Washington Nationals: Minor League Primer
By Blake Finney
Triple A – Syracuse Chiefs
Even by minor league standards, the Syracuse Chiefs are in a pretty bizarre situation. Despite currently being a Washington Nationals affiliate, they’re actually owned by the New York Mets.
This means 2018 will be the last season they’re affiliated with the Nationals. Unfortunately, the Chiefs only playoff appearance in affiliation with the Nats came in 2014.
Since then it’s been 3 straight last-place finishes in the International League. They’ll look to change that this season with a seemingly much better roster.
Main Attraction: Victor Robles
You may have heard of this Victor Robles kid. Ranked the number six prospect in baseball by MLB.com will start the season in Syracuse.
Despite already playing for the major league club, he has yet to even step into the batters box at Triple A. So it makes sense for him to begin the year with the Chiefs.
Although if Michael Taylor struggles in April for the Nats, Robles’ stay in the International League may only be a brief one.
Keep an eye on: Erick Fedde
Another heralded prospect that starts the year with Syracuse is Erick Fedde. He may be in the minors a bit longer than Robles, but he could be set to take a huge leap this year.
We saw Fedde struggle to put hitters away in his brief major league stint last season. He was also flipped to the bullpen and back mid-season which may have contributed to his down-year too.
But with his stuff, if he can work on his strikeout pitch with the Chiefs, it may not be long before we see him with a curly W on his chest again.