NationalsProspects.com

Good, Bad, Interesting — Vol. 14


Our weekly look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS 39-62, 6th place I.L. North, 15 games behind

Good Paolo Espino 8BB in 66⅔ IP
Bad Trea Turner 7E in 23G
Interesting Kevin Keyes 15-game OBP streak



HARRISBURG SENATORS 49-51, 5th place E.L. West, 6 games behind

Good Cutter Dykstra .304/.368/.532 in July (21G)
Bad Dakota Bacus 1-2, 6.04 ERA, 1.66 WHIP in July (4GS)
Interesting Isaac Ballou .288/.382/.356 since callup (19G)



POTOMAC NATIONALS 12-15, 4th place C.L. North, 3 games behind (45-52 overall)

Good Justin Amlung 1-0, 1.84 ERA, 0.61 WHIP in seven appearances
Bad Cody Dent 0-for-14 since callup (1-for-30 last 10G)
Interesting Nine team pitching ShO – T2nd in Carolina Lg.



HAGERSTOWN SUNS 13-15, 6th place Sally North, 6 games behind (48-48 overall)

Good Osvaldo Abreu .392/.456/.549 in July (13G)
Bad Deion Williams 0-1, 6.89 ERA, 1.98 WHIP in nine appearances
Interesting Jake Walsh 1-0, 6SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP



AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS 15-17, 4th place Pinckney Division, New York-Penn League, 8½ games behind

Good Grant Borne 0.64 ERA, 0.71 WHIP in 14IP
Bad Jorge Tillero .416 OPS
Interesting 1st in BA (.259) and SLG (.371) in 14-team NYPL



GCL NATIONALS 12-17, 4th place East Division, Gulf Coast League, 4 games behind

Good Telmito Agustin .357/.390/.554, 1HR, 10RBI in 17G
Bad Juan Bermudez 0-2, 6.91 ERA, 1.60 WHIP in 14⅓ IP
Interesting Carlos Acevedo 2BB in 23IP



DSL NATIONALS 21-26, 3rd place Boca Chica North, 13 games behind

Good 17-y.o. Warner Duran 1-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in 24IP
Bad 17-y.o. Jesus Morales .429 OPS
Interesting 18-y.o. Gerald De La Cruz 1-1, 16.20 ERA, 3.60 WHIP, 18.4BB/9IP 14.0K/9IP

8 Commments

  1. We’re going to need charts and graphs to keep track of all the changes today. I count 7 transactions that I know of.

    1. Rendon was activated and De Los Santos was sent down. That’s the only other one I saw.

      1. And from the Senators website:

        Purke, Giolito, Simms from Potomac to AA Harrisburg

    2. According to the Chiefs website:

      Runion, Skole, Bleier go from AA Harrisburg to AAA Syracuse
      Fornataro and Nelson released.
      Wright from AAA Syracuse (DL) to Potomac

    3. Purke and Simms to Harrisburg along with Giolito. Orlan and Walsh promoted to Potomac, presumably clearing room for the arrival of Lee and Torres. Kieboom to the DL after being hit with a foul tip.

      Congrats to Skole on making it to AAA. If he can hit there, you know the big club would love to have a bat with a bit of power on the bench in Sept. Still not sure what to make of the Bleier out-of-nowhere resurgence as a starter, but it makes sense to move him on up the ladder and see what we’ve got. I guess the same could be said of Purke, who spent little time at Potomac. Things fell apart for him in Harrisburg in 2014, so let’s hope he’s in a better way this year.

      Not that I’m wishing him away, but Simms strikes me as one of the second-tier guys who might well be in trade discussions this week. He earned the promotion, but it also does help his value to have him thought of as a AA guy.

  3. Turner’s errors are a good counterpoint to those who want to rush him up to the big club. Clearly, his bat is ahead of his glove at this point. While a September call up is obviously not out of the question given that the 40-man roster period is exempt from MLB service time, Turner almost certainly will NOT make the opening day roster next year. Not only will the Nats want push his free agency clock back a year, he clearly needs as many defensive reps as he can get before he does finally take over as the starting SS.

    1. Turner’s defense was excellent at the two AA stops. He has had a hiccup and I would view it no differently from his well publicized 0 for 10, 15, or so at bats to start his new levels. Let’s see where we are the day after the trading deadline.

      As for Bleier, he earned it. Simms is one of those folks who knows how to pitch, but is not a “stuff” guy. He fatigued in his AA debut last year, but to be fair, so did Voth. System congestion held him back, and he did not help himself with a slower start.

      It’s now or never for Skole, just like Hague and Keyes. You know that if he responds to the promotion with a heavy RBI bat, he will create a future for himself. And yes, why not him and not a retread from another organization?

      Purke gets a chance and everyone here continues to root hard for him. He may not be getting any younger, but at least he is more age appropriate for his level and the organization can assess whether to resign him for 2016 as he will be free otherwise.

      I see an organization philosophy of seeing what they have in house. And that is great, as folks shake out. Competition is great and this forces that competition. Not a moment too soon with the trade deadline upon us and folks coming back from injury who may struggle when they do.

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