Tuesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Postponed | vs. Buffalo, 4:05 p.m. |
T. Hill (3-10, 5.23 in ’15) and Laffey (5-4, 3.90 in ’15) vs. TBD and TBD |
| Harrisburg | Postponed | @ Binghamton, 6:35 p.m. |
Williams (4-6, 2.59 @ A+ in ’15) vs. Lara (9-5, 3.44) |
| Potomac | Won, 10-1 | @ Lynchburg, 11:00 a.m. |
Reyes (6-7, 4.82 @ A- in ’15) vs. Sheffield (0-0, 6.00) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 4-3 | vs. Lakewood, 6:05 p.m. |
A. Lee (0-0, 0.00) vs. Gueller (10-1, 2.23 @ SS-A in ’15) |
Syracuse vs. Buffalo – PPD
Rain postponed Syracuse opener. Again. They’ll try for two this afternoon.
Roster moves: IF Brendan Ryan reassigned from XST; C Nick Rickles reassigned to XST; Left foot in, left foot out…
Harrisburg vs. Binghamton – PPD
As you might have already guessed, the rains also came in Binghamton and postponed the B-Mets home opener. No doubleheader today as they’ll play two in August to make this one up.
Potomac 10 Lynchburg 1
• Whiting (W, 1-0) 5IP, 1H, R, ER, BB, 3K, HR
• Robinson (H, 2) 3IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Carey 3-6, R, HR, 4RBI
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-2, R, 2BB, 2RBI, CS
• Norfork 2-4, R, 2B, BB
Potomac scored in each of the first four innings en route to a 10-1 demolition of Lynchburg. Boone Whiting was touched for a solo HR by the second batter he faced, then retired 13 of the next 14 batters to finish with the one run on one hit and one walk over five innings pitched. He struck out three. Andrew Robinson followed with three shutout innings while Koda Glover declawed the ‘Cats with a 1-2-3 ninth. Every starter hit safely and even the one replacement (David Masters) joined the 17-hit parade with a 9th-inning double.
Hagerstown 4 Lakewood 3
• DeRosier (W, 1-0) 5IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 2K, HR
• VanVossen (H, 1) 3IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 2K
• Pena (S, 1) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Robles 1-3, 2R, BB, HR, RBI, SB
• Wiseman 2-4, 2B, 2RBI
After giving up two in the top half of the 3rd, the Suns immediately answered with three in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead, then held on for a 4-3 win. Starting pitcher Matt DeRosier got the win with five innings of two-run ball, allowing three hits and a walk. Mick VanVossen gave up an unearned run over the next three for the hold while Ronald Pena made his first appearance north of Florida since July 2014 as he worked around a hit in the 9th for the save. Victor Robles homered, walked, stole a base, and scored twice while Rhett Wiseman singled, doubled, and drove in two to lead the Hagerstown attack.
There’s a lot to like so far this season. I’m really excited for there to be some decent bats in Potomac. Abreu, Mejia, OMD, Stevenson and Ward.
And Robles look like he’s picked up right where he left off. Yesterday captured his game perfectly- a mix of power (1 HR), speed (1 SB), patience (1 BB), defense (3 PO) and arm (an assist from CF catching the runner at home to save the lead in the 8th)!
What a ball player!
Did they announce where Franco will open? auburn, I assume?
Most likely, but if they ain’t on a roster now, we ain’t gonna hear [anything] until June.
One of the Nat MiLB stats I will be following most closely this season will be Robles HRs, so let’s celebrate #1. For all the “five-tool” talk about him, he hasn’t previously generated a lot of power. If he continues to shine, I wonder whether the Nats will move him on to Potomac despite his very young age. At least there are several Dominicans already in Woodbridge to help make him feel at home.
Wiseman, yeah, I’m sure the Nats want to push him up the ranks as fast as possible. And I would think that Ward, M-D, and Stevenson would have good chances for early tickets to Harrisburg if they continue to hit. The only hiccup I could see there would be for Stevenson, with Bautista as another legit prospect already in CF in Harrisburg.
I thought all winter that Drew Ward, like Michael Taylor, would be at Potomac all year. Maybe not. Yes I know small sample size and all but he is just raking so far. He went 2-5 and his average and OPS dropped.
Ward and Robles may just force the issue in another month or two.
Like Will said, a lot to like with a lot of players so far.
Having just turned 18 (Robles is still 18 now as he has a May birthday) when he started playing last June, Robles slugged over .500 in 2015. In only 213 ABs, Robles had 20 extra base-hits on two levels. Young players who hit lots of doubles and triples, typically turn those into HRs as they age; he is not a slap hitter. Barring injury, Robles will have a solid power numbers as he develops.
Besides the Robles tool show referenced by Will, it’s great to see that he is up a level, younger than his peers, and not missing a beat. Other items of note:
Potomac: A bit disappointing to see the reliance on retreads for so much pitching. Perhaps there are folks who are just getting healthy that will shuffle the deck, and these old hands are keeping the bump warm for a month or two in the meantime. Silvestre, Turnbull, others (Pena) who may displace Whiting and Robinson when ready. How refreshing to see offense from a Potomac team. Bryan Mejia – here he comes, one of the most underrated talents in the system. Ward with four straight productive games, very promising development. Orange M-D with six walks already and only 2 Ks with lots of pop. Nice signs of strong organizational hitting instruction.
Hagerstown – How about DeRosier? A long road back and big jump for a low round pick who quietly transitioned to the rotation in GCL last year. With all of the lefty need and talent in the 2015 draft. he jumps Auburn and ties a career long outing. Still 21 yrs old. Eyes on Reetz. Hope he can get untracked at the plate.
Agree with the surprise at the pitching retreads at Potomac, and that’s even with Fedde pushed ahead aggressively after an uneven short stint at Hagerstown at the end of 2015. Why not push Andrew Lee and Connor Bach ahead as well and see what they’ve got? I assume/hope Lee will be advanced quickly if he makes a few more strong starts. Since Hearn had no time at Hagerstown at the end of 2015 (like Lee and Fedde did), I assume he may stay at A- a bit longer.
It’s rare for Potomac to *not* have retreads. The only difference now is how many. Used to be a dozen 25-y.o’s and eight to ten 23- and 24-year-olds to surround the 3-5 prospects or almost-prospects.