Columbus fell behind early 6-0 and could not rally back, falling 6-3 in Louisville (box/gamer). 24-year old RHP Craig Stammen surrendered all six runs on six hits and four walks over 4 1/3IP with three strikeouts. The Clippers bullpen was solid as 25-year old LHP Mike Hinckley, 27-year old RHP Levale Speigner, and 30-year old RHP Chris Schroder combined on 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit and one walk with three combined strikeouts. Hinckley is now 0-1 with a 2.65 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 16 appearances (17IP) since the All-Star break; while Speigner is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.65 WHIP over eight August appearances (15 1/3IP) with 12 strikeouts and 2 walks. 24-year old CF Roger Bernadina was 3/5 with a pair of doubles and is now hitting 350/403/487 in his time with Columbus. 26-year old RF Kory Casto was 2/5 with a double & two RBI; he now has 6 RBI in his five games back in Columbus. The two rehabbing players were SS Alberto Gonzalez who was 1/4 with a double & RBI and LF Elijah Dukes who was 0/3 with a walk & strikeout.
Record: Columbus 66-69, 3rd place IL West (18GB with seven games left) [eliminated]
Today: RHP Andrew Kown (1-0, 1.50) at Louisville LHP Adam Pettyjohn (14-5, 4.66), 7:05PM
Harrisburg did not play on Monday.
Record: Harrisburg 70-65, 3rd place EL South (10GB with seven games left) [five games behind Akron for wild card]
Today: RHP Bobby Brownlie (8-3, 3.87) versus Erie RHP Guillermo Moscoso (2-1, 3.13), 7:05PM
Potomac got strong pitching from 23-year old RHP Hassan Pena and three RBI each from 24-year old 1B Andrew Lefave and 24-year old SS Dan Lyons as the P-Nats slammed Salem 10-0 (box/gamer). Pena allowed only four hits over 7 2/3IP with nine strikeouts. Lefave was 3/5 with a double, two runs & three RBI while Lyons was 1/3 with a triple, two runs & three RBI. 25-year old LF Dee Brown was 2/4 with two RBI; since the All-Star break, Brown is hitting 325/415/476 with four homers and thirty-three RBI. 19-year old RF Michael Burgess was 2/4 with a run scored. And, 23-year old DH Aaron Seuss was 2/4 with two runs scored.
Record: Potomac 34-29, 1st place Carolina North (3 games ahead with seven games left) [1st half champs]
Today: RHP Jeff Mandel (6-4, 3.94) versus Salem RHP Erick Abreu (6-6, 4.10), 7:05PM
21-year old LHP Tom Milone allowed six runs (five earned) over four innings of work as Hagerstown fell 6-3 to Lake County (box/gamer). Milone fell to 0-3 on the season, giving up the six runs on eight hits and two walks over 4IP with five strikeouts. 21-year old LHP Ryan Buchter pitched two scoreless innings of relief, allowing one hit while striking out three. 22-year old LF Valerio Heredia was 2/5; 22-year old RF Bryan Miller was 2/4 with a double & RBI; and 22-year old CA Sean Rooney was 1/3 with a walk & run scored.
Record: Hagerstown 24-39, 6th place Sally North (17.5GB with seven games left) [eliminated]
Today: RHP Bradley Meyers (9-6, 4.41) at Lake County LHP Ryan Morris (8-5, 3.64), 7:00PM
21-year old CF Marcus Jones got his first professional hit and RBI as Vermont defeated Hudson Valley 8-5 (box/gamer). Jones was 2/3 with a double, stolen base, walk, run & two RBI.19-year old 2B Jake Smolinski was 2/5 with a double & RBI. CA Derek Norris was 1/2 with a double, two walks, and two runs scored. 23-year old LF Jake Dugger (1/4), 21-year old RF Michael Guerrero (1/3), and 21-year old 1B Tyler Moore (1/4) each had one RBI for the Monsters. 19-year old RHP P.J. Dean picked up his fourth win of the season despite giving up four runs on five hits (including two homers) and two walks over 5IP. 20-year old LHP Kevin Light was solid in his three innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit while striking out five; Light, an undrafted free agent from 2008, is now 0-0 with a 0.54 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over six August appearances (16 2/3IP) with 22 strikeouts and only three walks.
