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Saturday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 5-3 vs. Rochester,
7:05 p.m.		 Hill (3-7, 4.99) vs.
Dean (1-5, 4.40)
Harrisburg Lost, 4-2 @ Reading,
6:35 p.m.		 Brady (1-1, 3.77) vs.
Leiter (3-0, 4.14)
Potomac Lost, 8-1 @ Myrtle Beach,
7:05 p.m.		 Reyes (4-7, 5.00) vs.
Stinnett (6-3, 3.36)
Hagerstown Won, 4-3 vs. Delmarva,
7:05 p.m.		 Guilbeau (0-0, 4.87) vs.
Peralta (3-4, 4.04)
Auburn Lost, 11-5 @ West Virginia,
7:05 p.m.		 Ramirez (2-0, 0.90) vs.
Meyer (1-1, 5.27)


Rochester 5 Syracuse 3
• Cole 5IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 3K, HR, WP
• Laffey (BS, 1; L, 4-3) 1IP, 3H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 0K
• Turner 1-3, 2R, 3B, BB
• Lombardozzi 2-4, R, RBI

The Chiefs led 1-0 after one and 3-2 after five and 1/2 but had no answer to the Redwings’ three-run 6th to lose this one, 5-3. A.J. Cole labored through five innings, giving up two runs on a 2nd-inning HR and seven hits total. He threw 95 pitches, walked one, and struck out three in the no-decision. Aaron Laffey took the loss with three runs allowed on three hits and a walk in the 6th. Trea Turner walked and hit his I.L.-leading eighth triple while Steve Lombardozzi singled twice and drove in a run to lead the Syracuse attack.

Reading 4 Harrisburg 2
• Mapes (L, 7-6) 5⅔ IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 2K, HR, HBP; 1-2, GIDP
• N. Lee ⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K, 1-0 IR-S
• Difo 3-3, HBP
• Kieboom 2-4, R

Harrisburg scored twice in the late innings but it was too little, too late as Reading doubled ’em up, 4-2. All-Star Tyler Mapes lost for the fourth time in his last six starts as the Fightins punched him for all four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks over five and 2/3rds innings. Wilmer Difo reached base four times with three singles and a HBP while Spencer Kieboom singled twice and scored a run as the Senators collected ten hits and three walks (two by Drew Ward) on the night.
Roster moves: RHP Jonathan Papelbon reassigned from Potomac for MLB rehab.

Myrtle Beach 8 Potomac 1
• Williams (L, 0-3) 5IP, 12H, 7R, 7ER, 2BB, 1K, WP
• Sanchez 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Schrock 3-4
• Read 2-4, R, HR , RBI

The P-Nats suffered their first loss of the 2nd half with an 8-1 thrashing by the Pelicans. Austen Williams did not get a quality start loss, as Myrtle Beach manhandled him for seven runs on twelve (12) hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out one while losing for the third time in four High-A starts. Max “For Those About To” Schrock pushed his BA to a Nintendo-esque .579 (11-for-19) with another three-hit game while Raudy Read broke up the shutout bid with his fourth HR of the season.

Hagerstown 4 Delmarva 3
• Bourque 5IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 6K, 2HR, WP
• Rivera 3IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 0K
• Walby (W, 2-0) 1IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Encarnacion 3-5, R, 2SB
• Agustin 2-4, 2R, 2B

Hagerstown got back-to-back-to-back singles with two outs to load the bases and got the tying run in on a wild pitch and the gamewinner in on a passed ball for a gift from Delmarva, 4-3. Philip Walby got the “W” as he worked around a walk and a single in the 9th. James Bourque had his first start with fewer hits allowed (4) than innings pitched (5) though he was charged with all three Shorebird runs, two coming via solo home runs. Lineup bookends Randy Encarnacion and Telmito Agustin combined to go 5-for-9 with a double (Agustin), two stolen bases (Encarnacion) and three runs scored to lead the Suns offense.

