Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Lost, 7-2 | vs. Worcester, 1:05pm | Alvarez (0-1, 3.00) vs. TBD |
| Harrisburg | Won, 5-3 | @ New Hampshire, 6:35pm | Saenz (1-1, 4.05) vs. Tolhurst (0-0, 1.80) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 4-2 | @ Hudson Valley, 6:05pm | Clemmey (0-1, 2.25) vs. Hess (0-0, 0.00) |
| Frdericksburg | Lost, 7-6 | @ Fayetteville, 6:35pm | Polanco (0-1, 5.00) vs. Ra. Gonzalez (0-1, 13.50) |
Worcester 7 Rochester 2
• Solesky (L, 0-1) 3⅔ IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 3K, HBP
• Acosta 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Lipscomb 2-3, R, BB, HR, 2RBI
• House 0-2, 2BB
Trey Lipscomb’s solo HR in the 2nd and RBI single in the 8th weren’t enough for the Rochester pitchers to work with as the Red Wings fell to the (ugh) Woo Sox, 7-3. Chase Solesky was knocked from the box in the 4th after four runs allowed on seven hits. He walked none and struck out three. Drew Millas and Andrew Pinckney also singled to account for the four (4) Rochester hits.
Harrisburg 5 New Hampshire 3
• Luckham 5IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 5K, HR
• Schoff (W, 2-0) ⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Grissom (SV, 3) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Wallace 2-4, R, HR, 3RBI
• Glasser 2-4
• Lile 1-4, R, BB, HR, RBI
Cayden Wallace’s two-run HR highlighted a three-run rally in the 8th as the Senators declawed the Fisher Cats, 5-3. Kyle Luckham spun five innings of two-run ball on five hits (one HR), two walks, and five whiffs. The win went to Tyler Schoff for getting the last out of the 7th while Michael Cuevas worked around a hit in the 8th for the hold and Marquis Grissom erased a leadoff walk with double-play ball and face the minimum in the 9th for his third save. Wallace, Daylen Lile, and J.T. Arruda each went deep while Philip Glasser doubled to lead the Harrisburge offense.
Hudson Valley 4 Wilmington 2
• Tepper (L, 0-2) 4⅓ IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 5K, 2HR
• Huff 1⅔ IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 1K, 1-1 IR-S
• Cox 2-3, R, 2B, E
• Brown 1-2, 2B, 2RBI
Marcus Brown’s two-run double in the top of the 5th brought Wilmington within a run of Hudson Valley, but that’s as close they would get as the Blue Rocks were doubled up, 4-2 the Renegades. Mikey Tepper gave up all four Hudson Valley runs on five hits (two HR) over four and a 1/3rd innings. He walked two and struck out five. Brenner Cox singled in the 5th and doubled in the 8th to round out Wilmington’s three-hit barrage as the rest of the lineup went 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts.
• D. Garcia 3⅔ IP, 4H, 5R, 2ER, 1BB, 7K, HR
• Tolman 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K
• Cranz (L, 0-1) ⅔ IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 1K
• Mota 2-3, 2R, BB, HR, 2RBI, SB
• Quintana 2-4, R, RBI, 2K
• Peoples 1-3, R, BB, HR, 2RBI, SB
The FredNats erased deficits of 2-1 and 6-4 but were walked off in the 9th, 7-6. Davian Garcia didn’t make it out of the 4th as he was, um, pecked for five runs (two earned) over three and 2/3rds on four hits (one HR) and a walk. He struck out seven. Robert Cranz loaded the bases with nobody out, got popup and a strikeout, then walked in the gamewinner to take the loss. Jorgelys Mota and Nick “Power to the” Peoples both hit two-run HRs while Roismar Quintana singled twice to pace the Fredericksburg offense. Roster moves: RHP Zach Brzykcy assigned from Washington for MLB Rehab.
Lipscomb refusing to go to org-guyville. if Garcia continues to flounder could Trey get another shot?
Lipscomb seems to have a well-above-average work ethic. It took him until his senior year in college to become a starter, and his college coach credited him with teaching that same ethic to Christian Moore, who became a high first-round pick last year.
One left my starter in farm daily assignments from a royal looney flush
Maybe the Arizona Oriole algorithm in draft tanks
The beauty of Lipscomb is his positional versatility. He can be both the solution to Garcia’s struggles and DeJong’s too.
But’s amusing that we sent Lipscomb down to AAA because his 45 wRC+ was obviously not good enough, and we replaced him with a veteran 3B, putting up a 50 wRC+. I guess it’s an improvement?
Lipscomb called up. Make the best of it, Trey!
With the big club in desperate need of relievers, there will be a wide-open path for Grissom to move up quickly.
Good to see some power from Lile and Wallace. Power is going to count a lot in the determination of how far they can rise.
It’s early, and SSS, and all of that, but as of now, Lomavita is about the only prospect at Wilmington who is doing much. Green has 19 Ks in 39 PAs, and King has 17 in 38. The Yikes Meter is red-lining.
Yeah. I had a sliver of hope remaining with Green, but his struggles aren’t the least bit surprising. Seaver King, however, I’m really trying not to read too much into a small sample size of 38 plate appearances, especially after not displaying these tendencies in his short cameo last year. But a 45 K% is absolutely brutal, and the continuation of a common theme with his teammates in Wilmington and across the org. The big difference is that the worst offenders in striking out at absurd rates, almost exclusively were HS/IFA “projects”, like Green, Vaquero, White, Cox, etc. Seaver King is a 1st round, top 10 pick out of college. Let’s hope he’s playing with some different approaches, because this is very much in Yikes territory.
I’m also intrigued with Robert Cranz. He was by all accounts a completely unexceptional draft pick, and his performance last season didn’t really imply any differently. and then this winter, he kept appearing on Nats top prospects lists with buzz around him being used in the rotation (something he almost never did even in college). So it was interesting to see him reappear in Fredericksburg, unlike other hyped 2024 picks, like King, Lomavita and Kent, AND still in the bullpen. And since then, he’s been very wild with his command, further cementing his draft/signing bonus reputation: nothing particularly special. I’m really intrigued where these scouting reports originated, because they were completely detached from performance. But he wasn’t the only one. Was it BA? BP? who rated Brayan Romero in the top 20? That one was even crazier. I wonder who their agents are. They seem to be doing good work.
Rizzo is widely recognized as a genius in making trades. His track record proves it. He also has as big as strikeout rate as those guys you mentioned above when it comes to drafting and most international signings. How can this even be? You would think that if you’re good at one, you’d be good at the other.