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Thursday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Probables
Rochester Won, 4-2 vs. Syracuse, 7:05 p.m. Abbott (0-3, 7.58) vs. Grey (3-2, 5.20)
Harrisburg Lost, 17-2 @ Akron, 6:35 p.m. Irvin (0-2, 4.91) vs. Allen (4-3, 3.55)
Wilmington Won, 2-1 vs. Aberdeen, 6:35 p.m. Cate (4-2, 2.72) vs. Gillispie (4-1, 2.65)
Fredericksburg Lost, 5-4 @ Salem, 7:05 p.m. Saenz (2-1, 3.41) vs. Dobbins (0-0, 5.59)
FCL Nationals OFF DAY @ FCL Mets, 12 p.m.
DSL Nationals Lost, 5-4 vs. DSL Angels, 11 a.m.

Rochester 4 Syracuse 2
• Adon 5IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, HBP
• C. Taylor (BS, 1; W, 1-0) 1IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 1K
• Weems (SV, 9) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Palacios 2-4, 2RBI, SB
• Lipka 2-3, 2B, RBI

The Red Wings posted a picket fence on their last three turns at bat as they doubled up the Mets, 4-2. Joan Adon tossed five innings of one-run ball on four hits and a Victor Robles while striking out three. After Mason Thompson put in a rehab inning in the 6th, Curtis Taylor lost the 2-1 lead in the 7th but got the blown-save-win when Matt Lipka’s RBI double put Rochester up, 3-2. Josh Palacios drove in two with a pair of singles while Jake Noll hit his 5th HR to pace the Red Wings’ nine-hit offense.
Roster moves: RHP Mason Thompson reassigned from the FCL for MLB Rehab.

Akron 17 Harrisburg 2
• Reyes (L, 2-3) 5IP, 7H, 6R, 6ER, 3BB, 4K, HR, HBP
• Connell 1-3, R, BB, 2B
• A. Young 1-3, 2B, BB

An 11-run 7th turned this one into a laugher while Harrisburg barely avoided a shutout with two in the 9th for a 17-2 embarrassment. Luis Reyes reverted to the mean with six runs allowed on seven hits over five innings while walking three and striking out four. It was his third AA loss and fourth overall. Jackson Cluff and Jecksson Flores delivered RBI singles in the 9th while Justin Connell and Andrew Young both walked and doubled to lead the Sens attack.
Roster moves: IF K.J. Harrison released; IF John Nogowski assigned from Washington (MLFA, released by Gwinnett on June 7).

Wilmington 2 Aberdeen 1
• Cuevas (W, 2-7) 6IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 7K
• C. Romero (H, 2) 2IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 5K
• Barley 2-3, 2SB(20)
• Pineda 1-3, R, HR, 2RBI

Israel Pienda’s two-run HR and strong pitching were the difference in a 2-1 Blue Rocks win over the IronBirds. Michael Cuevas pitched a full six innings for the first time this season. Even better, they were all scoreless as he allowed three hits, no walks, and set down seven on strikes for his second win. Carlos “The Boy It’s A Low Bar to Clear But Good” Romero struck out five over two more scoreless innings for the hold while Jack Sinclair came on with two on and two out in the 9th to get the last out for the save in his High-A debut. Jordy Barley singled twice and stole two bases to round out Wilmington’s three (3) hits.

Salem 5 Fredericksburg 4
• Rutledge (L, 1-5) 4IP, 8H, 5R, 5ER, BB, 3K, 2HR
• M. Perez 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• De La Rosa 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI
• V. Peña 1-4, R, BB, RBI, E(9)

Fredericksburg fell behind three runs early and couldn’t climb back as they dropped this one, 5-4 to Salem. Jackson Rutledge lost for the fifth time in eight starts as he was dinged for all five runs on eight hits, including a pair of two-run HRs, and a walk over four innings. Marlon Perez and Tyler Schoff combined for four scoreless in relief. Jeremy De La Rosa singled and homered to drive in two as the FredNats once again struggled to drive in runners going 1-for-10 with RISP and leaving on seven.
Despite the loss, Fredericksburg is still mathematically alive for the first-half title, though it’ll to win and have both Carolina and Lynchburg lose today.

FCL Nationals – OFF DAY
After splitting a pair with the F-Marlins on Monday and Tuesday, the F-Nats are back at it today and tomorrow against the F-Mets.

