NationalsProspects.com

Friday’s News & Notes — Playoff Edition

Potomac evens it up to turn the CLDS into a best-of-three at home while Auburn is swept out of the NYPL semifinals

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Matchup
Potomac Won, 4-1 vs. Lynchburg, 7:05 p.m. Johnston (5-2, 4.94) vs. Tully (6-11, 4.47)
Auburn Lost, 7-3 END OF SEASON N/A

Potomac 4 Lynchburg 1
• Crownover (W, 1-0) 5IP, 5H, R, ER, 4BB, 6K
• Braymer (H, 1) 3IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 7K
• Fuentes (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Banks 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI
• Wiseman 2-4, R, SB
• Garcia 2-5, 2B

Nick Banks’s two-run HR highlighted a three-run rally in the 3rd as the P-Nats evened up the best-of-the-five CLDS with the Hillcats at 1-1 with a 4-1 victory. Matt Crownover put on nine baserunners (five hits, four walks) over five innings and stranded eight of them to pick up the “W.” Ben Braymer came out of the ‘pen and got seven of nine outs by way of “K” to earn the hold. Steven Fuentes capped things off with a 1-2-3 ninth to notch the save. Banks, Rhett Wiseman, and Luis Garcia each had two hits as Potomac racked up ten total. The series finishes with Games 3 and 4 (and 5 if necessary) in Woodbridge, where Lynchburg took 3-of-4 in April and Potomac took 2-of-3 in August.

Hudson Valley 7 Auburn 3
• Peguero 4IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 7K, WP, 70-46 PIT-K
• Day (L, 0-1) 2IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 1K, WP
• Daily 2-4
• Rhinesmtih 1-3, R, BB, SB

Hudson Valley trailed just once as the defending NYPL champions and owners of the best regular-season record swept away Auburn with a 7-3 win. Francys Peguero, who had been scheduled for the decisive Game 3, was called upon to get them there and gave up the first two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out a season-high of seven. Chandler Day, who had given up two runs in his last 18 innings, was lit up for three runs over two innings on five hits and a walk to suffer the loss. Doubledays pitchers could only stop the Renegades from scoring twice in eight innings. On the other side of the ball, the Auburn hitters were held to just seven hits and two walks with Cole Daily the sole batter to have two hits. Neither was a double.

9 Commments

  1. Still like peguero potential.
    If only Matthew Crownover pitched against Lynchburg all of his season starts. Lol
    Luke. Thank you again for all the sweat equity you have placed in your cyber baby with all the canine responsibilities .
    I was walking around downtown PHX last night as the Snakes were hosting the Braves. Thai food was more important. Even @ $20 bucks
    Out the door. For other baseball travelers on the road. Tom Yum on Central

  2. Luke–I know Braymer is old for the league, but how does his stuff look otherwise? Is he a genuine prospect, or yet another guy a year or so away from getting lit up like Times Square on New Year’s Eve as part of the great Nats bullpen Merry-Go-Round?

    1. There are days when he looks like he might be what the Nats should want him to be — A junkballing LOOGY who can frustrate an impatient LH power hitter — and then there are days when it looks like he’s another LHP who’d have been released if he were a RHP. Fortunately, the former has been more common than the latter. Unfortunately, he has not been tested at the next level and there have been many, many who have had breakout years at high-A only to get plastered at AA. That he’s been invited (ordered) to pitch in the AFL is an encouraging sign, especially because he’s not Rule 5 eligible

  3. Seeing Jimmy Cordero pitch brings me back to the halycon Henry Rodriguez days.

    The Nationals player evaluations continue to baffle me though. How is it that guys like Cordero and H-Rod (and Enny Romero, Carlos Torres, etc. etc.), Moises Sierra and Matt Reynolds continue to get opportunities in spite of all previous evidence, when players like Kyle McGowin, James Bourque, and Austen Williams, Yadiel Hernandez, Austin Davidson and Alec Keller are seemingly the least valued players, who only get a chance once we undergo a firesale. Then on top of that, we jerk them around and put them in positions to fail, like using McGowin, who threw arguably the best season of all AAA starters, in relief! McGowin hasn’t thrown out of the bullpen since 2013, in his rookie season in the Pioneer League! Meanwhile, we have two huge gaping spots in our rotation next April… Or absolutely, positively refuse to start Victor Robles. He’s been on the big league roster for 26 games in total over the past two seasons. Barely a single one holding any significance (we’d already locked up the division last September). He’s started 5 of those 26 games, much like Trea Turner was handled in 2015, being on the roster for 42 games but starting 8.

    There seems to be a weird disconnect between the minor leagues and the big leagues that has become more pronounced now that we’ve entered rebuilding mode and the games mean nothing. Developing future talent during the remaining meaningless games should be the single priority these next few weeks. That means starting McGowin, Fedde, Ross, and Williams from relief, and Severino, Robles and maybe even Stevenson for the remainder of the season (and I’d go further and promote Davidson, Hernandez and Bourque in place of Reynolds or Wieters, Hellickson and Herrera). What good is it giving playing time to guys that will leave in the offseason anyway?

    1. The answer to your question is quite simply that the organization’s evaluators have a different view of players than we do, which is based on in-person observation, conversations with coaches and trainers, and whatever advanced-metrics secret sauce is currently in vogue in Nats World. They don’t just look at a guy’s ERA or batting average, or even at more telling stats like his K/BB or wOBA, and make their judgment. They have specific benchmarks they’re looking for.

      That being said, I think it’s screamingly apparent that there is something rotten in the state of pitcher development for the Nats, after several successive seasons of the organization failing to sign and develop a usable major league starter or even impact reliever. And I think, though it’s just my opinion, that this org has historically been dazzled to the point of blindness by showy tools like high velo or great raw speed, which are good to have but hardly are the end-all, be-all.

      1. And I think, though it’s just my opinion, that this org has historically been dazzled to the point of blindness by showy tools like high velo or great raw speed, which are good to have but hardly are the end-all, be-all.

        You are not alone…

        1. you give extra chances to the high velo guys because the upside is a blake treinen or felipe rivero/vazquez.

    3. Good , good Will. Hunting
      Davidson reminds me of a dollar general version of cards Matt Carpenter
      Bullpens evolve. Plus prayers

Comments are closed.