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Monday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Postponed vs. Louisville,
6:35 p.m.		 Hill (2-4, 5.40) vs.
Stephenson (3-3, 3.86)
Harrisburg Lost, 6-2 OFF DAY N/A
Potomac Lost, 15-0 @ Myrtle Beach,
7:05 p.m.		 Valdez (6-2, 3.54) vs.
Leal (7-2, 3.33)
Hagerstown OFF DAY @ Asheville,
5:35 p.m.		 TBD and Baez (2-4, 4.32) vs.
TBD and Killian (3-3, 5.03)


Buffalo vs. Syracuse – PPD

Rain pulled the plug on this one by late morning yesterday. They’ll make it up with doubleheader on Tuesday, August 2nd.

Richmond 6 Harrisburg 2
• Williams (L, 1-7) 5IP, 9H, 4R, 4ER, 4BB, 2K, HR, HBP
• Self 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Kieboom 2-3, R, HR, RBI
• Ballou 2-3, SF, RBI
• 0-for-1 RISP, 3 LOB

Richmond put up a three-spot in the 5th to erase an early 2-1 deficit as they cruised to a 6-2 win over Harrisburg and prevent a four-game sweep. Austen Williams lost for the seventh time in ten starts as he gave up four runs on nine hits (HR #5) and four walks over five innings. Spencer Kieboom homered for the first Senators run in the 2nd while Isaac Ballou drove in Rafael Bautista, who had singled and stole second and third with sacrifice fly in the 3rd. Bautista was the only runner to get into scoring position as the Senators hit into two double plays and drew no walks while collecting six singles (two by Ballou) along with the Kieboom homer.

Myrtle Beach 15 Potomac 0
• Reyes (L, 3-5) 1⅔ IP, 6H, 8R, 8ER, 5BB, 0K, 2HR
• Benincasa 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• DeBruin 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Ward 1-3, BB, 2E

Pelicans manager Buddy Bailey was mum on his decision to go for two after the second touchdown in a 15-0 blanking of the P-Nats. Starter Luis Reyes took the brunt of the beating with eight runs allowed on six hits and five walks in just an inning and 2/3rds to lose for the fifth time this season. Offensively, the P-Nats were limited to five singles and two walks, with Drew Ward the sole batter to reach base twice. Roster moves: SS Osvaldo Abreu placed on the 3-Day TIL; IF Grant DeBruin reassigned from Auburn; OF Drew Vettleson activated from 7-Day DL and reassigned from Harrisburg; OF Narciso Mesa reassigned to Auburn

Hagerstown – OFF DAY

Hagerstown leads the Sally North by four games with 15 left to play in the first half — none of them against second-place Hickory or third-place Delmarva. The Suns’ road trip continues with a completion doubleheader tonight in Asheville against the Tourists.

31 Commments

  1. Well it looks like Turner got another non-promotion. Yesterday, Baker opted to bat Sammy Solis instead of Turner.

    Maybe we’ll see Turner get a run of starts next year.

    1. But what a performance from Solis. How do they send him back down after that? I think Belisle will be on the full 30-day rehab assignment while they try to figure out what to do.

      Speaking of relievers, I saw that Gott got bombed over the weekend. Considering the struggles he’s had along with those of Rivero and Treinen, the Nats might indeed have to think about trading for a closer who can be here beyond this season (like Andrew Miller). The heirs aren’t very apparent, except perhaps Glover.

      1. what would concern me about trading for Miller or Chapman is the Lerners insisting that NY picks up the payroll forcing Rizzo to increase his offer of prospects

        1. I don’t want Chapman. He’s toxic, even if Baker does have a good relationship with him. Miller, however, would cost more in terms of prospects because he’s signed for three years.

          Re the Lerners and midseason salary increases, I hope that isn’t an issue this year. The Nats are carrying a much lower payroll in 2016 than they have in the last couple of seasons, plus Werth just recently deferred $10M of his 2016 salary. There was speculation at the time that the deferral was a precursor to a pricy midseason addition. We’ll see.

          The price for Chapman shouldn’t be high. He’s an FA after this season, with no option. Papelbon had a vesting option that got negotiated into another year, and he still only cost Pivetta, a second-tier prospect who at that time had not looked great at AA (better this year). And that was with the Phils eating most of Pap’s 2015 salary. Granted, Chapman is younger and more dominant than Pap, but not enough to get into a return of a very top prospect. (But I still don’t want him. The mind boggles at the thought of a Pap-Chap shootout in the bullpen.)

