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Monday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Postponed vs. Buffalo,
6:35 p.m.		 T. Hill (3-10, 5.23 in ’15) vs.
LeBlanc (2-5, 4.23 in JPL in ’15)
Harrisburg Lost, 6-3 @ Binghamton,
6:35 p.m.		 Williams (4-6, 2.59 @ A+ in ’15) vs.
Lara (9-5, 3.44)
Potomac Won, 9-4 @ Lynchburg,
6:30 p.m.		 Whiting (4-9, 6.44 @ AAA in ’15) vs.
Brady (7-12, 3.81 @ A- in ’15)
Hagerstown Lost, 7-4;
Lost, 3-0		 vs. Lakewood,
6:05 p.m.		 DeRosier (0-1, 10.80 @ SS-A in ’15)
vs. Arauz (0-5, 5.75 @ SS-A in ’15)


Syracuse – PPD
Weather permitting, the Chiefs will finally begin its home slate with a matchup against the Bisons to kick off the Battle for the Thruway.

Altoona 6 Harrisburg 3
• Lopez (L, 0-1) 5IP, 5H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 2K. HBP
• Bautista 1-2, R, 2BB, RBI, 2SB

Altoona doubled up Harrisburg 6-3 to prevent a three-game sweep. Reynaldo Lopez gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and three while striking out two over five innings to take the loss. Rafael Bautista continued to wreak havoc from the leadoff spot, walking twice, stealing twice, and going 1-for-2 with an RBI. The Sens drew six walks total, which helped them score three times on just three hits total.

Potomac 9 Wilmington 4
• Fedde 4⅓ IP, 8H, 3R, 2ER, BB, 7K
• Johansen (W, 1-0) 1⅔ IP, 2H, R, ER, 2BB, K, HBP, WP, 1-1 IR-S
• Self 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Abreu 2-3, 3R, HR, RBI, 2BB, CS
• Norfork 2-3, R, BB, RBI
• Ward 1-3, 2R, BB, HR, RBI, 2K

The P-Nats did complete their sweep with the help of three homers as they took the finale from the Blue Rocks, 9-4. Erick Fedde impressed the scouts early, but could not go the requisite five for the win, leaving after four and a 1/3rd innings and 86 pitches. He was charged with three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walks while striking out seven. Jake Johansen picked up where he left off last season and got the win, though he let in the trying run and got five outs while putting on five baserunners with two hits, two walks, and a hit batsman. Jose “Orange” Marmolejos-Diaz, Drew Ward, and Osvaldo Abreu each went deep to lead the Potomac offense, which pounded out nine hits and took six walks.

Delmarva 7 Hagerstown 4 — GAME ONE
• Rodriguez (L, 0-1) 3⅓ IP, 5H, 5R, 4ER, 4BB, 3K, 3WP
• Torres 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Robles 2-3, R, 3B, BB, CS
• Schrock 2-3, R, 2B, HBP

Delmarva broke through for five in the 4th to put away game one, 7-4. Jefry Rodriguez took the loss, as he gave up runs in three of the four innings he began, finishing with five runs allowed on five hits and four walks over three and a 1/3rd. Tablesetters Victor Robles and Max Schrock combined for two runs and four hits as Hagerstown outhit their opponents, 8-7, but walked once versus eight times for their counterparts.

Delmarva 3 Hagerstown 0 — GAME TWO
• Baez (L, 0-1) 4IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 4BB, 1K, 2WP
• Crownover 3IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Gutierrez 2-3, 3B
• Sagdal 1-2, BB

The Shorebirds wasted no time in Game Two, scoring twice in the 1st and once in the 2nd en route to a 3-0 shutout and a doubleheader sweep. Joan Baez allowed all three Delmarva runs on four hits and four walks while striking out one for the loss. Kelvin Gutierrez came the closest to ending the scoring drought with a two-out triple in the 3rd, his second hit of the game. Ian Sagdal was the only other Sun to reach base twice with a single and a walk.

15 Commments

  1. It is a lot easier to delay Trea Turner for service time reasons when multiple postponements keep him from getting the minor-league at-bats the Nats say he needs.

