Our final look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues. Repeats from 2016 are in italics.
PLEASE NOTE: This format discriminates against multi-level players and guys who were injured (hence, no Carter Kieboom or Juan Soto). Age relative to the level is a key factor, especially in the short-season leagues, and I do factor in usage. I also exclude players who were traded away.
I’m quite well aware there are more “(none)” than usual, but I’m not in the habit of handing out 10th-place ribbons, iykwim. Finally, it’s also worth noting that one year’s “good” can be next year’s “bad” (e.g. Austin Voth) and vice-versa (e.g. Chance Shepard).
SYRACUSE CHIEFS
54-87, 6th place International League North, 32 games behind – worst record in AAA
| Good | Bat: Brandon Snyder .263/.356/.490, 23 HR, 77RBI in 121G Arm: Wander Suero 3-1, 10SV, 1.70/2.79/1.11 in 36G |
| Bad | Bat: Emmanuel Burriss .557 OPS, 7E in 42G Arm: Taylor Hill 3-5, 7.25/6.24/1.61, 12HR, 4.35 K/9IP in 49⅔ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Spencer Kieboom .723 OPS in 47G (1st +.700 mark since 2014) Arm: (none) |
HARRISBURG SENATORS
60-80, 6th place Eastern League Western Division, 14 games behind
| Good | Bat: Jose “Orange” Marmolejos .288/.361/.458, 14HR, 66RBI in 107G Arm: John Simms 5-6, 3.54/3.71/1.11 in 112IP |
| Bad | Bat: Drew Ward 131K, 10HR in 121G Arm: Austin Voth 3-4, 5.13/4.35/1.40 in 54⅓ IP after demotion from AAA |
| Interesting | Bat: Raudy Read .265/.312/.455, 17HR, 61 RBI (10E, 14PB) Arm: (none) |
POTOMAC NATIONALS
30-40 in 2nd half, 4th place Carolina League Northern Division, 17 games behind
33-37 in 1st half, 4th place, 7½ games behind
63-77 overall
| Good | Bat: Victor Robles .289/.377/.495, 16SB in 77G Arm: Matthew Crownover 3-1, 1.94/2.86/1.06 in 46⅓ IP |
| Bad | Bat: Bryan Mejia .234/.270/.319, 19BB, 22E in 115G Arm: Joan Baez 4-8, 3.87/5.06/1.65, 7.52 BB/9IP |
| Interesting | Bat: None Arm: Grant Borne 4-4, 2.50/3.01/1.10 in 72IP |
HAGERSTOWN SUNS
35-32 in 2nd half, 4th place South Atlantic League Northern Division, 2½ games behind
38-31 in 1st half, 3rd place, 1½ games behind
73-63 overall
| Good | Bat: Daniel Johnson .300/.361/.529, 17HR, 12SB in 88G Arm: None (McKenzie Mills, Tyler Watson traded) |
| Bad | Bat: Angelo La Bruna .531 OPS in 77G Arm: Yonathan Ramirez 1-2, 5.29/5.90/1.57, 4.34 K/9IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Tres Barrera .278/.354/.464 in 67G Arm: Phil Morse 13.5K/9IP, 2.61 FIP in 20⅔ IP |
AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS
30-45, T5th Place Pinckney Division of New York-Penn League, 15 games behind
| Good | Bat: Chance Shepard .249/.372/.459, 7HR in 54G Arm: Seth Romero 5.40/1.13/1.25, 32K, 0HR, 6BB in 20IP |
| Bad | Bat: Nic Perkins .494 OPS in 32G Arm: Jared Brasher 1-2, 4.50/5.32/1.50, 6.23BB/9IP in 26IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 20-y.o. (on Aug. 18) Omar Meregildo, 8HR, 19E in 55G Arm: Gabe Klobosits 0-0, 5SV, 1.66/2.74/1.15 in 21⅔ IP |
GCL NATIONALS
34-22, 1st place Gulf Coast League East Division, 1½ games ahead – lost in GCL Finals, 2-1
| Good | Bat: 18-y.o. Justin Connell .323/.407/.365 in 30G Arm: 19-y.o. Tomas Alastre 3-1, 2.55/3.38/1.02 in 42⅓ IP (9G, 6GS) |
| Bad | Bat: 20-y.o. (on Aug. 27) Edwin Ventura .441 OPS, 3E in 35G Arm: 20-y.o. Jose De Los Santos 3-1, 5.75/5.74/1.67, 4.87 BB/9IP in 20⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 17-y.o. Yasel Antuna .301/.382/.399, 23BB, 26E in 48G Arm: 21-y.o. Jackson Stoeckinger 4.72/2.49/1.31, 31K in 26⅔ IP |
DSL NATIONALS
28-43, 8th place, South Division, 21 games behind
| Good | Bat: 19-y.o. Wilmer Perez .313/.382/.464 in 61G Arm: 17-y.o. Alfonso Hernandez, 1-1, 2.10/2.53/1.17, 61K in 55⅔ IP (12GS) |
| Bad | Bat: 18-y.o. Elvis Alvarado .427 OPS, 5E in 45G Arm: 18-y.o. Alejandro Vallejo 0-6, 8.90/4.96/1.95, 11HBP, 40K in 31⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 19-y.o. Caldioli Sanfler 37BB in 61G Arm: 17-y.o. (on Jul. 16) Pedro Gonzalez 1-3, 5.30/3.51/1.63 in 52⅔ IP |