Record: Vermont 26-36, 3rd place NYP Stedler (10GB with thirteen games left)
Today: RHP Jose Pinales (1-1, 3.77) versus Hudson Valley, 7:05PM
The GCL Nationals swept two big games from the GCL Dodgers on Monday with 19-year old LHP Jack McGeary blanking them 1-0 in the first game (box) and 19-year old RHP Marcos Frias throwing a shutout of his own, winning 7-0 in the second game (box).
In the first game, McGeary came within one batter of the seven inning complete game shutout. Over 6 2/3IP, he allowed five hits and one walk while striking out eight. He is 2-2 in 2008 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 12 starts (59 2/3IP) with 64 strikeouts and only 13 walks. 20-year old CF Chris Curran, 19-year old 2B Steve Lombardozzi, and 22-year old 1B Brett Newsome had the only GCL Nats hits. Lombardozzi scored the lone run while Newsome drove it in. 18-year old LF Destin Hood was 0/1 with a walk; 18-year old RF J.P. Ramirez was 0/2; 18-year old DH Adrian Nieto was 0/2; and 18-year old SS Smiley Gonzalez was 0/3.
In the second game, Frias allowed three hits and two walks over the seven-inning game complete game shutout while striking out two. Gonzalez was 2/3 with a stolen base, walk, RBI & two runs scored. Hood was 1/3 with a double, walk, & run scored. Ramirez was 1/3 with a walk, run, & two RBI.
Record: GCL Nationals 32-21, 1st place GCL East (2.5 games ahead of the GCL Dodgers with two or three games left … depending upon completion of a makeup game with the GCL Marlins on 8/27; GCL Dodgers have two games left. If the GCL Nationals only have two games left, they have clinched their division. However, the GCL Nationals magic number is 1 if they have three games left)
Today: LHP Graham Hicks (professional debut) versus GCL Mets, 12:00PM
The DSL regular season has ended. The playoffs will begin this week.
Record: DSL Nationals1 55-17, 1st place DSL S.D. West (finished 25 games ahead); DSL Nationals2 29-43, 4th place DSL S.D. West (finished 26GB) [Nats1 in the playoffs; Nats2 eliminated]
This Week: The DSL Nationals1 and the DSL Giants both received first round byes. The DSL Angels will take on the DSL Rangers1 and the DSL Mariners will take on the DSL Twins in best-of-three series on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (if necessary).
Freda | 26-Aug-08 at 9:07 am | Permalink
Patrick Arnold (Vermont SP) has been sent to the GCL to pitch for the Viera Nationals leading up to the playoffs. He is expected to make the start on Wednesday. He will return to Vermont sometime around the 1st or second of September.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 9:17 am | Permalink
Thanks Freda. I was curious why Pinales was the scheduled starter.
Ronny | 26-Aug-08 at 9:40 am | Permalink
Jack McGeary is the man, I see him as a better version of Cole Hammels.
Andrew F | 26-Aug-08 at 9:51 am | Permalink
McGeary doesn’t have Hamels’s stuff, but the kid can pitch. Let’s let him get out of the GCL first, though.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 9:53 am | Permalink
Hamels was pitching in A-ball (equivalent of Hagerstown/Potomac) at 19 years old. McGeary could be a solid starter, but I don’t see him in the class of Hamels.
Fake Cole Hamels | 26-Aug-08 at 9:54 am | Permalink
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Gal Revels in Pee | 26-Aug-08 at 10:00 am | Permalink
Can it be long before I rise again?
1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.65 WHIP over eight August appearances (15 1/3IP) with 12 strikeouts and 2 walks.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 10:03 am | Permalink
Levale, you’ll have to bump Brian Sanches and/or Chris Schroder off of the 40-man. Not saying it won’t happen, but the 40-man is full as of today.