  2. Rocky starts at their new levels for Lopez and Fedde, particularly for Fedde. For perhaps the #2 and #3 pitching prospects in the organization, that’s something to keep an eye on. As for #1, still no sign of Giolito on the mound. Considering the cold and his innings limit, that’s not such a bad thing.

    More encouraging power news from Drew Ward, in addition to Orange and Abreu.

    1. Perhaps, but without having seen the game, it’s hard to tell if he was getting roughed up or if the balls were just finding gaps. He wasn’t hit hard. Only 1 of the 8 hits were for extra bases.

      However, he did have his control. 1 BB and 7 K in just over 4 innings is very good.

      1. Good points. Yes, it is hard to know if Fedde had bad BABIP luck. The 7Ks are encouraging and, we can hope, a sign that his velocity is returning more than it had last season.

    2. How long before Lopez gets converted to relief? With that fastball and a few months’ worth of instruction and experience he might be good enough to help bolster the big club’s bullpen by September.

  3. I love the plate discipline OMD is displaying. 4 BBs so far. If he can consistently show solid walk numbers to go with his middling power, he could project really well- sort of like Nick Johnson or Freddie Freeman style 1B, whose power isn’t overwhelming, but have pretty well rounded tools.

    How is his defense at first?

    With Pleffner manning first in Harrisburg, I hope the Nats are aggressive in promoting him.

    1. Domino up effect @1b
      Kernien needs to get out of viera when
      Spring warms up
      It’s early way early
      Even my dog did not go out for number 1
      This morning , luke. Lol

  4. The Nats decision to keep Giolito off the mound for now makes it clear that they want to keep the option of having Lucas pitch in MLB in September/October. The Nats are very strict on their post TJ surgery inning limits, and they want Lucas fresh for when he comes up.

  5. What I don’t get is how Baez got added to the Nats’ mlb.com prospect list this year over Schrock, Lee and “Orange” and at #18 he is rated ahead of Glover, A. Williams, Wiseman, Hearn and Bostick. He may have potential, but his performance to date hardly warranted such a placement.

  6. Put me in the buy low category all through the system:

    Harrisburg – Lopez is far from resolved. He’d get bullpen consideration because he gets people out for an inning or two, then gets reached. Well yesterday he didn’t even have it for one inning. Just remember that the year he set the world on fire (2014), he didn’t start out so hot, either. Bautista – 4 Sb in 3 games and those walks….oooh

    Potomac – Fedde 7K in 4.1, one walk and only one extra base hit, I’d say no reason for despair in that debut line. Sheesh. The 3 HR in game almost unthinkable at Potomac last year. Here come again with the XBpower of Mejia.

    Hagerstown – The annual Jefry Rodriguez white whale watch begins. But Ryan Ripken gets two knocks. Connor Bach – long relief? Feels like a spring game. Baez has a big arm, and had mechanical problems last year but has shown promise. Just has to learn how to pitch.

    1. Regarding Lopez, I would point out that Felipe Rivero looked absolutely awful as a starter in 2014 and had never been a reliever before the Nats recalled him last year. When a guy can touch triple digits with his fastball, all he has to do is throw strikes to be a successful reliever, and control hasn’t been Lopez’s problem.

  7. Lopez may well end up as a reliever. But he would be MUCH more valuable as a starter, and it’s worth it to the team to give him every opportunity to try to make it there. Rivero got an entire year as a starter at AA before the Nats made the decision on him.

    1. I agree. And the Nats obviously see something progressing with him to warrant the promotion to AA when his results in A didn’t make it a slam dunk.

      Have they announced whether Franco is starting off?

  8. Just to clarify, starters transition to relievers because they haven’t the arsenal to REPEATEDLY get through the order. Lopez has shown that he can sustain his excellence all through the game. That’s a more rare commodity and worth helping him develop his command to a higher caliber. It will come. At this point, there is a reason he is the second highest rated pitcher in a system full of pitchers and it is not hype or velocity alone.

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