PICKUPS
First, the non-prospects…
MacKenzie Gore – Has not pitched since July 25 when he left the game with elbow soreness. I’ll never quite understand this fetish with injured pitchers. But the Nationals are, as always, convinced they can fix what ails him and reap the rewards.
C.J. Abrams – Has posted a .296/.355/.370 with 4SB for Rochester in seven games. The CW is that Abrams was rushed to the majors and simply needs a bit more time. With the parent club flirting with a 110-loss season, it would seem most likely that he’ll stay in upstate N.Y. the rest of the season.
Now, the prospects…
Robert Hassell III – Last night’s 3-for-4 performance got the almost-21-y.o. (Monday) off the Interstate with a .200/.306/.233 line in eight games for Wilmington. He’s now the Nats’ #1 prospect per MLB Pipeline (BA has Abrams, despite having surpassed MLB’s rookie limits).
James Wood – He homered and went 4-for-6 in his system debut and has batted .400/.438/.633 in seven games. Like Hassell, the #3 (BA) #4 (MLB) is currently a CF but could be moved to a corner spot, which seems likely given his size (6’7″ 240).
Jarlin Susana – Not much to go on: He’s made one appearance with a run let in on a hit and two walks while striking out four. Both hands on the keyboard: He throws kind of hard. He’s just 18 and in his first pro season.
PROMOTIONS
Reminder #734: Not all upward moves are promotions. We’re focusing here on the ones from this post and this post.
Tim Cate – With three losses and an 8.37 ERA since his return to AA, it’s hard not to classify Cate as yet another prospect that hit his ceiling at that level.
Darren Baker – With a mediocre line of .273/.333/.367 in 62G, this felt like a justification for his appearance in the Futures Game. While he’s not killing it, .233/.300/.274 isn’t all that bad, either.
Omar Meregildo – The second time around at City Isle has been much better – .973 OPS in 14G vs. .389 in 5G – and he’s still hitting HRs, which is significant in a system that’s starved for power by players not too old for the level.
Israel Pineda – After a nightmarish 2021, this has been a resurgence for the 22-y.o. backstop. As with the two guys above, it’s a small sample but we’ll take it: .283/.316/.604 with 5HR and 15RBI in 14G.
Jeremy De La Rosa – After batting .315/.394/.505 with 10HR in 69G for Fredericksburg, the 20-y.o. has hit .205/.284/.282 with 1HR and 22K in 21G for the Blue Rocks.
Leandro Emiliani – In hindsight, this may have been more to make room for Will Frizzell than a true promotion. Of course, that assessment isn’t helped by a .149 BA and a .493 OPS in 14G.
Dustin Saenz – He’s had two good starts, one meh start, and two bad starts since arriving in Delaware.
Todd Peterson – Has not pitched since July 17. [Insert Nationals elbow joke here].
Pablo Aldonis – Made two lights-out, five-inning starts and then got hammered on the third, going on the I.L. the next day. Whispers are that he’s done for the year.
Miguel Gomez – Not as dominant as he was in the FCL, but has been serviceable (3.86/2.97/0.96) across his first five appearances.
Christopher De La Cruz – Pretty much a seamless transition: .288/.370/.375 in 21G vs. .286/.444/.400 in 14G