Sunday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
| Rochester | Won, 3-2 | vs. Omaha, 1:05 p.m. | Peralta (2-4, 4.84) vs. Marsh (1-0, 1.80) |
| Harrisburg | Lost, 7-2 | @ Richmond, 1:35 p.m. | Troop (3-5, 4.91) vs. Black (0-4, 4.35) |
| Wilmington | Lost, 6-1; Won, 5-4 |
vs. Aberdeen, 1:05 p.m. | Theophile (0-2, 4.10) vs. Lloyd (2-3, 4.43) |
| Fredericksburg | Lost, 3-2 | @ Columbia, 5:05 p.m. | Caceres (3-0, 4.66) vs. Veliz (1-3, 4.72) |
| FCL Nationals | Lost, 18-2 | OFF DAY | |
| DSL Nationals | Won, 2-0 Wait. What? | OFF DAY |
Rochester 3 Omaha 2
• Banda 5IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 7K, HR, PTV
• Machado (W, 1-0) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 0K
• Adams 2-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Martin 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
The Red Wings posted a picket fence in the late innings to come back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to catch and pass the Storm Chasers, 3-2. Anthony Banda went a season-hight five innings, allowing one run on two this and a walk while striking out seven. Andrés Machado picked up the win in relief after issuing a walk in a scoreless 9th. Matt Adams and Richie Martin both went 2-for-4, with Adams hitting a game-tying HR in the 8th and Martin scoring the winning run in the 9th after leading off with a double. Roster moves: RHP Paolo Espino recalled to Washington.
Richmond 7 Harrisburg 2
• M. Cuevas 5IP, 8H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 4K
• Alston (L, 2-3) 1⅓ IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 2K
• Hassell 2-4, R, BB, SB, OF assist @ HP
• Wood 1-3, BB, SB(5)
• 1-9 RISP; 9 LOB
After Harrisburg tied it at 2-2 with a sac fly in the 7th, Richmond answered with four and added another in the 8th to hand the Sens their third straight loss. Michael Cuevas scattered eight hits over five innings, letting in two while walking two and striking out four. Garvin Alston took the loss, coughing up the aforementioned four runs on five hits over an inning and a 1/3rd. Robert Hassell reached base three time with a walk and two singles while James Wood walked and singled to lead the Harrisburg offense.
Aberdeen 6 Wilmington 1 – GM. 1
• Bennett (L, 0-1) 5IP, 4H, 3R, 1ER, 2BB, 6K,
• House 2-3, R, HR, RBI
• Frizzell 1-3, 3B
The IronBirds strafed the Blue Rocks for three in the 1st and cruised to a 6-1 win in the opener. Jake Bennett gave up all three of those runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out six, but lost for the first time at High-A. Brady House homered for the second time in as many games to break up the shutout in the 3rd and also singled. Will Frizzell tripled and Jeter Downs doubled as Wilmington tallied just five hits.
Wilmington 5 Aberdeen 4 – GM. 2
• Luckham 4⅔ IP, 8H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 1K
• C. Romero 2IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Schoff (W, 4-3) 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Emiliani 3-4, R, 2-2B(6), HR, 3RBI
• McKenzie 2-3, BB, RBI, CS, OF assist @ 2B
• Farmer 1-2, R, BB
In the nightcap, the Blue Rocks gave up four in the 1st and then—get this—settled in and shut down the IronBirds to tie in regulation and win in extras, 5-4. Kyle Luckham* started and gave up all four runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out one over four and 2/3rds. Carlos Romero stranded three while getting out of the 5th and Tyler Schoff stranded two finishng the 7th. The two combined for three and a 1/3rd scoreless innings with Schoff getting the win with a 1-2-3 eighth. Leandro Emiliani homered and doubled twice, with the second two-bagger plating the free runner for the walkoff win. Jared McKenzie also reached base three times with a walk and two singles.
Columbia 3 Fredericksburg 2
• Lord 5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K
• Grissom 1⅓ IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 2K, 3BK
• Witt 2-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Lawson 2-4, 2B, RBI
Back-to-back balks by Marquis Grissom Jr. in the 9th sent Fredericksburg to its second 3-2 walkoff loss this series and third straight overall. Grissom gave up the final run on a walk after working around two hits in the 8th. Brad Lord started and went the first five innings, allowing one run on three hits an no walks while striking out five. Paul Witt doubled and homered while Cortland Lawson singled and doubled in the second FredNats run to lead the six-hit effort. Roster moves: 1B Blake Klassen, 2B John McHenry reassigned from the FCL.
FCL Marlins 18 FCL Nationals 2
• Zapata 4IP, 4H, 1R, 0ER, 1BB, 3K
• Luis (L, 1-3) 1⅔ IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, 3BB, 1K
• Fox 2-2, R, BB, 2B
• Cox 1-4, 2B
Believe it or not, the F-Nats actually led this 2-1 after 3½ innings before the F-Marlins effed up the ‘pen for 17 unanswered runs in an 18-2 bitch-slapping. Genderson Zapata got the start and allowed one unearned run on four hits and a walk over four innings. Andy Luis “worked on some things” for 13 batters and got five of them out. Four of the eight baserunners he put on came around to score in his third loss of the season. Lucius Fox toyed with the FCL Marlins pitchers for a single, double, and a walk as the DH, which is a shame because had he been in the field, odds are pretty good the F-Nats wouldn’t have committed six (6) errors. Roster moves: Zion Pettigrew reassigned from Fredericksburg.
