Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (4/27-5/3)
By Ricky Keeler
Hitter Of The Week: 3B Rick Hague (.317, 0 HR, 7 RBI’s)
While Rick Hague has yet to hit a home run in 21 games this season, he has shown the ability to rack up the extra base. Eight of his 19 hits this season have been doubles. This week, the Nationals third round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft out of Rice University had six hits and drove in three runs. He will enter Monday night’s action on a four game hitting streak.
Hague is second on the team in batting average and third in slugging percentage. This is his third season playing for the Senators. Last season, he hit .231 in 101 games with four home runs and 27 RBI’s. Is the third season going to be the charm for Hague? We will find out.
Honorable Mention: C Pedro Severino (.305, 2 HR, 12 RBI’s)
This week, Severino is back in this weekly piece because of the great game he had on Monday night against the New Britain Rock Cats. The 21-year old catcher went 3-for-4, hit two home runs, and drove in three runs in the team’s 13-6 loss. In that series against New Britain (Colorado Rockies), Severino had back-to-back three hit games. He was on his own four game hit streak before going 0-for-3 against the Bowie Bay Sox on Sunday.
According to Baseball Reference, Severino is off to a great start in the field as well. He has thrown out 69% of baserunners who were trying to steal on him. Plus, he has yet to commit an error or allow a passed ball. There is a reason why Severino is one of the top catchers in the Nats organization and he started to show off some of the power this past week.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Austin Voth (2-1, 3.77)
Last week, the ace of the Harrisburg Senators was not in this article because of the rough outing he had against Reading. In that outing on April 24, he gave up seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. On Wednesday, Voth was able to bounce back and in a big way. In six innings against New Hampshire, he gave up no earned runs (two runs) on five hits, struck out six and walked two.
He would get the no decision in that game as Harrisburg would rally from 2-0 down in the bottom of the ninth to win on a walk-off walk by Brian Goodwin. Voth has been the innings eater for the Senators rotation. His 28.2 innings is tied for second in the Eastern League. When you have a pitcher that has given up a little over two earned runs per start, you will usually be in every ball game.
Honorable Mention: SP Tim Alderson (1-0, 2.19)
Alderson makes the list for the second week in a row after the good start he had on Tuesday against New Britain. In that outing, the 26-year-old went seven innings for the second consecutive start, gave up one run on six hits, walked one, and struck out four. He was in line for his second win of the season until the Rock Cats scored three runs against the Senators bullpen in the top of the ninth.
What was impressive about Alderson’s outing was that he threw 102 pitches (63 for strikes). He is top 15 in the Eastern League in ERA and he has given up only one earned run in his last 14 innings of work. It will be interesting to see if the Rock Cats make any adjustments as Harrisburg heads there for a three game series to begin the week. However, the Senators bullpen has been the weakness for the team as the Sens gave up a walk-off grand slam in their 11-9 loss to Bowie on Sunday afternoon.
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