West Virginia 11 Auburn 5
• W. Pena 4IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 5BB, 3K, HBP
• Peguero (L, 0-1) 3IP, 6H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 3K
• Perkins 2-4, BB, OF assists at HP, 2B
• Ripken 2-4, BB, RBI
• Barrera 2-4, R, 2B, RBI

The Black Bears roared in the 7th for two and five in the 8th to break a 4-4 tie and gash the Doubledays for an 11-5 loss. Starter Wilber Pena wobbled through four innings, with two runs let in on four hits and five walks while striking out three. Francys Peguero took the loss with four runs on six hits over the next three innings. The Auburn offense pounded out 12 hits and drew five walks, with Blake Perkins and Ryan Ripken leading the charge with two singles and a walk apiece.
Roster moves: 3B Kelvin Gutierrez assigned from Hagerstown for MiLB rehab.

28 Commments

  1. Luis Garcia and Yasel Antuna signed with Nats this morning. I still can’t get over the $4m bonus to Antuna. One of the largest ever, and same as Maitan who is almost legendary amongst scouts, and he isn’t universally highly rated. But it’s not my money!

    1. I have to admit I have no idea who these guys are, but as they say, it’s not my money.
      Are they the standard 16 year olds?

      1. Thanks, FG.

        It seemed more fun when they find these nobodies and develop them like Rey Lopez & Wilmer Difo.

        1. Lopez only cost $17K, in part because he was an old man of 18 when he signed. His mom had insisted that he finish school.

          1. Difo signed for $22-25k also. Pedro Severino for a then high amount of $50K.

        2. In theory, they can do both still. Nothing stops them from finding the next Difo, Lopez or Severino in addition to the bigger bonus babies.

          I can’t imagine Johnny DiPuglia is gonna stop shopping in the bargain bin just because he can also afford to buy the expensive stuff now.

      2. Ty
        So cool
        The Franklin Sierra tracker in lieu of
        Nats signing Luis Garcia: CF in suspended
        Play DSL where Nats would make FP
        Proud. 7 runs in one IP

        Welcome to the org Conner Simonetti
        GCLNats. 15 runs.
        Simonetti and Noll. HRs

      3. It’s nice to get excited about a big spend, and perhaps not coincidental that there’s a big lottery jackpot tonight, but it’s worth noting that the four players who have gotten more than that, only one is an MLB regular (Mazara), the other is a league-average reliever (Ynoa), while the other two–Guzman and Beras–have yet to reach AAA and AA respectively. Before you trot out the Billy Rowell defense, remember that it cuts both ways.

        Take a look at the Top 40 bonuses ever doled out internationally, and you’ll count just a handful of guys who made it to MLB.

        I’ve long propounded that the secret to success is not spending big, but spending smart. Those of you on the Twittters will see that old friend Brian Oliver has come around to this way of thinking, too. It’s also consistent with my philosophy that draft bonuses are not a measure of a player’s worth, but only what the market dictates the cost of his acquisition will be.

        1. It certainly doesn’t seem like smart money to throw at these kids, but I guess the way they see it, if one kid makes it to pro ball and accumulates 10 WAR during his years of control, it makes this entire program worth it economically – meaning all the years that they’ve ever signed someone.

          For me, these signings, while nice to see, will be decidedly not worth it if the $15m or so aggregate outlay, including penalties, makes them pass on taking on money at the deadline for something that can help in this playoff push.

          But I’m not complaining. Rizzo’s group has earned quite a bit of deference on these kinds of things, and I have little basis to offer an alternate opinion.

  2. Tyler Mapes didn’t exactly celebrate his All Star selection properly.

    While Drew Ward & Victor Robles are adjusting to their higher level as expected, Max Schrock has been astounding. Such a small sample size but wow anyways.

    1. Schrock seems like the second coming of Daniel Murphy. Maybe he can hit his way into being Murphy’s eventual replacement. 🙂

  3. Ben Badler has Garcia listed as the third best international prospect. He’s a shortstop. Antuna, also a shortstop, is ranked 14th by Badler. Good signings, I’d think.

    1. Interesting that they took a HS SS and college SS in the 1st and 2nd rounds and then signed 2 of the top international SS. This, on top of their best field prospect also being (primarily) a SS (for now).

      Can’t have too much depth.

      And obviously a lot of players switch positions and several of these probably will.

