Washington Nationals Minor Leagues: Players Of The Week (7/20-7/26)
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 is time for another edition of Minor League Monday. Every week, we take a look back at who were the best hitters and pitchers in the Washington Nationals farm system. This week, the farm system is going to be under a large microscope with the Trade Deadline taking place Friday night at 4 PM ET.
Of course, the major story in the Nats farm system this week occurred on Saturday when it was announced that top prospect Lucas Giolito will now be pitching with double-A Harrisburg. He is expected to make his debut for the Senators on Tuesday when they take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays). While Giolito stole the show with promotions, there were other notable players that moved up the ranks.
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Third baseman Matt Skole was one of the players who were promoted from Harrisburg to triple-A Syracuse on Saturday. In 90 games with the Senators, the 25-year-old hit .232 with 12 home runs and 56 RBI’s. Left-handed pitcher Richard Bleier is back with the Chiefs for the second time this season. He is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three starts at triple-A this season.
At the lower levels, a name to keep eye on is Potomac left-handed reliever Jake Walsh. The 24-year-old left-hander did not give up a run in 14 games with the Hagerstown Suns and was a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities.
There were more rehab games this week for some key Nats players. Anthony Rendon is back with the Nationals, but Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman are still on their assignments. Werth is hitting .391 with five RBI’s in six games for the Chiefs while Zimmerman is just 1-for-15 in five games down in Harrisburg.
With that being said, here are the top performers in the Nats farm system from this past week:
Next: Triple-A
(Photo Credit: MILB.com)
Syracuse Chiefs (40-63)
Hitter Of The Week: INF Jason Martinson (.249, 17 HR, 45 RBI’s)
All season long, we have talked about how Jason Martinson has been the best power hitter on the Chiefs squad. That trend continued this past week. The 26-year-old hit two home runs this week and went 7-for-25 at the plate with three RBI’s. Martinson went 3-for-4 on July 22 against the Buffalo Bison (Toronto Blue Jays) with a two-run homer.
However, Martinson’s highlight performance came in yesterday’s game against the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (Philadelphia Phillies). In the 13th inning, he hit deciding solo home run to give the Chiefs a 5-4 win. He is hitting .296 this month with seven home runs and 17 RBI’s. Those are the most totals he has had in any month this season.
Honorable Mention: OF Tony Gwynn Jr. (.244, 1 HR, 25 RBI’s)
While Gwynn Jr. has not had a great season as far as stats go, he makes the slideshow this week for the game he had yesterday against Lehigh Valley. In the win, he went 4-for-6 with a double and two runs scored. The 32-year-old outfielder went 9-for-16 at the plate this weekend and he has six hits in his last nine at-bats.
Despite some struggles at times, Gwynn Jr. is having a good month of July at the plate. In 17 games, he is hitting .333 with six RBI”s and has drawn 12 walks. In his last ten games, he is batting .433.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Taylor Hill (3-5, 4.92 ERA)
The Chiefs did not get any wins from their starting pitchers this past week, but the pitcher who had one of the best performances was Taylor Hill. The 26-year-old right-hander went six innings against Buffalo on July 22. He gave up two runs on four hits, struck out five, and walked one on 96 pitches, but took the loss.
While Hill has not won a game since May 14 against Gwinnett (eight starts), his start against Buffalo showed signs that he might be turning it around. Hill, who has spent time with Syracuse and the Nats this season, gave up fewer than four runs in an outing for the first time since June 28.
Honorable Mention: P P.J. Walters (5-3, 5.56)
Walters made two appearances with the Chiefs this week, one as a starter and one as a reliever. While he gave up five runs on eight hits over four innings against Buffalo on July 20, he was able to pitch in a high-pressure situation against Lehigh Valley yesterday.
In four innings of relief, the 30-year-old right-hander gave up no runs on three hits, struck out eight, and walked none in the win. While Walters has a 6.15 ERA in five starts with the Chiefs, his ERA is over a full run less as a reliever (4.67 ERA in six appearances).
Next: Double-A
(Photo Credit: MILB.com)
Harrisburg Senators (50-52)
Hitter Of The Week: 2B Cutter Dykstra (.269, 5 HR, 19 RBI’s)
For the second straight week, Dykstra works his way into the top hitter of the week. He has nine hits in 28 at-bats, but the bulk of his hits came in one game. On July 21 against New Hampshire, the 26-year-old went 5-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two RBI’s. The Senators won that game 13-0.
