Tuesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | OFF DAY | vs. Lehigh Valley, 6:45 p.m. | T. Romero (4-4, 5.70) vs. TBD |
| Harrisburg | OFF DAY | vs. Akron, 6:30 p.m. | TBD vs. Nikhazy (4-5, 3.31) |
| Wilmington | OFF DAY | @ Bowling Green, 7:35 p.m. | Lord (1-2, 5.68) vs. Davitt (2-1, 3.55) |
| Fredericksburg | OFF DAY | @ Lynchburg, 6:30 p.m. | TBD vs. Peterson (6-5, 3.49) |
| FCL Nationals | Won, 9-8 | OFF DAY | |
| DSL Nationals | Losing, 1-0 (Susp. Top 2nd) |
vs. DSL White Sox, 11 a.m. |
Rochester Red Wings, 17-16, 8th place I.L. East, 3½ GB – 51-55 Overall
Rochester dropped four of six to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and fell two spots in the standings… but only fell one game further back. The Red Wings return home this week to host the first-place IronPigs for six games.
Harrisburg Senators, 16-17, 5th place E.L. Southwest, 3GB – 47-54 Overall
As predicted (hoped, really) Senators did carry over their offensive surge last week against Erie, led by the reigning E.L. Batter of the Week Trey Lipscomb. The Senators host the second-place RubberDucks this week, hoping the hits keep coming (and they don’t stop ’til get to the top) while the new rotation takes form.
Wilmington Blue Rocks, 13-23, 6th Place, 9GB, Sally Lg. North – 42-58 Overall
ICYMI, the Nats FINALLLY admitted that Jake Bennett has been hurt but will allegedly return to the rotation next week. In a related story, Det. Holmes remains constipated. This week, Wilmington changes time zones and heads out to the Sally Lg.’s equivalent of Seattle (shortest road trip = 4 hrs. 45 min.) as they play out the string against Bowling Green this week.
Fredericksburg Nationals, 17-18, 4th Place, 5½ GB, C.L. North – 47-51 Overall
The reinforcements came last week for the FredNats as they took five of six from Salem. Unfortunately, they only gained half a game. Meanwhile, there was another Player of the Week winner: 4th Rd. pick Andrew Pinckney, who went 10-for-20 with nine runs scored, three doubles, two walks, a home run, six RBI, and a stolen base. This week, Fredericksburg heads west to Lynchburg for six with a chance to move up another place or two in the standings.
FCL Nationals 9 FCL Cardinals 8
• Rainey 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Agostini (W, 2-5) 4IP, 0H, 0R, 3BB, 3K
• Cox 2-4, R, 3B, HBP, 2RBI
• Green 1-2, R, BB, RBI, K
• Vaquero 1-3, R, 2BB, RBI, 2SB
The FCL Nationals did all they could but just couldn’t blow the 9-0 lead they built after 6½ innings and won, 9-8. Tanner Rainey emerged from witness protection to work the 1st inning, giving way to the would-be starter Gabriel Agostini, who threw four no-hit innings to pick up his second win. He walked three and struck out three. Also emerging: Elijah Green, who singled, walked, drove in a run, and… wait for it… struck out. Brenner Cox led the F-Nats 12-hit parade with a single and triple and was also hit by a pitch. Phillip Glasser, Juan Garcia, and Everett Cooper each went 2-for-4 with two singles.
Roster moves: RHP Tanner Rainey assigned from Washington for MLB Rehab; OF Elijah Green assigned from Fredericksburg for MiLB rehab.
DSL Giants Orange 1 DSL Nationals 0 – SUSP.
They’ll finish this one up on Saturday, when the two teams next play.
Could this be , Oh Lord !! , Oh Lord Tuesday and Oh Henry Tuesday ??
As for all the Micro managing fans
Part of the Plan by Dan Fogelberg a great song .
Everything will work out
Bennett in 2024 will join a collection of lefties in Harrisburg
Cole Henry will heal
Let’s speak all this as a collective lung
Into existence .
Listen to the Doctor too ( Doobie Bros )
Meanwhile what’s the word on Ward on DL?
He threw a bullpen session last week, but I suspect the Nats will make sure his return is as slow and drawn out as possible. I’d be that he will exhaust the maximum rehab time, and we won’t see him back in DC until September, and he’ll be easy enough to stash away until the end of the season if he continues to struggle in the majors.
The big question is can Lipscomb & Pinckney can continue their blazing streaks. Probably not, but it’s worth paying close attention.
I’m a sucker for drafting college players like Lipscomb and Pinckney . . . which probably explains why I was so disappointed by Mendoza, Banks, Wiseman, Hague, and so many others. But I still think your chances are better with a successful college player than they are with a high schooler. Between the Nats’ last two 4th-round picks, Pinckney is already well ahead of Cox.
The basic draft profile on Pinckney was toolsy guy with some potential holes in his swing, boom or bust label. K rate at Bama this spring was 23.6%, which certainly isn’t Green level of futility. He homered off Skenes, so apparently he doesn’t have an issue hitting against velocity.
Vaquero is fast, but he doesn’t seem to be a very good baserunner. He’s now 12/19 in SB attempts, and had a tendency to get caught last season in the DSL too (17 of 24). League average in the FCL is 75%. Another thing for him to keep working on…
Really good to see Agostini put up 4 hitless innings, but his walk rate is worryingly high for the 2nd consecutive season, while his strikeout rate has regressed. It’s been a bit of a lost season altogether repeating at the FCL after a solid 2022. He’s still super young (turned 19 2 weeks ago), but that age disparity is less pronounced that it was last season. Meanwhile, his fellow Venezuelan peer (and only 3 weeks older than Agostini), Genderson Zapata, has put together a very strong (first) season in the FCL. He’s not striking out enough batters, but he’s limited baserunners by not walking very many.
Like Pinckney, Phillip Glasser has started red hot, hitting .462 through his first 4 games. He’ll be interesting to watch, as a money-saving pick.
Everett Cooper has caught my attention too. A HS draft pick that was overlooked by almost everyone, he’s still hitting an extremely impressive .381/.466/.413 through 23 games.
A lot of bats to pay attention to in the FCL at the moment.
RE: Vaquero’s steals, he seems to get caught most often stealing third. He’s 10-14 stealing 2nd (and only thrown out twice since June 19). Stealing third, he’s 2-for-5.
He’s got the wheels to be a good basestealer, just needs to learn more of the nuances of doing so, especially third base. But that’s what the minors, especially the low minors, are for. Even more so for an 18-year-old.
Maybe Delino could teach Vaquero a few things in spring camp