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Thursday’s News & Notes

Drew Mendoza went 4-for-5 last night in Hagerstown, including a two-out, walk-off RBI single
Team Yesterday Today Pitching Matchup
Fresno Lost, 6-0 @ Round Rock, 8:05 p.m. Hoover (4-4, 7.52) vs. LaRue (0-3, 5.71)
Harrisburg Lost, 1-0 vs. Hartford, 7:00 p.m. McGowin (0-0, 3.60) vs. Gold (7-5, 3.51)
Potomac Postponed vs. Salem, 12:05 p.m. Tapani (0-0, 1.50) and Raquet (7-8, 4.59) vs.
De Jesus (6-7, 3.99) and Gonzalez (4-7, 4.12)
Hagerstown Won, 5-4 vs. Rome, 7:05 p.m. Schaller (1-1, 4.01) vs. TBD
Auburn Lost, 7-5 @ Hudson Valley, 7:05 p.m. Romero (0-2, 3.55) vs. Wiles (2-0, 3.00)
GCL Nationals Lost, 8-7
(10 inn.)		 OFF DAY

Round Rock 6 Fresno 0
• Crowe (L, 0-1) 6⅔ IP, 5H, 5R, 4ER, 2BB, 5K, WP
• Bacus ⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K, 3-0 IR-S
• Noll 1-3, BB
• C. Kieboom 1-3, BB, E(12)

Like a really bad waiter (or an ugly stripper), the Grizzlies had just four singles at the end of the night. None of them came around to score as Round Rock handed Fresno a second straight shutout, 6-0, and its fifth straight loss. Wil Crowe pitched into the 7th for the second time in four AAA starts, but gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks. He struck out five while losing his first AAA game. Jake Noll and Carter Kieboom were the only two Grizzlies to reach base twice, both going 1-for-3 with a walk.
Roster moves: OF Andrew Stevenson reassigned from Harrisburg; LHP Taylor Guilbeau traded to Toronto.

Hartford 1 Harrisburg 0
• Tetreault 5⅓ IP, 4H, 0R, 4BB, 3K
• A. Lee (L, 0-1) 2⅔ IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 2K, 2-0 IR-S
• Garcia 2-4
• M. Taylor 1-4, 2B, 1K, CS
• 0-1 RISP, 3LOB

Harrisburg was held to just four hits and were caught stealing three times (twice trying for third) as Hartford shut them out, 1-0 to even the series at 1-1. Jackson Tetreault pitched into the 6th with four hits and four walks allowed. Andrew Less stranded two while getting the last two outs of the inning but gave up the game’s lone run in the 8th to take the loss, his first at AA. Luis Garcia singled twice, Dante Bichette once, and Michael Taylor doubled once to comprise the Sens hit column.
Roster moves: LHP Aaron Fletcher traded to Seattle.

Potomac vs. Salem – PPD
Rain washed away a P-Nats home game for the 11th time in 56 dates (none on the road thus far), forcing a doubleheader this afternoon and Salem into rush-hour traffic on its way home tonight. (Potomac’s next opponent is Wilmington *Forrest Gump pause* again.)
Roster moves: RHP Kyle Johnston traded to Seattle.

Hagerstown 5 Rome 4
• Irvin 6IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 7K, 2HR, WP
• Williamson (W, 3-0) 3IP, 5H, R, ER, 0BB, 2K
• Mendoza 4-5, R, 2RBI
• Upshaw 2-3, R, BB, SB
• Cluff 2-4, 2R, 3B, SAC

Hagerstown made it back to .500 in dramatic fashion as Drew Mendoza’s fourth hit of the night with two out in the bottom of the 9th sent in Armond Upshaw for a 5-4 win, its seventh straight victory. Jake Irvin weathered two HRs to account for the three runs he let in over six innings while walking three and fanning seven for his fourth quality start in his last five outings. Ryan Williamson finished the game with a run on five hit, no walks, and two whiffs. Mendoza went 4-for-5 with two RBI while Upshaw reached base three times with a pair of singles and a walk and swiped his 20th base of the season (11th for the Suns).

