No Nationals baseball at all today across the five clubs, so a Nats Minors Monday should make the off-day all the more enjoyable for those missing the action.
Another one-win week for the FredNats while No. 3 prospect Elijah Green struggled at the plate, but, Daylen Lile on the other hand — the club’s No. 16 prospect — had himself a week at the plate for Low-A Fredericksburg among others with this level’s loaded pool of prospects.
Green hit just .188 on the week while striking out in 11 of his 19 plate appearances — his season strikeout rate is now at a clip of 50.9 percent, which is seemingly rather concerning.
The left-handed-hitting Lile was 6-for-15 (.400) with four walks and a homer on the week in his 19 plate appearances. The outfielder upped his season wRC+ to an impressive mark of 185 this week.
No. 9 prospect Jake Bennett also shined in Wednesday’s outing, as the left-hander went five innings allowing just a run on three hits and two walks while striking out nine. The fellow 6-foot-6 hurler Jarlin Susana (No. 6) also went a strong four innings in Thursday’s start for Fredericksburg, allowing an identical run on three hits while the righty walked three and punched out five.
On the rehab side of things, however, No. 2 prospect Robert Hassell III went just 3-for-19 (.158) at the plate for the FredNats, though he did walk six times. The rehabbing 27-year-old in Donovan Casey also went just 2-for-14 (.143) but walked five times.
No. 5 prospect Brady House played in just three of the five games and hit just .286 on the week, but went 3-for-5 Thursday with a homer. No. 14 prospect Roismar Quintana also saw just three games but hit .500 in 14 plate appearances with four walks, including a triple Friday night.
An interesting note as well — Saturday’s game was suspended in the bottom of the second inning and will be resumed when the two teams play each other on May 30.
FredNats week record: 1-4
POTW: Daylen Lile
FredNats record: 4-10
Next series: @ Lynchburg
The Blue Rocks went above .500 on the week in Brooklyn, with Sunday’s matchup getting rained out.
No. 1 Nats prospect James Wood saw only one hit in four games at the plate this week (1-for-15/.067), though he at least worked three walks and was hit by a pitch. Top-30 outfield prospects Trey Lipscomb and Jared McKenzie both hit under .200 on the week, though 10th-ranked prospect outfielder T.J. White had four hits (.258) with six walks.
On the mound, 15th-ranked Andry Lara went 5 1/3 innings Thursday, allowing four runs but it was later changed to just one earned run — lowering his season ERA from 4.70 to 2.93. His final line read 5.1 IP, three hits, four runs (one earned), one walk, and four strikeouts.
2022 15th-round pick Kyle Luckham continued his nearly flawless start to his 2023 season, and he might crack the Nats’ top-30 list fairly soon with his quick rise. Luckham went five scoreless innings Saturday in Brooklyn only allowing three hits while fanning five, making it 11 innings pitched and just one run allowed this season.
Blue Rocks week record: 3-2
POTW: Kyle Luckham
Blue Rocks record: 7-7
Next series: vs. Aberdeen
Double-A Harrisburg is as usual the least notable level of the farm, but the Senators definitely saw both highlights and lowlights this week.
25-year-old first baseman Frankie Tostado had a hit in each of his five appearances this week, going 6-for-18 (.333) including a grand slam in Friday’s game.
No. 15 prospect Jackson Rutledge hurled a solid six innings in Tuesday’s affair, allowing just two runs on five hits and a pair of base on balls while punching out four. 30th-ranked prospect catcher Drew Millas also homered as part of a 4-for-14 (.286) week.
The Nats also however placed No. 28 prospect reliever Gerardo Carillo on the injured list Saturday just two outings into the season.
Senators week record: 3-3
POTW: Frankie Tostado
Senators record: 8-7
Next series: vs. Somerset
The Red Wings saw yet another impressive week from Darren Baker, who went 8-for-24 (.333) after being last week’s MVP.
Derek Hill‘s start to the week was nothing special, with just one hit through his first three games, though Saturday and Sunday, Hill turned on the jets. He went 2-for-2 with a homer Saturday before going 4-for-4 with a double
Jake Alu had a slow week at the plate but hit a three-run homer in Sunday’s blowout loss, where the Red Wings were down 17-0 at one point. Rochester also saw a phenomenal start from Joan Adon, who tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday, yielding six hits and a walk to go along with five punchouts.
33-year-old major-league vet Wily Peralta delivered a fantastic outing Saturday, allowing just one base-runner through five innings, which was a single — while he fanned five in his third start of the season for the Wings.
Red Wings week record: 1-5
POTW: Wily Peralta
Red Wings record: 6-14
Next series: vs. St. Paul
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DISCUSSION TOPIC: Does Green’s high strikeout rate concern you at all, and if so to what degree?