His other good performance this past week came against the Bowie Bay Sox (Baltimore Orioles) on July 24. He went 3-for-4 with two doubles in the 5-1 loss. He Dykstra is hitting .279 with four home runs and 17 RBI’s in 23 games this month.
Honorable Mention: LF Isaac Ballou (.306, 0 HR, 6 RBI’s)
Ballou started the season in high-A Potomac, but he has been with the Senators since June 28. This past week, Ballou went 8-for-15 at the plate with a RBI. Out of those eight hits, he had one double and one triple. Three of those hits came on July 24 against Bowie.
With Potomac this season, the 25-year-old was hitting .249 in 70 games with three home runs and 25 RBI’s. While Ballou has only played 21 games with Harrisburg, he does have a .403 on-base percentage, so he is finding ways to get on base for this Senators offense.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Richard Bleier (8-3, 2.45)
Bleier made his final start with the Senators on July 23 against New Hampshire. While he did get a lot of run support from his offense, he did throw seven shutout innings, giving up four hits, striking out two batters, and walking none. As I mentioned before, Bleier re-joins the Chiefs for the first time since April 29, but he had a good run with the Senators.
In two starts since the Eastern League All-Star Game, the 28-year-old had a 0.64 ERA. He has pitched into the seventh inning or later in seven of his last eight starts and has pitched a shutout in three of his last five outings.
Honorable Mention: SP Austin Voth (4-5, 2.82)
Voth made two starts for the Senators this past week and had two good starts. On July 20, against Hampshire, the 23-year-old right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run on eight hits, struck out six, and walked two in the victory. Then, on Saturday, Voth shut out the Bay Sox over five innings, giving up three hits and striking out four.
The one problem for Voth in that outing was his lack of command. He did walk three batters, which had not happened in a start for Voth since July 2. He has 27 walks this season in 20 games and his WHIP is at 1.11. In five starts this month, Voth has been outstanding. He is 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA.
Next: High-A
(Photo Credit: MILB.com)
Potomac Nationals (47-52)
Hitter Of The Week: 1B John Wooten (.252, 6 HR, 34 RBI’s)
Last Tuesday, Wooten had one of his best games of the season against the Frederick Keys. He went 4-for-5 at the plate with a double in Potomac’s 7-0 win against the Orioles’ Carolina League affiliate. He hit a solo home run in that game in the top of the fourth inning. It was the second time this season that Wooten had four hits in a game (April 30).
The 24-year-old first baseman went 12-for-27 at the plate with five RBI’s this past week, including driving in four of those runs against Frederick. In 20 games this month, he is hitting .243 with two home runs and nine RBI’s.
Honorable Mention: CF Rafael Bautista (.222, 0 HR, 3 RBI’s)
After completing his rehab assignment in the Gulf Coast League and in Auburn, Bautista re-joined the Potomac club on July 22, a place in which he started the season. The 22-year-old went 7-for-21 at the plate this past week with three RBI’s. His best game of the week was on Saturday against the Salem Red Sox.
In that game, Bautista went 3-for-4, but he had three stolen bases. Bautista had 69 stolen bases last year for low-A Hagerstown. Potomac has used him in the leadoff spot and it will be interesting to see if Bautista can rack up the stolen base numbers in the Carolina League.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP John Simms (6-6, 2.74)
Before Simms was promoted to Harrisburg on Saturday, he ended his campaign in the Carolina League on a great note. Against the Keys on July 21, the 23-year-old right-hander went eight innings, gave up no runs on two hits, struck out ten batters, and walked two.
That performance earned Simms pitcher of the week in the Carolina League. In four games this month (three starts), Simms is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA and has held opponents to a .175 batting average. He has held opponents scoreless in three of his last five starts.
Honorable Mention: SP Ian Dickson (1-0, 2.50)
Dickson is one of those names that is flying under the radar in the Potomac rotation. He made his second start for the P-Nats yesterday against Salem. In 5.1 innings, he gave up no runs on one hit, struck out five, and walked three to pick up his first win of the season.
Last season, Dickson pitched in 30 games for Potomac (15 starts). He went 5-9 with a 4.37 ERA, struck out 100 batters and walked 47 in 123.2 innings. The one problem for Dickson early in his 2015 season has been his command. The 24-year-old right-hander has walked 11 batters in his first 18 innings.
