Thursday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Lost, 5-4 | vs. Toledo, 7:05 p.m. | Adon (0-2, 7.41) vs. Bergner (1-1, 3.18) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 6-1 | @ Richmond, 6:35 p.m. | Troop (7-4, 4.38) vs. Frisbee (5-9, 5.16) |
| Wilmington | Won, 11-7 | @ Brooklyn, 7 p.m. | Parker (6-3, 2.93) vs. Moreno (2-7, 3.29) |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 12-8 | vs. Delmarva, 7:05 p.m. | Caceres (5-8, 5.42) vs. Cruz (1-1, 3.30) |
Toledo 5 Rochester 4
• Murphy 4IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, HR
• Sadzeck (L, 1-3) 1⅔ IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 1K, HR
• Alu 2-4, 2-2B, RBI
• Banks 2-4, 2B
The Mud Hens tacked on two runs in the 8th to pad a 3-2 lead and it would prove to be the difference as the Red Wings’ 9th inning rally fell one run short, 5-4. Patrick Murphy went the first four and gave up two runs on four hits (one HR) and a walk while striking out three. The loss went to Connor Sadzeck when he gave up a solo HR to break a 2-2 tie. Jake Alu doubled twice and drove in a run while Nick Banks went 2-for-4 with a double to lead the Rochester offense.
Roster moves: RHP Cory Abbott recalled to Washington; C Israel Pineda promoted from Harrisburg.
Harrisburg 6 Richmond 1
• Cate (W, 2-3) 6IP, 4H, 0R, 4BB, 5K, HBP, PO @ 1B
• Ferrer 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• W. Garcia 3-5, 2R, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• Baker 2-4, R, BB, 2B, RBI
• Antuna 2-5, R, HR, RBI
Harrisburg staved off elimination and took sole possession of 5th place with a 6-1 win over Richmond. Tim Cate turned in his third quality start of the month with six scoreless innings, giving up four hits and four walks while striking out five. Wilson Garcia was a triple shy of the cycle as he hit his 19th HR and drove in two while Darren Baker reached base three times with a single, double, and a walk to lead the Senators’ 12-hit parade.
Roster moves: C Drew Millas reassigned from Wilmington.
Wilmington 11 Brooklyn 7
• Knowles 4IP, 10H, 6R, 6ER, 1BB, 1K, 2HR
• Burdi (W, 1-2) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K, 2-1 IR-S
• Connell 3-4, R, HR, 2RBI, SAC
• Witt 2-4, 2R, BB, HR, 2RBI
• Vega 2-4, R, BB, 2B
• Wilson 2-5, 3B, OF assist @ 1B
The Blue Rocks got two in the 6th, two in the 7th, and six in the 8th as they erased a 6-1 deficit and took this one, 11-7. Lucas Knowles was spun for five runs in the 1st and six runs total as Brooklyn manhandled him for 10 ten hits, including two homers over four innings. Zack Burdi picked up the win in relief despite letting in an inherited runner. Justin Connell, Leandro Emiliani, and Paul Witt each went deep in a 15-hit barrage by the Wilmington hitters.
Fredericksburg 12 Delmarva 8
• Susana 3IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K, 61-35 PIT-K
• Glavine 1IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 1BB, 2K, BK
• Huff (W, 1-0) 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• McKenzie 3-5, R, 2RBI
• Arruda 2-3, 3R, 3BB, SB
• Frizzell 2-3, 2R, 2BB, RBI, HBP
• Pettigrew 2-4, R, BB, RBI, SB
Fredericksburg dug itself out of an 8-0 with 12 unanswered runs as the FredNats took Game Two, 12-8, and reduced their magic number to six. Jarlin Susana lit up the gun again but kept Geraldi Diaz on his toes protecting the umpire and the fans behind home plate with 26 pitches missing the zone. The 18-y.o. gave up a run on two hits and a LaLoosh line of three walks and four K’s over three innings. Jared McKenzie led the comeback with three singles and two RBI followed by J.T. Arruda, who had two singles and three of the twelve walks issued by the Shorebirds.
Roster moves: C Steven Williams assigned to the Developmental List.
It’s time to just call him ‘Top Prospect’ Israel Pineda. He’s moving up fast, with a bullet.
What is it with the Nats and the 5th round? Mitchell Parker, T.J. White and now Jared McKenzie. Maybe they should just trade their 3rd and 4th round picks for more 5th round picks. 🙂
Gotta laugh at the Laloosh-like line on Susana. Still, an electric arm.
