Washington Nationals' MiLB 3 Stars of the Night - Friday 09/06/2024

As the season nears a close, I will continue seeking to provide daily Minor League updates by taking a page out of hockey's playbook and award the 3 Stars of the Night for Nats organization pieces that aren't yet with the big league club. This is an attempt to shine a spotlight on 3 future Nats who happen to have big time games the night before, in hopes to give them a bit of limelight that they wouldn't normally get to experience.

In case you are unfamiliar with hockey's concept of the 3 Stars of the Game, according to Wikipedia: "The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the "first star" considered the best of the three players, akin to the player of the match in other sports. Media representatives of the home team choose the three stars, who are usually the top point scorers or outstanding goaltenders from either team."

With all 4 Nats' minor league affiliates in action on Friday, the Harrisburg Senators and Rochester Red Wings came away victorious, while the Fredericksburg Nationals and Wilmington Blue Rocks were defeated. Travis Sykora had a rare off night on the bump for the FredNats, showing that he's got a long way to go before becoming the next Paul Skenes. Despite the subpar organizational results down on the farm while the big league club got postponed, there were still a couple standout performances across each level that were worth taking note of.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Third Star of the Night: SP Andry Lara - WSH #17 Prospect, AA Harrisburg

Righty Andry Lara, just 21-years-old and the Nats' 17th-ranked prospect, had a solid start for the victorious Harrisburg Senators on Friday night, despite earning a no-decision. He struck out 5 while walking just 1 over 5.0 shutout innings and only allowed 1 hit. For Lara, he lowered his ERA with Harrisburg to 3.55, while also lowering his WHIP to a sparkling 1.17. This season has been one of major progress for Lara, who now sports an 11-10 record, 3.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 127 strikeouts in 129.2 innings in 24 starts between High-A Wilmington and AA Harrisburg. Friday's Third Star of the Night has a Major League ETA of 2026, but at the rate he's progressing could find his way to the show by the end of next season.

⭐️⭐️ Second Star of the Night: OF Jeremy De La Rosa, AA Harrisburg

Friday's Second Star of the Night goes to Jeremy De La Rosa, a former top prospect in the organization who once peaked as high as the #6 prospect in the system back in 2021. Unfortunately for JDLR, the lack of development in his plate approach has left him outside of Washington's Top 30 list for the first time since he was signed out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018. Still just 22-years-old with the potential to be a true 5-tool player, JDLR put together a 3/5 night with an RBI single and stolen base, showcasing some of the talents that once had many thinking he'd be a major piece of the future. I hope he can figure it out, but his .189/.254/.384 slash line and .638 OPS across 3 levels from Low-A Fredericksburg up to AA Harrisburg this season does not inspire much confidence. Here's to hoping he can finish the season strong and give the organization a reason to keep investing in him.

⭐️ First Star of the Night: SP Jarlin Susana - WSH #4 Prospect, High-A Wilmington

The choice for Friday's First Star of the Night was an absolute no-brainer. The final prospect piece of the Juan Soto trade and one of baseball's hottest pitching prospects, 20-year-old Jarlin Susana, did it again. The flamethrowing righty, standing at 6'6" and 235 pounds, was dominant in a no-decision start for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, allowing just 2 hits, 2 walk, and 1 earned run over 5 innings while striking out 10 batters, tying his career-high for a single start. Still believed by many to potentially be the closer of the future for the Nats, the organization has continued to allow him to experiment as a starter, and boy has his growth been fun to watch. After recently moving into MLB's Top 100 Prospects List, checking in at 96 at the time of writing, Susana has been nearly lights-out since late May, with just a pair of consecutive blowup starts in August being the only 2 starts out of his last 16 where he has allowed more than 3 earned runs. His development has probably been the biggest surprise out of the Nats' minor leagues this year, and he will be worth monitoring as the season comes to a close.

Which of these 3 prospects are you most excited to see in Washington one day? Do you think I missed someone more deserving? As always please let me know your thoughts on X,@DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MiLB.com and MLB.com.