Next: Low-A
(Photo Credit: MILB.com)
Hagerstown Suns (49-49)
Hitter Of The Week: 1B Jose Marmolejos-Diaz (.292, 8 HR, 56 RBI’s)
Marmolejos-Diaz has been a constant force in the Suns lineup and has continued his great month of July at the plate. This week, he went 12-for-24 at the plate with a home run and six RBI’s. In the six games that he played, he had three hits in three of them. Plus, the 22-year-old has recorded a RBI in each of his last five games.
In 24 games this month, the first baseman is hitting .322 with two home runs and 18 RBI’s. Out of the 29 hits that he has had, 11 of them have been for extra-bases. His 56 RBI’s are tied for second in the South Atlantic League and are two behind the league lead.
Honorable Mention: LF Jeff Gardner (.241, 4 HR, 37 RBI’s)
While Gardner only played in four games this week, the 23-year-old was still able to put up eight RBI’s. He was 5-for-13 at the plate with one of those hits being a double. Against the Savannah Sand Gnats (New York Mets) on July 23, Gardner went 2-for-4 with five RBI’s.
The five runs batted in is the most RBIs’s he has had in a single game this season. Gardner is hitting .236 with two home runs and ten RBI’s in 18 games. He didn’t play in the last two games, but that should not take away from the good performance that he had.
Pitcher Of The Week: RP Robert Orlan (3-1, 3.24)
In a week where Hagerstown starters struggled to put up good performances, a reliever gets the pitcher of the week honors. On July 22 against Savannah, he went three innings, gave up one hit, and struck out six batters (a season-high). That performance got Orlan a promotion to high-A Potomac.
He pitched for the P-Nats on Sunday against Salem and had another shutout performance. In 2.2 innings, he gave up one hit and struck out four. Orlan had 17 strikeouts in 13 innings this month with the Suns before being promoted.
Honorable Mention: SP Luis Reyes (5-6, 4.75)
This past week, Reyes made two starts this past week for Hagerstown, going 1-1 in those outings. Yesterday, against the West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates), he went five innings, gave up four runs on six hits, and struck out two, but he did record the victory.
In his first start of the week against the Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox), the 20-year-old right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits over five innings in a loss. He did walk three batters in that game, something he has done in three of his last five starts. Reyes is 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA in five starts this month.
Next: Short-Season
(Photo Credit: Grading On The Curve)
Auburn Doubledays (16-19)
Hitter Of The Week: OF Victor Robles (.382, 2 HR, 7 RBI’s)
It’s been only eight games, but Robles has not show any signs of slowing down in the New York-Penn League after hitting .370 in the Gulf Coast League. The 18-year-old center fielder went 10-for-29 at the plate with two home runs and five RBI’s en route to being named New York-Penn League Player Of The Week.
Against the Vermont Lake Monsters (Oakland Athletics) on July 23, Robles went 4-for-5 with a triple, a home run, and two RBI’s. In those eight games, Robles has a .421 on-base percentage as well. He has been productive for Auburn in the leadoff spot as his young career is off to a great start.
Honorable Mention: 3B Kelvin Gutierrez (.272, 1 HR, 9 RBI’s)
Against the Lowell Spinners (Boston Red Sox) this past weekend, the 20-year old third baseman had two three-hit games. He went 7-for-13 in the series with three doubles and a RBI. The 20-year-old has nine doubles this season, which leads the team and is two doubles off the league lead. Last season, in the Gulf Coast League, Gutierrez hit .286 with no home runs and 25 RBI’s.
Pitcher Of The Week: SP Jefry Rodriguez (1-3, 4.22)
Rodriguez made one start this past week on July 21 against the Vermont Lake Monsters. In that start, he went six innings, gave up no runs on five hits, and struck out six batters. Despite not getting a decision, Rodriguez did not walk anybody for the first time this season.The 22-year-old right-hander has struck out 20 batters in his last three outings and has recorded at least six strikeouts in each game. In four starts this month, Rodriguez is 1-2 with a 3.13 ERA.
Honorable Mention: SP Taylor Hearn (1-2, 2.74)
While Hearn went 0-1 in his two starts this past week, he was able to rack up the strikeouts. In his last start against the Spinners yesterday, he went 4.2 innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out seven, and walked one. In his prior start against the West Virginia Black Bears on July 20, he went 4.1 innings, gave up two runs on five hits, struck out four, and walked one in a loss.
The 20-year-old left-hander is 1-2 this season, but he has 22 strikeouts in the four games that he has pitched in. The 22 K’s are third on the team. The Nationals selected Hearn with their fifth round pick in last month’s draft.