Saturday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 8-2 | vs. Buffalo, 7:05 p.m. |
Hill (3-7, 5.00) vs. Jenkins (7-3, 2.48) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-0 | vs. Bowie, 6:00 p.m. |
Bates (4-3, 4.07) vs. Miranda (2-1, 1.66) |
| Potomac | Won, 4-0 | vs. Wilmington, 6:35 p.m. |
Rauh (2-1, 2.21) vs. Mills (6-6, 2.73) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 7-2 | @ Kannapolis, 7:05 p.m. |
Bach (5-3, 3.21) vs. Thompson (3-5, 4.59) |
| Auburn | Canceled | vs. Batavia, 5:05 p.m. |
Guilbeau (1-2, 4.67) and Borne (1-2, 2.51) vs. TBD and TBD |
Syracuse 8 Buffalo 2
• Cole (W, 4-5) 6IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, BB, 2K, HR
• Solis 2IP, 3H, 0R, BB, K
• Mastroianni 3-5, R, RBI
• Skole 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Johnson 2-3, 2B, RBI
Syracuse only scored in one inning, but eight runs was more than enough to stampede Buffalo, 8-2, for their 11th straight win. A.J. Cole got the win with both Bisons runs allowed on five hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out two but gave up his ninth HR at AAA. Matt Grace and Sammy Solis combined for three scoreless innings to close out the game. Darin Mastroianni came off the DL and went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while Kevin Keyes smacked his sixth HR to drive in three.
Roster move: OF Darin Mastroianni activated from the 7-day DL; RHP Taylor Jordan place on the 7-Day DL, retroactive to August 12 (forearm tenderness).
Harrisburg 2 Bowie 0
• Giolito (W, 1-1) 7IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 11K, HBP, 99-63 P-K
• Harper (H, 7) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Demny (SV, 3) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Goodwin 2-4, RBI
• Severino 1-3, R, 2B
The force was strong with young Luke Giolito as the Nats’ top prospect turned in a career-best outing in a 2-0 win vs. Bowie. Giolito allowed just a second-inning single, walked a batter, and a hit batter over seven shutout innings. He tied his season-high of 11 strikeouts and threw 99 pitches, 63 for strikes while winning his first AA game. Bryan Harper and Paul Demny followed with an inning apiece, both striking out two for a combined one-hit shutout with 15Ks for the Sens. Brian Goodwin went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Harrisburg offense.
Potomac 4 Wilmington 0
• Williams (W, 4-3) 6IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Self 2IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, K, WP
• Bautista 3-3, 2R, 2B, BB, 4SB
• DeBruin 3-4, 3RBI
• Wooten 2-4, 2R, 2B
Pitching and speed made the difference Last Night In Woodbridge.
Roster move: OF Brendan Webb assigned from Washington.
Hagerstown 7 Kannapolis 2
• Howell (W, 1-0) 6IP, 4H, R, ER, 4BB, 0K, WP
• Napoli 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-5, 2B
• Read 2-4, R, 2-2B, RBI, CS
• W. Rodriguez 2-4, RBI
The Suns lapped the Intimidators six times in the first six innings en route to a 7-2 checkered flag. Jeff Howell earned his first professional win, allowing one run on four hits and four walks but struck out none. Raudy Read doubled twice, scored a run, and drove in a run to lead the nine-hit Hagerstown attack.
Auburn vs. Tri-City — CNCLD
For the second time on this road trip, the Doubledays were washed away and the game won’t be made up. They return home tonight for two against Batavia tonight and one tomorrow before the two-day All-Star break on Monday and Tuesday.
Bryan Harper has done well, but will he ever see the 40-man roster?
Nick Lee is also a lefty reliever, a year younger than Harper and with much better K rates. I’m guessing he’ll be first to get the 40-man roster protection after the season. Only so many slots available.
Picking 40 man additions is, regrettably, going to be easier than years earlier. So many prospects tanking this year. I suppose if Kevin Keyes ends up at .300, he might get the nod, especially since Tyler Moore will likely move on. But the Rule 5 draft losses may be overrated. Kobernus and Rosenbaum are obvious examples. But think about Adrian Nieto. He sat on a roster in 2014 and now is realistically less likely to see the majors ever again, let alone before Pedro Severino.
The good news is that the top of the Nats’ prospects will either graduate (Turner, Giolito) to the 40 man within a year or are super early in their careers (Robles). In my own top-50, for what little it’s worth, I’ve got 6 players who don’t even have a full season in my top 20, and 18 in my top 50. A full flush is underway, and well it should be. I wonder whether Dombrowski is on his way and what that plan is about. Clearly injuries are only part of the organizational failure this year.
Even with what looks like a much better draft in 2015, I’m not so sure that Stevenson, whom I rate as high in the system as my #21, was the answer for a high draft pick. If it’s one thing the Nats have, it’s speedy leadoff players who can play CF and steal bases (see Rafael Bautista, my #13). What the hell are they going to do about their power drought?
Right now, it’s pray for a Desi surge before August 31, a Span return, and QO that set them up for a bumper crop draft. And then manage it financially the way they did this year and restock the system with a vision that goes beyond pitching.
There are still many questions that will be answered with the next few weeks of minor league baseball, and bear watching closely. That is for another post.