Hudson Valley 7 Auburn 5
• N. Gomez (L, 1-3) 4⅔ IP, 6H, 7R, 6ER, 3BB, 4K, 2HBP
• Turner 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 3BB, 2K, 3WP, 1-1 IR-S
• Bocko 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, K
• Senior 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
• Dunn 2-4, R

The Renegades scored in four of the first five innings while four pitchers combined to strike out 14 as they downed the Doubledays, 7-5. Niomar Gomez was charged with all seven runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four over four and 2/3rds innings. He also hit two batters while taking his third loss. Eric Senior and Jack Dunn both went 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead the Auburn attack, which managed to score five times on eight hits despite the steady breeze from home plate.

GCL Marlins 8 GCL Nationals 7 (10 inn.)
• Taveras 1⅓ IP, 6H, 6R, 6ER, 0BB, 1K
• Hiraldo (L, 0-3) 4⅓ IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 3K, HBP
• V. Peña 2-5, 2R, BB
• Emiliani 2-5, R, BB, 2RBI
• Arias 2-3, R, 2BB, SB(6)

32 Commments

  1. Did my being in OK on business send good vibes to Irwin in Hags ?
    Tapani and Raquet good guys to see on bump for Potnats
    Any more promotions in the near future up and down the ladder ?
    Knorr must like the smaller pitching staff rid of the tires being kicked

    2. Not putting the cart before the horse but the Rendon question marks makes one wonder if the Lerner family will pass on Tony 2 bags long term and settle for a reboot with Carter @3b, resign Dozier for another year , include Difo in the mix or go for another Dollar General infielder ??

    3. Could Jack Dunn be projected as a corner 3 b in near future as Carter K provides options around the infield ??

    4. Good to see Raquet reach . 500 in a DH sweep over the Salem Sox
      Howard picking up the slack in the bullpen after Fletcher vacates a spot ahead of him in depth chart

  2. Luke, I think we need your scout’s take on what we lost with Johnston. You saw him a lot, I’m sure, and what was his projection.
    As this was the 1st trade, Johnston for a quality 2 month rental seemed about right but I’ll defer to you.

    The next two trades seemed pie in the sky. Both Fletcher and Guilbeau will pitch in the majors at some point. What the Nats got back was a guy who hasn’t really pitched all year and another who’s ERA in July was 8.

    1. That five-player trade (or two separate trades? how are we counting those?) with Seattle was, in my opinion, ill-advised. If those guys were all Mike Rizzo could get after Hudson, he should have held.

      1. Interesting Daniel Marte in DSL hits his third HR today vs Yanx. Nice outing for Montero going 5
        With all this bullpen additions we now think
        About Gabe Klobosits and Koda Glover

    2. Best case: Johnston develops a quality offspeed pitch and throws it enough to be honest and becomes a #5 starter (see: Pivetta, Nick)

      More likely: converted to relief to focus on FB/SL repertoire.

  3. Rizzo truly benefitted from his prior association with Trader J.
    The arms fit under the tight luxury tax ceiling .
    I do like Joe Girardis take on ATL /WASH adding in reaction to each other.
    I give the Braves the division with the addition … though …

  4. Mark, I’m more interested in Luke’s take on Fletcher than on Johnston. Johnston seemed to be spinning his wheels as a starter at the A+ level. I would guess that the very best upside for him would be a path sort of like Austen Williams, as a reliever, but if I had to wager, I wouldn’t bet on Johnston doing anything of significance in the majors. Guilbeau was having a good season, but he’s already 26 and probably wasn’t going to be in the majors this year. His ceiling is probably Matt Grace. Funky lefties do have a way of sticking around for a long time, though.

    I know many of us — myself included — beat Rizzo & Co. up for many questionable draft picks, but let’s give credit for this one: their 14th-round pick in 2018 (Fletcher) was the key piece in the trade with Seattle for two guys with controllable years. I have no idea what Fletcher’s ceiling is, but I do laugh when I read that the Nats made these deals without giving up one of their top-20 or top-30 prospects. I know that most of the silly lists out there (http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2019?list=was) don’t include Fletcher, but based on actual results, he was easily in their top 20. I will say, though, that I found it curious, particularly since Fletcher was a starter in college, that they were keeping him in relief. Seems to indicate no confidence in his secondary pitches.

