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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Matchup
Fresno Won, 9-3 vs. Tacoma, 10:05 p.m. Crowe (0-3, 7.07) vs. Nolin (5-3, 5.32)
Harrisburg Lost, 5-1 @ Hartford, 6:05 p.m. M. Sanchez (9-4, 2.71) and TBD
vs. Holder (8-4, 2.64) and Goudeau (3-3, 1.99)
Potomac Won, 4-1 vs. Myrtle Beach, 7:05 p.m. Raquet (10-8, 4.13) vs. Passantino (2-1, 2.10)
Hagerstown Won, 4-1 @ Kannapolis, 7:00 p.m. TBD vs. Dominguez (4-5, 3.05)
Auburn Lost, 9-3 vs. Mahoning Valley, 7:00 p.m. Yean (1-0, 1.80) vs. Waldron (2-0, 3.45)
GCL Nationals OFF DAY @ GCL Mets, 10:30 a.m.

Fresno 9 Tacoma 3
• Braymer 5IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K, HR, HBP, WP
• Baez (W, 1-2) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 0K
• Ward 3-4, 2R, HR, 4RBI
• Difo 3-5, R, 3B, 3RBI
• Sardinas 2-3, R

A five-run 6th erased a 3-2 deficit as the Grizzlies won back-to-back games for the first time since July 20-21 with a 9-3 triumph over Tacoma. Ben Braymer muddled through five innings with three runs let in on seven hits (one HR) and two walks while striking out four. Joan Baez picked up the win, his first at AAA, with two scoreless innings. Drew Ward singled twice, scored twice, and only struck out once while going 3-for-4 with four RBI, followed by Wilmer Difo’s 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBI effort to lead the Fresno attack.
Roster moves: OF Collin Cowgill placed on the 7-Day I.L.; RHP Josh Lucas (released Aug. 19 by Norfolk) assigned from Washington.

Hartford 5 Harrisburg 1
• Mapes (L, 6-7) 4⅔ IP, 9H, 5R, 5ER, BB, 4K, HR
• Condra-Bogan (W, 7-4) 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 2-0 IR-S
• German 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 3-0 IR-S
• Sagdal 2-3, 2B, RBI
• Garcia 2-4, R, 2B

Hartford scored in three of its first five “ups” to cruise to a 5-1 win in the series opener against Harrisburg. Tyler Mapes was knocked from the box in the 5th with all five Yard Goats runs charged to him on nine hits (one HR) and a walk. He fanned four while losing his seventh game. Ian Sagdal singled, doubled, and drove in a run, while Luis Garcia went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to lead the Sens offense.
Party like it’s 2013: Michael Taylor named the E.L. Player of the Week.

Potomac 4 Myrtle Beach 1
• Cate (W, 6-4) 7IP, 5H, 0R, 2BB, 4K
• Bartow (S, 8) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Meregildo 3-4, 2B
• Freeman 2-3, 2R, BB, SB(29)
• Reetz 2-2, R, 2BB, HR, 2RBI

Tim Cate tossed seven scoreless to lead the P-Nats to their third straight win, 4-1. Alas, Salem also won to maintain its 2½ game advantage with a week to go. Cate gave up five hits and two walks while setting down four on strikes for his sixth Carolina League win. Frankie Bartow worked around a singled in the 9th for his eighth save. Jakson Reetz walked twice, singled, and smacked his 13th HR while Omar Meregildo singled twice and doubled once to lead the 11-hit parade for Potomac.
Roster move: RHP Malvin Peña placed on the 7-Day I.L., retroactive to Aug. 24.

Hagerstown 4 Kannapolis 1
• Schaller (W, 4-3) 5IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 6K
• Cronin (H, 5) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Connell 2-4, R, SB
• Rhinesmith 0-1, 3BB, SB

The Suns rose above .500 for the second half and into 3rd place with a 4-1 win over the Intimidators. Reid Schaller won for the thid time in four starts with five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while fanning six. Matt Cronin followed with two scoreless for his fifth hold while Nick Wells lost the shutout in the 9th on an unearned run but got the save. Israel Pineda hit his 7th HR while Justin Connell singled twice, scored once, and stole a base to pace the Hagerstown offense.

Mahoning Valley 9 Auburn 3
• N. Gomez (L, 1-5) 3⅔ IP, 6H, 7R, 5ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HR
• Turner 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Peroni 1-3, R, HR, 3RBI
• Peña 1-3, 2B, OF assist at 2B

Mahoning Valley dismantled the first two Auburn pitchers for nine runs as the Scrappers tripled up the Doubledays, 9-3. Niomar Gomez lost for the fifth time as he was dinged for seven runs (five earned) on six hits (two HR) and two walks over three and 2/3rds. Jordan Bocko got knocked for two runs over three and a 1/3rd before Nuke Turner turned in another two scoreless innings with four whiffs to finish the game. Anthony Peroni accounted for all three runs (and broke up the shutout) with an Earl Weaver special in the 7th.

GCL Nationals – OFF DAY
Just two and a 1/2 games separate the 1st-place G-Marlins from the second-place G-Mets and the third-place G-Nats. However, there’s a fairly good chance that one of those three teams will win by either percentage points or by a half game due to the difference in games played (48, 52, and 47 respectively).

