Saturday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Won, 14-7 | vs. Indianapolis, 6:45 p.m. | Rutledge (4-4, 6.16) vs. Germán (2-4, 5.55) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 2-1 | @ Erie, 6:05 p.m. | Lara (4-1, 2.68) vs C. Peña (2-3, 4.13) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 6-2 | @ Hudson Valley, 7:05 p.m. | Shuman (1st A+ start of ’24) vs. Schlittler (3-2, 2.32) |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 6-1 | @ Salem, 6:05 p.m. | Sthele (1-6, 7.93) vs. Duffy (1-3, 3.68) |
| FCL Nationals | Lost, 3-0 (no-hitter) |
@ FCL Cardinals, 10 a.m. | |
| DSL Nationals | Lost, 7-4 | @ DSL Angels, 10 a.m. |
Rochester 14 Indianapolis 7
• Watkins (W, 5-3) 5IP, 10H, 5R, 5ER, 1BB, 1K
• Adon 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Lipscomb 4-5, R, 2B(5), HR(GS), 4RBI
• Wood 3-5, 2R, BB, 3-2B(16), 2RBI
• Kieboom 3-6, R, 2B(10), 2RBI
• Crews 2-5, 4R, BB, 2B, RBI
Rochester sent 15 men to the plate in the 1st and nine of them crossed the plate as the Red Wings pounded the Indians, 14-7. Spenser Watkins wobbled through five innings, giving up five runs on ten hits and a walk to get the Jack Morris win. All nine starters reached base, but beers were on Jackson Cluff (0-3, 2BB, 2K). Trey Lipscomb led the assault with eight total bases, including a grand slam for his first AAA homer, followed by James Wood, who doubled three times, scored twice, and walked once. Wood is reportedly due to make his MLB debut next month.
Erie 2 Harrisburg 1
• Solesky (L, 0-2) 5IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 5K, HR, WP
• Powell 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K
• Pinckney 2-4, R, 2K
• D. Garcia 1-3, BB, 0K
For the second straight game, the Seawolves scored all their runs in the 2nd and the Senators were unable to catch up, losing 2-1. Chase Solesky took the loss despite a serviceable outing of two runs over five innings on four hits (one HR) and a walk while striking out five. Harrisburg batters whiffed 14 times and mustered five singles, two by Andrew Pinckney.
Hudson Valley 6 Wilmington 2
• L. Young (L, 2-8) 3⅔ IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 4K, 2HR
• Brzykcy 2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• White 2-3, BB
• Made 1-4, 2B(15), RBI
Hudson Valley got two in the 2nd and three in the 3rd and cruised to a 6-2 win over Wilmington. Luke Young lost for the eighth time as he gave up the aforementioned five runs on two home runs and six hits total over three and 2/3rds. He walked two and struck out four. T.J. White singled twice and walked once to reach base three times for the first time this season while Kevin Made connected for his 15th double.
Fredericksburg 6 Salem 1
• Davis 5IP, 2H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Denaburg (BS, 1; W, 6-1) 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 1K, HBP
• Green 2-5, 2RBI
• Infante 2-4, R
• Farmer 0-0, 2R, 4BB
The FredNats offense broke out in the late innings with two in the 7th and three in the 8th to down the Red Sox, 6-1. Marc Davis made another batch of five donuts, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three, but came away with a no-decision when Mason Denaburg lost the 1-0 lead in the 6th. Denaburg would get his sixth win in relief when Murphy Stehly’s RBI double broke the 1-1 tie. Elijah Green and Sammy Infante both singled twice while Caleb Farmer drew four of the team’s six walks to pace the Fredericksburg offense.
FCL Mets 3 FCL Nationals 0
• Portorreal (L, 2-4) 4IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 2K
• Bloebaum 3IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 4K, HR
• Mojica 0-0, 3BB
• Soto 0-2, 1BB
The FCL Nationals drew four walks to avoid the seven-inning perfect game but not the no-no as the FCL Mets shut them out, 3-0. Leuris Portorreal lost for the fourth time, giving up the first two FCL Mets runs on five hits and two walks over four innings. Adam Bloebaum finished the game with one run allowed on a home run, three walks, and four whiffs in three frames. Elian Soto walked in the second while Misael Mojica walked three times to account for the four runners left on base. Roster moves: RHP Victor Farias placed on the 60-Day I.L.
DSL Twins 7 DSL Nationals 4
• Vera (L, 0-2) 3⅓ IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, 6BB, 3K, HR
• Tavarez 2-5, R, 2-2B, PB
• Hurtado 1-3, R, 2BB
The D-Twins put up four in the 1st and cruised to a 7-4 win over the D-Nats. Alejandro Vera gave up those four runs on three hits (one HR) and six walks over three and a 1/3rd innings to lose for the second time. Feldi Tavarez doubled twice and scored once while Victor Hurtado singled once and walked twice to lead the DSL Nationals offense.
This came across the wires late but the T.J. White home run Thursday traveled 460 Feet (!!!). That’s the longest home run by a Nats prospect this year.
Why is Matt Cronin at High A? His ERA is 0.53, so it’s long past due to see what we have with him.
The same could be asked of Brzykcy, who’s been “rehabbing” there for a month now, with a 0.90 ERA and has only allowed 2 hits in 10 IP.
Wow it’s Sunday with Sthele and he’s better not pitching Sunday
Wow , White !!
Not a good sign
Lara and Rutledge wild erratic and yuck Saturday
So excited about Wood. It’s been 6 years since Soto’s meteoric rise, and we haven’t had a genuine prospect like him since. If Wood could be even half as good as Soto, that would be a massive success.
The Nats have been a lot of fun to watch this season, and it almost comes down exclusively to the recent prospect promotions. Maybe it’s just me, but watching Young range around the outfield, and Parker and Irvin trade excellent starts, and even the somewhat rarer glimpses of potential in Lipscomb, Herz and Millas. As surprisingly good as Winker or Williams have been this season, I can’t muster the same enthusiasm for them, because they’re not going to be a part of the next great Nats team. I’m hoping Wood will be its centerpiece!
Ranking the most-anticipated Nat debuts would be a good piece for someone like Todd Boss if he has time. There’s no doubt that Stramas was, and likely will remain, #1. Harper was #2, as he had been a nationally prominent golden boy even before he was drafted (SI cover in high school). I can’t fully remember how widespread the anticipation was for Soto. There was a lot of excitement here at Nats Prospects, as we had followed his crazy rise, but other than a couple of WaPo stories, I’m not sure how widely known he was. Robles had more general prospect hype than Soto for his debut in 2017 (before Soto), but then he had injuries plus service-time manipulation after that (which they also did with Rendon, Turner, and Kieboom). Anyway, it’s certainly fair to think that the Wood anticipation is in the top 5 all time.
Luke Young ERA vs Hudson Valley 7.43, vs the rest of the league 3.88. that’s not totally surprising as they are among the top hitting clubs in the Sally League. he has to have precise command of his pitches as they are all less than elite. he was back to pitching from the full windup again, makes me think he is trying everything to get a little more stuff.