          1. The cost for Chapman has to be at least worth the comp pick, because the Yanks could always keep him and put a QO on him (the way they did with David Robertson a couple of years ago).

          2. Good point. Might have to be someone like Lopez, but it wouldn’t be worth Lopez plus another top prospect . . . at least not in my eyes.

      2. Yeah, Solis was lights out.

        I think Solis may have just made a case to demote Rivero instead, who got shelled yesterday.

        Rivera’s peripherals are great. Tons of Ks, very few walks, almost unhittable. And yet his ERA is over 5.00. His LOB% (left on base percentage) is 58.1%. This is his ability to keep runners from scoring once they’re on base. The thing is that pitchers with high strikeout rates, typically have higher LOB%, because strikeouts do not advance runners, whereas fly/ground outs can. Therefore, it’s even more out of the ordinary that Rivero’s LOB% is so high, especially when Rivero is striking out every third batter he faces! (Rivero has the 22nd best strikeout rate in all of baseball (>20 IP). Better than Strasburg, Scherzer, Syndergaard, etc.)

        League average is 73%. The Nats average is 78%. Rivera’s is 58.1%. That puts him as 7th worst in baseball.

        Also compare his bases empty vs runners on splits:
        Empty: .143/.238/.232
        Baserunners: .275/.341/.513

        Is he one of those pitchers that just can’t pitch from the stretch? Is he prone to losing focus? What’s up? I’m not sure a stint in the minors would necessarily solve things, as he seems to be doing everything right, but not getting the results.

      3. Well for one, Miller will cost a lot more than Chapman.

        Is Miller worth Lopez and Voth? I wouldn’t be surprised if they asked for Robles and others either.

        1. I think you’re in the right ballpark of what Miller would cost, prospects from the 5-10 range in rankings. I would rather that Fedde be one of them. With Lopez, can he stay a starter, or is he a reliever? If he’s bound to be a reliever, make the call like they did with Meyer and get starter-level value for him.

          1. I don’t think the Yankees trade Miller unless the Nats gave up Robles. If they trade Miller and Chapman leaves after this season, the Yankees bullpen is suddenly a huge question mark.

            While I agree Miller would be better for the Nats, Chapman comes with a lower price tag because he is a FA at the end of 2016, and Dusty managed him. If/when the Nats trade with the Yankees for a closer, it will be Chapman. The price tag will depend upon what other teams are offering, but a veteran like Gio won’t do it. The Yankees need prospects. Particularly, pitching prospects. Agree that the price tag would be along the lines of Lopez and Voth.

          2. Not Lopez AND Voth for Chapman; maybe either/or. But I don’t want him.

            You may be right that they would *want* Robles for Miller, but they’re not getting him for a reliever in his 30s. No way Miller is worth that level of a prospect to the Nats, particularly considering how little power potential they have in the entire organization. Of the “big three” of Giolito, Turner, and Robles, I think Robles is the one they can least afford to give up, all the more so with Taylor’s ongoing struggles.

            I think in any such deal the Yanks would probably want a young reliever as part of it, like Rivero or Solis.

            I really don’t know what the Yankees need, though. Wally and John C. seem to know more about that organization, so perhaps they’ll chime in.

          3. KW – I used to be a NYY fan but don’t follow them very closely any more. But when it comes to minor league and amateur talent, Cashman clearly prioritizes big arms that you can dream into a #2 or 3. So I think Lopez could be the centerpiece, but they would want two other pieces, I think. I doubt that they would value Voth highly, and would probably take a few low A or lower guys to fill it out. What cuts against the Nats is NYY’s experience with Severino. Lopez comps to him quite a bit and his fall off this year may lead to some recency bias against him. Fedde could possibly be substituted but his value is lower and he is further away, so the other pieces would be more valuable.

            For Miller, I think they look for a Kimbrel kind of deal. I don’t think they’ll get it and so will hold on to him.

          4. I was just reading Boz’s answer in his chat about whether the Nats can make it very far with Papelbon. His answer was that they can probably win the division with him, but not make it very far in the playoffs. I think he’s probably right. The question will then become how much of their minor-league talent they’re willing to surrender in the hope of going farther. Certainly not a Kimbrel-level amount, that’s for sure.

            Interesting intel that the Yanks probably wouldn’t want a guy like Voth. I’ve been saying for years that he’s going to end up with Billy Beane, who seems to be the only one who values that type of pitcher.

