Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (5/4-5/10)

(Photo Credit: Rick Nelson/MiLB.com)

It’s Monday, which means it is time once again to take a look back at the week that was around the Washington Nationals farm system. Each week, during Minor League Monday, we give you the hitters and pitchers that stood out at each of the minor league affiliates, from Syracuse to Hagerstown.

This past week, the minor league buzz was around the high-A Potomac debuts of two of the top prospects in the Washington Nationals organization. Those two pitchers are right handers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez (#1 and #4 prospect respectively, according to MLB Pipeline).

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On Thursday, Reynaldo Lopez shut out the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals) as he gave up only two hits and struck out three batters in five innings of work during Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader. As for Lucas Giolito, he didn’t have as easy of a time against the Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles) as he gave five runs over 4.1 innings while striking out five batters and walking two.

Potomac was a busy affiliate this week as that was also the site for the beginning of the rehab games for reliever Casey Janssen. Janssen, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, pitched a 1-2-3 first inning in Game 2 of Thursday’s doubleheader. Then, on Sunday, Janssen threw 15 pitches in Potomac and gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits in one inning of work.

Plus, let’s not forget about Trea Turner. This week, the San Antonio shortstop had a monster game on May 8 when he went 4-for-6 with one home run and four RBI’s. Currently, he is hitting .321 on the season with three home runs and 16 RBI’s.

So without further adieu, it’s time to name the players that will receive the honors this week, starting with triple-A Syracuse:

Next: Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs (12-18)

 Hitter Of The Week: SS Emmanuel Burriss (.275, 1 HR, 6 RBI’s)

 While everyone in the Nationals organization is focusing on Wilson Ramos’ 13-game hit streak at the big league level, keep an eye on the minor league level at another hit streak. 30-year old shortstop Emmanuel Burriss is currently on a ten game hit streak. This week, he only had one multi-hit game (yesterday vs. Durham), but he has also been on-base in 12 straight games.

One of the Nationals non-roster invitees this spring, Burriss is now second on the team in hits (25) behind only Jason Martinson, who has five home runs on the season. Burriss has a .347 on-base percentage, which is second on the team amongst players who have played 15 or more games. He does have four steals on the season. So, while Syracuse does have two players with five or more homers, keep an eye on the speedy Burriss who continues to get himself on base most nights.

 Honorable Mention: 3B Ian Stewart (.234, 6 HR, 19 RBI’s)

 Ian Stewart continues to be a mainstay on this list for his ability to hit the long ball. This weekend, against the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays), he brought the power to the ballpark. While Stewart isn’t as hot as Bryce Harper is at the big league level, he had a great series as he went 5-for-13 with three home runs and six RBI’s. This included the lone run in Syracuse’s 5-1 loss on Sunday.

With the home run on Sunday, Stewart is now tied for the International League lead in homers behind J.P Arencibia and Matt Davidson. He is second in the IL in RBI’s and sixth in slugging percentage. By the way, this is for a team that has the third lowest slugging percentage in the IL (.345). He doesn’t have the hit streak that Burriss does, but Stewart’s power has been consistent thru the first 28 games of his triple-A season.

 Pitcher Of The Week: SP A.J. Cole (0-1, 2.67 ERA)

While Cole did pick up the loss yesterday, he had two good starts for the Chiefs this week. On Monday, he gave up seven hits against Norfolk (Baltimore Orioles), but only gave up one run over six innings and struck out one batter. However, Cole fell victim to the long ball on Sunday. He gave up two solo homers in the first two innings of the game, but settled down as the game went on. In six innings, he gave up three runs on three hits, struck out five, and walked one.

Cole is still one of the Nationals top pitching prospects, one of the things that is still a concern for the 23-year old is that he has given up over a hit per inning this season. He has great control as he only has two walks in five starts, but as we saw in his major league debut, he has to get his secondary pitches to be successful in order to get out the top hitters in the game. That being said, Cole has been able to get out of most jams as he has given up eight runs in 27 innings.

 Honorable Mention: RP Mitch Lively (0-0, 2.50)

So far, Mitch Lively has been one of Syracuse’s best relievers this season. The 29-year-old right-hander has the best WHIP of any pitcher on the team at 0.89. This week, Lively made three appearances and gave up one earned run over 4.1 innings.

He is not a guy who will rack up the strikeouts (13 K’s over 18 innings), but this is a reliever that is going to keep the team in the game. After walking four batters last week, he did not walk a single batter this week. Right now, opponents are having a hard time hitting him, as his opponents batting average against this season is at .159.

Next: Double-A

Harrisburg Senators (11-18)

 Hitter Of The Week: SS Wilmer Difo (.344, 0 HR, 3 RBI’s)

After having a great start to the season in Potomac, Wilmer Difo is continuing his great play at the next level in double-A. He is hitting .344 with no home runs and three RBI’s in 17 games. This week, the 23 year old shortstop had hits in five out of the six games that he took part in. In his second game at Harrisburg against New Britain, he went 3-for-4 with a RBI.

