AFL Update: Oct. 12, 2022
The Javelinas answered a two-run 1st with a three-run 2nd, then piled on four in the 3rd as they prevailed for sixth time in eight contests, 10-6.
Three Nationals were in the starting lineup:
- Darren Baker led off and played 2B. He went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
- Drew Millas caught the game and batted 6th. He singled twice, walked once, scored once, and drove in a run. He threw out one of two runners attempting to steal, with Baker applying the tag on the successful cutdown.
- Yasel Antuna was the #9 hitter and played left field. He was 2-for-3 with a two-run double and scored a run. He caught four fly balls and fielded a double on defense.
Orlando Ribalta was the sole pitcher to appear for the Washington contingent. The Rule 5 candidate (wait, that doesn’t narrow it down) stranded two to get out of the 5th, then pitched a scoreless 6th, striking out one.
Mesa returns to Peoria this afternoon.
Millas has one fewer hit (8) in 4 AFL games than he did in the month of September (9), and has two fewer extra base hits (4) than he did in the entirety of September and August (6).
Meanwhile, Frizzell continues to sit on the bench, but how can he get starts if Robert Perez starts nearly every game at 1B? I really don’t understand the logic of who gets playing time and who doesn’t in the AFL.
Wasn’t Robert Perez originally a catcher or am I thinking of a catcher from another decade ??
Lol!
The Guardians sure made gay from that deal with SD with Quantrill and Clevenger.
The cool thing with a big trade is seeing which assets end up flipping for more assets filling other needs.
The Soto deal could be like the Lindros NHL deal between Flyers and Nordiques.
I was unable to comment yesterday so here are a couple replies. 1. Jake Alu defense. I saw him for the Sens. He wasn’t flashy with the glove, but he made the plays and didn’t make dumb errors. 2. Pitch clock. Yes, it was used all year. From what I observed, violations went down as the year progressed. It worked to speed up the game, however, if a pitcher throws alot of balls vice strikes the game drags on. For MLB, I think it will be more of an impact on the batters who go through their “routine” after every pitch.
I wonder whether the Nats will try to start getting Darren Baker some reps at other positions next season. They seem set with the big club at 2B with Garcia. There’s really no such thing as a “utility second baseman,” which is what Baker would be. It looks like he’s pretty much exclusively played 2B, even in college.
An infielder is really limited if he can’t play SS. Noll probably would have had more MLB looks if he could. They tried to rush Cluff through the system to be that next utility guy, but he just couldn’t hit enough.
Garcia did play almost twice as many games at SS as he did at 2B in 2022, though he wasn’t good at SS… Also Garcia still has a lot of work to do with his bat. For example, he pretty fundamentally needs better plate discipline, a 2.9% BB% won’t cut it, and neither will striking out 8 times more frequently than he walks. Still, Garcia was such a fast riser, that he’s constantly being harshly judged for being insanely young for his level. He’s 14 months younger than Darren Baker, and has parts of 3 seasons of major league experience under his belt, while Baker is playing in the AFL with A ball players.
Either way, this is a nice problem to have: too many players for too few positions.
3B: a battle between Alu and Kieboom (dark horse: Noll and Lipscomb)
SS: Abrams, spot starts from Garcia
2B: Garcia (dark horse: Baker)
1B: Meneses (Voit as depth)
UTIL: Vargas, if they bring him back, Noll
It’s not a good infield, but it at least has some potential.
Why not Vargas at 3B as well? He can really pick it, and he hit pretty well for the Nats this year (though I don’t recall his avg.).
Do we know for sure that Hassell has been shut down? I’ve seen some scuttlebutt about a hand issue, but nothing definitive. There’s some hint that he had it since the time of the trade and that it contributed to his early struggles at Harrisburg.
Peoria has now played eight games, and Frizzell has only appeared in one of them. Even the old “taxi squad” guys got more action. The guy playing at 1B yesterday is at .192 after getting a hit, and the DH is at .208. Very SSS, but c’mon, give our guy a chance!
On the flipside, Millas is currently hitting .471 with a 1.441 OPS. Trade him now! LOL.
from the talknats’ Twitter feed, others have vouched for his source
Breaking: Source tells us that #Nats top ranked #1 prospect Robert Hassell III suffered a hand/wrist injury on a swing in Arizona Fall League and exited Wednesday’s game. He’d been dealing with this for a while per source which explains a lot. Just a guess, could be the hamate.
Thanks. That’s what I saw about Hassell. Was just wondering if there had been any follow-up, or any news if he’s going to play more in AZ. Would seem more useful for him to get healthy.
Will, I agree with you about Garcia at the plate. He only had a .275 OBP, with virtually no walks, as you mentioned. His offense profile looks a fair amount like that of Robles, which makes it concerning indeed. Robles never really matured at the plate, but we hope Garcia will.
Garcia was truly awful at SS, both by metrics and by the eye test. That clearly isn’t his position. A lot of the scouting reports on Abrams at the time of the trade questioned whether he could stay at SS, but he has looked better than advertised. The Nats really have no other options, so he’s the guy.
There has been a lot of speculation here and on other sites that Alu will be a serious contender for the 3B job with the big club. On paper, that looks like a good possibility, but who knows whether that’s actually what the front office thinks. I would bet that Kieboom will get one more big chance, and that in Rizzo’s mind, he’s the one to beat. That’s delusional thinking, as Kieboom hasn’t been good at the plate and has been awful in the field, but he’s a 1st-round draft pick, and if they’re gonna keep trotting Fedde out there for that reason, gosh darn-it, they’re gonna keep giving Kieboom chances. (I hope he proves me wrong, but the available evidence isn’t good.) Noll is still on the 40-man, but he posted an 89 wRC+ at AAA, .307 OBP. He turns 29 in March. They’re not counting on him.