          5. The other part of this kind of trade (For Chapman) is that I don’t think the Nats require NYY to kick in money straight up, but do think they make NYY take back Pap, which I believe he can’t block. Which is another way to get them to pick up money, but more importantly, avoid any kind of controversy.

            As for Voth, that is certainly just a guess, but if you look at their rotation and drafts, they go big arm/stuff guys like Kaprelian, and seem to have a lot of these backend command types, which is how I’d characterize Voth. Lots of teams do value a Voth kind of guy, but I’d say off the cuff it’s the teams with bigger parks that can neutralize the hanging pitches a bit.

  2. A Drew Vettleson sighting! Perhaps going to Potomac will be good for him. Another stint in Woodbridge might help Austen Williams about now as well. It looks like he gets thrown to the wolves in every start. I still have no idea why he’s in the rotation and Simms isn’t, as I’ve mentioned before.

  4. Nats returned Turner to the minors this morning when Zimmerman was activated.

    Generally like Dusty, but at a loss to understand why Turner sat Saturday and Sunday after going 3 of 3 with a walk on Friday. Outside of Murphy and Ramos, no one is getting on base with frequency right now. With that said, if Baker is not going to play Turner, makes sense to send him back to AAA; so, he can stay fresh. Still think Turner will be the starting SS by August.

    1. For what it’s worth, Turner looked a lot more confident going about his business on Friday than he did in The Show in 2015. He looked like he belonged. I’m sure that appearance will be duly noted by the powers that be. If he had come up and looked like Michael Taylor still does, deer in the headlights, it would have been a different story. It was a quick status check, and a very good one.

      I’m sure the “looks ready” appearance will inform Rizzo’s thinking. What he will do will remain to be seen.

      1. Yeah, I was fairly disappointed not to get to see more of Turner, especially after his debut. I kind of get Dusty’s thinking, which is he believes CRob will be here all year and needs to find him regular PAs to keep him fresh. But, while I like his bat quite a bit, he is a butcher with the glove, even (Or especially) at 1B, and I think that comes back to bite us quite a bit. Honestly, I’d prefer he play LF when they start him, and if Turner isn’t up, put Drew at 2B and Murph at 1b when Zim is out. Not because he is better in LF, but because he’ll just get fewer chances.

  5. Would anybody agree that Solis might be part
    Of any talks with yanx for either lefty ?

    1. Solis looked yesterday like the guy we’d always been promised he could be, making you wonder whether he could even transition back to starter (aka the Christian Garcia syndrome). Then you shake your head back to reality, from years of following Solis here, and wonder whether he can even stay healthy for a couple of months . . . aka, the Christian Garcia reality.

      So yeah, if some team is willing to see Solis as a substantive part of a deal, I’m in.

  6. Fellow Nats nation
    Should we be concerned that some arms like
    Mooney were bypassed for promotion as Tommy
    Peterson is riding up the ladder
    Only to be replaced with ex SD a State Axtec
    And Yankee alum Phillip Walby???
    Begs the question Luke : did SS help recruit
    Walby to SDState since Walby was a big arm
    In California out of HS???

    1. Conner Bach proves that if you slip into
      Bullpen profile then your chances of riding
      Up the ladder get crowded and cloudy ??

    2. No cause for concern – Walby started his career far better than did Mooney and was a lower round draft pick to boot. Not as surprising. Nats have scouted the minors well – coming on the day when Greg Ross gets promoted to Harrisburg. One has to think that Williams is headed down.

      Congratulations to Benincasa. One step closer.

      Lots of shuffling now happening, sans injuries. Vettleson into the Potomac lineup. Last chance to pull it together?

      1. Now that the reliever dilemma is Gil grissomed
        . Would someone explain why my dog rubs his
        Back on the ground ? Itchy coat , Luke?

      2. Ahem fans.
        Turn the page on cal’s son
        Mr Page hitting his way to 1b
        Time with Sagdal !!

  7. And congratulations to Peterson. Less heralded than Rivera, but yet another from the class of ’15 to A+. Glover on the fastest track right now. Got to think that there will be movement on the AA-AAA-ML axis with Belisle and Rivero and others in between.

  8. Bryan Harper said to be headed to Syracuse. Good for him. He’s earned it. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to see him get a Sept. cup of coffee, if it can be worked with the 40-man.

  10. Hagerstown is the class of the system, and with a number of players heating up. There looks to be quite a bit of upward mobility from Hagerstown to Potomac by the time short season rosters are set in early July. Especially when you consider players older for level like Page.

    That also puts a few players in A+ and AA on the bubble. Jeff – “Who is gonna make it, we’ll find out”

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