Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (6/15-6/21)

Feb 24, 2014; Viera, FL, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo watches the spring training action at space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

It’s Monday, which means it’s time for another edition of Minor League Monday. During Minor League Monday, we take a look back at some of the top performers in the Washington Nationals farm system. Starting today, every Nationals affiliate will have their season underway. Today, the Gulf Coast League Nationals begin their season, which features one of the Nats’ second round picks, outfielder Blake Perkins.

This past weekend, the Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League got their season underway. Last year’s first round pick, Erick Fedde, made his professional debut Sunday afternoon against the Batavia Muckdogs (Miami Marlins). He went three innings, gave up one earned run on two hits, walked three, and struck out four on 67 pitches.

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• CJ Abrams: Franchise Shortstop

He got the no-decision in Auburn’s comeback win as the team scored seven runs in the top of the ninth to win the game, 9-5. The Doubledays are 3-0 for the first time since the 2008 season. We will have more on the Doubledays in next week’s roundup as they take on the State College Spikes (St. Louis Cardinals) and the West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates).

Down in Harrisburg (double-A), Trea Turner played in his first game with the Nationals organization on Tuesday. One day later, Stephen Strasburg made a rehab start and had his fastball go up to 97 miles per hour on the radar gun. He went five innings, gave up one earned run on four hits, struck out six, and did not walk a batter against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants).

Finally, the week ended for the Syracuse Chiefs on a great note. Tony Gwynn Jr. hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10^th inning against the Buffalo Bison (Toronto Blue Jays) to win a 1-0 game. Gwynn Jr. is the father of Tony Gwynn Jr. the former Padre Hall-Of-Famer, who died a year ago last Tuesday because of salivary gland cancer.

Let’s take a look back at who stood out the most in the Nationals farm system this past week. All stats and records as of Sunday, June 21:

Next: Triple-A

(Photo Credit: MILB.com)

Syracuse Chiefs (24-46)

Hitter Of The Week: RF Kevin Keyes (.462, 0 HR, 7 RBI’s)

Before Keyes began play at Syracuse this past week, he was hitting .235 with five home runs and 26 RBI’s and had an on-base percentage of .321 in 53 games. In his first week with the Chiefs, Keyes was able to take advantage of International League Pitching. The International League player of the week went 12-for-26 at the plate with four doubles and is on a six game hitting streak.

The highlight of Keyes’ week came in the three-game series against Buffalo. On Friday and Saturday, the 26-year-old had three hits in each game and had four RBI’s for the entire three-game series. While he hasn’t hit many home runs this season, Keyes is off to an excellent start for the Chiefs.

Honorable Mention: 3B Rick Hague (.381, 1 HR, 7 RBI’s)

For this week’s edition of the top Syracuse players, it is going to be headlined by a duo of former Harrisburg players that made their triple-A debuts this week. Let’s start with Rick Hague. The 26-year-old received the callup this past week and made an immediate impact. He has a hit in all six games for the Chiefs and had back-to-back multi-hit games against the Toledo Mudhens (Detroit Tigers) last Monday and Tuesday.

In Syracuse’s 8-3 win over Toledo on Monday, Hague hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat of the International League. In 52 games with the Senators, Hague hit .259 with no home runs and nine RBI’s. That being said, it is good to see Hague get his chance to shine in the IL after being in the Eastern League since 2013.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Taylor Jordan (2-3, 2.81 ERA)

In two starts this week, the 26-year-old right-hander did a good job of keeping the opposing team off the board. In 14 innings, Jordan gave up no runs on seven hits, struck out eight, and walked three. Jordan’s best game came on Tuesday against Toledo, when he gave up five hits over seven innings, struck out five, and walked one.

Yesterday, Jordan shut out the Bison for seven innings, but he did walk three batters. He has walked three batters in an outing in three of his last eight starts. Nevertheless, the pitcher who has spent time with the Nationals this season had a nice week after giving up eight runs in 1.2 innings against the Mudhens back on June 10. He made the adjustments and got the job done.

Honorable Mention: SP Paolo Espino (1-0, 1.56)

Espino has been a mainstay in this slideshow every week, but he makes honorable mention this week because of Jordan’s back-to-back shutout outings. This past week, the 28-year-old right-hander made one start against the Mudhens. In that outing on May 16, Espino went seven innings, gave up one run on five hits, struck out five, and walked one.

Even though Espino took the no-decision in Syracuse’s 3-2 win in ten innings, that start is the fifth straight in which Espino has pitched into the seventh inning and given up two runs or fewer. In 21 innings this month, he has given up a total of four earned runs and walked only two hitters. When Joe Ross does join the Chiefs, they have a good rotation of Espino, Ross, Jordan, and A.J. Cole, despite his recent struggles.

