Friday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Lost, 4-2 | @ Indianapolis, 7:15 p.m. |
McGregor (4-4, 3.64) vs. Liz (0-1, 0.00) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-1 | @ Binghamton, 7:05 p.m. |
Voth (3-5, 3.62) vs. Lugo (2-4, 4.15) |
| Potomac | Tied, 0-0 (Susp.) | @ Wilmington, 7:05 |
TBD and Lopez (4-3, 4.50) vs. TBD and Goudeau (2-1, 1.29) |
| Hagerstown | Lost, 9-7 | @ Delmarva, 7:05 p.m. |
Purke (1-2, 2.45) vs. Grimes (5-4, 4.59) |
| Auburn | Lost, 12-3 | vs. West Virginia, 7:05 p.m. |
Rodriguez(0-0, 5.40) vs. TBD |
Charlotte 4 Syracuse 2
• Ross (L, 0-1) 5IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 4K, HR
• Meek 1⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 2K, 1-0 IR-S
• Lisson 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Mastroianni 2-4, 2B, RBI
The Knights roughed up Joe Ross for three runs in his AAA debut as they doubled up the Chiefs, 4-2 to earn a series split. Ross struck out four, walked one, and gave up five hits, including a solo HR in his fifth and final inning. Veterans Darin Mastroianni and Mario Lisson both went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI to lead the Syracuse offense, which sputtered to a 2-for-12 mark with RISP.
Roster move: While not official yet, James Wagner of the Washington Post is reporting that Trea Turner has been promoted.
Harrisburg 2 Binghamton 1
• Bacus (W, 4-1) 7⅔ IP, 5H, R, ER, 4BB, 6K
• Harper (H, 4) ⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K, 2-0 IR-S
• Mendez (SV, 6) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Bostick 2-3, 2B
• Severino 1-3, BB, RBI
Harrisburg scored early but not often but got the pitching necessary to win, 2-1. Dakota Bacus pitched a career-high seven and 2/3rds innings with just one run allowed on five hits and four walks while striking out six. Bryan Harper stranded two runners while getting the last out of the 8th to earn his fourth hold. Gilberto Mendez struck out two while closing the door in the 9th. Christopher Bostick went 2-for-3 to lead the Senator hit column while Pedro Severino and Matt Skole each had an RBI single in the 1st inning.
Potomac 0 Wilmington 0 — SUSP.
Lucas Giolito, who will be going to the Futures Game for the second straight year along with Trea Turner, had his night end early thanks to the rain. They’ll complete this one tonight then play a seven-inning game for a de facto doubleheader.
Roster move: RHP Cody Davis released.
Delmarva 9 Hagerstown 7
• Van Orden 3IP, 6H, 6R, 6ER, 2BB, 2K
• Williams (L, 0-1) 2IP, 0H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4K
• Davidson 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Read 2-4, 2B
• Keller 2-5, R, 2B, RBI
A seven-run lead was too small for Hagerstown’s pitchers to work with as they gave up nine unanswered runs in a 9-7 loss to Delmarva. Drew Van Orden started and was shellacked for six runs in his third and final inning of work. Deion Williams was charged with the loss when R.C. Orlan let in both of his inherited runners. Offensively, Jeff Gardner was the beer man as the only batter not to hit safely as the Suns piled up 11 hits in the first six and a 1/3rd innings while Austin Davidson, Raudy Read, Alec Keller, and Osvaldo Abreu each had a single and a double.
West Virginia 12 Auburn 3
• Dickey (L, 0-1) 4+ IP, 8H, 9R, 5ER, 3BB, 2K, 2WP, HBP
• Torres 3IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 0K
• Page 2-3, BB
• Kerian 1-4, R, 3B, RBI
The Black Bears mauled Doubleday pitchers for nine runs before the hitters could answer in a 12-3 loss at Auburn’s home opener. Robbie Dickey gave up the first nine (five earned) on eight hits and three walks over four-plus innings. He also struck out two and hit a batter. Matthew Page reached base three times with a walk and two singles as the Doubledays were held to six hits total.
Roster moves: RHP Tommy Peterson reassigned from the GCL Nationals; RHPs Koda Glover, Kevin Mooney, and OF Andrew Stevenson assigned from Washington; LHP Joey Webb, RHP Ryan Ullmann, 2B Chris Riopedre released.
