Our final look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues. Repeats from 2015 are in italics.
PLEASE NOTE: This format discriminates against multi-level players (hence: no Koda Glover and Lucas Giolito) and age relative to the level is a key factor, especially in the short-season leagues. I’ve also excluded players who were traded away (Max Schrock), though I think that may have only cost him an “Interesting” mention for Potomac; the “Orange” had a longer period of sustained excellence and were it not for my disdain of BA-style double-dipping, I may have named him “Interesting” for Harrisburg because he continued to excel at AA.
SYRACUSE CHIEFS
61-82, 6th place International League North, 30 games behind
| Good | Bat: Trea Turner.302/.370/.471, 25SB in 83G Arm: Austin Voth 7-9, 3.15/3.53/1.24 in 157IP (25GS) |
| Bad | Bat: Jose Lozada .381 OPS in 53G Arm: Taylor Hill 6-13, 4.60/4.56/1.33, 19HR, 5.64 K/9IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Brian Goodwin .280/.349/.438, 14HR in 119G Arm: Paolo Espino 8-11, 3.30/3.22/1.15 in 152⅔ IP (24GS) |
HARRISBURG SENATORS
76-66, 3rd place Eastern League Western Division, 1½ games behind
| Good | Bat: Christopher Bostick .290/.356/.462 in 62G Arm: Reynaldo Lopez 3-5, 3.18/3.03/1.23, 100K in 76⅓ IP) |
| Bad | Bat: Khayyan Norfork .476OPS in 36G Arm: Mark Blackmar 4-5, 5.37/5.34/1.33, 3.95 K/9IP in 57IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Rafael Bautista .282/.344/.341, 56SB in 136G Arm: Phillips Valdez – first six AA starts: 2-2, 7.67 ERA, 2.30 WHIP in 27IP (4.5 IP/GS) last 10 AA starts 4-2, 3.26 ERA, 1.39 WHIP in 60⅔ IP (6.1 IP/GS) |
POTOMAC NATIONALS
39-31 in 2nd half, T1st place Carolina League Northern Division, 7 games ahead – Lost, 2-1 in CLDS
34-34 in 1st half, 3rd place, 10 games behind
73-65 overall
| Good | Bat: Jose “Orange” Marmolejos .286/.381/.495, 11HR, 59 RBI in 103G Arm: Erick Fedde 6-4, 2.85/3.22/1.13, 95K, 19BB in 91⅔ IP |
| Bad | Bat: David Masters .539 OPS in 76G Arm: Luis Reyes 4-8, 5.60/5.74/1.63, 5.86 BB/9IP in 70⅔ |
| Interesting | Bat: Austin Davidson .800 OPS in 47G Arm: Ryan Brinley 4-1, 16SV, 1.37/2.68/0.89 in 39⅓ IP (32G) |
HAGERSTOWN SUNS
40-30 in 2nd half, 2nd place South Atlantic League Northern Division, 5 games behind – Lost, 2-0 SALDS
43-27 in 1st half, 1st place, ½ game ahead
83-57 overall (best in Sally Lg.)
| Good | Bat: Victor Robles .305/.405/.459, 19SB in 64G Arm: Grant Borne 5-2, 3.34/3.15/1.20 in 59⅓ IP (21 appearances, 2GS) |
| Bad | Bat: Ryan Ripken .451OPS in 43G Arm: Luis Torres 2-2, 4.62/5.27/1.43 in 37IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Ian Sagdal, .303/.362/.474, 10 HR in 103G Arm: Jorge Pantoja 9-1, 3SV, 2.63/2.67/1.15 in 54⅔ IP (28 appearances) |
AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS
28-47, 5th Place Pinckney Division of New York-Penn League, 21½ games behind
| Good | Bat: Tres Barrera .703 OPS in 48G Arm: Tyler Watson 1-2, 1.88/2.05/0.91 in 43IP (9GS) |
| Bad | Bat: 23-y.o. David Kerian .144/.186/.226 in 44G Arm: A.J. Bogucki 0-6, 8.20/4.53/1.97 in 26⅓ IP (10 appearances, 6GS) |
| Interesting | Bat: (none) Arm: 19-y.o. Steven Fuentes 3.65/2.16/1.28, 4.70 K:BB ratio |
GCL NATIONALS
30-23, 2nd place Gulf Coast League East Division, 2½ games behind
| Good | Bat: 17-y.o. Juan Soto .368/.420/.553, 5HR, 32RBI in 45G Arm: 21-y.o. Sterling Sharp 3-0, 3.28/2.85/1.26 in 41⅓ IP (11G, 7GS) |
| Bad | Bat: 21-y.o. Chance Shepard .188/.289/325 in 28G Arm: 23-y.o. Diomedes Eusebio 0-0, 5.01/4.53/1.84 in 23⅓ IP (14 appearances) |
| Interesting | Bat: 21-y.o. Conner Simonetti .280 /.333/.446, 6HR in 42G Arm: 20-y.o. Francys Peguero 2.20/2.59/1.10, 34K, 5BB, in 32⅔ IP |
DSL NATIONALS
29-41, 6th place, Boca Chica San Pedro Division, 21½ games behind
| Good | Bat: 19-y.o. Jose Cabello .277/.391/.333 in 53G (last year’s “Bad”) Arm: 18-y.o. Yelmy Sisnero, 4-1, 0.43/2.08/0.91, 41K, 9BB in 41⅔ IP (9GS) |
| Bad | Bat: 18-y.o. Joel Andular .514 OPS in 47G Arm: 20-y.o. Felix Taveras 4-2, 4.61/3.70/1.37 in 41IP (10GS) |
| Interesting | Bat: 18-y.o. Brian Bencosme 33BB in 64G Arm: 18-y.o. Warner Duran 1.65/2.28/0.73 in 32⅔ IP (19 appearances) |