Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Lost, 18-2 | @ Syracuse, 5:05 p.m. | Sharp (3-1, 3.51) and TBD vs. Reyes (0-7, 6.53) and TBD |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 8-3 | vs. Akron, 6:30 p.m. | Cate (2-3, 4.31) vs. Morris (0-0, 1.08) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 9-4 | vs. Hudson Valley, 7:05 p.m. | TBD vs. TBD |
| Fredericksburg | Lost, 7-5 | @ Lynchburg, 6:30 p.m. | Cuevas (0-2, 5.40) vs. Munoz (0-1, 12.00) |
| FCL Nationals | Lost, 3-2 | @ FCL Mets, 10:30 a.m. | |
| DSL Nationals | Won, 4-3 | OFF DAY |
Syracuse 18 Rochester 2
• Rogers (L, 4-5) 3⅔ IP, 8H, 9R, 7ER, 2BB, 2K, HBP
• Wells 2⅓ IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 2K, 2-1 IR-S
• Stevenson 2-3, BB
• A. Sanchez 2-2, 2B, RBI
The S-Mets sent ten men to the plate in the 1st with six coming around to score as they obliterated the Red Wings, 18-2. Josh Rogers ate three and 2/3rds innings and was pummeled for nine runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out two while taking his fifth loss. Nick Wells was the sole pitcher to not allow a run as he finished the fourth and tossed two scoreless innings. Adrian Sanchez broke up the shutout with an RBI double in the 4th while Andrew Stevenson singled twice and drew a walk to pace the Rochester offense. Roster moves: RHP Rogelio Armenteros placed on the 7-Day I.L.; C Alex Dunlap reassigned from Harrisburg; IF Luis García activated from 7-Day I.L.; IF Corban Joseph placed on Restricted List; RHP Pearson McMahan promoted from Harrisburg
Akron 8 Harrisburg 3
• M. Sanchez (L, 2-6) 4⅓ IP, 2H, R, ER, BB, 3K, HR
• Barrett 1⅔ IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Canning 2-4
• Freeman 2-5
Akron went to town on the Harrisburg ‘pen, scoring in each of the last three innings to turn a 1-0 into an 8-3 victory. Mario Sanchez left with one out in the 5th with an apparent injury, shortly after notching his third strikeout. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. Aaron Barrett finished the frame and pitched one more before the wheels came off the bus. Gage Canning and Cole Freem both singled twice while Nick Banks hit his third HR in as many games to lead the Senators’ attack. Roster moves: SS Jackson Cluff reinstated from 7-Day I.L.; C Brady Lindsly reassigned from Wilmington.
Wilmington 9 Hudson Valley 4
• Tetreault (L, 0-1) 5IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 4K, HR
• Mendoza 2-4, 2R
• Arruda 2-4, 2B, RBI
SSDL, as the Renegades did the same to the Blue Rocks relievers to turn a 3-1 lead into a 9-4 win. Jackson Tetreault got the start but was tagged for three runs on six hits (one HR) and two walks over five innings. He struck out four while taking the loss. Javy Guerra “worked on some things” to the tune of two runs over two innings while Jordan Bocko was not boffo as he surrendered three runs in the 8th and one in the 9th. Jake Arruda singled, doubled, and drove in a run while Omar Merigildo smacked a two-run HR (#7) as Wilmington collected nine hits and four walks in between 13 whiffs. Roster moves: Cole Daily reassigned from Harrisburg; RHP Javy Guerra reassigned from FCL Nationals (MiLB Rehab); LHP Mitchell Parker promoted from Fredericksburg; OF Cody Wilson demoted from Rochester.
Lynchburg 7 Fredericksburg 5
• Seijas (L, 2-8) 6IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 0BB, 7K, 3HR
• Vega 2-4, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI
• Méndez 2-4, 2R, 3B
• Witt 2-4, RBI
Fredericksburg saw leads of 3-0 and 4-3 go bye-bye as Lynchburg outslugged the Nats Low-A entry, 7-5. Karlo Seijas became the organization’s first eight-game loser as he was scratched by the ‘Cats for five runs on six hits (three homers) over six innings. He walked none and fanned seven. Onix Vega doubled, homered, and drove in three while Ricardo Méndez singled and tripled to push his hit streak to 11 games. Roster moves: C Juan Paulino assigned from Washington (MLFA); SS Paul Witt reassigned from Wilmington; RHP Amos Willingham demoted from Wilmington.