It is a small sample size, but one of the unique things about Difo’s stat line is that seven of his 11 hits have been doubles. Plus, he has stolen three bases in the last two games. Right now, he hits toward the bottom of the Harrisburg order, but Difo and Tony Renda are a very good double play combination, at least until Trea Turner gets here. Then, we will see which direction the Nats will go.

 Honorable Mention: 3B Matt Skole (.200, 5 HR, 17 RBI’s)

While the Harrisburg third baseman didn’t have the best start to his week as he didn’t have a hit the first three games, Matt Skole had a very good series over the weekend against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates). He had homers on Friday and Saturday and drove in four runs. Plus, he even stole a base this week, something he has only done 17 times in his minor league career.

By far, Skole is the team’s best home run hitter as he had three more home runs than any hitter on the team. Even with that total, his .400 slugging percentage is only fourth on the team. That being said, Skole does have half the team’s home runs up to this point.

 Pitcher Of The Week: SP Joe Ross (1-1, 2.81 ERA)

 The more Joe Ross takes the mound, the more he shows why the Washington Nationals traded for him this winter. This past week, Ross took on the New Britain Rock Cats, who have the best record in the Eastern League at 22-7. In that start on May 6, Ross went six innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out seven and walked three.

In his last 19 innings, Ross has only given up two runs. While he has walked two or more batters in four of his six starts, he has been able to hold the opponent to two runs or fewer in all but one start this year. He also has racked up 36 strikeouts (six per start), which is the third most of any pitcher in the EL.

 Honorable Mention: RP Paul Demny (2-2, 3.09)

Paul Demny is one of those names that doesn’t get talked about much, but he has done a great job in the Harrisburg bullpen. He is not the closer, but he gets it done in middle relief. This week, Demny did not give up a hit in three innings of work and he has only given up three hits in his last six appearances combined. However, let’s focus on the performance he had on Saturday against Altoona.

In that game, which Harrisburg won 7-4, Demny picked up the win when he struck out four batters over two innings as the Senators rallied from a 4-3 deficit. As of right now, opponents are hitting .171 against him. Demny is a 25-year old right hander who was taken by the Nats in the sixth round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Last season, he went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in 22 games with the Senators.

Next: High-A

Potomac Nationals (12-18)

 Hitter Of The Week: 2B Chris Bostick (.229, 0 HR, 2 RBi’s)

 Bostick was one of the players, along with reliever Abel De Los Santos, that was traded from the Rangers to the Nationals back in December in exchange for Ross Detwiler. The 22 year old isn’t with the big league club yet, but Bostick has had a good start at high-A. He is currently on a six game hitting streak and drove in two RBI’s this week. One of those RBI’s came on Sunday when he hit a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Frederick Keys (Baltimore Orioles).

While Bostick is hitting only .229 this year, he does have two triples and he is third on the team in hits behind Drew Ward and Isaac Ballou. Plus, he does have nine walks this season, which is fourth on the team. Last season, Bostick hit .251 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI’s for another team in the Carolina League, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

 Honorable Mention: 3B Drew Ward (.287, 2 HR, 19 RBI’s)

Against the Frederick Keys this weekend, Ward was one of Potomac’s best hitters. He went 5-for-12 in the series with a home run and two RBI’s. That home run came on Friday night during Lucas Giolito’s Potomac debut. Ward has eight doubles on the season, which is the most on the team and tied for second in the entire Carolina League.

Ward has also been good at drawing walks as he has six walks in his last eight games. His 12 walks on the season are second on the team behind catcher Spencer Kieboom. As good of a player that Ward is, he does have five errors, which is the most of any Potomac Nationals. However, Potomac needs Ward’s power when you consider he has three of the team’s 14 home runs.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 0.00)

As I mentioned earlier, Lopez made his debut in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Wilmington Blue Claws. Lopez and Giolito are seen as one of the best 1-2 combos in the minor leagues and they are only in high-A.

To expand on Lopez a little more, one of the things I did like about his start on Thursday was the ability to draw groundball outs. Out of the 16 batters he faced, he induced six ground ball outs. He is only 21 years old, but this kid is showing after a great year at Hagerstown last year (4-1, 1.33) that he is going to keep climbing up those prospect rankings. Potomac does play Wilmington again this week, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments the Blue Rocks make if they see him again.

 Honorable Mention: SP Nick Pivetta (1-3, 1.41 ERA)

 While Pivetta is still a starter in Potomac’s rotation, he did get an appearance out of the bullpen this week. In Game 2 of Thursday’s doubleheader, Pivetta came in for Casey Janssen to pitch the final six innings. While he did lose the game, he gave three runs (no earned runs) on eight hits in those six innings. He struck out three batters and walked one in the loss.

In six starts this season, Pivetta has yet to give up more than two earned runs in any one of them. He does have 13 walks, but keep in mind, six of those came in one game back on April 27. In a week where Potomac didn’t have many great pitching performances besides Lopez, it’s Pivetta’s loss to gets on the list for one of the best pitching performances this week.

Next: Low-A