Our final look at the leaders, trailers, and outliers in the Washington Nationals minor leagues. Repeats from 2017 are in italics
PLEASE NOTE: This format discriminates against multi-level players—though if you need me to tell you Juan Soto was “good,” you may want to take the Nikes off before you burn them—and guys who were injured. Also, I do factor in age relative to the level when possible, which is usually High-A and lower, so before you “What about______?” look up his age and how many seasons he’s played the level. Finally, it’s also worth noting that one year’s “good” can be next year’s “bad” and vice-versa.
SYRACUSE CHIEFS
64-76, T4th place International League North, 20 games behind
| Good | Bat: Yadiel Hernandez .277/.348/.431, 11 HR, 46RBI in 95G Arm: Phillips Valdez 6-7, 2.75/4.10/1.25 in 124⅓IP |
| Bad | Bat: Michael Almanzar .487 OPS, 3E in 18G Arm: Cesar Vargas 1-7, 5.92/5.45/1.73 in 65⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Jacob Wilson (Rule 5 pickup) .745 OPS in 89G Arm: Kyle McGowin 3-2, 1.20/3.09/066 52⅔ IP |
HARRISBURG SENATORS
72-65, 3rd place Eastern League Western Division, 5½ games behind
| Good | Bat: Drew Ward .259/.376/.456, 13HR, 56RBI in 98G Arm: Brady Dragmire 5-2, 3.25/3.37/1.22 in 80⅓ IP |
| Bad | Bat: Osvaldo Abreu .570 OPS, 16E in 109G Arm: Luis Reyes 5-6, 5.18/5.71/1.54 in 64⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Austin Davidson .285/.363/.483 in 94G Arm: Austen Williams 3-3, 1SV, 1.39/1.41/0.91 in 51⅔ IP |
POTOMAC NATIONALS
37-32 in 2nd half, 2nd place Carolina League Northern Division, 4½ games behind
37-30 in 1st half, 1st place, 3 games ahead
74-62 overall
| Good | Bat: Carter Kieboom .298/.386/.494 in 61G Arm: Ben Braymer 6-3, 2.43/3.10/1.16 in 89IP |
| Bad | Bat: Edwin Lora .180/.256/.236, 9E in 64G Arm: Kyle Johnston 5-2, 4.94/4.79/1.46, 5.32 BB/9IP in 47⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Aldrem Corredor .311/.360/.457 in 59G Arm: James Bourque 3-2, 5SV, 2.16/2.76/0.93, 14.04K/9IP in 33⅓ IP |
HAGERSTOWN SUNS
25-40 in 2nd half, 7th place South Atlantic League Northern Division, 19 games behind
27-41 in 1st half, 7th place, 13½ games behind
52-81 overall
| Good | Bat: Luis Garcia .297/.335/.402, 3HR, 8SB in 79G Arm: Nick Raquet 4-6, 2.79/2.89/1.27 in 67⅔ IP |
| Bad | Bat: Paul Panaccione .426 OPS in 44G Arm: Phil Morse 2-0, 8.79/4.45/2.13, 5.02 BB/9IP in 28⅔ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: Omar Meregildo .268/.327/.443 in 65G Arm: Steven Fuentes 2-1, 3SV, 2.35/1.28/0.83 in 23IP (2-2, 3SV, 1.09 in 2nd half with Potomac) |
AUBURN DOUBLEDAYS
41-35, 2nd Place Pinckney Division of New York-Penn League, 1½ games behind
| Good | Bat: Pablo O’Connor .296/.336/.460, 5HR in 25RBI in 52G Arm: Angel Guillen 5-2, 1SV, 2.84/3.50/1.12 in 57IP |
| Bad | Bat: Ricardo Mendez .522 OPS in 54G Arm: Tanner Driskill 1-4, 1SV, 9.00/6.36/1.88 in 24IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 18-y.o. Israel Pineda .273/.341/.388, 4HR, 24RBI in 46G, 41% CS%, .985 FA Arm: Aaron Fletcher 2-1, 2.48/1.79/1.14, 9.93 K/9IP in 29IP |
GCL NATIONALS
23-33, 5th place Gulf Coast League East Division, 17 games behind
| Good | Bat: 22-y.o. Blake Chisholm .296/.427/.480, 25 RBI in 40G Arm: 18-y.o.Alfonso Hernandez 2-0, 2SV, 2.14/2.71/1.10 in 33⅔ IP |
| Bad | Bat: 19-y.o. Luis Aquino .421 OPS, 2E in 29G Arm: 18-y.o. Rodney Theophile 0-4, 10.67/7.36/2.37, 11BB in 14⅓ IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 20-y.o. Wilmer Perez .310/.345/.400, 1HR, 21RBI in 29G Arm: 19-y.o. Joan Adon 2.29/3.61/1.68, 29K in 19⅔ IP |
DSL NATIONALS
36-36, 4th place, South Division, 15 games behind
| Good | Bat: 19-y.o. Braian Fernandez .313/.375/.388 in 57G Arm: 18-y.o. Pedro Gonzalez, 3-1, 1.46/2.39/1.17, 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, 8.90/4.96/0.95, 8BB, 39K in 37IP |
| Interesting | Bat: 18-y.o. Geraldi Diaz .774 OPS in 53G Arm: 18-y.o. Jose A. Ferrer, LHP, 53K in 30IP |