Now that Stevenson has signed, the only remaining player not signed from the top 10 is Rhett Wiseman, which is only a consequence of him having just finished the season two days ago. I don’t think there’s much doubt he will sign.
However, we haven’t gone overslot on any players yet. I think Mariano Rivera was the only player that hasn’t signed for underslot, meaning we have saved, by my count, $786,000 just from the first 10 picks. I’m sure we’ve saved even more from rounds 11 onward. That means we’re going to being going hard after some of these late-round HSers (7 of the last 10 picks were from HS), or it would be scandalous if we left money from our allotment on the table.
Does anyone have any insight into some of these guys? Surely, a six figure bonus would pry a few of them away from their college commitments.
Mack Lemieux LHP L / L 6′ 3″ 205 09/06/1996 14 434 Unsigned
Nick Sprengel LHP L / L 6′ 1″ 190 06/04/1997 31 944 Unsigned
Tyler Watson LHP R / L 6′ 5″ 200 05/22/1997 34 1034 Unsigned
Coco Montes SS R / R 6′ 1″ 175 10/07/1996 35 1064 Unsigned
Taylor Bush SS R / R 5′ 9″ 140 03/31/1997 36 1094 Unsigned
Steven DiPuglia SS R / R 6′ 1″ 155 09/27/1996 37 1124 Unsigned
Matt Morales SS R / R 5′ 11″ 170 11/26/1996 38 1154 Unsigned
Parker Quinn 1B R / R 6′ 4″ 195 07/19/1996 40 1214 Unsigned
Max Schrock got $500k, of which $400k counts toward the bonus pool, so now there’s about 350k to work with.
Wow, that’s really surprising going that far overslot for a college junior. In fact, it’s the highest amount paid to any player outside the top 10 rounds this season.
A couple reports on Schrock, who was actually projected as a 5th-8th rounder…
1st report – baseballdraftreport.com “South Carolina JR 2B Max Schrock could be added to the mix above and not be out of place in the least. His career line to date isn’t too far off from Chapman especially at .281/.381/.422 with 58 BB/45 K in 446 PA. A friend in the game recently compared him to another former Fullerton star, Tim Wallach. I’m not sure I see that since the body types, handedness, and home run power all seem off to me, but it’s something to think about. I’ve run into similar issues (minus the more manageable HR totals) with a David Freese (as a hitter) comparison for Schrock. One mainstream comp (I think, can’t remember where I first saw it) for Schrock is Kyle Seager. I like that comparison not only because it’s a decent enough lens to view Schrock as a prospect (again, however, I don’t think the power expectations fit – that’s something of a trend here), but also because it’s yet another excuse to talk about my appreciation for Kyle Seager. I’ve said a lot of inane stuff at this site over the years, but one of the few strokes of competency came back in March of 2009…
Seager’s well-rounded game (great plate discipline, slightly above-average power, good baserunner, high contact rate) make him a personal favorite of mine and as good a bet as any college hitter to settle in to a long career as a league average (at least) big leaguer.”
2nd report from minorleagueball.com
Max Schrock – 2B/OF – B/T: L/R – Height: 5’9″ – Weight: 180 – Previously Drafted: Yes, 28th Round, 2012
“His glove at second has been a concern and he has been making starts in left field recently with the more sure handed Marcus Mooney handling second base duties. The bat is intriguing though, with solid gap-to-gap power from the left side. He has the best bat speed on the team and had no trouble squaring up a 93 MPH heater from Kyle Cody on Sunday for a double deep to the right-center gap (see video below). He has surprising pop for someone his size thanks to his simple, quick stroke. If you like OBP, Schrock is your guy as he carries an absurd 18-to-4 walks to strikeouts ratio on the young season and is always a tough out at the plate thanks to above average hand-eye coordination. A healthy and productive junior campaign will put him in contention for the top 5 rounds of the draft, if he can convince scouts he can develop a more reliable glove at second. For now, I would think he’s more of a 6th – 8th round guy.”
Thanks, that’s good stuff.
Though it’s still a bit surprising to see him get $500k. That’s what a 4th rounder gets. 5-8th rounders get $150-400k. He must have a good agent.
Also, I just noticed I missed Koda Glover (8th rounder), who actually signed for $36k overslot.
Definitely would have pegged Schrock overslot but maybe $300k not 500k.