Jarlin “ Just a Bit Outside “ ( ty , Bob Uecker )
I can recall when Marty Brennenan ( Reds legend ) called young Pedro Martinez a head hunter when first with the Expos
Truth be told I never thought Paul Witt would reach A plus ..
Let’s see what Drew M can do with Garcia in the revamped Sens hitting crew..
Funny you should write that because his mechanics remind me of Pedro.
Really , Luke ??
Long wiry young Dom Repub kid
Bryan C earned the Uecker line vs Delmarva
Lawson growing in us fans with his tools
Young will top 50 steals this season – bravo .
Holliday is a reminder of how a pipeline moving upward warms a fan’s cockles
That’s next season for Nats as the org adds more talent in the various markets to tap from .
Romero and Collins respective bullpen work horses .
God love Drew Mendoza but every time you scroll , Luke , down the boxscore where he has played 3 b for a night you expect 2 in the error column .
Just chiming in to note that Susana is the 2nd youngest pitcher in all of A ball (the Marlins have a guy who is 2 weeks younger), and in his first season of professional baseball. Just being where he is remarkable. The fact that his stuff “plays” at the level is the cherry on top!
Will, you nailed it!
Pineda deserved promotion but mostly got bumped up the food chain due to Barrera being called to the majors for the rest of the season with Sept. 1 roster expansion. Pineda seems to have played his way into an extremely likely 40-man roster spot this fall before the Rule 5 draft.
I was trying to think of AFL candidates, and JT Arruda jumped to mind. He’s 24 and wallowing away (albeit to the tune of .271/.382/.436) in Low A, but missed significant time to injury. He’s also defensively verstaile, played significant time at all of 3B, SS and 2B.
There’s always gotta be a catcher, so Millas would fit the bill. Steven Williams could also be a dark horse, also having been jerked around from A ball to the development list quite a bit. Though the Nats may not see him as a catcher anymore, only playing 2 of 50 games there in 2022.
Among the 2022 draftees, Jared McKenzie or Trey Lipscomb could be options, as relatively polished college picks.
Among the trade acquisitions, I wonder if they’d want to showcase Hassell and give him more time to work out these strange swing changes he opted to make that appear to have actually destroyed his swing altogether.
Will Frizzell is an ideal candidate too. Missed a big chunk of time, is old for his level, and destroying low A pitching. It would make a lot of sense to see how he fares against more age appropriate pitching.
If House is recovered in time, he’d also be a natural fit. But it seems his injury is a lot worse than initially thought.
Other options: Darren Baker, Yasel Antuna (one last chance)
Arms:
Holden Powell and Gerardo Carrillo have been awful since returning from injury, but they’re both highly regarded and short on innings this year.
Is there any chance Seth Shuman would return in time? Didn’t catch what his injury was, but he was having a great season until he got injured.
Not really sure what’s up with Cole Quintanilla, but he should be under consideration.
Then perhaps one or two of Teel, Troop or Cate, who should still have a good amount of mileage left on their arms.
On second thought Onix Vega is a much better fit as the catching prospect. He’s only played 58 games this season, but has been fantastic (.289/.398/.396).
Will — Those are some good AFL guesses. In general, it’s usually A+/AA players, often ones up against the Rule 5 question, plus a couple sent just to be filler. And there’s always a catcher.
Hassell would seem to be a good bet, unless they think he’s played too much and/or they think he would benefit more working on his swing in the Instructional setting rather than the AFL. (But if they’re hoping to see him the majors next year, the AFL is more the ticket.)
The Nats seem really in on Darren Baker (who has surprised me), so I agree that he’s a good bet, and Carrillo as well, since he’s barely pitched. Evan Lee is another recovering arm who may need some work. I don’t think Holden Powell is far enough up the food chain yet, unless they really believe in him.
Frizzell is an interesting suggestion. He started late and hasn’t gotten much PT, but he’s old enough that I could see them thinking that he could handle the more advanced surroundings. Maybe James Wood as well, perhaps as the taxi squad guy? (Or do they still have that?)
I was watching Hassell’s swing last week on the island. He looks like he’s trying to emulate Bryce Harper.
it’s an interesting discussion for the first time in a while. good options noted here, I wonder if they’d consider exposing Denaburg to a little higher level competition, it’ hard to guess what they see as his innings limit.
Densburg is truly the poster guy for the phrase brass likes to use : what was it ? Load factor limitations ??