    Anyway, we wish all of these guys well. But Fletcher is the only one I will miss.

    1. KW, agree totally that Fletcher was the best we lost yesterday. I just don’t have a handle on Johnston.

      The good news is Rizzo didn’t trade any starters and next year we’ll be talking about who is knocking on the door with the big club. It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to do that since Rizzo was always trading away starters.

  5. FWIW, the Braves gave up significantly more for their new set of relievers. And the Astros really pushed in a lot of prospect chips for Greinke. Seth Beer was their highest-rated prospect in that deal, one year after being drafted, already in AAA. He was picked after Denaburg.

  6. What a terrible day–while it is true the Nats didn’t trade any of their top prospects, they also got a bunch of garbage in return that are barely an upgrade over what they already had. Why not just bring up Guilbeau instead of trading for Elias, whose splits against lefties are horrible this year? With Martinez having broken Scherzer and Doolittle, Rizzo was just shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.

    2. I agree with you 100%. Rizzo was supposed to upgrade the big league bullpen. He traded away one guy who maybe could have helped this year (and Jerry Dipoto said point-blank that the Mariners will promote Guilbeau before the season is out) and another who could have helped next year. And instead of getting a quality reliever, Rizzo got three middle relievers with iffy peripherals who may or may not be any better than Javy Guerra or Tony Sipp. Heck, he could have called up Aaron Barrett and/or Brad Boxberger for free, as with the now-departed Taylor Guilbeau.

      He panicked and made bad trades, and the Braves and Twins were patient and got good deals on guys the Nats had been looking at.

    3. They acquired three MLB quality closers with better stats than the three guys they’ll replace, they gave up nothing better than the 15th best prospect in the system and only added $1.23M in payroll.

      I think these trades were a win.

      Yes, there’s larger questions about Rizzo’s ability to build bullpens. But unlike the trade two years ago (when a future all-star closer in Treinen and a future top 10 prospect in baseball Luzardo went out the door), we gave up very little here.

      1. And it’s worth reminding folks that #15 in this system might not crack the top 30 in at least ten other teams.

        1. Spot on Luke and Todd “ undercover “ Boss
          There is one more angle worth mentioning. Prayers on Seth Romero that he can come to terms on and off the field. He has the stuff long sung about but like Brien Taylor of the Yanx made some bad decisions. Prayers on Seth …

      2. It’s not that Rizzo gave up a haul, it’s that the guys he got back aren’t very good. Closers? No. Hudson not at all, Elias only by necessity, Strickland not recently. Javy Guerra used to be a closer too, but that doesn’t mean I’d call him one today.

        1. If you’re prone to believing the chimera that it takes something special to get three outs in the 9th inning, then consider that they’ve just upgraded the pitchers available for use in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings. Unfortunately they did not upgrade the person who makes that decision.

          1. I’m unconvinced the guys Rizzo picked up are significantly better than the guys he picked out of indie ball and off the waiver wire earlier this season, or some of the guys toiling on the farm. None of them looks like a clear-cut upgrade; even Hudson has been getting awfully lucky, based on his FIP. Oh well. Hopefully at least one of them works out well enough to handle hi-lev spots here and there, and if they stink, or the Nats sink back out of contention, Rizzo didn’t dramatically overpay.

  7. But I will say KW that the updates of the list reflected positive traction on Fletcher. He was ranked in both MLB Pipelines and Baseball Americas updated Nats list recently and decently high.

  8. A very not-good day for the entire organization, aside from Drew Mendoza and the Hagerstown Suns. If that home run power starts showing up consistently in games, look out.

    2. And Howell. Not Thurston B follows to Potomac. Healthy Howell helps out Keister now. Good for him

  10. I agree with Todd — all in all, they didn’t give up very much at all to get three proven guys, two with extra years. Fletcher is the only “loss” I regret, but even though I’ve been on his bandwagon all along, it’s still a roll of the dice whether he makes it.

    All of that said, I do agree with the folks who wish they would have at least given MLB auditions to Barrett, Guilbeau, and/or Boxberger before making all of the trades. I never understood why Blazek warranted a look before them.

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