DSL Nationals 2 DSL Mariners 0
• Portorreal (W, 1-1) 5IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 4K
• Roman (SV, 1) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Bautista 2-3, 2SB
• Acevedo 2-3, RBI
Our long DSL Nationals nightmare is over. The kids in the D.R. finally got the superb pitching to go with the subpar offense as two pitchers combined to shut out the D-Mariners, 2-0 on three hits. 17-y.o. Leuris Portorreal went the first five and allowed two hits along with a walk and four whiffs to pick up his first professional win. 19-y.o. Angel gave up one hit, no walks, and fanned two to get his first career save. 17-y.o. Andy Acevedo singled twice and drove in a run while 18-y.o. Jeremy Bautista had two safeties and two steals to lead the DSL Nationals’ six-hit barrage.
Jeremy de la Rosa bounced back nicely in May (.329/.421/.537) from a pretty awful April (.200/.302/.236), but his June has turned into a repeat of his April. He’s hitting .225/.295/.310 and the strikeouts are up again (29 in 78 PA, 37%).
Our other toolsy OF, Elijah Green, did the opposite. He had an okay April (.261/.346/.406), but followed that with a bad May (.233/.380/.288) though the walks left something to give hope to. That’s disappeared in June, hitting .143/.225/.222. The strikeouts, as always, are still there (32 in 71 PA or 45%). Is it that pitching is learning how to (quite easily) beat him? Or is he further regressing at the plate. Either way, they’re ugly stats.
On the positive side, while Wood may not be wowing us all like he was in Wilmington, he’s still playing very well in Harrisburg. It takes time to adjust from A+ to AA, but he hasn’t struggled as much as you’d expect. His peripherals (K%, BB%, ISO, etc.) are all largely consistent with his time in A+, and his line of .247/.330/.482 is just depressed due to a lower BABIP. All in all a very good first month in Harrisburg.
Brady House too has handled his promotion well. He’s actually increased his OPS in Fredericksburg by .004 points from .869 to .873, but interestingly he’s playing like a different person. His walks have all but disappeared (1 in 35 PA or 2.9% from 10% in Fburg), but he’s actually hitting for more power (SLG increased from .500 to .559) and the same ability to hit for average .297 in A and .294 in A+. I’ll be interested to see if he retains his free swinging ways as the season drags on. But a very good response to his promotion!
Waiting to hear the news that Elijah is going back to Florida. He has been especially brutal lately. I saw where a scout suggested they try to dalvage him by reworking his swing and getting his vision checked.
Paul Witt eating his spinach like
Popeye ?
Can the Nats draft like other orgs
Finding some real diamonds in the rough power arms in rounds 3-10?
Those who escape TJ?
I’m also curious to see what becomes of our two former top prospect shortstops who can’t hit above the Mendoza line. Downs and Fox returned around the same time and are working their ways back to AAA. We may need to stash one of them at AA, because I don’t see how we’ll have space for both of them. Alu is occupying 3B/2B, and Ricky Martin has been playing respectably at SS. In AA, Valera (SS) and Arruda (2B) shouldn’t be blocking anyone.
Downs has still shown an inability to hit for an semblance of “for average”, but he’s taking walks at an interesting rate. No doubt, the raw and wild FCL pitchers helped with this, but he’s struck out in 5 of 7 plate appearances in Wilmington so far.
Fox, meanwhile, is still stuck in the FCL, sporting a comical line: .833/.889/1.000. That too is abetted by the state of FCL pitching, but it will be interesting to see how he rises.
Both now have 2+ seasons of really poor play, so I’m not expecting anything out of them, but for whatever reason Nats brass indicated they thought they had something useful in both players. If either one could get hot, it could lead to some interesting decisions to be made at the upper minor league levels (and maybe in DC?).
Finally, hooray for the DSL Nats finally getting a win. Whoever assembled this team should get a performance review soon, because everything about it is bad. The hitters are the worst in the DSL by a wide margin. Their team OPS is .525, the next worst team is .067 better at .592. League average is .222 points better at .747. Also, the Nats are one of 9 other teams to only field one team, so their squad should naturally be better than most, since their talent is concentrated in one squad rather than spread out across two. They’re the only team to not have hit a HR yet, and are in last or near last in almost every offensive category. One positive thing to note is that batters are one of the youngest in the league.
On the pitching side, the DSL Nats aren’t the worst, they’re just consistently below average. Their team ERA is 5.98 compared to league average of 5.34. They do have the 5th worst strikeout rate (8.3/9IP), compared to the league’s average of 9.4, on the bright side they’re walking batters below league average.
All around, though, this team is a big drop off from previous years (and previous years’ team haven’t been good). There’s meant to be some interesting players, mostly hitters, but it seems the coaching there isn’t doing its job, because the team is almost universally struggling. Hopefully this first taste of winning will turn things around.
Sunday straw poll
Crews or Skenes ??
Aside from what we don’t know what PITT thinking
I’m a long time believer in PP over pitcher at top of draft. Everyday elite talent over once every 5 days.
@joedoylemilb on twitter just reported that the word is Pittsburgh is going to get Skenes on an underslot deal and the Nats will get Crews on an overslot deal. Doyle is pretty reliable. He nailed Green and Bennett early on last year. Credit also to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN who said early on the Nats would do what they could to force Crews down.
I buy that John
The real rebuild aspect which may play out is Nats signing a sage veteran starter like they did with Max .
I wonder if they go for a Bennett type at 40. Perhaps Will Sanders from South Carolina. He was rated highly, but had a tough season. Some pitcher that needs a fix (Bennett had an inconsistent slider) I would love a young SS. There seems to be a weakness in the system.