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Monday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Probables
Rochester Won, 12-5 OFF DAY N/A
Harrisburg Lost, 2-0 OFF DAY N/A
Wilmington Won, 4-3 OFF DAY N/A
Fredericksburg Won, 7-2 OFF DAY N/A

Rochester 12 Worcester 5
• J. Rodriguez 1⅔ IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 2K
• Bonnell 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K, 1-0 IR-S
• Harper (W, 1-1) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Barrera 2-2, 3R, 2HR, 5RBI
• García 3-5, 3R, 2B, BB, HR, 3RBI
• Snyder 3-5, 3R

Rochester blasted another five big flies as they took the game, 12-5, and the series, 4-2. Jefry Rodriguez was sent packing after giving up all five Worcester runs on five hits and two walks over an inning and 2/3rds. In six starts, Rodriguez has gone less than four innings five times. The win went to Ryne Harper as the pitcher of record as the Red Wings battled back from a 5-3 deficit to score nine unanswered runs, highlighted by Tres Barrera’s second homer in the 6th to cap off a four-run inning. Barrera would get hit in the 7th and get ejected despite not throwing a punch. Kyle Lobstein threw a pitch that “got away from him” on a 2-1 count to get tossed in the bottom of the 7th, which got manager Matt LeCroy tossed by rule (warnings had been issued) and 3B Carter Kieboom an early shower for arguing. Luis García and Brandon Snyder both went 3-for-5 with a double, with García also taking a walk and hitting his 7th HR.

Portland 2 Harrisburg 0
• Cate (L, 1-3) 5IP, 5H, R, ER, 3BB, 4K, WP
• J. Romero 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Duarte 2-3, 2B, CS
• Dunlap 1-3
• 0-for-6 RISP, 4 LOB

The Senators outhit the Sea Dogs but were shut out in the series finale, 2-0. Tim Cate was charged with his third loss in six starts. He pitched five innings allowed one run on five and three walks and struck out four. Nick Wells allowed the other run (unearned) over two innings, while Jhon Romero and Gabe Klobosits both turned in a zero. Three double plays offset the seven singles and a double put up the Harrisburg offense, with no walks drawn, and just one batter—Osvaldo Duarte, who hit the double—reaching base twice. It was the sixth shutout of the season and second of the series, which the two teams split.

Wilmington 4 Hudson Valley 3
• Cavalli 6IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 11K, HR
• Peguero (W, 2-0) 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Alu 2-4, R, 3B, HR, RBI
• Marinconz 1-4, R, 2RBI

Wilmington closed out the series with a walkoff win over Hudson Valley, 4-3. Jake Alu led off the bottom of the 9th with his fifth HR, his second hit of the game. Cade Cavalli got the start and was rocked for three runs in the 2nd but recovered to go six innings, finishing with five hits and two walks allowed with 11 strikeouts. The win went to Francys Peguero, who blanked the Renegades in the 8th and 9th innings while striking out two. Kyle Marinconz also went deep as the Blue Rocks struck for three in the 1st, with Alu tripling and scoring on a botched play at the plate.

Fredericksburg 7 Delmarva 2
• Knowles 3⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, 3BB, 5K
• Chu (W, 1-0) 2⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K, 1-0 IR-S
• Martina 2-3, R, BB, RBI, SB
• Arruda 2-4, 2R, 2B, RBI
• Vega 1-3, SF, 3RBI

The F-Nats scored early and often, starting with three in the 2nd as they clipped the Shorebirds, 7-2 to split the six-game series. Lucas Knowles made the spot start and was lifted after 65 pitches. He went three and 2/3rds scoreless innings with two hits and three walks allowed and five strikeouts. Gilberto Chu stranded a runner while getting the last out of the 4th and went two more innings to pick up the win. Junior Martina walked once, singled twice, and stole a base while J.T. Arruda singled, doubled, and scored two runs to lead the Fredericksburg offense.

11 Commments

  1. Since Garcia was demoted to Rochester 9 games ago, he’s batted .375/.444/.750 with 3 HR, 4:5 K:BB. Over Kieboom’s past 9 games, he’s batting .294/.442/.500, with 2 HR, 8:3 K:BB.

