Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (4/20-4/26)
We are back with another edition of Minor League Monday. This is where we take a look back at the week that was across all four Washington Nationals minor league affiliates, whether it be in Syracuse, Harrisburg, Potomac, or Hagerstown.
This week, another Washington National began his road back to the big club. Anthony Rendon has played in two minor league game down at double-A Harrisburg, one at third base and one at second base. He is 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored in those games. He is expected to play seven innings in a game today.
More from Nationals Prospects
- Washington Nationals Minor League Spotlight: Robert Hassell III
- Washington Nationals Tuesday Q&A
- Washington Nationals find Success in First Draft Lottery
- Washington Nationals: Non-Tendering Erick Fedde Highlights Nats’ Draft Misses
- CJ Abrams: Franchise Shortstop
As one National comes back, another one made his major league debut this week. With all the injuries in the bullpen up in DC, lefty Matt Grace was called up to replace Felipe Rivero, who is on the disabled list due to a GI bleed. In three appearances, Grace has given up one hit over two innings and not given up a run.
Before we give our weekly hitters and pitchers of the week, here is an update on shortstop Trea Turner. Turner, who is playing for the San Antonio Missions, did not have his best week at the plate. He went 5-for-26 with no RBI’s, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
Of course, when you mention Trea Turner’s name, speed usually comes to mind from his days at NC State. However, the shortstop who will be joining Washington’s organization in June, has only attempted four stolen bases this year. He has been successful on two.
So, with that being said, let’s take a look at which players in all four affiliates earned the honor of being this week’s hitters and pitchers of the week:
Next: Triple-A
Syracuse Chiefs (6-11)
This week was a unique week for the Chiefs as they played all seven games this week against one opponent, the Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins). They had three games postponed due to inclement weather, which forced the team to play two doubleheaders. In Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon, Jason Martinson hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to win it for the Chiefs, 1-0.
Hitter Of The Week: Michael Taylor (.400, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s)
With Denard Span now playing center field at Nats Park, Michael Taylor is getting the chance to play everyday down at triple-A. While Taylor showed some flashes with his bat at the end of last season and at the beginning of this season, it is easy to forget that the 24-year-old only played 12 games at Syracuse last season (.271, 2 HR, 8 RBI’s).
In his first week with the Chiefs, Taylor brought the bat to the ballpark. In a week where Syracuse struggled to score runs at times, Taylor had eight hits, including three games in which he had two hits. This includes a home run he hit during Wednesday’s 11-7 loss to Rochester.
Taylor has the raw power, but one of the problems he has shown in his short career is that he racks up the high strikeout totals. That has not changed, albeit in a small sample size. He had eight strikeouts this week. He had some defensive issues as well with the Nats, but he has not recorded an error with Syracuse as of yet. Even though he’s not with the Nationals now, Taylor is still a name to definitely continue to monitor throughout the year.
Honorable Mention: 3B Ian Stewart (.244, 2 HR, 9 RBI’s)
Ian Stewart came into spring training this February coming off a 2014 in which he hit .198 down in triple-A. The former Colorado Rockies third baseman needed to make a good impression to the Nats organization and he did just that with three home runs in 44 at-bats.
This week, Stewart had four RBI’s for the Chiefs and is tied for the team lead in RBI’s (9) with first baseman Kila Ka’aihue. Stewart’s slugging percentage of .429 is 20 points higher than anyone on the team (Jason Martinson). While the Nats don’t have room for Stewart on the roster at the moment, it’s a good thing to at least see him continue his success from spring training.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP A.J. Cole (0-0, 2.40 ERA)
While Cole only made one start this week (scheduled to start tonight at Pawtucket), Cole has been one of the best pitchers on the Syracuse staff up till this point. After a rough start against the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs on the 14th (4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H), Cole was able to keep the Red Wings off the board in Game 1 of the doubleheader on Tuesday.
In six innings, Cole gave up no runs on five hits, struck out three and did not walk a batter. One of the things to be impressed about the right hander in his first three starts is his control. He only has one walk thru the first three games. He has only struck out ten batters, but he is still able to keep teams from having the crooked inning. On a staff with Taylor Jordan and Taylor Hill, Cole has our start of the week.
Honorable Mention: RP Mitch Lively (0-0, 0.93)
So far, Lively has been one of the best pitcher, if not the best pitcher, in the Syracuse bullpen. Lively had an impressive campaign with the Chiefs at the end of last season, going 5-2 with a 3.86 ERA in nine games (seven starts). However, Syracuse has used him in the month of April strictly out of the bullpen.
