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From the Archives: Memorial Day

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Syracuse 5 Indianapolis 3 (2015)
• Espino (W, 1-0) 7IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 3K; 1-3, R, HR, 3RBI
• Valverde 1IP, 1H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 0K
• Butler 3-4, R, 3B, RBI
• den Dekker 1-3, BB, RBI

Paolo Espino pitched seven scoreless innings and hit a three-run HR as the Chiefs stopped their seven-game slide with a 5-3 win over the Indians. Called up from Harrisburg to replace Taylor Jordan, Espino allowed just four hits and no walks while striking out three and earned the win. Dan Butler led the hit column with a 3-for-4 night, adding a triple and a run scored as well as an RBI as Syracuse made the most of their eight hits and two walks. Espino has spent parts of four seasons with the Nationals organization, and was invited to spring training way back in February. After 10 seasons in the minors, he made his MLB debut in May 2017 with the Brewers and collected his only hit in June. After getting DFA’d in August, he was claimed by the Rangers and made six appearances in September. He was released in April 2018 by Texas and returned to Milwaukee, where he pitched at AAA for 2018 and came back to the Nats in 2019 and pitched for Fresno for 17 starts.

Harrisburg 7 Altoona 2 (2018)
• McGowin (W, 2-0) 6IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, BB, 10K, HR
• Fleck 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Murphy 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 6RBI
• Goodwin 1-3, 2R, BB

Some guy named Daniel Murphy drove in six with a three-run double in the 3rd and three-run homer in the 5th as Harrisburg downed Altoona, 7-2. Kyle McGowin fanned a career-best 10 while allowing both Curve runs on six hits and a walk over six innings for his second win. Kaleb Fleck whiffed three over two and Bryan Harper got the 14th K on the night while mopping up in the 9th. Brian Goodwin scored twice and reached base twice with a single and a walk as the Sens made the most out of five hits and four walks and Altoona’s lone error. Goodwin would be traded in July 2018 to Kansas City for Jacob Condra-Bogan. His next stop was the Angels, as he was picked up on waivers in March 2019 and produced a line of .262/.326/.470 over 136 games last summer.

Lynchburg 7 Potomac 6 (2011)
• Demny (L, 1-4) 2⅔ 7H, 6R, 5ER, 2BB, 1K
• Smoker 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Hood 3-5, R, 3-2B, RBI
• Cuevas 3-4, 2R, 2HR, 3RBI

Despite eight extra-base hits, the Potomac Nationals couldn’t make it five in a row, as the Lynchburg Hillcats went up 6-0 early, and held on for a 7-6 win. Destin Hood doubled three times to tie for the Carolina League lead at 16, Justino Cuevas went deep twice, and Steve Souza homered for the third straight game to pace the offense. Starter Paul Demny got knocked from the box after two and 2/3rds, charged with six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks. Three relievers combined for five and 1/3rd innings of relief with just one unearned run allowed. Alas, that day would be the pinnacle of Cuevas’s career. He posted a .841 OPS in 19G through the end of June, went on the D.L., rehabbed in the GCL, but played out the season for the Suns with a meager .659 OPS in 21G. He would be released the following spring, play 64G in the Frontier League, and return to the D.R.

Hagerstown 6 Asheville 5 (2014)
• J. Rodriguez 5IP, 6H, R, ER, BB, 4K
• Ramos (W, 1-0) 2IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 0K
• Middleton 3-4, R, RBI
• Wooten 2-3, R, 2B
• Difo 2-5, R, 2B, 3RBI, 2SB

Wilmer Difo doubled in two to tie and scored on a throwing error to cap a three-run 9th as Hagerstown walked off again, 6-5. It was the 8th win in 17 games in which the Suns entered the 9th trailing or tied. Jefry Rodriguez made his Low-A debut, allowing a run on six hits and a walk while striking out three, but left in a 1-1 tie. Asheville jumped on Philips Valdez for three in the 6th to take a 4-1 lead. Hagerstown scored single runs in the 6th and 7th innings but David Ramos was also greeted with a run in the 8th before pitching a scoreless 9th and was the pitcher of record. Brennan Middleton went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Suns hit column, followed by Difo at 2-for-5 with 3RBI, and John Wooten at 2-for-3 with a double. This was the beginning of a hot streak for Middleton as he went on a six-game hit streak that pushed his average from .225 to .367, earning him an “I” in the GBI. The 10th Rd. pick finished the season with a lackluster .600 OPS and would be released at the end June 2015

10 Commments

  1. Luke seems like yesterday you posted pic of sgt stubby then I ran across the animated movie on said dog …

  2. In 2011, only four seasons after he was drafted, the Nats had already turned 1st-round pick Josh Smoker into a full-time reliever after a 6.50 ERA/1.77 WHIP as a starter in 2010. He pitched reasonably well in 2011 except for 6.6 BB/9. Things didn’t go so well in 2012. I forget the order of things, but he tore his rotator cuff at some point, the Nats released him, he missed more than a season, had some time with an independent league team, and resurfaced with the Mets. He actually made the majors by age 27 despite all the detours, nine years after he was drafted.

  3. Just looking to see who the Nats missed out on by taking Smoker:

    https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?year_ID=2007&draft_round=1&draft_type=junreg&query_type=year_round

    First of all, it wasn’t a great draft. The Nats had three picks in this 1st round on steroids (64 total “1st round” picks). Bumgarner went four picks after #6 Detwiler. Between Smoker (#31) and Michael Burgess (#49), picks included Todd Frazier, Travis d’Arnaud, Brett Cecil, Sean Doolittle, and, um, Josh Donaldson.

  4. Interesting to see how the mechanics work out on6 foot seven lefty Aldo Lora DSL.

  5. Ah, a Matt den Decker sighting. Arriving via a trade from the Mets, he came up, didn’t hit at all, was sent down and then in late August came up again. Because of injuries he played just about every game for the last 5 weeks of the season and hit a robust .940 OPS or so during that stretch.
    I remember thinking he was a great find and a long term answer in the outfield. Alas, he never got above even .600 OPS the rest of his career. Go figure!

  6. Good luck to Badenhop and ole expo Andy Tracy performing life saving measures to Bowling Green baseball program ..

    1. Shall we jump ahead of mlb rumors in polling which 15 players the Nats should protect in a hypothetical expansion draft ???

  8. Mark — Yes, I was somewhat suckered by the den Dekker SSS in 2015 as well. He certainly looked like he was going to hit better than Michael A. Taylor (his high school teammate) or Brian Goodwin. As you noted, though, den Dekker never did anything close to that again, and Taylor and Goodwin got Dusty as their own personal hitting coach and made some progress.

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