FCL Marlins 3 FCL Nationals 2
• Powell 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Hiraldo (L, 1-2) 4IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, BB, 6K, HR, BK, HBP
• K. Rodriguez 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Cornell 2-4
• De La Cruz 1-2, R, BB
The FCL Nationals briefly led this one 2-0 but fell 3-2 to the FCL Marlins. Following a rehab “start” by Holden Powell, Bernardo Hiraldo took over and gave up all three FCL Marlins runs on six hits (one HR) and a walk over four innings to lose for the second time. He struck out six and hit a batter. Zach Cornell singled twice to account for half the hit total as the FCL Nats were held to four hits and three walks. Roster moves: RHP Holden Powell, LHP Chris Vann assigned from Wilmington for MiLB rehab.
DSL Nationals 4 DSL Cardinals Blue 3
• Cedeno (W, 1-0) 5IP, 3H, R, ER, 0BB, 9K, WP
• M. Diaz (SV, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Estrada 1-2, BB, RBI
• Fernandez 1-3, R, RBI
Joseph on the restricted list .
Aka parked off the roster for 48-72 hours . A book keeping ledger notation to balance the numbers ?
Luke I would guess that Raynel Moron is phonetically pronounced Mo- rone unless he gets shelled and the 6 retired prune juice drinking old geezer retirees from Barone Jersey are giving Raynel a hard time because they have nothing better to do in life for the day until they go watch some Jai lei match
Daniel Hernandez on big board XST list now makes sense since DSL has L/ R Andy Lara and Windy Diaz S/R on the roster
Not to mention a great name behind the plate K Bustamonte L/R.
Pleased to see the farm carousel give a few deserving players promotions (Parker and McMahan), and a bunch more (too many to name) demotions back to their level.
To be honest, our farm system is so devoid of talent that giving undeserved promotions, like Cole Daily and Cody Wilson, is the reason every single team is in last place or very close to it right now, which is sad to say after Wilmington’s recent nose dive in play. And we’re still, to this day, signing MILB cast offs, like Juan Paulino, who was recently released by the Astros batting .213 this season (career: .216). Our rosters are littered with similar players. Something like two thirds of our Rochester roster are MLFAs, and there’s a fair share in Harrisburg too (I’m looking at Ramos Flores’ .108 AVG). But this is all so frustrating because some of this could have been avoided.
The minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft is available for precisely this purpose: to restock barren farms. And yet, the Nationals were one of only 5 MLB teams to not participate in the minor league portion of the draft.
You know that catcher roster pinch we’re seeing? Seven teams drafted catchers in the Rule 5 draft, including Yohel Pozo, who’s currently hitting .294/.306/.542 in AAA for Texas. That corner outfield dearth that made us give a major league at bat to Cody Wilson(!!!), who’s currently batting .120? A bunch of OFs were available, including Vince Fernandez, who’s hitting a Ruthian .240/.351/.488 in AA (especially when compared to Wilson and Flores stat lines). Or even Ben Ruta hitting .208/.329/.382. Full list here: https://www.mlb.com/news/2020-rule-5-draft-results
It’s just strange to me that the Nats FO looked at our system and said “Nah, we don’t need to improve it through the Rule 5 draft.” There was a chance for the Nats to field deeper and more competitive teams for very little cost, and we just totally passed on the chance. The Reds selected 6 players! Of course, most of the picks are not going to be very good, but neither are MLFAs with career AVGs of .216. At least some of these Rule 5 picks have a chance to be something useful.
All that to say: I can’t wait for some of these 2021 draftees to sign, and get out on the diamond ASAP. We need them.
The most important news here is the return of Luis Garcia, he of the .936 OPS in Rochester. Great news!
The Nats deceived themselves about a number (nearly all) of the hitters they had at the alternative-site location last year: Wilson, Antuna (added to 40-man), Mendoza, Cluff, Pineda, de la Rosa. ALL have struggled this season. That’s not to say that some or all won’t or can’t bounce back and still progress. Indeed, Mendoza and Antuna have been hitting better recently, and Pineda is showing power along with a lot of misses. But all of these guys have struggled at the level to which they were sent, and as Will has noted, the teams weren’t properly stocked with depth from other systems.
The big problem here is that the 2019 stats of all of these guys supported basically none of the pushes they got up the system. Several got Rhineharted, skipping levels based on the 2020 summer camp. Again, I sure hope they can overcome these struggles, as this is almost collectively what amounts to our top level of field-position talent. That doesn’t count the 2021 draft, of course, although other than the top pick, most of the rest were over-drafted guys to sign under-slot contracts to help pay said top pick.
Yeah, I’m very underwhelmed with the 2021 picks after House. However, if it’s any consolation, I wasn’t blown away with the 2020 picks, and that draft class is looking really good at the moment.
Bryant University up in Rhode Island
Tyler Schoff RHP
Must have been seen by same scout who saw J Coutts last summer
Nats sign UDFA Gunner Halter son of former ML player , Shane .
Gunner played at several programs
R/R OF