Next: Double-A

Photo Credit: MILB.com

Harrisburg Senators (29-39)

Hitter Of The Week: SS Trea Turner (.320, 0 HR, 3 RBI’s)

In his first week in the Washington Nationals farm system, Trea Turner made a strong first impression. Through six games, he is 8-for-25 at the plate with three doubles, three RBI’s, and four successful stolen bases. He had three multi-hit games, including two three-hit games during the week.

His best game of the week came on June 17 against the Flying Squirrels. In that game, he went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI’s. Before coming to Washington, Turner was hitting .322 with five home runs and 35 RBI’s for the San Antonio Missions in the Texas League.

Honorable Mention: 2B Wilmer Difo (.295, 0 HR, 6 RBI’s)

Turner and Difo are the middle of the infield combination that Nats fans hope to see in the Nation’s Capital in the coming years. This week, Difo, who has been hitting out of the leadoff spot, went 6-for-19 with a RBI and stole two bases. He is 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts with the Senators this year.

The best game of the week for the 23-year-old came on June 20 against the Altoona Curve. In that game, he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Difo is second on the team in steals behind Derrick Robinson, While the stolen base totals can be higher, Difo is still having a good season through his first 29 Eastern League games.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Dakota Bacus (3-1, 3.50 ERA)

Bacus, who started his 2015 season with the Potomac Nationals, is starting to flourish in the Harrisburg rotation. This week, Bacus’ lone start came against the Altoona Curve (Pittsburgh Pirates) on June 20 in Game one of a doubleheader. While the game was shortened to seven innings, Bacus still went the distance. He gave up no runs on six hits, struck out three, and walked two.

The 24-year-old right-hander is 2-0 in four starts this month with a 2.25 ERA. He has given up six runs in his last four starts combined and has yet to give up more than two runs in any particular start. The man who had three saves in the Carolina League is doing a nice job as mainly a starter with the Senators.

Honorable Mention: RP Abel De Los Santos (1-4, 3.86)

While the bullpen has been the biggest weakness for the Senators this week, one of their relievers did have an impressive outing. 22-year-old Abel De Los Santos made his first relief appearance in a week yesterday against Altoona. He went two innings, gave up one hit, and struck out five batters.

This offseason, De Los Santos was acquired in the Ross Detwiler trade along with Christopher Bostick, who was promoted to Harrisburg last week from Potomac. De Los Santos has three saves in five chances this season. In four games this month, he has nine strikeouts to just one walk.

Next: High-A

(Photo Credit: MILB.com)

Potomac Nationals (33-37)

Hitter Of The Week: SS Stephen Perez (.253, 1 HR, 27 RBI’s)

While Perez had his struggles at Harrisburg this season, he has had a good season for the Nationals’ high-A club. This past week, Perez went 6-for-21 with two runs scored and five RBI’s. Against the Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Indians) on June 16, the shortstop went 2-for-4 with three RBI’s in Potomac’s 4-3 win.

This month, the 24-year-old shortstop is hitting .266 with 13 RBI’s in 17 games. He had 13 RBI’s in 28 games during the month of May. He is two RBI’s behind Drew Ward (29) for the team lead in that category.

Honorable Mention: RF Brandon Miller (.224, 7 HR, 26 RBI’s)

This week. Miller continued to show why he has been of the better power hitters on the 2015 Potomac squad. In six games this past week, Miller hit two home runs and had four RBI’s. Those two home runs came in a three-game period between June 15 and June 18.

This month, the 25-year-old is hitting .255 with two home runs and 11 RBI’s. He is the team leader in home runs and now has 20 career home runs in 110 games with the Potomac club, dating back to last year.

Pitcher Of The Week: SP Reynaldo Lopez (4-3, 4.50)

It was an eventful week for Lopez as the 22-year-old prospect had two great starts, but one of those outings was cut short due to rain. In a total of 8.1 innings, he gave up two runs on eight hits, walked two, and struck out 13. His week started on June 15 when he struck out eight Hillcats over 5.1 innings to record his fourth win of the season.

Then, on June 20, against the Carolina Mudcats (Atlanta Braves), Lopez had everything working. He went three innings, gave up two hits, and struck out five. However, rain suspended the game till Sunday and ended Lopez’s outing. Lopez has had a couple bad starts recently, but he does have 41 strikeouts, which is third on the team.

Honorable Mention: SP Phillips Valdez (1-2, 6.35)

This past week, Phillips Valdez finally broke into the win column for Potomac. It had been a rough start for the 23-year-old in high-A, but Valdez had his good stuff on June 19 against Carolina. He went 5.2 innings, gave up one run on four hits, struck out six, and walked one.

Before he was promoted to Potomac, Valdez was 5-2 with a 1.47 in eight starts for Hagerstown in the South Atlantic League. He has had nine walks in five games with Potomac. If he can work on the command, this is a pitcher that is going to do good things in Potomac, especially with guys like Lopez, Lucas Giolito, and all-star Nick Pivetta there to help him out.

Next: Low-A