Washington Nationals: Andrew Stevenson Heads Up To Syracuse
Yesterday, it was announced that Washington Nationals prospect Andrew Stevenson was promote to triple-A Syracuse
When talking about the Washington Nationals farm system, a name that has been on the rise in prospect rankings since the fall is outfielder Andrew Stevenson. Yesterday, Stevenson’s rise in the system continued. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was the first to report Stevenson had been promoted to triple-A Syracuse:
OF Andrew Stevenson, who was hitting .316 for Harrisburg, is being promoted to Class AAA Syracuse today, according to people familiar.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) May 1, 2017
Stevenson was having a great start to his season at double-A Harrisburg. In his first 20 games, he had a slash line of .350/.429/.438 with 12 RBI’s and 11 walks. His 28 hits were tied for third in the Eastern League in that category and he was fourth in on-base percentage.
Two of Stevenson’s best games of the season occurred when the Senators were in Hartford to take on the Yard Goats (April 17-18). In those games, the 22-year-old had five hits in each game and drove in a combined five RBI’s. Out of his 20 games played, he had nine games in which he recorded two or more hits.
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While the stolen base numbers aren’t high from the 2015 second round draft pick (one stolen base), Stevenson has the speed to steal bases at a consistent rate. Last year, he swiped 39 bases between Harrisburg and high-A Potomac.
With Rafael Bautista now in the Majors, it makes sense for Stevenson to be promoted now since he was dominating at double-A. The question now is how fast will the former LSU tiger make it up another level to the big leagues?
If Michael Taylor struggles in yet another opportunity to win the center field job and Stevenson continues his consistent approach at Syracuse, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he’s called up this year. There’s a good chance of that when you consider Stevenson was one of the non-roster invitees Dusty Baker was impressed with earlier this spring.
It will be interesting to watch Stevenson and his above average defense in the Chiefs outfield. As for the other Chiefs outfielders, they have found success at the plate as of late.
Brian Goodwin is on a nine game hit streak and has multi-hit games in each of his last three. He had a three-run home run in the top of the third inning, his first of the year, in Sunday’s 7-6 win over Norfolk. Also, Brandon Snyder has played eight games in left field and currently leads the Chiefs in RBI’s (16).
The Chiefs are back in action tonight when they begin a three game series against Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox). You can watch the game on MILB.TV at 6:35 p.m ET. Austin Voth (1-2, 6.35 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Chiefs. Voth has walked 10 batters in his first four starts and has made it out of the sixth inning just once this year.
As for Stevenson, if he’s hitting leadoff at triple-A, he will bring another dimension to an offense that has scored 86 runs so far this season (tied for eighth in the International League).