Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Lost, 2-0; Won, 3-2 |
@ Pawtucket, 7:05 p.m. |
Hill (3-6, 4.98) vs. Wilkerson (3-1, 2.03) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 10-4 | @ Portland, 7:00 p.m. |
Giolito (5-3, 2.71) vs. Couch (4-2, 3.80) |
| Potomac | ALL-STAR BREAK | ALL-STAR BREAK | N/A |
| Hagerstown | ALL-STAR BREAK | ALL-STAR BREAK | N/A |
| Auburn | Won, 5-0 | @ Aberdeen, 7:05 p.m. |
Acevedo (2-1, 3.64 @ GCL in ’15) vs. TBD |
Pawtucket 2 Syracuse 0
• Cole (L, 5-4) 6IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, WP
• Skole 1-2, BB
A.J. Cole turned in a complete game as the Chiefs were shut out, 2-0 in the opener. Cole walked two and struck out three while allowing seven hits over six innings during his fourth loss. Of course, it’s hard to win when you only get one hit (Matt Skole) and draw just three walks (Skole, Brian Goodwin, Trea Turner).
Syracuse 3 Pawtucket 2
• Laffey 3⅓ IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 4K, WP
• Davis (W, 6-2) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Glover (H, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Solano 1-2, BB, RBI
• Campana 1-3, 2RBI
Syracuse rebounded in Game Two to edge Pawtucket, 3-2. Aaron Laffey pitched into the 4th and left with a 3-0 lead with one out and two on. Erik Davis let in both runners on a two-run single after walking the first batter he faced but got the next five outs to earn the win. Koda Glover retired the side in order in the 6th for a hold in his AAA debut. Rafael Martin nearly undid all the work before him as he Cordero’d his way through the 7th with a single, double, and an intentional walk before rolling a double play to end it. Jhonatan Solano drove in the first Chiefs run with a single and walked while Tony Campana plated two with a two-run single in the 4th as Syracuse collected five hits total.
Portland 10 Harrisburg 4
• Mapes (L, 6-5) 2⅔ IP, 10H, 9R, 8ER, 2BB, 1K, 0HR
• Brady 3IP, 2H, R, ER, 0BB, 4K
• Bostick 2-4, 2R, 3B, HR, RBI
• Bautista 2-3, R, 2B
Tyler Mapes came out flat as a mackerel against the Sea Dogs in a 10-4 loss. Portland scored nine times on ten hits and two walks against the Senators starter over his two and 2/3rds innings. The bullpen combined for five and a 1/3rd innings of one-run relief, led by Michael Brady (3IP). Christopher Bostick tripled and homered and scored twice to lead the Harrisburg offense, which collected nine hits and three walks total.
Potomac – ALL-STAR BREAK
• Stevenson 3-5, 2R, 2-3B, 2RBI
• Ward 0-4, 2K, E
• Brinley 1IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
Andrew Stevenson tripled twice, scored twice, and drove in two to help lead the Carolina League past the California League, 6-4, and earned him MVP honors. Both Stvenson and Drew Ward played the entire game, which also saw Ryan Brinley wobble through a scoreless 8th while giving up three hits.
Hagerstown – ALL-STAR BREAK
• Robles 1-3, R, SB
• Schrock 2-3, 2B, 2RBI
• Rodriguez 1IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Rivera ⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
Likewise, Max “For Those About To” Schrock drove in both Sally North runs in a 2-1 win over the Sally North and was named the MVP of the 2016 South Atlantic League All-Star game. Both he and Victor Robles started and put in three ABs before giving way to the reserves. Jefry Rodriguez pitched a scoreless inning while Mariano Rivera III retired both batters he faced in the parade of pitchers to appear.
Auburn 5 Mahoning Valley 0
• W. Davis (W, 1-0) 5IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Dickey (H, 1) 3IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 4K, HBP
• Encarnacion 3-4, 2RBI, SB
• Neuse 1-3, 2R, 3B, BB, 2RBI
Auburn scored five times in the first three innings while three pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout of Mahoning Valley, 5-0. Weston Davis went the first five innings and gave up just one hit and no walks while striking out four to get the “W.” Robbie Dickey followed with three scoreless for the hold, though he walked two, hit a batter, and gave up hit while fanning four. Randy Encarnacion went 3-for-4 with two RBI while Sheldon “Come On Feel The” Neuse walked, tripled, scored twice, and drove in two in his pro debut to lead the Doubleday offense.