      1. I had the same thought about all the shortstops, on top of Turner, who’s an ancient 23 compared to the kids who are 16 and 18. Neuse has already shifted to 3B, and the projections are that Kieboom will as well. Of course the Nats are also well stocked at that position with Ward, Gutierrez, and Franco.

        Speaking of whom, Franco doesn’t show up on the GCL stats as having played, so I guess we’re supposed to assume he’s dealing with an injury. I don’t know, though. Perhaps someone on Twitter should tweet at Byron Kerr to see what he sources can tell him.

        1. I don’t think that I’d read too much into all of the SS. It’s a baseball truism that the better players, when young, play SS. I don’t think that any of them other than Garcia are expected to stay there long term.

          1. Jose Sanchez, who the Nats are also expected to sign (once he turns 16 on July 12th), is also a shortstop and is ranked number 9 by Baseball America. BA says that he has “some of the best hands and footwork in the class, with good actions, fluid body control and instincts for the position,” and scouts expect him to stick at shortstop.

            Antuna will probably move off immediately because there isn’t room for all three of them to stick at shortstop, but it seems likely that at least 1-2 of them starts in the GCL rather than the DSL next summer considering the size of these bonuses.

            http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/best-tools-international-prospects-july-2/#5pSYIM2v91QCezm2.99

  4. Another rough night for Austen Williams, now back at Potomac. I hope he can find his grove, but right now, his arc is looking a lot like Schwartz’s.

    Good to see three scoreless innings from Rivera.

    On the flip side, what was the Auburn manager thinking leaving Phil Morse, just up from the GCL in for a five-hit, three-walk, five-run inning? Ouch.

    Too bad Schrock is having trouble finding a challenge anywhere. I think you could say he’s making a good first impression.

    Here’s a guy we seem to be sleeping on: Austin Davidson, slash line .310/.389/.521. You’d like to see more than 5 HRs, particularly at 23, although the lack of big power is less of an issue at 2B than at 3B; he’s played both. Anyway, he looks significantly improved while repeating Hagerstown, although he looks blocked at Potomac unless Schrock keeps movin’ on up.

  5. So buried in the Dane Dunning signing announcement was that Hayden Howard , the Texas Tech LHP they took with the 12th pick, also agreed.

    With that, the Nats have signed their top 19 picks and 30 of 32.

    1. Very good news. Howard essentially served the same role with Texas Tech as Dunning did with FLA, as a long reliever who was often better than the starters he replaced. He kept them in a number of big games on the way to the CWS. I wonder whether the Nats will give him a look as a starter as well.

    2. It was a great draft for the Nats in terms of getting the players they wanted and getting them signed, especially compared to the 2014 debacle. Hopefully, there are at least a couple of true gems in the bunch.

    3. One wonders if the Gonzo cousins
      Sign later with PD doughnuts and coffee
      $$$$
      Wetzel son?

    4. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong but signing 30 out of 32 is the best the Nats have done EVER.

      That said, ever isn’t very long. In the bad old days of 2005, the Nats signed 23 out of 50 picks. (!??!)

      Does anybody know the story of the Gonzales cousins. There was a connection with a scout or something and then they don’t sign. I’m not understanding.

  6. What I have not read above is that the Nats, according to WaPo, signed over a dozen players today. That’s just today. So they got their higher bonus players and lower bonus guys and have essentially pumped a big high school infusion into the organization to compete at its lowest levels. To me, this is a statement of a last hurrah before an international draft comes with the CBA. So the Nats absorb the penalty, waited until the last possible year and THEN threw money at the players they felt were projectile. The gaudy 3.9 million may be set by the market, but the Nata willingness to bid there tells you that the player was a lot closer to the top than “14.”

    This, combined with the high proportion of signees from the June draft and free agents like Williamsons catcher and players like the Tiger draftee who mean tremendous numbers, 45 players or more coming in. Considering the number of underclassmen here, there is a lot of still developing talent they’ve hauled in. Good times in first place!

    1. Amen Gil Grissom.
      Three of the bats july 2 are lefty .
      Catchers and Rizzo. Never enough .
      Gil are you saying Johnny signed more than
      Five kids July 2 ?
      Ortiz the guy in auburn loss tonight

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