I’m interested to see what Rhett WIseman gets.
Wow – a college junior, 2nd baseman, getting a $500k bonus in the 13th round.
Can anyone find a scouting report on him – with that kind of bonus money, it kind of implies that he should be a top-4 rounds type of talent?
See above Kirkie. I posted 2 scouting reports.
It would not shock me if the Nats offer larger bonuses to Mack Lemieux or Tyler Watson. They both ahve college commitments but Florida Atlantic and Loyola Marymount are not exactly power houses. If you offer a teenage kid $250,000-300,000 it may persuade them to go pro early.
Here’s what i’ve gleaned on the names here, none of which I expect to sign.
– Lemieux: FAU commit, might be a tough sign, decently ranked talent out of HS
– Sprengel: USD commit, also no tlikely to sign
– Watson: LMU commit and is already on record saying he’s going to school.
– Montes: South Florida commit, unlikely to sign.
– Bush: committed to Westmont, the same place that the Nats just drafted Ruseell Harmening. no info
– DiPuglia; related to a member of the front office, probably drafted as a favor.
– Morales: Stetson U commit; same as DiPuglia; son of a member of the Nats front office.
– Quinn: Hofstra commit, probably drafted to put a good word in with a projected future upper-rounder
Ryan Sullivan had good intel on these later obscure guys in his live draft blog.
http://natsgm.com/2015/06/10/the-2015-mlb-draft-live-blog-rounds-11-40/
thanks for this. one question, did you expect Perkins to sign for under slot?
FWIW Schrock assured his coach he’d be returning after not getting drafted in the earlier rounds. Preferences can change when hundreds of thousands of dollars are being bandied about.
Parker Quinn is the son of Suns owner. Most likely another favor
no kidding!
Also, what happened with Chris Riopedre? He was only drafted last season. Played 20 unspectacular games at Auburn last year, then didn’t play again until last Sunday for one game, and is now released…
Best of luck to the other slew of releases.
Joey Webb must have been lost in numbers
Game with lefties. He should hook up with
Somebody like home state Cards!
Are the Nats in their anticipated – long awaited-
Winning streak to pad lead in NL East .
Stevenson auburn high light reels to follow?
Me bad. Webb did not go to Mizzou. I was thinking Walsh.
Barrett gets two big lefties from draft. Let’s see how
The former backstop works them in.
Desmond will get hot with the summer !
That promotion prices brass wanted guys in
Place as to not miss a beat after Turner went
To Cuse
Cutter playing some OF. Bostick back to 2 b
Difo plays SS. I doubt Perez would return to
Burg unless brass feels dent and masters
Could fill in admirably with Suns being
Equally manned from auburn ??
They had a long enough look at all of those three casualties and have a lot of pitching coming into the system. Webb had flashes but had time on the DL too. Ullmann had his moments and his chances.
Exciting to see influx of talent. They were very aggressive on Schrock and I wonder whether this means they know what $$ they are dealing with in available budget, so they have Wiseman agreement done. 2B Dulin at Auburn is a lower pick and hitting well, and the Jackson State infielder has not yet even gotten out of Viera. So the middle infield competition is alive, well, and fun to watch.
Great to see Turner promoted! Now things are falling into place. That they are so high on Schrock, who has reputedly great bat speed, makes me wonder whether he gets a higher level start at Hagerstown or goes to Auburn and Mejia gets promoted. You don’t pay a 13th rd college player 500K, higher than anyone in the majors after round ten, to go to the GCL and compete with Angelo LaBruna and the Dominicans. And Auburn has a quality two deep of middle IF.
As for Turner, this made a lot of sense, He has nothing more to show at AA. It’s not aggressive at all, if you see what he has done in the past several months, including the AFL.
Mack Lemieux is a two way player who is very well regarded lefty starter. The team is aggressively beefing up its lefty depth, and he was declared “undecided” as of last week. The Nats do not draft HS talent in rounds 10-20 often, but when they do, they bet on the talent and have a good eye. Deion Williams is taking time to develop, but is still around and was in Hagerstown bullpen this week, missing bats (drafted as an infielder). McKenzie Mills was a 2014 draftee who did not show numbers in GCL 2014, but is now in the Auburn rotation and performed well in his first start.
And don’t forget Gregg Jefferies son. They drafted him twice and signed him this year as an underclassman. He has been hurt but they obviously see something. And after Rivera’s first appearance (and Ross’ performance), there is much to be said for bloodlines + talent.
