, to the point where I haven’t needed to do a separate transactions post because there’s been something to report on almost every day.

  3. I would remind all that Komatsu did not shine while at Harrisburg last year. He also did not shine while with the woeful Twins which was a great opportunity for him.

Comments are closed.