19 Commments

  2. Luke has been touting him and it looks like Jakson Reetz has learned how to hit. His .838 OPS is not only very good but the 1st time since his GCL days that he’s even above .700. This is his 6th year in the organization so it’s taken awhile.

    SSS and all but can we agree Matt Cronin is toying with Low A hitters. His 0.90 ERA and 1.00 WHIP are blaring out at us.

    Tim Cate has just pitched his 5th quality start in a row with yesterday’s gem. Lots of terrific pitching stories these days.

    1. Yep–if Reetz repeats this performance in AA next year, he’ll line up perfectly to replace Suzuki in 2021 and potentially become the franchise’s first drafted and developed starter at the position since Brian Schneider.

  3. A bit off topic, but just like i asked the other day about Seth Romero, what is going on with the other TJ rehaber Yasel Antuna? If i’m not mistaken, he got into 3 games near the end of June and then nothing.

    1. LHP and former #1 pick, Seth Romero, has not pitched since a scoreless 2 inning outing for Hagerstown on August 16, 2018 (a little more than a year ago).

      RHP Jhon Romero (acquired from the Cubs as part of the Kintzler trade) pitched for Potomac until the end of May when the Nats put him on the IL.

      1. What about Antuna? As a position player, i thought it was supposed to be easier(faster) to come back from TJ, yet he’s been in only 3 games and then disappeared.

        1. I think one of two things happened:
          1) He got hurt again
          2) They were pleased with how well he was recovering and stopped playing him in GCL games

          This is classic Nats. In either scenario they can claim he’s “focused on getting healthy” and that he can’t be scouted or have his trade value diminished beyond his merely getting older is “merely a coincidence.”

  4. Mark — I have no idea why the Nats have left Cronin in the Sally League since he’s just embarrassing guys there. He’s the real deal, possibly already one of the top arms in the system.

    A year after the 2018 draft, Cate (2d round) is looking like the real deal and Schaller (3d round) is finishing strong, following a nice late-season start the day before by Irvin (4th round). But, um, what about the 1st rounder? Denaburg hasn’t pitched in 24 days, even though they’ve kept him on the active roster at Auburn. He’s only pitched 20.1 innings all year, with a 7.52 ERA and 1.82 WHIP. There are only three options here, none of them good: he’s slightly injured and they’re not pushing him hard because of fear of making things worse; he’s actually injured, but they’re hiding it for some reason (doesn’t make much sense to keep him on the active roster); or, um, he’s really this bad.

    1. The minor league season ends this week.

      What’s the point of promoting Cronin to spend a week or two in Potomac? He will be a big part of the Nats plans this off-season, and may start next year in H’burg. Even if starts in Potomac, possible he could rise to MLB by the 2nd half of 2020.

      Think the Nats liked the idea of having a big group of high picks (Mendoza, Cluff, Rutledge and Cronin) from the 2019 draft bond and play together in H’town.

      Just don’t see Cronin developing any faster if he had spent the last two weeks of the minor league season in Potomac.

      1. Hump day 0 fer
        Big club gets beat by a guy who would be in AAA if not for a good start versus KC and the affiliates return to typical 4 IP starter duds

    2. The word on Denaburg is he’s having shoulder problems, which is bad. We’ve seen no development from him since he was drafted.
      That’s a couple of 1st round picks going nowhere.

  5. I’m not saying move Cronin now. Just wondering whether they considered it in early August. I do think he could be a Glover-like rapid mover in 2020. Not saying it WILL happen, but that it could.

    2. Hopefully, the Nats have learned their lesson and won’t push anyone the way they did Glover. I still wonder if installing him as the closer so quickly wasn’t a factor in his career going off the rails.

  6. AZ Fall League predictions: I think C. Kieboom will be sent to AZ rather than Half Street, both because of the service-clock issue and because they have plenty of bench INF support with Kendrick and Cabrera, with Sanchez and Difo also available. Reetz also seems like a good possibility as they’re generally required to send a catcher, and they often send guys who are coming up on Rule 5 eligibility. Would they send Garcia on top of a long season for a young player? He, Banks, and perhaps Freeman would be my thoughts, unless they want a longer look at someone like Harrison.

    Sharp would be my leading pitching nominee, if he’s healthy enough, as they probably want to stretch out his starter innings. Fuentes would have been a good candidate had he not gotten suspended. Teel or Tetreault, maybe? Perhaps someone like Peguero for more starter innings. Among relievers, I’d look as Istler, Condra-Brogan (although he has pitched a lot), maybe German, and perhaps Klobosits from Potomac, unless they don’t want to overtax him. I guess Bartow, Andrew Lee, and even Hayden Howard could be on the list of potentials, for various reasons. They usually surprise me with a Latin arm or two, which is why I put Peguero out there.

    1. Luis Garcia is the only one who’s been announced for the Nationals thus far… and that was via a tweet from the official AFL Twitter @mlbazFallLeague.

  7. I agree with KW! Carter K. will end up in the AFL. He’ll still continue to play rather than sit the bench in DC.
    Wondering when the names of those attending will be released?

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