DSL Boston Blue 5 DSL Nationals 4
• Leon 5IP, 7H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 5K
• Francisco (L, 0-1) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 1K, WP
• E. Ramirez 3-4, R, 2-2B, SF, RBI, OF assist at 3B
• Vaquero 2-5, R, 3B, RBI, SB
• 1-for-12 RISP; 8 LOB

The D-Nats are following the 2022 script: win early and often and then go into an offensive funk, as they blew a 4-2 lead to drop this one to the D-Boston Blue, 5-4. Jefrem Leon scattered seven hits over five innings to allow two runs. He walked one and struck out five. DSL Veteran Michael Francisco let in the winning run on a walk, a wild pitch, and a two-out single. Emmanuel Ramirez led the D-Nats hit column with a single and two doubles and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly while Chrithian Vaquero had his third multi-hit game with a single and a triple.

36 Commments

  1. After 4 years, it’s time to say goodbye to K.J. Harrison. Traded with Gilbert ‘never hit’ Lara from Milwaukee for Gio Gonzales in July 2018, he came up as a catcher but couldn’t stick and became a 1st baseman. A career .756 OPS hitter was never going to be good enough to move forward.

    Another bad start by Rutledge but Michael Cuevas was terrific, which is worth a big smile.

    1. Harrison and Lara looked like a nice return for a brief rental of Gio, two legit but somewhat struggling “prospects” who might turn it around. But they never have. Harrison was a 3d-round pick from the vaunted Oregon State program, but part of the selling point with him was that he was a good hitter for a catcher. When it turned out that he wasn’t pro material as a catcher, he then faced the very high bar of power expected of a first baseman. Like so many other players now in their mid-20s, he also lost some career momentum with the lost 2020 COVID season.

      1. Drew Mendoza and KJ Harrison have always been associated in my mind. Maybe because they both joined the org in 2019, and both are 3rd round picks with big bat hype, who’ve never been able to hit for average or much power either.

        Best of luck to Harrison!

  2. Well, I wasn’t completely expecting Harrison to be released, but rather have him disappear on the developmental list for a few weeks until an injury or something pressed him back into action…

    But it’s so frustrating that instead of promoting Meregildo, batting a very healthy .272/.360/.504 in his 3rd season in A+ ball, they sign another useless MiLB free agent. Nogowski is a 29 year old 1B (calling him an IF is a little charitable), with a career minor league line of .276/.368/.398. Worse, he seems to have found his ceiling. After some promise in 2018-2019, he’s put up exactly the same OPS in the past two seasons (.661), which is notably .203 points lower than Meregildo’s is currently.

    1. Agree completely on Meregildo. Nogowski is probably headed soon to AAA as he had 130 ABs in the bigs last year.

      1. On a rainy contemplative day aside from filing for a new passport
        Seeing the Orioles with a nice problem @ Bowie rotating Westburg and Henderson , I wish that the Nats totally cover the BOSSman Big Board in this July draft
        Nats May have that similar scenario down the line with House , Infante , Cruz , Peña and others surging up .
        Does Jimmy Gonzales son seem destined to follow in his dads path or
        Player development role in Watsons Complex lab in WPB?

        1. I’m chuckling about the Nats adding another corner infielder out of Tallahassee after I met the college personal catching caddie to Larry Rothchild in 1972-73 .
          Who was that Seminole reliever who hit the wall @ A ball Nats once drafted ?

    2. Will are we seeing different farm staff behavior under Watson than his predecessor ?

      1. Yes. Has a single hitting prospect been promoted this season? That seems very atypical.

  3. While most of the other hitters that got off to hot starts (Emiliani, House, Pena, White) have faded as the season slogs on, Jeremy de la Rosa continues to impress. He too has faded a bit, but what’s so impressive is how comprehensive his improvement has been. He’s increased his batting average and hit tool (strikeouts plunged), his walk rate has increased significantly, his power has finally emerged, and he’s even displaying that speed that somehow wasn’t even as good as advertised (incredibly, before this season he was only 10 for 20 in SB attempts!), he’s now 21 for 26!

    What an all-around impressive season JDLR is having!

  4. very encouraging to see Adon go five without a walk.

    agree on the AA pickup. started to look at some other organizations to see if this is common and it’s not totally unique to the Nats. I realize you need to field a team and you need competent players/fielders to support your pitching development. will continue to look for info on this.