Two MVPs! Well done to both Schrock and Stevenson. Now that those ASGs are out of the way, time for their promotions and a system wide shake up 😉
Also, Auburn is turning into a really interesting team.
What are the odds Stevenson does get promoted, and when do people think that will happen.
For last name reasons I am very interested in the timing of a promotion. I really want my 5yo son who played his first year of t-ball to meet Andrew, hopefully get an autograph.
Well the sooner he gets promoted to Harrisburg the sooner he gets promoted to Washington!
(Yes, I know it’s more complicated than that)
The problem for Stevenson is that he is currently blocked in CF at the higher levels by Bautista (still a prospect) and Goodwin (having a good season, and a huge former bonus baby who is on the 40-man roster and likely ticketed for a September call up). My guess is he gets a late season promotion, but I have no inside information.
On the other hand, it would make sense to see Schrock promoted soon, perhaps right after the break.
Nice to see Weston Davis pop up again. He had not pitched since he was drafted out of HS in 2014 – and even that was in the GCL.
Welcome to pro ball to draft picks Sheldon Neuse, Daniel Johnson, and Paul Panaccione. Johnson checked in with a hit and two runs in his pro debut. Interesting that they shifted Perkins to LF for Johnson to play CF. Some reports had Johnson as skilled but pretty raw, so I thought he might get some GCL time, but they apparently think he’s ready for Auburn. Maybe Upshaw ends up the CF in GCL?
Stevenson doesn’t look like he’s got much left to prove against A+ pitching on either end of the country, does he? I think he’ll be getting the AA call soon, perhaps with Robles following in trace to Potomac.
In the “interesting” department, Bostick just got his 8th triple, but he’s only 7 for 14 in SB attempts. Except for SBs, he seems to have moved noticeably ahead of Difo in every offensive category. Bostick is pretty much 2B-only, however, although he did get a little OF time last season.
I’d like to see Stevenson show a little more pop. He only has 2 career home runs in 473 ABs, and could probably use some more development time before moving up.
Expecting more pop out of Stevenson is probably like waiting for more blood out of a turnip. If it’s not there, it’s not there. He hit one HR as a Frosh, one as a Jr., one last season as a pro, and one this season. There seems to be a trend here, although technically you could give him two for 2015 if you count college and pro. His “slugging” is going to be in doubles and triples.
So a few more reports have come in about draftees. Banks and Harris have signed, leaving only Dunning from our top 11
As predicted, Banks signed for slightly over slot at $500k (slot was $473k), and Harris signed for significantly underslot ($10k bonus, slot of $166k)
This now puts us at $287,774 left to spend (+ whatever Dunning agrees to). It’ll be interesting to see what the Nats can manage to make happen with that. It’s not very much. For example, Tyler Watson signed for about $400k overslot last season.
Upshaw signed for $400K so we are slightly in the hole. If Dunning signs for around 1.5M, then perhaps they could get Cooper. They might just sign Dunning and call it a day(not take the overage). I would not have a problem with that. They seem to have had a great draft. Cooper would be nice though.
That’s a surprising amount for Upshaw, yet another CF without much power. We now have four or five guys in the organization who profile as “the next Ben Revere.”
I’m starting to get concerned about Trea Turner, who is now hitting .212 in June at Syracuse with a .564 OPS and only 2 XBHs. The league has likely adjusted to his game, and now the big challenge is for him to make the adjustment back.
Opening night in Aberdeen
If anybody is here @ game
Jeff is in potomAc hat and Peyton manning
Tee shirt
Fyi
Guess who was in auburn knits tonight
Wearing number 34????!
Nathan Banks
7-0 L to Aberdeen
Daniel Johnson a real nice find by nats.
Sweet swing. Nice arm in RF tonight .
Can hit lefties even from Australia .
Opening night in Aberdeen
Fuentes looked good tonight.
Acevedo has to tighten up or develop
Other secondary pitches .
Kevin Mooney answered my question :
Are you closing ? Yes but sharing
Duties with Mr Angher
By the way not only is Perkins switch hitting
But Daryl Florentino .
Martinez has the athleticism to play SS
But he just needs to stop acting like the
Audition is on for short season
One report on Daniel Johnson said he had a throw from the OF timed at 101 mph, so yeah, he’s supposed to have a hose.
Thanks for the intel. Great to get these folks on the field.
Upshaw. You don’t throw 400k at a slap hitter. He is obviously more than his numbers. Let the scout prove their eyes.
Encarnacion a toolshed if he learns the game. Clock ticking before the OF gets too crowded. GCL starts tomorrow….
Jeff are you back today for more?