Thursday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 5-2 | vs. Buffalo, 6:35 p.m. |
Antolin (2-3, 6.44) vs. Harrell (0-0, 0.00) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-1 | @ New Hampshire, 7:05 p.m. |
Simms (2-4, 3.68) vs. Dawson (1-6, 5.43) |
| Potomac | ALL-STAR BREAK | vs. Carolina, 7:05 p.m. |
TBD vs. TBD |
| Hagerstown | ALL-STAR BREAK | vs. Greensboro, 7:05 p.m. |
TBD vs. King (4-4, 3.82) |
| Auburn | Won, 3-2 | @ Mahoning Valley, 7:05 p.m. |
German (1-2, 4.70 @ GCL in ’16) vs. G. Vasquez (5-2, 3.18 @ AZL in ’16) |
Syracuse 5 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 2
• O’Sullivan (W, 1-1) 6IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K, HR
• Suero (S, 3) 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Stevenson 3-5, R, RBI, 3SB
• Burris 2-4, R, 2RBI
• Sanchez 2-4, R, 2B
Andrew Stevenson wreaked havoc and ran amok as the Chiefs took the finale, 5-2 and split the four-game series with the RailRiders. The 23-y.o. CF went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, a run scored and an RBI to lead the Syracuse attack. Sean O’Sullivan turned in a quality start of two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings for his first win of the season. Sammy Solis put one goose egg for the hold while Wander Suero put up two for the save.
Harrisburg 2 New Hampshire 1
• Estevez (W, 2-0) 6IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 8K
• Brinley (SV, 5) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Sandford 2-4, R
• Keller 2-4
Wirkin “For the Weekend” Estevez got just enough offense and three scoreless innings from the ‘pen to take his second straight AA start, a 2-1 Harrisburg win over Richmond. Estevez struck out a season high of eight with nary a base on balls as he pitched six innings of one-run ball on three hits. Brady Dragmire, Phillips Valdez, and Ryan Brinley each worked around a hit in a single inning of work to earn holds for Dargmire and Phillips and a save for Brinley. Darian Sandford and Alec Keller both singled twice while Jose “Orange” Marmlejos and Neftali Soto each drove in a run. Roster move: RHP Taylor Hill reassigned from Syracuse.
Potomac – ALL STAR BREAK
The P-Nats and Mudcats rematch for four games this weekend to kick off the second half. Potomac came within one game of .500 before dropping its final two games of the half and will face a tough road to the playoffs, as they’ll play the Carolina League’s top four teams of the first half 39 times in 70 games.
Hagerstown – ALL STAR BREAK
Hagerstown also starts with a clean slate and plays a second-half schedule that’s weighted heavily toward its own division (53 of 70). They begin at home against the Grasshoppers, who finished a half game behind the Suns in 4th place and two behind the Intimidators, who took the pole position by percentage points over second-place Lakewood.
Auburn 3 Mahoning Valley 2
• Y. Ramirez (W, 1-0) 6IP, 5H, R, ER, BB, 6K, WP
• M. Pena (SV, 1) 3IP, 7H, R, ER, BB, 4K
• Vilorio 3-4, R
• Meregildo 1-3, R, BB
• Ortiz OF assist at HP
The Doubledays got three in the 3rd and were outhit 12-6 but edged the Scrappers, 3-2. Yonathan Ramirez allowed the first Mahoning Valley run on five hits and a walk while striking out six to earn the win. Malvin Pena was strafed for seven hits for over three innings for the second run but earned the save. The Scrappers had the tying run thrown out at home to end the 7th and at third to end the game. Luis Vilorio led the Auburn hit column with a 3-for-4 night while Omar Meregildo and Armond Upshaw both singled and walked; all three scored a single run. Roster move: LHP Yonathan Ramirez demoted from Hagerstown.
Taylor Hill certainly seems to be in decline, which leads me to just one thought. Even though he never notched a win, Hill was a Major Leaguer for 9 games, and a starter for one. If he never improves to better form again, nobody can ever take that away from him.
Look at that a daily sweep (DSL Nats even won too)! And Hagerstown wasn’t even playing today.
It looks like something has finally clicked for Stevenson, who’s now batting an extremely Stevenson-esque .319/.372/.431 in 21 games in June.
I wonder who of Taylor, Goodwin and Stevenson have the most trade value, as at least one of them is going to get dealt in the next month.
I don’t foresee any of those guys leaving in a trade right now, particularly with Eaton out and Werth ailing and his contract up. I’m not a fan of Taylor remaining a starter in subsequent years, but he’s meeting the current need OK.
One would suspect that the Nats have made, or at least tried to make, Robles, Fedde, Soto, and C. Kieboom off limits, at least in talks to trade for a reliever. I guess it’s possible that Stevenson might be a potential chip, but I think other teams would be more likely to ask about Perkins. Either of those would be a high price to pay for a short-term reliever rental. The rumored trade to the White Sox for 2.5 years of David Robertson was Ward and Luzardo, with the high price in terms of prospects due to the salary relief on Robertson the Nats were also seeking as part of the deal.
So I don’t know who other teams would be seeking. If it would me, I’d be asking about guys like McKenzie Mills and Tyler Watson, although both are still a long way from the majors.
I don’t think Stevenson has much trade value right now. He has no power, and don’t think he has the tools to be a elite defensive CF. Right now, he projects as a David Lough, Peter Borjos, Craig Gentry type. Not sure how much value you can get for a player that has that type of ceiling.
With Eaton out and the extent of his recovery uncertain, the Nats cannot consider trading MAT, unless the package included Lorenzo Cain or someone else that has the talent to play CF everyday, and getting an experienced CF in a trade just means that the Nats will get less bullpen value in return which what this team really needs.
Dusty must have asked Max to go 9
To give the bullpen a DO.
Let’s go get m2 again this time from SF
What’s the word on Soto and Kieboom? I thought the injuries were minor they have been out an awful long time.
GCL starting soon?
GCL starts on Tuesday. If you’ll recall, Soto was supposed to be in the lineup the next day after his injury. The Nats continue to confuse baseball with hockey or football and give little or no information and sometimes they just outright lie. Unless I (or one of my trusted spies) witness the injury, I don’t presume a player is hurt when he goes on the DL and likewise I don’t believe any estimates of the nature or severity. That may sound harsh but I’ve been running this site for eight years and have noticed a few things.