    Rutledge’s outing was rough but not bad in my view. it didn’t appear that he had his good sinker and they were elevating him pretty well. still, command was ok if not good. I would have liked to see him one more inning but I guess 75 pitches was enough for them to see.

    1. It’s good to hear that Rutledge didn’t look so bad. The context just isn’t good, though. He was dominant at this level in 2019 after being drafted — 2.30 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 10.2 K/9. Same level, now 2022, 8.00 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 7.7 K/9. Yes, there was the COVID year, and then some injury issues in 2021, but the struggle is real. Got to keep hoping that something will eventually click for him.

      1. well, his previous two starts generated 10 IP, 4H, 1BB, 8K and a 3:1 ratio of ground balls to fly balls. let’s see if this last start was a blip or a trend.

        most importantly, he has never had a regular season of 40 innings. hopefully he ends this year with at least 80 innings and maybe a late season bump to high A.

    2. Ty FredMD – sounds like a show onCBS
      Luke a day where the Boston doesn’t want to go on patrol but the cat wants to go take out a low feeding bird
      Kyle Dohy released by Phillies . You think Watson will kick the BR541Junior hee haw tires?

    3. Ty FredMD – sounds like a show onCBS
      Luke a day where the Boston doesn’t want to go on patrol but the cat wants to go take out a low feeding bird
      Kyle Dohy released by Phillies . You think Watson will kick the BR549 tires?

  5. Jeremy de la Rosa had six homers as of May 8 . . . but no more until last night. In fact, that was only his third extra-base hit of the month, during which he is hitting .260. He’s striking out at a 27% clip. On first glance, one wonders why he hasn’t been promoted, but considering these factors, he’s still working on some things, and still is only 20. He’s also been incredibly “lucky,” with his BABIP after 55 still amazingly high at .423.

  6. Cristhian Vaquero continues to look like the real deal. He hit his 3rd triple of the season, but it’s the peripheral stats that are the most impressive. He’s striking out at a fantastic 8.9% rate, while walking 13.3% of the time. Plus, all those triples have given him a healthy .459 SLG. It seems to me he’d fit right in in the FCL, but I understand the cautious approach to such a young player like Vaquero (wish I could say the same about many of the stateside players though)

    1. We’ll never know the answer, but it’s been curious the last two seasons that they’ve started top Latin signees Armando Cruz and now Vaquero in the DSL. Previously, they have started nearly all of their top prospects in the FCL, up through de la Rosa and Quintana. Maybe they think that because of the loss of a couple of rungs of minor-league ball that the talent level at FCL is higher, or something. But it seems like it would be really difficult to judge what they’ve got while the kids are still playing in the Dominican. Vaquero certainly had the pedigree to start stateside.

      2. I have seen this asked a lot. The answer I trust is that the contracts are now signed in the same year, as oppossed to July 2 of the previous year. If they came over, they would take a tax hit on the bonus. We may see them at instructs as the tax hit would be minimal by then. My understanding is that the draft/signing period will go back to July as early as 2024. So we may have two more years of this. The Jan 23 class (July 2, 2022) and the Jan 24 class (July 2, 2023). Then things go back to “normal” in July of 24.

        1. Also, other top signees like Arias for NYY and Gutierrez for Tex are starting in the DSL.

          In Vaquero’s case, I could see him starting full season ball in Fburg. He is far more advanced than Cruz IMO.

          The Nats may not get a top rated guy for Jan 23. Their money was set to go to Gutierrez, and these deals are usually done ahead of time. Perhaps DiPuglia and company can work some Lara/Quintana magic.

      3. Because there’s no interim step between Florida and Fredericksburg. In years past, they could do that and bump ’em up to Auburn/Vermont without much risk of hurting their development. Now, it’s safer to keep ’em in the DSL to start rather than risk having to demote them to the DSL or repeat. This is one of the unseen effects of the contraction.

        1. In the case of Vaquero, there would be zero risk of that. I think the same is true of Cruz, even though I am not that high on him. FCL is a learning league. They would just keep them there with less playing time. In Vaquero’s case, I believe he could have held his own in Fburg this year if given the chance. He is legit. He is my favorite prospect in the system.

  7. Maybe Nogowski gets his ABs until the org decides who is in the post Bell trade vacuum .
    Pal Joey and or Nogowski with Omar moving up to Sens ?

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