Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (5/25-5/31)
As the calendar shifts to June 1, we continue to get closer to more minor league affiliates opening up their seasons. On Sunday, the Washington Nationals had their Dominican Summer League team opens up play today after their opener got postponed on Saturday. Plus, we are 18 days away from the start of the Auburn Doubledays season (New-York Penn League).
Of course, a week from tonight, we will find out the latest members of the Washington Nationals organization when the 2015 MLB Draft takes place. The Nats do not have a pick in the first round, but they do have picks 57 and 69 on night one
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
Plus, this month will mark the debut of Trea Turner in the Nats minor league system. This week, the shortstop went 8-for-27 with two RBI’s for the San Antonio Missions. On Sunday, he had a 16-game hitting streak snapped, but he is still hitting .333 with five home runs and 27 RBI’s.
In terms of rehab updates this week, Anthony Rendon started playing in rehab games last Friday for the Harrisburg Senators. He went 2-for-11 in three games against the Bowie Bay Sox (Baltimore Orioles) with one walk. It is unknown when Rendon will return to the big leagues, but it is a good sign to see the 24-year old get closer to returning.
Another notable rehab stint this week was left-handed reliever Matt Purke, who made his 2015 debut on May 28 with the low-A Hagerstown Suns. He went four innings, gave up two runs on three hits, struck out three, and did not walk one batter. The 24-year old missed all of 2014 due to Tommy John Surgery.
With all that being said, here are our minor league players of the week as we present another edition of Minor League Monday:
Next: Triple-A
Syracuse Chiefs (17-33)
Hitter Of The Week: SS Emmanuel Burriss (.280, 2 HR, 13 RBI’S)
I did like the way that Emmanuel Burriss ended his week for the Syracuse Chiefs. One thing to keep in mind in regards to this week is that the team did not hit a single home run this week. It was tough for them to score runs, but Burriss did rack up the hits toward the end of the week.
From May 28 to May 31, he had three straight multi-hit games. Over that stretch, he went 8-for-14 with three doubles and two RBI’s. With this recent hot streak, Burriss now leads the team in hits with 42 (Jason Martinson is second with 37). In May, the 30-year old hit .296, which was a 60 point jump from his April batting average (.236).
Honorable Mention: CF Tony Gwynn Jr. (.219, 1 HR, 13 RBI’s)
This week, the Syracuse Chiefs’ center fielder was able to be one of Syracuse’s key RBI guys. Against the Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles) on May 25 and May 26, Gwynn Jr. went 3-for-8 with a double and two RBI’s. Two RBI’s may not seem as much, but Syracuse scored a grand total of three runs in those two games.
This month, the 32-year-old hit .270 in 23 games with one home run and 11 RBI’s. He did have seven walks and stole three bases as well. Gwynn Jr.’s total of six stolen bases is fourth on the team this year behind Matt den Dekker, Burriss, and Darin Mastroianni.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Paolo Espino (1-3, 3.48 ERA)
After hitting a home run in his last start against the Indianapolis Indians, Espino took the mound on Friday night against the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays). While he did not hit any home runs in that start, he did put up another quality start.
He went 6.2 innings, gave up two runs on four hits, struck out eight hitters and walked one. He threw 89 pitches, with 59 of them going for strikes. In his two starts as a member of the Chiefs rotation, he is 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA and has 11 strikeouts to just one walk. It has been a very good start for the 28-year-old.
Honorable Mention: SP Scott McGregor (3-4, 3.25)
With A.J. Cole, Taylor Jordan, and Taylor Hill (who is now with the Nats) spending time in the big leagues, the Chiefs rotation has taken a bit of a hit. One of the pitchers in their rotation that has given them innings is 28-year-old right-hander, Scott McGregor. On May 27, against Norfolk, he went seven innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, and struck out three in a loss.
