Tuesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | OFF DAY | @ St. Paul, 7:37 p.m. | Rutledge (1-0, 3.00) vs. Festa (0-0, 1.46) |
| Harrisburg | OFF DAY | @ Erie, 6:05 p.m. | Cuevas (0-0, 6.97) vs.Lockhart (1-1, 2.45) |
| Wilmington | OFF DAY | @ Brooklyn, 7 p.m. | Lara (1-2, 2.13) vs. McLean (0-1, 9.00) |
| Fredericksburg | OFF DAY | @ Delmava, 11:05 a.m. | Polanco (2-0, 4.09) vs. German (0-1, 0.00) |
Rochester Red Wings, 9-9, T5th place I.L. East, 3GB
Red Wings outfielder Travis Blankenhorn was named the I.L. Batter of the Week after going 10-for-21 with 5HR and 8RBI last week against the Mud Hens. It’s six against St. Paul this week for the lone series between the two teams this year.
Harrisburg Senators, 6-8, 5th place E.L. Southwest, 3GB
Harrisburg moved up a spot in the standings but fell another game behind the divison leader after a 3-3 series split with Richmond. This week, they’re on the road for the second time for six against first-place Erie, including a matinee tomorrow.
Wilmington Blue Rocks, 11-4, 1st place Sally Lg. North, ½ GA
If you’re missing a horseshoe, you might want to look in the collective prosterior of the Blue Rocks, who have only scored five more runs than they’ve allowed yet have an 11-4 record. This week they’re in Brooklyn to take another spin against the Cyclones, with day games on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Fredericksburg Nationals, 9-6, 2nd place C.L. North, 3GB
Phillip Glasser was the Carolina League’s Batter of the Week after batting .500 (8-for-16), including a four-hit, four-RBI, three-SB game on the 17th. Fredericksburg makes the first of two (only two?!) trips to the Eastern Shore this season to play Delmarva for six games.
Not wanting to forget about Mitchell Parker, on Sunday with the first 17 batters he faced he threw 10 balls called. Simply amazing!
Travis Blankenhorn has been the second coming of Ted Williams this year so far.
its time for Rutledge to take the next step. his early success in 2023 was using a delivery different from what he’s using now, not sure why. he has the stuff and he has multiple pitches but the command is not really there on any of them.
his demeanor after that ball hit him in the ankle was telling to me, throwing his hat and glove to the field. something tells me that inside what looks to be calm there’s really a struggle going on. try to relax young man and let it fly!
the Rocks used Todd Peterson to close out games on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. not sure I can recall any of the affiliates committing to a closer that much. he doesn’t have the typical closer heat but he keeps the ball down and hits the catches glove with all his pitches. at his age he needs to move up soon
I noticed that too, and found it a bit curious for similar reasons. It’s true the Nats don’t really employ “closers” in a strict sense, nor should they. Use relievers when they’re most valuable and don’t get bogged down in accumulation of a meaningless stat. But it’s especially weird because Peterson has been floundering in Wilmington for a very long time now. He spent almost the entirety of 2021 there, and hasn’t progressed further 4 years later with unexceptional numbers. Weird to then give him some of the highest leverage outings (and they did this last season too, but less frequently, partly because they were winning a lot less frequently…). Has Mark DiFelice been the pitching coach there since last season?
Good call on Todd Peterson FredMD .
Yes JR has another character building step ahead of him with a formidable foe in a cold environment in MSP
Was Yohandy Morales originally a 3rd baseman and was moved to 1st base? I haven’t seen him scoop a throw in the dirt yet this year. I’m not just talking about the tough in between throws.
if you listed to the Nats on the radio Sunday you heard Zimm say anybody can play first base but not everybody can play it well.
Yes he was a 3B and is experimenting at 1B
41 F in St. Paul tonight .. just saying ..
Sandy Koufax spent years trying to throw too hard. In a split-squad road game, they only brought a couple relievers, so the catcher told him “don’t bother with anything other than throwing strikes so we can get balls in play and eventually get out of here”
I wonder if the same thing happened with Parker. They needed a starter in a tough road assignment, and said “don’t bother trying to win, we just need strikes so we can get through the game.”
Next question – is Blankenhorn having a career month as a 4-A guy, or is he a for-real major leaguer?
If there was one player in the system perhaps most targeted by Rizzo’s preaching about “I don’t care how fast you throw ball four.” this Spring Training, Parker would take the cake.
Perhaps you’re on to something… it looks like Parker might have taken this to heart. While he only got 4 IP, he didn’t walk a batter in ST, and only 1 in his only game in AAA. I wonder if Rizzo noticed this and promoted Parker, in part to send a message to the other arms in the system.
Though that doesn’t bode well for Rutledge and Herz, who are currently walking 7 and 5.8 batters per 9IP…
Ouch. Alu DFA’d to make room on the 40 man for 34 year old Jacob Barnes. I know Alu hasn’t seized his opportunity, but man, Barnes better yield a decent prospect at the deadline.