    Meanwhile, Starlin Castro has batted .159/.222/.195 over his past 22 games, with only one extra base hit in 90 PA. And Josh Harrison has batted .205/.278/.273 over his past 24 games. The last time either of them has a WAR over 2.0 was in 2017, so even if they both rediscover their bats, their upside is still only a mediocre player.

    Give Garcia and Kieboom the starting roles, and trade both Castro or Harrison away for whatever you can get, shop Scherzer, Hand, Hudson, Corbin, etc. around and anyone else besides Soto (yes, Turner too. If he wanted to extend, he’d have done so by now, and trading him now doesn’t preclude us from signing him this winter, even though that would be unwise) and get this rebuild kick started properly. This team can’t win with Scherzer. Imagine how bad they’ll be next year without him! Strasburg might still have some value left in him, so aggressively shop him around too, even if it means eating a substantial portion of his salary.

    This team needs a complete teardown. And unfortunately, the farm is almost completely barren. If we want to field a competitive team in the 20s, we need to take decisive action now, so that in 2-3 years when our recent arm infusion reaches the majors, there’s a few other pieces surrounding them to make a well-rounded team.

    1. I think I’d agree on everything but Turner–but only because I don’t think they’ll get any more in return now than they might get next year, assuming they’re even able to avoid a strike or a stoppage. That’s just one of the elephants in the room, the other is the rampant ball-doctoring, along with how MLB is hiking up its skirt for gambling to offset the inevitable decline in TV money.

    2. This is probably the year max is dealt . Nats won in 19.
      Maybe this draft upcoming will be the next 10 year everyday player to fill the gap between 19-20-21 and 26-27-28. That kid House ?

  2. After going 0-15, the FNats have now gone 8-7 in their next 15! They’re now only on pace for the worst record in modern minor league history, rather than of all time.

    Two of the standouts from last year’s (let’s pretend 2020 didn’t happen) GCL are starting to show signs of life.

    Viandel Pena is now hitting .238/.377/.302, after hitting his first HR of the season. His plate discipline has been excellent 14:16 BB:K, which is no surprise given his showings previously in DSL and GCL. Hopefully, though, this HR will be the first of many more (it’s the 2nd of his career) and just the 2nd XBH of the season.

    Junior Martina had a very slow start, hitting .177/.227/.210 in May. But June seems to suit him better, hitting .350/.381/.350 in 5 games so far. Too bad we haven’t seen any flashes of the power he displayed in the GCL (4 HR and .177 ISO vs 0 HR and .024 ISO this season).

  3. Over 2200 minor leaguers have thrown a ball this season. Of those 2200, Cade Cavalli has struck out more batters than anyone else. And by a pretty wide margin; his 56 is 10% more than the next most (51).

    Time for a promotion.

  4. We need to talk about a couple of players in Wilmington.
    Jake Alu has been on nobodies radar since he was drafted in the 24th round in 2019. But here he is with a .901 OPS with no one blocking him at Harrisburg.
    Gage Canning was taken in the 5th round in 2018 and he sports a terrific .936 OPS. Again, no one is blocking him at Harrisburg.
    They’re both 24 years old, so the clock is ticking, let’s see what they can do at AA.

  5. Given their recent atrocious performances got to believe there will be a shake up in the Nats pen. Sam Clay and Tanner Rainey (and maybe even Kyle Finnegan) have options and are unable to get outs right now. The one semi-bright spot for the Nats throughout the system has been bullpen arms. Realize it would take some roster shuffling, but Justin Miller has pitched himself back into the MLB mix. Dakota Bacus, maybe even Gabe Klobosits could get looks as well.

  6. It seems like everyone is excited to see promotions but let’s remember that we’re just a little over a month in. I also like to see those who have worked hard move up but I’m trying to keep in mind that many of these players missed an entire season due to the pandemic. Those who were fortunate enough to be at the alternate site last season didn’t really get the experience they would have gotten in live games. It may take a while until the Nats player development staff figure things out. It’s a big step coming to AA and for the sake of the player’s confidence, I would hate to see them promoted prematurely and fail.

  7. One guy who doesn’t get enough buzz is Carson Teel. Dude does nothing but get outs. Not a ton of Ks, but doesn’t walk anyone either. Is he a starter long-term? Doubt it. Would he be better than Sam Clay, who has given up at least one run in each of his last four appearances and five of his last six? I’m sure willing to see.

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