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Friday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Pitching Probables
Rochester Won, 9-7 @ Syracuse, 6:35 p.m. Tetreault (3-2, 3.40) vs. F. Peña (0-5, 5.31)
Harrisburg Lost, 5-2 vs. Altoona, 7 p.m. Kilome (0-1, 9.00) vs. Ortiz (1-2, 5.06)
Wilmington Lost, 5-2 @ Aberdeen, 6:35 p.m. Parker (2-0, 2.39) vs. Feliz (3-0, 5.11)
Fredericksburg Won, 12-1 vs. Salem, 7:05 p.m. Rutledge (0-2, 14.85) vs. W. Gonzalez (1-1, 2.83)

Rochester 9 Syracuse 7
• Sharp 4IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 3K, HR, HBP
• Clippard (W, 1-1) 1⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K, 1-1 IR-S
• Weems (SV, 6) ⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K, 2-2 IR-S
• Meneses 3-5, 2R, 2HR(10), 4RBI
• Barrera 2-4, 2B, 3RBI
• García 2-5, R, E(6)

Rochester rallied for three in the 7th and five in the 8th to erase a 5-1 deficit and held off Syracuse late to win, 9-7. Sterling Sharp went the first four innings and let in two runs on five hits (one HR) and two walks. He struck out three and hit a batter. The win was credited to Tyler Clippard despite allowing an inherited runner to score while Jordan Weems gave up both of his inherited runners while closing out the 9th to notch his sixth save. Joey Meneses homered twice, including a three-run shot in the 8th, and drove in four while Tres Barrera singled, doubled, and drove in three, with the last two providing the margin of victory.

Altoona 5 Harrisburg 2
• Herrera (L, 3-3) 5IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, 1BB, 4K, 2HR, HBP, WP
• B. González 2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Dunn 2-3, 2RBI
• Alu 0-2, 2BB, E(5)

The Curve scored in each of their first three “ups” as they extended the Sens’ losing streak to five with a 5-2 win. Ronald Herrera ended his streak of quality starts at three as he was charged with all five Altoona runs on eight hits (two HR) and a walk over five innings. He struck out four while losing his third game. Jack Dunn broke up the shutout bid with a two-run single in the 8th – the fourth and final hit of the night for Harrisburg. It was also the sole hit in five RISP chances.

‘Aberdeen 5 Wilmington 2
• Cate 5IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 5K
• C. Romero (BS, 1; L, 1-2) 2IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 1BB, 3K, HR, WP, 2-0 IR-S
• Daily 2-4, SB
• Jo. Sánchez 2-4, 2B(5), RBI

Aberdeen erased a 2-0 deficit with a five-run 8th to beat Wilmington, 5-2. Tim Cate pitched five full innings for the first time in four starts and allowed no runs for the second time as the 24-y.o. grounded the IronBirds on three hits and two walks while setting down five on strikes. Carlos Romero stranded two in the 7th but let in three in the 8th for the blown-save-loss. José Sánchez singled, doubled, and drove in a run while Cole Daily singled twice to account for four of the eight Blue Rocks hits. Wilmington went 2-for-12 with RISP and left on seven.

Fredericksburg 12 Salem 1
• Theophile (W, 4-1) 5⅓ IP, 3H, 0R, 2BB, 4K, HBP
• Threadgill (H, 2) 1⅔ IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 1K
• Arias 3-4, 2R, 2B, HR, 4RBI, CS
• J. Young 3-4, 2R, BB, 2B, RBI
• De La Rosa 3-5, 2R, RBI, 2SB (16), E(5)
• V. Peña 2-4, 2R, 2-3B, E(6)

The FredNats got an early field goal in the 1st, a touchdown and an extra point in the 7th, and a safety in the 8th as they pummeled the Red Sox, 12-1 to stop a three-game losing streak. Rodney Theophile became the first starter in the minors to win four games with five and 1/3rd scoreless innings, three hits and two walks allowed, and four whiffs. Andry Arias was a triple shy of the cycle while driving four and scoring twice while Jeremy De La Rosa singled three times, scored twice, and stole two bases to lead Fredericksburg’s 16-hit parade. Sorry, boys, no beers – both Yoander Rivero and Steven Williams went hitless.

24 Commments

  1. Correction: Tyler Clippard is 3-0. In May he has 10.2 IP and zero ERA, so I guess it’s not inconceivable that we would see him with the Nats.

    The mystery man is Viandel Pena, with his 945 OPS (20 BB), who I don’t see on the watchlist.

    1. I’ve been high on Peña forever. The way he plays reminds me of Adam Eaton…as does his stature.

      Fully expect we see Clippard brought up around Memorial Day, but then again, I thought we’d see him sooner. Arano can be optioned or Voth DFA’d (at long last). Adrianza ought to be up today or if not then very soon too.

  2. The perpetually forgotten Jose Ferrer had another outstanding outing, going 2 IP striking out 5, allowing only one hit and no earned runs (one unearned). Still only 22, he sports a tiny 1.42 ERA, an outstanding 24:1 K:BB ratio, and perhaps most impressive a 0.68 WHIP through 19 IP.

    He’s been on my radar for a while, but no one else has paid him much attention. If any regular readers manage to see him in person, I’d love to hear more about his stuff. There’s absolutely nothing out there about him, and yet he’s consistently dominated batters in each of his four professional seasons. There must be something there!

