Friday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 7-4 | vs. Norfolk, 6:35 p.m. |
T. Hill (1-3, 4.74) vs. McFarland (1-0, 0.69) |
| Harrisburg | OFF DAY | vs. Bowie | Giolito (1-2, 3.86) vs. Aquino (1-3, 4.99) |
| Potomac | Lost, 5-4 | @ Frederick, 7:05 p.m. |
Estevez (0-2, 3.94) vs. Long (1-2, 3.95) |
| Hagerstown | Lost, 4-2 | @ Greensboro, 7:00 p.m. |
DeRosier (1-1, 6.32) vs. Weaver (1-3, 1.46) |
Syracuse 7 Norfolk 4
• Cole 5⅓ IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 5K
• Runion (W, 1-1) 2⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 2-1 IR-S
• Skole 3-5, R
• Ramsey 2-4, R, BB, RBI
• Goodwin 2-5, HR, 4RBI
A grand slam by Brian Goodwin capped off a six-spot in the 7th as the Chiefs rolled the Tides, 7-4. A.J. Cole kept the ball in the yard but faded late, giving up three in the 6th and four runs overall on nine hits and a walk while striking out five. Sam Runion let in one of two runners inherited but pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th to earn the win while Rafael Martin set the side down in order in the 9th for save. Matt Skole led Syracuse’s 14-hit parade with three singles while Goodwin reached base three times with a walk and a single in addition to his home run.
Harrisburg – OFF DAY
The Senators return to Harrisburg after sweeping the Seawolves on the road. The seven-game homestand starts with three against the BaySox, then four against the SeaDogs.
Carolina 5 Potomac 4
• Valdez (L, 4-2) 6IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 2K
• Spann 1IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K
• Norfork 3-4, R, RBI
• Read 2-3, R
A combination of cheap hits, numerous walks, and shaky defense enabled Carolina to outscore Potomac 5-4 in the series finale. Phillips Valdez struggled with his command and was dinged for four runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings in his second loss. Khayyan Norfork went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, followed by Raudy Read’s 2-for-3 night as the P-Nats collected 10 hits and walked once but also struck out 10 times.
Greensboro 4 Hagerstown 2
• Baez (L, 1-4) 5IP, 9H, 3R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K
• Torres 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Robles 2-3, R, 2B
• Wiseman 2-4
The Suns’ six-game win streak was stopped with a 4-2 loss to the Grasshoppers. Joan Baez was knocked for three runs (two earned) on nine hits over five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Victor Robles singled and doubled and scored a run while Rhett Wiseman went 2-for-4 to account for half of the eight Hagerstown hits. The Suns walked once, fanned nine times, and left six runners on base.
I wonder if Goodwin has surpassed Den Dekker in the OF pecking order now.
How is Goodwin rated as a defensive OF? Arm?
Sometimes, it takes prospects a while before it all clicks. Goodwin always had the tools to be a solid MLB player which is why he was a 1st round pick.
FWIW, his current AAA success is a carry over from his winter season in Venezuela when he slashed: .316/.401/.860.
Got to give the Nats front office a lot of credit. Coming off a season when Goodwin hit .226 in AA, many were surprised when the Nats added Goodwin to the 40 man roster in December. Now, 6 months later, looking like he has a legit value either with the Nats or as a piece in a trade later this season.
I’ve read that his CF defense is decent with a good arm, but he profiles better in the corners. (A lot like den Dekker)
Count me among those who were surprised by the addition to the 40-man. He would have been quite a Rule 5 gamble for any team coming off what he did last season. With 40-man space seemingly tight for the Nats this year, Goodwin’s hot start seems to have solidified his spot.
I’m warming up on Goodwin now that he’s starting to show some power. It might not be the worst idea to swap him and Taylor for awhile to see if Taylor can get his mojo back against AAA pitching and to see if Goodwin is capable of holding down the 4th outfielder role.
Not going to happen. Taylor is a righty and Goodwin is a lefty. With Revere back, the plan was to start MAT against lefties, and Revere against righties. The Nats played an inordinate number of games against righties over the last 3 weeks. The one lefty that they faced Justin Nicolino, MAT started and got on 4 times (last Saturday). MAT will start tonight and Sunday against the Marlins.
Glad to see Wiseman slowly making some progress, now up to .231. Of course Robles keeps rolling merrily along, on his birthday no less. Happy 19th, Victor!
As we celebrate the Goodwin career resurrection, what should we make of A. J. Cole, now nearly a quarter of the way into the season? He’s still just 24, but goodness: 5.65 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .305 batting average against. Those numbers last year at Syracuse were 3.15, 1.18, and .227. Is he hurt? Is his velocity down? Is he frustrated from his career hitting a wall? What gives?
With Voth and R Lopez coming on, I am surprised Cole has not been switched to relief pitching.
My take on Cole, having purely scouted him from box scores, and never having seen him throw a pitch, is that he suffers from “too straight” syndrome. He’s got the arm; he’s got the pitches, and he’s got the command, but there’s no deception there – call it depth of movement or what you will.
If he gets that; then he’s an ML starter. Without it, he’s Brad Peacock.
Luke: any word on Drew Ward? I was at the stadium on Wednesday night when he pulled up running to first in his last at bat after hitting what should have been a double. It looked like a hamstring pull, and I notice he was not in the lineup last night.
A serious injury would be a real bummer for the kid. Hope it isn’t serious
Tweak is what I was told. He was put on the DL today.
Big fan of Ward after meeting him at Spring Training a couple years back. Glad that the light’s come on for him and hope and pray good health allows him to get a taste of Harrisburg this year.