Monday’s News & Notes
| Team | Yesterday | Today | Pitching Probables |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester | Won, 9-7 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Harrisburg | Won, 5-4 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Wilmington | Won, 8-5 | OFF DAY | N/A |
| Fredericksburg | Won, 11-0 | OFF DAY | N/A |
Rochester 9 Buffalo 7
• Z. Kent 1⅔ IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 3K, HR
• Krook (W, 3-1) 1⅓ IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 3K, 2-0 IR-S
• Wallace 3-3, 2R, 2B, HR, RBI
• Hayes 2-4, R, HR, 4RBI
• Peguero 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, E(8)
The Red Wings fell behind 2-0 early but scored in five straight “ups” to take the series, 4-2, and the finale, 9-7. Zak Kent gave up single runs in the 1st and 2nd innings on three hits and a walk while getting five outs. Matt Krook stranded two and got the next four outs with no hits, one walk, and three whiffs, which was good enough for the win in the reliever parade. Cayden Wallace was a triple shy of the cycle while extending his hit streak to eight games while Kyle Hayes singled, homered, and drove in four to lead the Rochester offense.
Harrisburg 5 Chesapeake 4
• Clemmey 5IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 1BB, 5K, 2HR
• Gaston (W, 4-5) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, 0K, HBP
• Lomavita 3-4, 2R, 2HR, 4RBI
• Green 2-4, R, 2B(5)
• Wood 1-3, R, HR, RBI
Chad Lomavita walked off Chesapeake with his second HR of the game, a two-run number with one out in the 9th for a 5-4 win. Alex Clemmey gave up all four BaySox runs on seven hits (two HR) and a walk while striking out five. Sandy Gaston loaded the bases in the 9th on two walks and a hit batsman but escaped the jam, which netted him his fourth win. Lomavita also had an RBI single and totaled four RBI while Elijah Green singled, doubled, and scored ahead the walkoff and James Wood went deep once in three trips to the plate. Roster moves: OF James Wood assigned from Washington for MLB Rehab.
Wilmington 8 Jersey Shore 5
• L. Sullivan 2⅔ IP, 7H, 4R, 4ER, 2BB, 4K
• Huizi (BS, 4; W, 7-5) 1IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 0K, HR
• Biven (SV, 2) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Walsh 2-4, 2R, 2HR, 3RBI, 2K
• Banks 2-4, 2B
• Cruz 2-5, R, 2B, HR, 3RBI
The Blue Rocks went deep four times in an 8-5 win over the BlueClaws. Liam Sullivan was pinched for four runs on seven hits and two walks over two and 2/3rds innings. It was the 13th time in 26 appearances he’s given up three or more runs. Eiker Huizi gave up a solo HR in the 6th for his fourth blown save but was credited with the win when Ronny Cruz hit an RBI double in the 7th. Tucker Biven worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save. Jacob Walsh homered twice and drove in three as did Cruz while going 2-for-5 to power the Wilmington offense.
Fredericksburg 11 Delmarva 0
• Colon 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Meckley (W, 5-4) 3⅔ IP, 4H, 0R, 4BB, 4K
• D. Tejeda 2-5, 3RBI,
• Soto 2-5, 2R, 3B, RBI, OF assist @ 3B
• Williams 2-4, 2R, 3B, RBI, OF assist @ HP
• James 2-6, 2R, 3B, 2K
Fredericksburg reverted to the mean and defenestrated Delmarva, 11-0 for the third shutout in the series. Five pitchers combined on the seven-hit shutout, with Leodarlyn Colon opening with two perfect innings and Xander Meckley picking up the win, though he put eight baserunners on in three and 2/3rds innings and was bailed out with a double play and a runner thrown out at third base. The FredNats marched to a 12-hit parade with Elian Soto, Jordan Williams, and Coy James each hitting a triple and Hunter Hines hitting his 13th HR.
Lindsay , Mick , John Mc: Monday morning you sure loook fine Ike the sweep of games by affiliates Sunday
I repeat who pitched worse ?
Sulli bloody sulli or Cos – groove ?
Crash Davis would be yelling out at Grovover : bring that meat .
