AFL Update: Oct. 24, 2018
Salt River broke open a 3-1 game with a three-run 4th and held off a steady comeback by Surprise for a 7-5 win yesterday afternoon.
Just two Nationals saw game action yesterday:
• Jake Noll played third and batted fifth but went 0-for-4 to lower his BA to .063 (1-for-16). He did help turn two double plays.
• Daniel Johnson manned centerfield and drew a walk but went 0-for-3 otherwise to drop to 2-for-26 (.077) for the Fall. He caught one of the three balls that did not fall in (or go over the wall) for Vlad Guerrero Jr.
With the win, the Rafters improved to 7-5. This afternoon they remain home and play the Scorpions.
An exercise in futility, this AFL. Nats hitters are a combined 9 for 83 (.108) with 26 Ks, for a 31% rate.
It’s also a joke that Vlad Jr. is still in the minors. I’ve always wondered what it would look like if a big leaguer played in the minors beyond rehab stints. Well, this is it.
Vlad Jr is hitting .459 (twice the number of hits of the Nats hitters combined), a .500 OBP and only one strikeout in 37 AB.
He narrowly missed out on a Ted Williams-esque .400 season, batting merely .381/.437/.636 in 95 games all season.
It’s a shame that the world has lost a season of being able to watch Vlad Jr, even though I understand the perverse reasons why the Blue Jays did it.
I’m really, really glad AFL results historically haven’t had much correlation to regular season results for the Nats. Because uuuuugggh.
Thanks for keeping us updated even if none of the news has been very good.