Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Won, 9-4 | @ Syracuse, 11:05am | Solesky (1-3, 5.14) vs. TBD |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 3-2 | vs. Chesapeake, 11am | Conley (0-1, 12.27) vs. Bright (1-4, 6.75) |
| Wilmington | Won, 4-3 | @ Aberdeen, 7:05pm | Kent (3-3, 3.58) vs. TBD |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 2-0 | vs. Carolina, 6:35pm | Meckley (2-3, 4.82) vs. TBD |
| FCL Nationals | Lost, 11-6 | vs. FCL Mets, 12pm |
Rochester 9 Syracuse 4
• Sampson (W, 1-1) 6⅔ IP, 9H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 5K, E
• Pilkington 1IP, 0H, 0R, 3BB, 1K, 1-0 IR-S
• Hassell 3-4, R, 2-2B, 2RBI
• Baker 2-3, R, BB, RBI, SB, CS
• Lipscomb 1-4, R, HR, 2RBI
Syracuse retired the last three batters to come to plate in the 5th. Unfortunately, the first nine baserunners all reached and all scored, capped off by a two-run HR by Trey Lipscomb as the Red Wings pummeled the Mets, 9-4. Adrian Sampson picked up the win and pitched into the 7th, allowing three runs on nine hits, with no walks, and five whiffs. Robert Hassell led the Rochester hit column with a single and two doubles, followed by Darren Baker with two singles and a walk. The Red Wings were an unreal 6-for-8 with RISP and left on just two baserunners.
Chesapeake 3 Harrisburg 2
• Luckham 5⅔ IP, 6H, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 5K, HBP, WP
• Cuevas ⅔ IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 2BB, 1K
• Morales 2-4
• MacKenzie 2-4, 3B
A walk, steal, and an error by Kevin Made trying to make a 6-5 putout enabled Chesapeake to score its third unearned run in the 9th and sneak past Harrisburg, 3-2. Michael Cuevas walked two and struck out one, but was charged with the loss, his first of ’25. Kyle Luckham gave up the first two BaySox runs on six hits and two walks for the no-decision. Joe Naranjo hit his 5th double to lead off the 2nd and scored on Cayden Wallace’s RBI single. Two batters later. Jared McKenzie tripled in Wallace. The Senators would fail on each of their next eight RISP chances and left on six as they tallied seven hits total on the night. Roster moves: IF Viandel Peña reassigned from Rochester; OF Jeremy De La Rosa placed on the 7-day I.L.
Wilmington 4 Aberdeen 3
• Clemmey 4IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 7K, HR
• Davis (W, 1-0) 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K
• Tolman (SV, 1) 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 3K, HBP
• Lomavita 1-3, 2B, 2RBI
• Boisserie 2-4, RBI
A three-run 7th coupled with three scoreless innings of relief turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-3 win for the Blue Rocks. Alex Clemmey went the first four, allowing two runs on five hits (one HR) and two walks. Marc Davis picked up the win as the pitcher of record when Wilmington went ahead while Erik Tolman closed it out for the save, his first. Branden Boisserie singled twice and drove in one while Caleb Lomavita hit the game-winning two-run double, though he commited the cardinal baserunning sin of making the third out at third trying for the triple. Roster moves: OF Elijah Nunez promoted from Fredericksburg (no corresponding move announced; wink wink, nod nod).
Fredericksburg 2 Carolina 0
• Sykora 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 5K, 9BF
• Polanco (W, 3-3) 6IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 2K, HBP
• R. Diaz 2-2, R, BB, CS
• Dickerson 1-3, 2B, SF, RBI
Fredericksburg flirted with a perfect game for 7⅓ innings and a no-hitter for 8⅓ but after a one-out single and a Robles with two out, Carolina’s Eric Bitoni’s deep flyball fell short for a 2-0, one-hit shutout. Travis Sykora was perfect for three, striking out five on 42 pitches, 29 for strikes. Bryan Polanco made his first relief appearance and picked up the win with six scoreless innings. Both FredNats runs came in in the 5th. Randal Diaz’s leadoff bunt single combined with an error followed by Carlos Tavares’s safety to RF plated the go-ahead run while Luke Dickerson got the insurance run with a sac fly after back-to-back singles by Nate Ochoa and Cristhian Vaquero.
FCL Astros 11 FCL Nationals 6
• Farias 3IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 4BB, 2K, WP
• B. Sanchez 2IP, 4H, 6R, 6ER, 1BB, 2K, HR
• Rojas 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI, SB
• Ramirez 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• 0-10 RISP; 8 LOB
The F-Astros erased a 3-2 deficit with a six-run 5th, then added three in the 7th to cinch an 11-6 win over the F-Nats. Victor Farias went the first three frames, but was dinged for two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out two. Bryan Sanchez took the loss with six runs let in on four hits (one HR) and a walk over two innings. Enmanuel Ramiez doubled, homerd, and drove in two while Eyeksson Rojas singled, doubled, stole a base, and plated two to lead the FCL Nationals offense. Roster moves: OF Teo Banks MiLB rehab assignment from Fredericksburg renewed.