Wilmington playoff picture with Ace Riley Revel tell Maddox
Msybe the PA guy in Delaware should play Billy idols rebel yell
Todd : cooper calgron makes how many UdfA arms signed for “ the process “?
Interesting : James Wood gets to be around
Elijah Green ..
Likes second HR Monday night bright a Walter Matttheau phrase out of me
Holy Moly .
The wonder of Waldron for three
If Wilmington was not playoff hungry Walsh would go jam at Harrisburg for Delino .
Instead of swinging with Sinatra it’s swinging with Walsh
play offs have nothing to do with promotions
Riley Maddox farm arm of 2026
Who is hitter of the year
Monday morning Walsh vibe with sunrise
Lipscomb provably gets the nod from most
So now we are arriving at Sept 1, where we can go from 26 to 28 players by adding 1 position player and 1 pitcher.
I presume James Wood will be added, so adding another position player on top of him could mean optioning Pinckney. They could also consider DFAing Tena or Vivas.
Seaver King would be a candidate but if adding him to the 40 means he gets locked out next year, that might not be advisable. Keeping him off the 40 allows him to play in MiLB in case of a lockout.
Lipscomb has put in 5 years of minor league service time and a small amount (< 1/2 season) of MLB service time. I think 6 years is required for him to be a minor league free agent. So I'm not sure what happens if he is not put on the 40. Maybe he is rule 5 eligible then? Anyway, I'm not sure what the approach is with him.
There are no position players who are on the 40 but not on the 26 other than James Wood.
So I expect just James Wood to be added.
When it comes to pitchers, there are a number of pitchers we have seen already that are currently at AAA. Pitchers who haven't appeared for the Nats yet but are on the 40 are Kyle Nicolas (more BB than IP at Rochester) and Wyatt Mills (on the IL). Outside the 40 Jared Simpson has put up good numbers this year, although he gave up 4 runs as an opener in his last appearance. He is left-handed but has been passed up this year for various other LH relievers.
I expect one of the two players obtained at the deadline, Bird or Cruz, to be added. Or maybe Eddy Yean.
In a surprise twist, Morales will get one of the roster spots!
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/08/nationals-to-select-yohandy-morales.html
Toboni, since you seem to be reading the comments section, please also promote Wallace or King and DFA Vivas or Tena.
A really good strong final push from the bats. The org collectively started red hot, but mid May-July was pretty bleak for most prospects. Good to see not just Fitz-Gerald, but Cruz, Cabrera, Lomavita, among others showing signs of life.
I’m so tired of the Nats’ blind infatuation with platoon splits. Tena and Vivas, who are on the roster due to their theoretical favorable match up against RHPs, can’t ACTUALLY hit RHPs. Tena has a .673 OPS (86 wRC+) and Vivas a .680 OPS (92 wRC+) this season, which are in line with their career averages.
And that doesn’t even touch upon the fact that both players are some of the worst defenders I’ve witnessed in a long time. They both liabilities to the team at the plate and behind the ball.
You can’t convince me that King, with a .904 OPS vs RHPs (and 1.062 vs LHPs), or Cayden Wallace a .917 OPS vs RHPs (and .847 vs LHPs), or Yohandy Morales .870 OPS vs RHPs (.913 OPS vs LHPs), or Trey Lipscomb .818 vs RHPs (and 1.144 vs LHPs) are worse options than Vivas and Lipscomb. In the same league last season, Vivas had a .722 OPS and Tena a .736 OPS vs RHPs, for comparison.
And all of them, except Morales, would be SIGNIFICANT defensive upgrades with MORE positional versatility.
This season is a lost cause at this point. The least they can do is see what they’ve got in AAA. And if they absolutely insist on playing service time manipulation games with King, there’s no excuse to not bring up Morales, Lipscomb or Wallace.
It’s not about service time manipulation; it is about the lockout. If there is a lockout, nobody on a major league contract is allowed to have anything to do with baseball. No play; no coaching; no development, except what they can do on their own. The people on a minor league contract can still play, and develop their skills.
Since the lockout may well last a while, the shutdown of a developing player is not worth a month of MLB time.
