Wednesday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Probable Pitchers |
| Syracuse | Won, 3-2 | vs. Lehigh Valley, 4:35 p.m. |
Espino (0-0, 3.60) and Laffey (1-0, 1.50) vs. Ja. Thompson (0-2, 6.75) and Roibal (0-0, 8.31) |
| Harrisburg | Won, 2-1 | vs. Altoona, 12:00 p.m. |
Mapes (2-0, 3.27) vs. Eppler (1-0, 2.25) |
| Potomac | Lost, 8-6 (12 inn.) | vs. Lynchburg, 10:35 a.m. |
Fedde (0-1, 5.23) vs. Merryweather (2-0, 0.00) |
| Hagerstown | Won, 12-6 | @ Lakewood, 6:35 p.m. |
J. Rodriguez (1-1, 4.32) vs. Gilbert (0-1, 5.59) |
Syracuse 3 Lehigh Valley 2
• Jordan 4⅔ IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 4K
• Grace (W, 1-0) 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, BB, 0K
• Solis (H, 3) 2IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 4K
• Turner 1-4, R, 3B
• Skole 0-2, R, 2BB
A walk, balk, a groundout, and a sacrifice fly proved to be the difference as the Chiefs edged the IronPigs, 3-2. Taylor Jordan fell one out short of going the requisitive five innings as he was lifted with two outs and the bases loaded in the 5th. He let in both Lehigh Valley runs on eight hits and three walks over four and 2/3rds. Matt Grace got the win as he stranded three in the 5th and pitched a scoreless 6th. Sammy Solis followed with two scoreless for the hold while Rafael Martin retired the side in order in the 9th for the save. Trea Turner (triple) and Jason Martinson (double) connected for extra bases as Syracuse was limited to five hits and three walks (two by Matt Skole, who scored the gamewinning run).
Harrisburg 2 Altoona 1
• Simms (W, 1-1) 6IP, 5H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Suero (H, 2) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Ballou 3-4, 2B
• Keyes 2-4, R, HR, 2RBI
Kevin Keyes’s two-run HR in the bottom of the 1st was enough for Harrisburg’s pitchers to outduel Altoona’s, 2-1. John Simms got the win with six shutout innings, allowing five hits, no walks, and striking out five. Wander Suero turned in two scoreless for the hold, his second, while J.C. Gutierrez cordero’ed his way through the 9th with a leadoff HR, a walk, and three strikeouts on a mere 32 pitches for the save. Isaac Ballou singled twice and doubled once to lead the Sens hit column, followed by Keyes, who also singled in the 5th for a 2-for-4 night.
Lynchburg 8 Potomac 6 (12 inn.)
• Estevez 5IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K
• Glover 2IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Thomas (L, 0-1) 1IP, 1H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 1K
• Abreu 3-6, 2R, 2B
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-5, R, 2-2B, BB, 2RBI
• Ward 2-5, 2RBI
Potomac fell to .500 with their fifth loss of the current homestand, dropping an 8-6 decision in extras to Lynchburg. Wirkin “For The Weekend” Estevez went a season-high five innings but let in three runs on seven hits and no walks for the no-decision. The loss went to Justin Thomas with two runs allowed on a hit and two walks in his one inning of work. Osvaldo Abreu led the P-Nats’ 14-hit parade with a double and two singles, followed by Jose “The Orange” Marmolejos-Diaz and Drew Ward, with both corner IFs going 2-for-5 with 2RBI.
Hagerstown 12 Lakewood 6
• Avila 3IP, 4H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 2K, HBP
• Crownover (W, 2-0) 5IP, 7H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K, HR
• Schrock 5-5, 3R, 2-2B, 5RBI, 2SB
• Gutierrez 2-4, 2R, BB
• Ripken 2-5, 2B, 4RBI
The Suns hitters covered for the Suns pitchers, outslugging the Blue Claws for a 12-6 win. Pedro Avila took Taylor Hearn’s turn in the rotation and got pinched for three runs on four hits over three innings. Matthew Crownover got the win in relief with three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. Max “For Those About To” Schrock went 5-for-5 with two doubles and two stolen bases to lead the Hagerstown offense. Roster moves: LHP Connor Bach reassigned to Auburn; RHP Pedro Avila reassigned from GCL Nationals.
“Orange” and his .527 OBP and 1.259 OPS sure is making his case for a quick promotion to AA. Too bad he isn’t good enough to make milb.com’s Nats’ Top 30 prospects list!
Meanwhile, Solis and his 12/2 K/BB ratio in 7 IPs is finally staring to look like a guy who could be a successful major league pitcher.
Considering that the big club doesn’t need lefty relievers right now, and that Grace is going well, I wonder whether the Nats will think about trying Solis as a starter again. Probably not, but it’s a thought.
Considering that the Nats don’t have guys regarded as “prospects” at 1B or 3B at Harrisburg, you would think that Orange and Ward are both tracking well for early promotions. Any thoughts from Luke or anyone else who has seen Ward regularly at 3B at Potomac on whether he can stick on the left side of the infield? I’ve heard at various times that his future is probably at 1B as well.
Meanwhile, Simms and Mapes are looking pretty legit at the AA level. Austen Williams has struggled, though; I remember that Luke had some doubts about how he would do at higher levels.
Not showing up in the recap, but good ol’ Rapheal Martin just keeps getting it done in AAA. Is it me or has he always put good numbers in the minors? Does his stuff not translate to the majors? I’m actually shocked that he keeps resigning with the Nats given that he could probably make a major league club somewhere. I mean if you were the Phillies, and given the state of their bulpen, wouldn’t you try to pry him away from the Nats?
I’m sure if he wasn’t on the 40 man roster he would have left long ago, however at his age 40 man opportunities are slim.
He has been too suceptible to the big fly in the majors. I was at the stadium last year when he allowed an absolute bomb to dead center. With his lower velocity, he can’t afford to catch too much of the plate, but sometimes he does.
Fangraphs finally put up their 2016 review of the Nats farm system: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/evaluating-the-2016-prospects-washington-nationals/
They’ve done a good job. No obvious omissions or anything that stands out (except maybe that they’re much higher on Hearn than others).
Thanks, Will.
One thing that stands out is they have a very high opinion of Fedde, much higher than Voth.
For no apparent reason.
I’d love to be, but remain to be, convinced about Fedde. Some of his peripherals look fine, but I’ve yet to see any first hand scouting reports on him from 2016. I can handle control / command issues at this point, but more worrying is the fastball velocity – if he was 94-98 pre TJ surgery, he seems to be (and I’m guessing) 90-92 now. Then you have a comment, from him, after last night’s start (via Byron Kerr):
“Just the command, sharpness on some of the pitches,” Fedde told reporters. “I really feel like I’m getting my velo back. The way everything is pretty much finishing, a little bite to end of all my pitches, which is nice.”
So – if he “feels like he’s getting his velo back” – what’s he reaching? Is he back in the mid 90’s? If he’s in the mid 90’s, then it’s legitimate plus ML. If he’s only low 90’s, then depending on the movement and command, it could limit him.