This week, Lively threw four innings and gave up one combined hit, walked one, and struck out two. In 9.2 innings this season, he has allowed two runs (one earned). He did have a four strikeout performance in two innings back on April 14 against the IronPigs, but he only has seven strikeouts on the season. The 29-year-old didn’t have the best spring training with the Nationals, but he has handled the full time transition to the bullpen well in the early stages of the season.
Next: Double-A
Hitter Of The Week: C Pedro Severino (.244, 0 HR, 9 RBI’s)
While the 21-year-old catcher has yet to show the power that he had with high-A Potomac last season (nine home runs), Severino has done a great job at driving in runs. He has 2+ RBI’s in three of his last five games. One performance I would like to highlight in particular was his performance on Monday against the Altoona Curve.
In that game, which was finished on Tuesday due to rain, Severino went 1-for-4, but came up with a clutch two-run double in the top of the seventh inning to give Harrisburg the lead and ultimately the game. Last season, Severino had a .399 slugging percentage for the Potomac Nationals. With his run-scoring capabilities, keep an eye on this catcher along with Spencer Kieboom, who we will talk more about later.
Honorable Mention: 3B Mario Lisson (.318, 1 HR, 3 RBI’s)
The 30-year-old from Venezuela who was signed by the Nationals as a minor league free agent had a very good week at the plate. In that win over Altoona on Monday, he went 3-for-4 with a home run in the top of the second inning, his first of the season. He would continue his solid play on Saturday night against Reading. After Severino’s two-run single gave Harrisburg the lead, Lisson came in as a pinch hitter and drove in two key insurance runs with a RBI single of his own.
Lisson has only played in eight games with Harrisburg this season and has been in the minor leagues since 2002. Last season, he played for the double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels in the Eastern League. He hit .266 with 18 home runs, drove in 76 runs, and had a .467 slugging percentage. Lisson and Adrian Sanchez have played about the same number of games at the position (nine for Sanchez). With Anthony Rendon spending the next few days in Harrisburg, you won’t hear much from Lisson next week, but you have to give Lisson credit for coming up with some clutch hits for the Senators this week.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Joe Ross (0-1, 3.60)
The Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Joe Ross in the offseason in the Steven Souza Jr. trade that got them Trea Turner. Ross had given up eight earned runs in his first three starts, but his start on Friday against Reading showed why the Nationals are excited to have this pitcher as one of the best in their organization
The Padres first round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft went seven innings in Saturday’s win, giving up no runs on two hits, walking two and striking out eight on 96 pitches (62 strikes). While Ross has walked two batters in three of his four starts, the eight strikeouts stand out as Ross had three starts last year for high-A Lake Elsinore in which he had eight strikeouts. Ross and Austin Voth create a very dominant 1-2 combo for double-A hitters to face.
Honorable Mention: SP Tim Alderson (1-0, 2.55)
Last season, Alderson was with the Norfolk Tides, the triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and pitched to a 6.12 ERA. However, the 26-year old right hander who was the first round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2007. On Thursday, Alderson showed some of that potential against Reading in in a 3-0 victory in which he was able to outduel one of the Phillies top pitching prospects, Aaron Nola.
In seven innings, Alderson gave up four hits, walked two batters and struck out three. He threw 89 pitches, with 59 of them going for strikes. In two of his three starts, Alderson has given up one run or fewer. Keep in mind that Alderson only had three starts last season with the Stockton Ports (high-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics). Harrisburg has a 3.46 team ERA, but Alderson is showing the depth that the rotation has with Ross, Voth, and Paolo Espino.
Next: High-A
Hitter Of The Week: 3B Drew Ward (.321, 0 HR, 12 RBI’s)
While Wilmer Difo has been the story of the Potomac Nationals so far (.323, 3 HR, 14 RBI’s), it is Ward who deserves more recognition as he is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the best third base prospect in the Nationals organization. The third round pick by the Nats in the 2013 MLB Draft is in the top ten in the Carolina League in batting average and tied for third in RBI’s. Last season, Ward hit .269 at low-A Hagerstown with ten home runs and 73 RBI’s (top ten in the South Atlantic League)
This week, Ward recorded nine hits and drove in three runs. His best performance of the week came on Wednesday against the Wilmington Blue Rocks. In that game, Ward went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. He had a four game hit streak before going 0-for-2 in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Sunday against Lynchburg. However, Ward has all three RBI’s in the last five games as he has been one of the main reason why Potomac has scored the most runs in the Carolina League (79)
Honorable Mention: C Spencer Kieboom (.250, 1 HR, 10 RBI’s)
Earlier, I talked about how Pedro Severino has been doing in double-A. Severino and Kieboom were two catchers that were invited as non-roster invitees by the Nationals to major league spring training. MLB Pipeline ranks Severino at 11 and Kieboom at 20 in the organization, but Kieboom is off to a great start for Potomac.