If that’s the case, then why are so many other teams are doing the opposite of the Nats? A bunch of teams out of contention (or looong shots at a WC spot) are still promoting their best prospects to the majors because they’re ready. Why are the Nationals’ prospects (and in the case of Morales, Wallace and Lipscomb – they’re hardly prospects at all) too special?
The Mariners, long out of a playoff spot, promoted Kade Anderson last week, a consensus top 10 prospect. The Tigers, also far from a playoff spot, promoted Max Clark, another consensus top 10 prospect. The Twins, a long shot for a wild card spot, promoted Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins, consensus top 25 overall prospects. The Cardinals, another long WC shot, promoted Joshua Baez, a top 50 overall prospect.
Meanwhile, Morales is rated around the Nats’ 35th best prospect, Wallace is also rated somewhere around 35-40th and Lipscomb is not a prospect at all.
Will, first of all, I greatly appreciate your posts.
I think you answered your own question. The players you mention from the other teams are top level prospects. Those teams are willing to roll the dice that these guys will be good no matter what (i.e. getting locked out). The Nats players are putting up big AAA numbers but may just be products of our new regime’s hitting tutelage.
I think it also likely that our decisions will be those of the ultra-small market style (Rays/Guardians) and not the mid-level teams you cite.
Maybe I’m wrong and we’ll see a revamp tomorrow. But I don’t think so, especially since this group wants to set up LH and RH-oriented lineups. Hopefully they get better players than Tena and Vivas in the future.
Ok, then promote top 100 prospect Seaver King instead 🙂
I just listed some of the best prospects recently promoted. But there’s loads more “30th best prospect in the system” types that have also been promoted too that are barely worth mentioning unless you religiously follow your org’s prospects like we do here. But here goes, in addition to the uber prospects listed above:
The Tigers also promoted Andrew Sears last week, their 14th best prospect, and Brett Callahan, their 18th best prospect.
The Cardinals promoted Quinn Mathews, their 8th best prospect, plus Cade Winquest and Luis Gastelum (somewhere like their 30-40th best prospects).
The Mariners also promoted Brock Rodden, their 19th best prospect.
But if you prefer the ultra small market teams instead (I excluded them as they’re both actual playoff contenders): the Guardians have promoted the following prospects in the past month or so:
Angel Genao – top 10 overall prospect, Guardians’ #1
Cooper Ingle – Guards’ #5
Daniel Espino – #13
Khalil Watson – #16
Franco Aleman – #27
Petey Halpin – 20ish overall prospect, who’s now graduated off most lists
It’s true the Rays have not promoted much in terms of their minor league talent, but that’s largely because they were super active at the trade deadline, acquiring 4 players on the 26 man roster. Also, they have the 2nd best record in baseball; they don’t need help from the minors.
So again, this concern about how promoting prospects will stunt their development appears to be a concern unique to the Nationals. Why aren’t other teams doing the same as us if this is a very real concern?
From all the great offensive performances and improvements this year, Walsh has got to be the biggest one. I know he is old for the level, but what a year he’s had seemingly out of nowhere..
Amazing what a change to the PD staff can do…
Having said that though, there seems to be very little of the same kind of massive improvement on the pitching side 🙁
Nats POTY awards came early this year:
Hitter of the Year: Seaver King
Pitcher of the Year: Miguel Sime Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Pinckney
Baserunner of the Year: Eli Willits
Nationals Way Award: Maxwell Romero Jr.
HOTY, POTY and BROTY were pretty easy choices. But Defensive POTY and Nationals Way are surprises to me. Pinckney hasn’t looked particularly special defensively in DC so far, but I have to assume regular Rochester watchers and Nats brass have a better read here. It’s also great to see Romero get some recognition for his fabulous, came-completely-out-of-nowhere season. If Ford doesn’t figure out how to right the ship, or he or Ruiz get injured, Romero should be next in the mix for catching duties.
FWIW, this is the last regular season week for the F-Nats and Blue Rocks. H’Burg has two weeks left and Rochester has three weeks to go.
I don’t have a reply option to Will’s last post, but he makes good points. I guess we’re just special (very small market team not in playoff contention).
Maybe Pirates and Reds are best comps 🙂