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Sunday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Matchup (’23 Stats at the Level)
Rochester Won, 6-2 @ Syracuse, 1:05 p.m. Rutledge (2-3, 4.44) vs. Vasil (4-4, 5.30)

Rochester 6 Syracuse 2
• Ward 4IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 6K, WP
• Watkins (W, 1-0) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Wood 2-3, R, 3BB, RBI
• Yepez 2-4, R, 2BB, RBI
• Alu 2-5, R, 2B, RBI

Rochester never trailed, scoring single runs in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th to take a 4-0 lead and held on to triple up Syracuse, 6-2. Thad Ward made his AAA debut and blanked the Mets for four innings on one hit and two walks while striking out six. The win went Spenser Watkins with two perfect innings. James Wood reached base five times on three walks and two singles, scoring once and driving in one while Jack Dunn and Juan Yepez both hit solo HRs, masking a 2-for-14 RISP and 15 runners left on base. IF Trey Lipscomb added to 40-man roster, recalled to Washington.



13 Commments

  1. Ward pitches a lot like Fedde, his pitches darting and dipping all over the place. not sure it plays three times through a lineup.

  2. Lipscomb got a hit in his first MLB at bat and promptly stole second. Go Trey! Garcia is off to a struggling start, so the opportunity will be there for Lipscomb if he hits.

    It really puts things in perspective to see Ward described as in “his AAA debut.” He’s already 27, so the clock has ticked fast for him between lost seasons due to COVID and TJ, plus sort of a hidden season with Rule 5. The positive in Ward’s stats is that his H9 number has always been low, even in the majors. That tells me that his stuff plays, if he can control it.

    1. if you look at the pitch charts and see how many pitches outside the zone Lipscomb swung at it’s hard not to worry he’ll become Garcia 2.0 at the plate. at least he’s a much better defender

      1. That last sentence is underselling things. Good defense is so important in raising the floor of a prospect’s future value. If Garcia was an above average fielder, he’d be a pretty good major league ball player. Not an All Star, but a 2ish WAR player; basically Danny Espinosa, who was worth 9.4 WAR in 6 seasons with the Nats, despite hitting only .226/.302/.388 (compare that to Garcia’s strikingly similar career line of .264/.294/.394, yet worth a cumulative -1.0 WAR).

        Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize Espinosa is actually a really solid comp for Lipscomb. Positionally versatile (Espinosa could play both SS and 2B very well), with bad plate discipline, and mediocre power. If Lipscomb hits just like Garcia (or Espinosa) with Espinosa’s glove, then I’d consider that a fantastic outcome!

        And who knows, maybe Lipscomb’s bat ends up developing like Ian Desmond’s, which is still entirely within the realm of possibilities (as Desmond had real contact/plate discipline issues of his own), and then we’d have a genuine All Star on our hands!

        1. When Garcia reached the majors, and all the more when they attempted to play him at shortstop, I was truly shocked at how poor his defensive fundamentals were. As I recall, the college baseball tournament was on at the same time, and every single college SS was miles ahead of Garcia defensively. Luis has the quickness to get to get to balls, but his footwork and throwing platform were like those of a middle schooler. They’ve worked with him a good bit since then — and decided in no uncertain terms that he shouldn’t be a SS — but I just couldn’t believe that the Nats’ system had promoted someone with such poor fundamentals all the way to the majors.

          Can Garcia become something more than he is? The Nats really need him to do so. He’s only a month older than Lipscomb, so there’s still time, if he’s willing to put in the work.

          1. In addition to his fielding flaws, he continues to show little plate discipline. He continues to swing at just about anything, even though the Nats have surely made it clear that plate discipline is the key to his future — much as it was with Espinosa.

        2. I agree but I think Espinosa had more power than we give him credit for, it’s just the poor contact kept it from showing up in games enough. Lipscomb’s off to a great start, though that dinger might not have got out of nats park.

    3. Sunday is truly known for get away day , Adam Beck
      Low strike 3 often for Reds pitchers

  3. Very perplexing to see Alu start in LF, when 29 year old, Erick Mejia started at 3B. I really don’t understand the Nats’ defensive vision of Alu. As has been widely discussed, Alu was rated to be very good defensively at 3B, and since then, the Nats have seemingly done everything to play him anywhere but 3B. Like with Lipscomb, I understand the value in developing his positional versatility, but as has been discussed in detail, LF depth is neither currently nor in the future a position of need for the Nats. I don’t really foresee any scenario where Alu gets any playing time in left field. Young and Call are ahead of him there right now, and Wood/Crews/Hassell/Pinckney in the near future. However, at 3B and 2B depth, there’s a very clear need there now. I’ll be interested to see how he’s used going forward.

    1. LeCroy just trying to stack the lineup with lefties .
      We are all like kids in front of the candy store awaiting the Sens season to start ( without rain outs snarkle snarkle , Luke )

  4. Do we need Agatha Christie to figure out the where abouts of one Dermis Garcia ?
    Lol!

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