Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Matchup |
| Rochester | Lost, 2-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Harrisburg | Won, 5-3 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Wilmington | Won, 4-1 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 7-0 | OFF DAY | N/A |
Toledo 2 Rochester 1
• Tetreault 5IP, 3H, R, ER, 3BB, 5K, HR
• Garrett (L, 0-1) 1+ IP, 2H, R, ER, BB, K, HR
• Noll 2-4, 2-2B, R
• Meneses 2-4, RBI
• 1-for-11 RISP
Rochester’s four-game win streak ended on a walk-off solo shot as the Mud Hens took the series final game, 2-1. Jackson Tetreault went five innings in his second start and allowed the first Toledo run on a home run. He allowed three hits, three walks, and fanned five. The loss went to Reed Garrett, who worked around a walk and a hit in the 8th before giving up the gamewinner to the first batter he faced in the 9th. Jake Noll doubled twice and scored once while Joey Meneses singled twice and drove in Noll to account for four of the nine Red Wings hits.
Roster moves: RHP Hunter Harvey recalled to Washington.
Harrisburg 5 Altoona 3
• Henry 3IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 5K
• A. Guerrero (W, 1-0) 3IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 4K
• Brill (SV, 2) 1IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Harrison 2-3, 2B, BB, 2RBI, SB
• Flores 2-4, R, HR, RBI
The Senators snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-run double off the bat of K.J. Harrison in the 6th and added one more in the 7th as they took the game, 5-3, and the series, 2-1 from the Curve. Cole Henry made his AA debut with three shutout frames, issuing a walk, allowing two hits, and fanning five. Veteran Alberto Guerrero was credited with the win despite a pedestrian two runs allowed on four hits over three innings. Likewise, Matt Brill put the tying runs on in the 9th but emerged unscathed for his second save. Harrisburg managed just five hits, including a two-run HR by Jecksson Flores and a triple by Rudy Martin. Harrison’s double was the one (1) hit delivered in eleven RISP chances.
Wilmington 4 Brooklyn 1
• Irvin 3IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 4K, WP
• C. Romero (W, 1-0) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Stainbrook (H, 1) 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Vega 2-4, R, 2-2B, 2RBI
• Antuna 2-4, 2R, 2RBI
The first five Wilmington batters reached base and three of them came around to score as the Blue Rocks took the series finale, 4-1. Jake Irvin made his first appearance since Aug. 31, 2019 and threw 53 pitches (38 for strikes) over three scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, no walks, and struck out four. Carlos Romero got the “W” with two goose eggs while Troy Stainbrook matched the feat to get the hold. Onix Vega doubled twice, scored once, and drove in a run while Yasel Antuna singled twice and scored twice to lead the Wilmington offense.
Fredericksburg 7 Delmarva 0
• A. Lara 3IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Seijas (W, 1-0) 4IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 3K
• Rivero 3-5, 2R, 2B
• J. Young 2-6, R, 2-3B, RBI
• Ge. Diaz 0-1, 2R, 4BB
Four FredNats pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout of the Shorebirds, 7-0. Delmarva walked 13 batters total, including the first three batters in the 8th as Fredericksburg broke the game open with a four-run rally, capped off by Jacob Young’s second triple of the game. Yoander Rivero led the hit column with two singles and a double as the FredNats collected seven hits total. Andry Lara got the start and tossed three scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks, and three K’s. The win went to Karlo Seijas, with three baserunners allowed across four innings while setting down three on strikes.
Both Cole Henry and Andry Lara were good, sss at 3 innings apiece.
That is stepping on the feelgood story of the day, however. Jake Irvin spent the 2020 season at the alternate site in Fredericksburg. We never heard much from that place but in October 2020 Irvin had Tommy John surgery and vanished for the next 18 months, which is normal.
He was a 4th round pick in 2018, so a lot was expected of him and he must be thrilled to be toeing the slab once again.
Someone to root for!
Some of the prospect gurus are still high on Irvin. He had been projected as a 2d-round pick until a poor outing in the NCAA tournament dropped his stock at an inopportune time.
Promising starts throughout the organization from Tetreault, Henry, Irvin, and Lara. All four have MLB possibilities.
For whatever it’s worth, Irvin posted better pitching numbers at Oklahoma than Cavalli did, almost across the board.
Don’t overlook Seijas
It’s hard to know what to think of Seijas as a “prospect.” He was “playing up” age wise at FBurg last season but wasn’t good, by almost any measure. But he’s only 21 now, so there’s still plenty of time for him.
Since the others have pointed out the very good starting pitching performances, I’ll highlight some positives with the bats.
Yasel Antuna had 4 hits through his first 19 games. It’s only taken him 2 games to reach that mark this season.
Luis Garcia DIDN’T commit an error in a game, but was notably playing at 2B after making 4 errors in 5 games at short. Has the experiment of moving Garcia back to SS already ended not even a week into the season??
Jacob Young has come flying out the gates so far. 3 triples in 3 games!
Meanwhile, the FNats whole order has demonstrated an extreme patience, having walked 27 times in their past two games. Their team OBP sits at .453 right now. Haha. It’s been in part due to the hapless Yeancarlos Lleras of the Shorebirds, who’s now walked 7 and allowed 1 hit without recording a single out yet. Poor guy could use a longer spring training.
Antuna sure came out of the gate fast. It has to help that he is not failing every day at short.
Will — good catch on the move of Garcia back to 2B. It will be interesting to watch if they do that just for a few games while he tries to regain his fielding confidence, or if it’s permanent. Coincidentally or not, the move coincided with Lucius Fox’s first start at SS for the big club.
Glad that Antuna is off to a better start. We certainly have examples in the organization with Taylor and Souza of guys repeating A+ and finally figuring things out. And with the sunk costs in him, he’ll be given every opportunity. Still, I’ll remain a skeptic, particularly that he’ll show the power necessary to play a corner position at the MLB level. But I’ll be glad for him to prove me wrong.
FWIW, Young’s season high for triples in college was . . . three. Interestingly, the Nats seem to have Young running a lot more than in college. At U of FLA in 2021, he stole 13 bases (caught once) in 60 games, then stole 13 more (without being caught) in only 26 games as a pro.
Before the season, the Nats said that they planned to split Garcia’s time between SS and 2B. Think they are just following thru with that plan.
Realize its early, and the organization has a ton of holes, but this feels a lot different than last season. Last year, it was hard to find any bright spots on a day to day basis as the Nats’ farm teams were routinely bludgeoned. It’s not just the wins (which are nice), but the top prospects are off to solid starts. Lots of work to do, but encouraging.