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Thursday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 3-1 vs. Indianapolis,
6:35 p.m.		 Espino (1-3, 3.07) vs.
Glasnow (2-1, 1.64)
Harrisburg Won, 2-1 (12 inn.) vs. Akron,
6:30 p.m.		 Mapes (5-1, 3.09) vs.
Plutko (1-2, 3.55)
Potomac Won, 9-5 @ Carolina,
7:00 p.m.		 Reyes (2-2, 4.10)
Franco (3-1, 7.00)
Hagerstown OFF DAY vs. Kannapolis,
7:05 p.m.		 Avila (1-1, 2.65) vs.
Thompson (2-2, 3.99)


Indianapolis 3 Syracuse 1
• Laffey 5IP, 4H, R, ER, 4BB, 6K
• Masset (L, 0-2) ⅔ IP, 2H, 2R, 1ER, 0BB, 0K
• Ramsey 1-3, 2B, BB
• Campana 1-3, R, BB

Indianapolis won the battle of the bullpens, scoring two runs late to break a 1-1 deadlock and beat Syracuse, 3-1. Chiefs starter Aaron Laffey put on eight baserunners (four hits, four walks) but let in just one over five innings. He struck out six. Nick Masset was touched for two runs on two hits in the 8th and took the loss. The Syracuse starting position players were held to just four hits and five walks, with Laffey and PH Isaac Ballou rounding out the total of six hits.

Harrisburg 2 Richmond 1 (12 inn.)
• Long 7IP, 7H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Suero 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Self (W, 1-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, K
• Perez 2-4, R, 2BB, 2K
• Collier 2-5, R, BB

Pro tip: When issuing an intentional walk, it’s best to throw to the catcher, not past the catcher. A wild pitch during an IBB plated the second and decisive run in the top of the 12th as Harrisburg edged Richmond, 2-1 to sweep the three-game series. Jaron Long got the start and turned in seven scoreless innings, with seven hits and a walk allowed and four strikeouts. Cutter Dykstra delivered another key pinch hit, this one an RBI single in the 9th to tie the game at 1-1. Derek Self was the winning pitcher, tossing two scoreless innings in the 11th and 12th. Stephen Perez singled twice and walked twice to lead the Sens 11-hit parade.

Potomac 9 Carolina 5 (10 inn.)
• Whiting 6IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 3K, 2HR
• Brinley (BS, 1; W, 2-0) 2IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 3K
• Marmolejos 2-4, 3R, BB, 2HR, 3RBI
• Reistetter 2-4, 2R, 2HR, 2RBI
• Keller 2-3, BB, 2RBI

Jose “Orange” Marmolejos and Matt Reistetter both homered in the 10th and twice overall as the P-Nats scored four in the 10th for a 9-5 win over the Mudcats. The outburst took the edge off Ryan Brinley blowing the save in the 9th and gave the Potomac reliever his second win. Boone Whiting started and turned in six innings of three-run ball, with a walk and seven hits allowed (two HR). Marmolejos and Reistetter both went 2-for-4 and combined for five runs scored and five RBI as the P-Nats maximized their offensive chances with nine runs scored on ten hits and three walks and left just two runners on base.

Hagerstown – OFF DAY
Second-place Hagerstown returns home after a 3-4 road trip, having fallen a game and a half behind first-place Hickory, which went 5-2 over the same stretch. It’ll be scoreboard watching for the division title for the next five and a half weeks as the two teams will not meet again in the first half.

28 Commments

  1. Huh, this is the first I think I’ve ever heard of Ryan Brinley, but he’s been surprisingly good in Potomac. That was the first ER he gave up this season, only conceding 8 hits and 3 walks to go with 17 K in 14 IP.

    1. Brinley is yet another of the 2015 draftees, 27th round, but prompted ahead of a number of higher-profile guys still at Hagerstown. The depth of that draft class looks phenomenal.

        1. What is particularly interesting about Brinley is that his control and overall numbers are very different from his poor last season in college. Something happened to him when he got into the Nats system, and if he later gets the opportunity in AA, we’ll be hearing more about what that something is.

          1. Never doubt what can happen when someone is coached by Paul ‘Magic Man’ Menhart.

  2. With Marmolejos now sporting a .982 OPS, he’s the 2nd best batter in the Carolina League. (Ward is sitting in 6th with the most HRs and Stevenson in 7th).

    It’s worth noting though that several of the best players in the Carolina League have already been promoted to AA. Ryan O’Hearn, Dansby Swanson and Nick Basto were all dominating Carolina League pitching, but have made the jump in the last week or two. I think it’s soon time to see if Marmolejos and Ward can too.

    1. “Orange” is almost two years older than Ward, although Ward has a full year at A+ under his belt while Marmolejos doesn’t. Together they may represent 50% of the power potential in the whole organization. I would think that both will end the year at Harrisburg, but then I thought they would move Marmolejos up to Potomac at some point last season and they didn’t, so you never know. The Nats gave Taylor a second full year at Potomac when he was about the same age as Ward, with very positive results.

      1. I am being a bit impatient, and I understand the benefits of a more conservative approach, especially with Ward. There’s no need to rush Ward, while he’s already young-ish for high A. But I hope they’re more aggressive with Marmolejos. At 23, he’s a bit old for the level. If the Nats were to keep with his current trajectory of one level per season, he’ll be 26 before he gets a shot in the majors!

        All in all, Marmolejos’ development has differed from so many other batters in our system, some of whom (Difo, Turner, Stevenson, Ballou, A. Lee and apparently Brinley) have seen 2+ promotions in a single season. I wonder why it is they’re treating Marmolejos so carefully.