Difo now gets more reps at SS and Bostick the chance to keep warming up at Harrisburg. I can;t see Perez getting out of Potomac this year, because he only displaces higher prospects from their normal positions. Only if Turner goes to the majors and Difo gets to Syracuse. Then we have something to talk about.
With that said, don’t sleep on Difo. If he really catches fire, and he has the power/speed combo, spring 2016 gets that much more interesting, as does the offseason.
With all the new talent coming into the system and still jammed in Viera, and others (Dickson, Silvestre) yet to make their way up, the dominoes will continue to fall. Lots of promotion movement coming, because it will have to. Too much talent waiting to get on the field.
Next prediction – by the end of 2015, Michael Taylor will make us appreciate the Souza trade even more than Trea Turner.
Also, interesting to see how they approached Schrock differently from Austin Byler and Suarez. They got a pick for Suarez, whom they offered slot and lost, and got nothing for Byler, who got offered slot, went back to college, and has power the system lacks. So they saved money to get Schrock and hopefully will dial up on one of those remaining HS players.
Shows they learned from last year.
We could have used byler , Gil Grissom, but there
Is something both of us are guilty of : expectation
In excelerated promotions .
Agreed , Perez is now an OG doing his duty @
PotomAc lending a switch hit bat to a line – up that
In the near future cannot be re enforced from
Hagerstown . Unless you call DeBruin and Keller
The cavalry ???
Taylor’s play has truly made the trade of Souza
Look like Rizzo has a crystal ball in his office .
Melvin Rodrieguez and Schrock lead us to
Clap for draft effort in infield needs .
Haha Jeff – you are WAAAAY worse than me in your irrational exuberance. If You were Rizzo, Cat Ballou would be in AAA by now! I know you have your faves….
No one can be faulted for expectations of Stephen Perez to make the jump. He had everything going for him. And he, like Dykstra, hit the wall. It happens. More players only get repeated chances in depleted organizations. So we will find out what they really think of him, and how he handles adversity, because the wave below him of middle infielders is coming.
Souza might never had another chance in Nationals circa 2015. It is up to the development people like Harris to know when they have a Michael Taylor on their hands who will reward patience. I look at Deion Williams and see that they have that unusual patience with him. But those are occasional organizational projects if not higher draft picks – Dominican bonus babies.
As for promotions, DeBruin is obvious as is Keller. Though Keller replaces Mesa and Mesa is, at best, an asset to Harrisburg if they release Derrick Robinson. Maybe they should. But I really think that Stevenson (now at Auburn) or Wiseman gets to Hagerstown, either immediately or Turner style –fast if they prove they overmatched the level, because there is too much OF-1B-DH talent at GCL now that needs to play everyday now, that will force promotions to Auburn. Debruin gets promoted only if Wooten does, and I think he should, but something has to break for him at AA, like a Robinson release or Pleffner to AAA. All expectations of these folks are reasonable, and progress is heralded by releases of veteran OG brought in from out of the organization.
With that said, and you and others can weigh in before I do, who is your top 3-5 of biggest revelations this year (biggest jump from low expectations)?
Did Burriss just get promoted to the Big Club from Syracuse?
Gil. I learn quick from irrational exuberance. brass in baseball promotes very slowly.
blessing for burriss. hge comes up to play with Uggla while Rendon heals some more
versus phils and braves.
cat ballou fits in Potomac. you might have said that delta was signed to keep cat at Potomac
but robinson truly hasa been the insurance at Harrisburg.
3 to 5 surprises? I would say Martinson, Hague filling in upper farm while the chess game
around Turner was played.. Pleffner has hit in burg even if down in line’up.
count Clint robinson as a surprise outdoing the three invite lefty bats who were cut.
Bakus, Blier and Simmons filling some IP at Harrisburg.
joe Ross in his three starts with big club are huge amidst DL list.
Roark has been stellar with Dayton grad on DL.
burriss and danny speed crucial for matty options.
uggla gets more playing time next 8 games.
Gil, I guess the exuberance was wasted because Harrisburg just is not hitting as expected for
some guys coming up from Potomac into a ban box for some. Cat would not have ticked up
the overall BA anyway or production.
At least the Auburn club is off to a nice start compared to last year….