While McGregor has lost back-to-back starts, one thing to keep in mind is that he was very good in the month of May. In five starts, he went 2-2 with a 2.12 ERA after having a 5.30 ERA in four April starts. In those five starts, he gave up eight earned runs and has averaged nearly seven innings per start. Currently, McGregor leads the team in innings pitched at 52. 2 innings.
Next: Double-A
Harrisburg Senators (21-28)
Hitter Of The Week: RF Kevin Keyes (.242, 4 HR, 23 RBI’s)
The Harrisburg right fielder was one of the team’s main run producers this week. While he only had five hits in 20 at-bats, he did drive in three runs. On May 26, against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, he went 1-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs. The one concern for Keyes this week was the strikeouts. He had eight of those in six games this week.
Keyes was one of the most improved players on the team this month. The 26-year-old hit .268 in the month of May after hitting only .196 in April. Can Keyes carry that momentum from a good month of May into June?
Honorable Mention: CF Brian Goodwin (.226, 2 HR, 15 RBI’s)
Goodwin makes the honorable mention spot because he was the only player that hit a home run on the Senators this week. On May 29 against Bowie, Goodwin hit a solo shot in the seventh inning that would begin a three run comeback. Harrisburg would go on to win 3-2.
The 24-year old had a hit in four straight games up until yesterday. Out of his 26 hits this season, ten have them have gone for extra bases (seven doubles). Heading into June, Goodwin will look to get his batting average up. He hit .204 in the month of May in 25 games. Still, good to see Goodwin’s power be the sparkplug in a key game this past week.
Pitcher Of The Week: P Colin Bates (1-0, 3.29)
Bates has been one of those pitchers that have been used by the team as both a starter and a reliever. This week, he lands on the list this week because of the job he did as a starter. On May 29 against Bowie, Bates went six innings, gave up two runs on eight hits, struck out three, and walked two. Harrisburg’s three run seventh helped get Bates the win.
It is a small sample size, but Bates has a 3.00 ERA in three starts and a 3.65 ERA in six relief appearances. This month, Bates has a 2.66 ERA in five appearances. With the Senators last season, he was 1-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 39 games (one start)
Honorable Mention: SP Joe Ross (2-2, 2.81)
After a rough start on May 23 against the New Britain Rock Cats (Colorado Rockies), Joe Ross bounced back in a big way yesterday against Bowie. In seven innings of work, Ross gave up one run on three hits, struck out seven, and did not walk a batter. The 22-year-old right-hander has not walked one batter in two straight starts.
He has now given up one run in four of his last five starts. In the month of May, Ross went 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA in five starts. His command was very impressive when he walked five batters for the whole month while striking out 30. Clearly, Ross has been everything the Nats could have asked for when they traded for him this winter.
Next: High-A
Potomac Nationals (21-29)
Hitter Of The Week: SS Stephen Perez (.245, 1 HR, 14 RBI’s)
Potomac struggled to score runs this week against Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, but Stephen Perez was still able to drive in some runs for the Nationals high-A team. This week, Perez had seven hits in 18 at-bats and drove in seven runs. Before yesterday, Perez had driven in a run in four straight games. He enters this week’s action on a five game hitting streak.
While the 24-year-old hit only .130 with Harrisburg, he had a .237 average in the month of May with Potomac. He had 13 RBI’s in 28 games and had a .365 on-base percentage. I’m interested to see if Perez can continue his solid hitting from this past week and continue to drive in runs at the top of the order.
Honorable Mention: 2B Christopher Bostick (.235, 2 HR, 11 RBI’s
The Potomac middle infield shares the player of the week honors this week. While the 22-year-old Bostick did not have much power this week, he was able to pick up some hits. Even though he was only 5-for-18 this week, he does enter this week on a five game hitting streak.
On May 29, against the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Kansas City Royals), Bostick had the game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to help the Potomac Nationals get the win, 3-1. Bostick finished the month of May, hitting .260 with two home runs and seven RBI’s and a .394 slugging percentage.