          1. I don’t think Marmelos has been slow through the system at all, He was one year in A+ and developed far better than he had been at Auburn the year before. His power is only now on the come. When his time comes for promotion, the Nats certainly have A+ replacements from below. It is, after all, first base!

        2. There are a lot of things we have no visibility on, such as maturity, language and cultural issues (for a kid from Okla. as well as one from the DR!), leadership, fundamentals, etc. It just takes some kids longer than others to “get it,” on multiple scores. Maturity seems to have been a big issue for Sousa, for example, plus he went from SS to 3B to the OF and had new sets of fundamentals to learn.

          Marmolejos HAS to show power to have any shot of making it. Difo got rushed ahead last year and saw his power, particularly HR power, almost vanish. Marmolejos hit fewer HRs in Hagerstown than Difo did. We don’t want to see the dingers disappear somewhere on the road to Harrisburg.

          I’m still skeptical of Marmolejos as a solid prospect to make the majors in any meaningful capacity. He’s got to make a big step in power to play a corner position, and what power he has shown has been in leagues where he has been a bit “old.” I hope he proves me wrong, as the Nats desperately need power at all levels.

          1. Count me a bit higher on Orange. He’s already a doubles machine who has been walking almost as much as he strikes out this year, and he’s a lefty.

            His stats remind me a lot of Hal Morris, the long time Reds first baseman who only hit double digits in HRs four times in 13 years, but in his prime was valued for his ability to hit over .300 with lots of doubles and not a lot of strike outs.

          2. If there’s a knock on the Orange, it’s that he’s slow. Chris Marrero slow.

        3. Just to give you a little perspective, I am one of those people who thinks Anderson Franco is a better prospect than Marmelos. Franco has not even been able to get to Hagerstown yet. Whether it is his English or other education (he is essentially a high schooler) may be the case; but with Gutierrez a deserving starter at 3B, he is likely using the time well, and will get his chance in due time, perhaps when Ward is ready for bigger things.

          1. I take the bait : Franco needs to get to Hagerstown ?
            Promote Max and K G to PotomAc then flip Ward
            To 1 b. Maybe even Davidson. Add Jeffries too
            To hags

  3. OK, Jaron Long has not been on my radar, but it looks like it is time to start paying attention. He is the son of Kevin Long, the Met hitting coach. He was undrafted out of Ohio State in 2013, nevertheless made it to AA in 2014 with the Yankees and AAA in 2015 before the Nats acquired him. He currently has a more impressive ERA (1.33) than WHIP (1.33). He turns 25 in August. He looks very effective at this level, probably capable of getting to AAA and holding his own, but without big K numbers and being a little older, he’s not going to set “prospect” lights flashing. Still, it’s got to be good for guys like Giolito and Lopez to be around “crafty” pitchers like Long, Simms, and Harper who don’t just blow people away.

    2. Yankees draft good talent. Christian Gracia was an ex-Yankee. Grabbing a Yankee that they may have given up on too soon is smart when there is no risk. Long was no risk.

      With that said, he already demonstrated he could succeed at the AA level. We will know whether the Nats view him as a keeper by whether he ascends if there is starting pitcher movement, and if he is in the system next year.

      A good comparison is Scott McGregor, whom the Nats brought in as a Cardinals castoff a year ago, just as they did a righty reliever and did Belisle. The Cards are so valued an organization that their pitchers are valued – just as, I might add, pitchers coming out of the Nats system (see Karns, Ray, Peacock). But Fortunaro is gone, as is McGregor. So let’s watch Long with the “long” view.” Not a bad guy to have around the house while we wait for bumps up from A+, though.

      1. Long’s release from the Yankees after only 2.5 seasons and above-average progress is weird. The Nats just signed him less than a month ago.

        1. There is the possibility that he was drafted as a favor to his Dad, who was the Yankee hitting coach at the time. Like Steve McCatty’s son, once Dad was let go from the organization the son’s career also moved on.

          1. Good point. It was amazing how quickly the Yanks had pushed Long up through the organization, though. Maybe they don’t have the same arms glut that the Nats do.

      1. Cool, glad to hear.

        I’m guessing he’s still in Florida waiting for Auburn’s season to start, but was hoping (as a Terp) that he might have made it to Hagerstown.

    2. Mooney has simply been outpitched by a number of relievers drafted below him – Brinley, Pantoja, VanVossen – and above him. He’ll get his chances, especially being a local product.

    3. I’m haven’t seen anything about him being released, for whatever that’s worth. The Hagerstown staff is overflowing with arms, so it’s a good assumption that Mooney is being held back for another tour at Auburn.

  5. BP has some Nats scouting reports up. These scouting reports that BP does are some of my favorite content out there.

    Another very positive review of R. Lopez: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_pit.php?reportid=360

    And a pretty positive report on Glover (even though this was based on one of his worst outings of his young career): http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_pit.php?reportid=358

    Don’t miss the video links, a feature they seem to have added this year.

    Also there’s one on Pivetta, for those who are still interested in keeping tabs on some past farmhands: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/prospects/eyewitness_pit.php?reportid=346

  6. Another point worth noting is the “second time around” better performances at higher levels of a few folks. Most folks notice Jefry Rodriguez, but once there were higher hopes for Wander Suero and Derek Self. Both are showing up well at AA so far. Wander is, of course, 2013 GCL pedigree so he gets a special star in our hearts.

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