  3. I’ll ask again, but does anyone have news on Alfonso Hernandez?

    Since I last asked, MiLB.com sneaked in a retroactive update that he’s on the IL. But any idea of what caused it? He was healthy up until his last start in September 2021. Any injury would’ve occurred in the off season.

    1. Some other players missing in action: Will Frizzell, Daniel Marte, Roismar Quintana and Aldo Ramirez. With Marte and Quintana, I expect the plan is for them to repeat the FCL. But Frizzell and Ramirez should be more advanced than that. Frizzell is a polished college bat, and Ramirez was blowing away hitters in A ball when we acquired him from the Red Sox.

      Other injured pitchers: Tyler Dyson, Holden Powell, Todd Peterson, Cole Quintanilla, who’ve yet to appear this year due to injury. Any hope we’ll see them before the end of the season?

      1. I thought I saw something indicating that Ramirez had an arm issue, but I can’t remember where.

        I share the disappointment that Frizzell has yet to get a look. I suspect that they thought that they would be able to move the higher-drafted Boissiere up quickly to clear a space for Frizzell, but Boissiere is only at .221 after two hits last night. And after a hot start, Emiliani is down to .233. He really shouldn’t be standing in the way of a prospect, though.

      2. There was a picture of Aldo Ramirez on twitter presumably post Tommy John surgery. He was lying in a hospital bed.

  4. Luke the canines were on patrol early like my tuxedo dude ??
    So . Draft upcoming . 5 slot in first round . Hence second 35
    Third 70.. cool.. that second pick
    Could be another dude ..

      1. Nats picks are #5, 45, 84, 111, and +30 for each pick thereafter. But yes, they really need to get more “dudes,” preferably totally rad ones.

  5. Not sure what they’ve got in Theophile, but it’s definitely time to find out at a higher level. In other pitching news, it’s good to see Cate finally have a strong outing. Hard to know what’s going on with him, but he’s really struggled overall.

    1. Interesting tidbit on Theophile, he’s inducing an insane amount of groundballs: 65.7%. Compared to the major leagues, that would very narrowly miss being the best GB% in MLB (Framber Valdez sits at 65.8%).

      Usually groundballers don’t have the swing-and-miss stuff, but prefer to induce (weak) contact. But Theophile is striking guys out at 11.42 K/9. It’s a really impressive combination! I hope it’s not just statistical, small sample noise.

      1. If you have MiLB.tv (or if you live close to FXBG, which I do not), I recommend watching Theophile’s starts. He sure passes the eye test. Didn’t really have his best command yesterday pitching through a steady rain and still pretty much dominated wire to wire. His stuff looks legit with a mid-90s fastball that looks like a shot put, a man-eating curveball, and an improving changeup he uses a lot in the second and third time through the order. It’s not like he’s throwing 89-90 with a shapeless slider and just getting lucky out there.

  6. I guess we are all watching for some kind of player movement. We are starting to see batters with over 100 AB, starting pitchers > 30 IP and relievers around the 20 IP mark.

    I guess the move that is coming soon is the Adrianza move, which I think would have implications for Strange-Gordon (maybe Escobar) if it were to happen now. I’m sure the Nats want to be able to rest Franco and Cesar – Adrianza played 2B, SS and 3B last night.

    Other than that, the Nats can wait until there are injuries, or juggle things when the FCL starts (June 6, I think).

    The post on Jose Ferrer, who is (drum roll) left-handed, made me think – who made it through the Nats system to the big club as a minor-league reliever? There’s

    Drew Storen
    Wander Suero
    Aaron Barrett
    Matt Grace

    I think it’s a pretty small group considering the number of relievers on these affiliates. Maybe I’m missing some people. (There’s people like Austin Adams and Trevor Gott who came from elsewhere, or minor-league starters like Treinen and Voth ).

    1. Gabe Klobosits will always have that 2021 cup of coffee! And based on how he’s faring in the PCL with Seattle, it might be his only shot.

      Also Koda Glover too.

      1. If we are doing cups of coffee we can include James Borque and Austen Williams (switched to relief in AA). Members of the 2019 world champion Washington Nationals.

  7. Can you post from the 2021 Draft
    .What are the stats of Nats college players only in first full season and what level

    1. You can click on the link “The Nats Draft Tracker” on this site and you will see a spreadsheet that will provide you with the list of college players from the 2021 draft – then go to the Fredericksburg and Wilmington sites to see numbers (or lack of numbers for the guys who haven’t played there yet).

  8. The bigger promotional issue involves Garcia. I think someone had calculated that they would reach the service time milestone they’re trying to manipulate him for in early June. Strange-Gordon hasn’t been an MLB regular at SS since 2012, and it shows. The Nats seem to want Garcia to play 2B in the long term, but that slot won’t be open until they trade Cesar Hernandez at midseason. And they’re a lot more desperate at SS right now.

    Adrianza has a long record of not being very good at the MLB level. They gain nothing by playing him, other than looking more and more like the Orioles. (Sigh.)

    1. Figure Adrianza and García come up this weekend or early next week, which could be it for both Strange-Gordon and Escobar. DSG had a nice day at the plate yesterday, FWIW. Nats could also opt to cut back to 13 pitchers early, or maybe Robles or Thomas could be sent down, though that doesn’t seem very likely.

  9. Rodney Theophile to the rescue!
    Viandel Pena and Jeremy De La Rosa keep raking and make the Nats look dumb for not promoting them.
    Meanwhile Emiliani and Infante sit on the bench, not getting enough chances to grow.

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