So the big news is that Robert Hassell will be promoted to the majors to cover for Crews, who will presumably hit the IL.
Congrats to him, though I don’t think this is so much of a performance based promotion, but a 40 man roster machination.
Hassell is having his best season with the Nationals in his 4th season. His slash of .277/.327/.384 is a big improvement on his line of .229/.322/.324 that he’d posted over his past two seasons. But his numbers this season are still… just not very good. His wRC+ is 91 in AAA is actually only a modest improvement on his 2023-2024 wRC+ of 88 due to the Int’l League being much more hitter friendly than the Sally and Eastern Leagues.
I guess the hope is that he ends up looking a lot like Jacob Young did last season with a little bit more pop, and ends up playing above average defense. The thing about Young, though, is that he wasn’t just above average, he was literally the best outfielder in baseball. I’m not sure that upside is in Hassell’s toolbox. But who knows, prospects have surprised us before. Jake Irvin’s transition to above average major leaguer caught me completely by surprise, so here’s to hoping that Hassell gets a fair shake (and this doesn’t turn into 2024 Nasim Nunez or Drew Millas again of wasting away on the bench), and impresses us all!
Naranjo and Boisserie actually hitting consistently on a weekly series
Well said Will. The former 30th top prospect in all of baseball will get his chance, but he has underwhelmed. I remember a top 40 overall prospect named Peter Bergeron, sizzle out with the Expos! Hope Hassell surprises.
I wish there were better historical records for minor league stats. Because I think Travis Sykora is in the middle of one of the single most dominant pitching years in MILB history. What often gets lost in Sykora’s stats is his outrageously dominant postseason. Sykora was really hitting his stride around June last season, but his 2 post season starts to basically win the FNats the championship usually don’t appear in his statline, but they were almost as ridiculous as his 2025 stats, which really tip his stats into other worldly territory.
Since June 13 to the end of the regular 2024 season, Sykora posted a 1.67 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 100 K (13.92 K/9), 18 BB (2.51 BB/9) in 64.2 IP.
But since then, he got better. A LOT BETTER.
In 2 playoff starts, he threw 10 IP, allowed 2 H, 1 BB and 18 K (0 ER).
Then this season, in 4 starts, 11 IP, he’s allowed 2 H, 3 BB, 23 K (1 ER).
That’s 21 IP with 4 H, 4 BB, 41 K and an ERA of 0.43 lololol
Altogether, since June 13 2024 (very close to a full calendar year), Sykora has the following statistical line:
20 GS, 85 IP, 0.73 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 141 K (14.89 K/9), 22 BB (2.32 BB/9), 6.41 K:BB, 0 HR allowed
More fun facts:
Sykora hasn’t allowed an extra base hit of any kind in the past 31 consecutive innings.
In these 20 games, Sykora has allowed 1 hit or fewer in 12 of those games!
This is historical. Again, MILB’s stat resources are pretty wack, but the MILB leader in ERA last season (min 60 IP) was 1.59 (Nestor German, in case you were curious). The K/9 leader was 13.89 (Moises Chace. Sykora was 2nd in all of the minors at 13.66 in 2024). WHIP leader was 0.85 (Juan Valera, Sykora was 6th). 2023’s numbers tend to be quite similar.
All that to say, Sykora’s past 365 days are blowing away the minor league leaders. This is something truly special.
But with such utterly dominant numbers, I have to ask, why is he still in Fredericksburg? There’s a reason why most pitchers don’t post stats this good: they get promoted to a more difficult level, and their performances drop off from historical to something less than that. Why, 85 IP later, is Sykora still facing woefully inadequate batters? If the point is to basically allow him to take pitching practice, then why send him to Fredericksburg instead of the FCL (or just simulated games)? Is there something he can do in Fredericksburg that he can’t against more seasoned bats in Wilmington (a specific coach or something?)? Can he not be stretched out in Wilmington too (Cavalli, for example, is clearly rebuilding his stamina while in Rochester)? There’s some point at which when you’re putting up video game numbers like this you stop learning something new and get new challenges. It seems like we’ve passed that point. But at least it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch!
My math was off. His ERA over the past year is actually 1.37, though that doesn’t exactly change any of the above points.
Really good stuff thanks for the detail. As long as Sykora can stay healthy, his ceiling is ridiculous.
Not worried at all about Sykora pitching twice in F’burg; it’s not like he’s been stuck in low A for months. Sykora is still building up his stamina; this is essentially Spring Training.
He will move up quickly. Barring an injury setback Sykora will be in Double A by the end of the season. If he keeps dominating, Sykora will be pitching for the Nats in 2026. Two years after being drafted out of HS…. That’s fast track.
Will, thanks for the research and insights. You make a great case for his promotion.
the fact that he’s only going three innings means he still rehabbing in my book. whether it’s being called that is merely procedural IMO. he’ll be in A+ when he’s back to full strength, maybe his next start