Pitcher Of The Week: RP Wander Suero (4-2, 2.82)
Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez did not have great outings this week, so the pitcher of the week goes to a reliever this week, but for good reason. 23-year-old right-hander Wander Suero has been great as a reliever for Potomac in his last five outings. The former starter has not given up an earned run in those outings. This week, Suero picked up his first save of the season.
On May 28 against Wilmington, he went four innings, gave up seven hits, struck out three batters, and walked one to get the save. In six appearances in the month of May, he went 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA in six games. While he has given up a hit per inning in 12.1 innings of relief, he has yet to give up an earned run. Suero had a 4.15 ERA in five starts before moving to the ‘pen.
Honorable Mention: SP Phillips Valdez (5-2, 1.47)
This week, Valdez was promoted to Potomac after having an excellent start to the season with low-A Hagerstown. In his Potomac debut on May 29 against Wilmington, Valdez got his high-A stint started on a great note. He went six innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out three batters, and walked one in a no-decision.
The 23-year-old was dominating the Nationals’ low-A affiliate, posting a 1.47 ERA in eight starts. This past month, he was 4-1 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts with the Suns. You look at this P-Nats rotation now with Giolito, Lopez, Nick Pivetta, Valdez, and maybe Austen Williams down the road, this has the makings to be a very tough high-A rotation.
Next: Low-A
Hitter Of The Week: 3B Grant DeBruin (.319, 1 HR, 25 RBI’s)
DeBruin has been one of Hagerstown’s best run scorers over the first two months of the season. This past week, DeBruin had two three-hit performances. Over the course of this past week, the 24-year-old had 11 hits in 25 at-bats, drove in five runs, and walked four times. Out of those 11 hits, three of them were doubles.
It has been a great first two months for DeBruin in his first year with the Nationals organization. He has 53 hits and 25 RBI’s, which leads the team. DeBruin’s average did slip this month, but only from .339 in April to .308 in May. Right now, he is one of the Suns’ most consistent hitters.
Also, this deserves mention in the hitter of the week portion rather than honorable mention. This past week, Jeff Gardner and Osvaldo Abreu kept their hitting streaks alive. While Gardner’s was snapped at 15 games on May 29, Abreu carries a 15-game hitting streak into this week.
Honorable Mention: CF Dale Carey (.256, 5 HR, 21 RBI’s)
The 23-year old outfielder showed off some of his power this week for the Suns. On May 26, against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Miami Marlins), Carey went deep twice and drove in three runs in a 10-3 Hagerstown win. He had a solo home run in the fifth and a two-run shot in the eighth. Plus, he was hitting out of the leadoff spot that night.
After hitting .191 in April, Carey hit .298 in May with four home runs and 15 RBI’s. In addition, he had a .393 on-base percentage and a .490 slugging percentage. Carey leads the team in homers and is tied for third in hits with 44.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Austen Williams (6-1, 1.65)
With Valdez now in Potomac, Williams now becomes the sole ace of this Suns rotation. On May 26 against Greensboro, Williams went six innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out five, and walked one to record his sixth win of the season. The 22-year-old right-hander has only given up a combined four runs in his last four starts.
In the South Atlantic League, Williams is one of five pitchers who have at least six wins. He is tied with three others for second. He is fifth in the SAL in ERA at 1.65. In five starts this month, Williams went 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA and had 26 strikeouts.
Honorable Mention: RP Mario Sanchez (1-2, 2.81)
Sanchez got his first win of the season out of relief over the past week for the Suns. The 20-year-old made two appearances and gave up no runs over the course of 6.1 innings. Sanchez has struck out two batters in each of his last three relief appearances.
The win that Sanchez recorded came on May 29 against the Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox). In that outing, he gave up only one hit in 3.1 innings. In seven appearances this month, which included one start, Sanchez went 1-2 with a 2.37 ERA.