He enters this week on a six-game hit streak and he has driven in at least one run in four of his last six games. On Monday, Kieboom went 2-for-4 against Wilimington with a solo home run ans two RBI’s. Kieboom was Ward’s teammate at Hagerstown last season and hit .309 with nine home runs and 61 RBI’s. Kieboom only has ten hits this season in 12 games, but the fact that he has hit in six straight shows that he is starting to catch fire as the 24-year-old continues to rise up the prospect rankings.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Wander Suero (3-0, 2.50)
We have talked about a couple of pitchers already on this Potomac team such as Nick Pivetta and Brian Rauh (who has since been promoted to Harrisburg), who have ERA’s of 0.53 and 0.51 respectively. That being said, Wander Suero has been off to an excellent start as he has won all three games in which he has pitched. The 23-year-old righty from the Dominican Republic has faced the same team in all three of his starts (Lynchburg), but two of those starts have been very good.
On Friday, Suero threw seven innings, gave up one run (none earned) on four hits, struck out seven batters, and walked one. The last time Suero threw seven innings in a start came on August 21 of last season for Hagerstown. Last year, at low-A Hagerstown, he showed good control, walking 11 batters in 17 games. He has carried that control to this season as he had two starts of zero walks. While Potomac’s offense gets all the attention, their team ERA of 3.21 is third in the league.
Honorable Mention: SP Nick Pivetta (1-1, 0.53)
I mentioned Pivetta earlier and he does make the pitchers of the week for the second week in a row, but for good reason. He went seven innings in a start against Wilmington on Monday where he gave up no runs on three hits, struck out five, and walked two. Keep in mind that the 22-year old right hander has not given up more than three hits in any of his starts this season.
In addition, opponents are hitting .138 against him. Ruah and Pivetta also have a near identical WHIP (0.74 for Ruah, 0.76 for Pivetta). The Nationals continue to find solid pitching prospects as Pivetta doesn’t get talked about with the likes of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, but his name will come up in that conversation soon eough if he continues to put up these kind of stat lines.
Next: Low-A
Hitter Of The Week: 3B Grant DeBruin (.340, 0 HR, 7 RBI’s)
After making honorable mention last week, DeBruin gets the honor of hitter of the week because he’s been putting up hits in bunches for the Suns, especially in the last five games. During DeBruin’s current five game hitting streak, he has put up nine hits, including two three-hit performances. He has 18 hits on the season, which is six more than any other Suns player.
In addition to the five game hit streak, he has a RBI in each of his last three games and has put up a .400 on-base percentage, which is just outside the top ten in the South Atlantic League. Considering this is DeBruin’s first season in minor league baseball after being in the Frontier League last year, he is off to an excellent start.
Honorable Mention: CF Alec Keller (.333, 0 HR, 1 RBI’s)
While the Suns are the second worst team in the South Atlantic League in terms of total hits, a name to keep an eye going forward is Alec Keller. The 22-year old out of Princeton University has two three-hit games in the last four game series for the Suns against Lakewood over the weekend.
Last season, the 17th round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft did not get much time with the Auburn Doubledays (short-season Single A) as he only received ten at-bats. This month, Keller has been used in the leadoff spot and has four of his 12 hits when leading off an inning. In his senior season at Princeton, he was an all-Ivy League selection and hit .378 with four home runs and 17 RBI’s. Could Keller be the spark that gets the Suns offense going?
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Austen Williams (3-1, 0.83)
For the second straight week, Williams wins pitcher of the week. The 22-year old right hander made two starts this past week and was very good in each of them. In a combined 12 innings of work, he gave up one run on seven hits, struck out 11, and walked one. Currently, Wiliams is third in the South Atlantic League in ERA and is tied for seventh in WHIP (0.88)
One of the things that Williams gives this Hagerstown Suns is the ability to save the bullpen on occasion because he can go deep into games, especially at this level. Williams’ 21.2 innings are third in the SAL, behind two players in Ty Buttrey and Justin Kamplain, who share the SAL lead at 22 innings pitched. Right now, Williams is the proverbial ace of a Hagerstown team that has a 3.10 ERA, which is third in the league.
Honorable Mention: SP Phillips Valdez (1-1, 1.80)
After struggling with his command in his first start of the season, Valdez The right hander from the Dominican Republic has been able to hold the opposition off the scoreboard in each of his last two starts. In those outings, he has thrown a combined 11 innings, given up nine hits without allowing a run and has struck out seven batters.
Valdez came into this season off of great momentum from the way he finished 2014. However, at the end of last season, Hagerstown used him strictly out of the bullpen. In 12 appearances, he went 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA and held opponents to a .128 batting average. It will be interesting to track how Hagerstown uses Valdez going forward and whether he will go back to a bullpen role or remain in the rotation.