Ronny | 26-Aug-08 at 10:18 am | Permalink
You guys watch, when McGeary is done with college and spends most his time focusing on baseball full time you will see what i’m talking about.
J. Cole | 26-Aug-08 at 10:31 am | Permalink
McGeary has had 2 great starts in a row, but he has a long road to the majors, he could blow out his arm at any point and become Clint Everts or any other talented pitcher that never made the bigs. Wait until he actually gets to the bigs before comparing him to Cole Hamels, or even Scott Downs. Big ups to GCL Nats if they clinched with the doubleheader sweep yesterday. Way to pull ahead of your rival and put the knife in their back by taking two with only a few games left. Ramirez must hit pretty good with RISP, that’s 8 RBI’s in 2 days. All the way to the league championship along with the P-Nats! That would be nice to have 2 affiliates win championships. Nice to see Vermont actually scoring some runs now that Jones and Espinosa are in the lineup and Smolinski is coming back into form after being injured earlier.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 10:35 am | Permalink
J. Cole - Don’t forget about the DSL Nationals.
Dick | 26-Aug-08 at 10:44 am | Permalink
Brian: It seems to me that the P-Nats, D-Nats and DSL-Nats accomplishments are indicative that things are, in fact, beginning to turn around. Also, the Senators have had about a 25-game improvement and an actual winning record. I believe this was generally done with age-appropriate players rather than ‘organization guys’. Do you agree?
Dick | 26-Aug-08 at 10:44 am | Permalink
Make that GCL-Nats.
Dick | 26-Aug-08 at 10:46 am | Permalink
Tragic number is looking better today!
Ronny | 26-Aug-08 at 11:11 am | Permalink
With a few more good drafts, in 2-3 years the Nats system will be bursting with talent from top to bottom and we will be good for a long time. Man!!, I can’t wait.
Fake Stan Kasten | 26-Aug-08 at 11:20 am | Permalink
::mixes sugar packet with water::
Ronny | 26-Aug-08 at 11:30 am | Permalink
And it sure taste good!
Henry | 26-Aug-08 at 11:44 am | Permalink
Ramirez is the man, oh yea not bad for an 18 year old who the Nats got in the 15th round.. What a steal!!!
J. Cole | 26-Aug-08 at 12:06 pm | Permalink
Brian - Not sure how to evaluate the DSL team. I know the other teams are made up of people coming out of the draft. How many of the DSL guys ever go to the otherteams and continue to advance? Do you have anybody you can show me at High A or above that played DSL and then started moving up?
estuartj | 26-Aug-08 at 1:32 pm | Permalink
What is the playoff schedule for the P-Nats in the Carolina League playoffs?
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 1:48 pm | Permalink
Home on September 3 & 4 at 7:05PM per their online schedule. Things will flesh out as the season wraps up.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 1:54 pm | Permalink
J. Cole - Valerio Heredia & Osvaldo Rodriguez from Hagerstown, Atahaulpa Severino is in Potomac, Ofilio Castro, Marco Yepez, & Yunior Novoa from Harrisburg.
My point was more that you mentioned the GCL and Potomac Nationals as playoff teams, and I was suggesting not to forget the DSL team as well.
VTBill | 26-Aug-08 at 2:15 pm | Permalink
Brian,
J.Cole’s post raised some questions that I’ve had for a while concerning the DSL teams. It’d be great if someone could give a overview of how the DSL is tied to the Nats and other MLB teams. Since these players aren’t included in the draft how do we fill the teams with players? Are they all International Free Agents? Are they actually property of the Nats? I’ve learned tons about the minor league system from this blog but this is one area that I still don’t really understand.
Brian Oliver | 26-Aug-08 at 2:17 pm | Permalink
The DSL players are memebers of the Nationals organization. They are all signed as international free agents.
Typically, the “prospect”y guys are 16 or 17 years old. They will play a year or two in the DR and then come over to US as part of the GCL in their age 18 or 19 season.
J. Cole | 26-Aug-08 at 3:07 pm | Permalink
Thanks Brian - Novoa came from DSL, that says enough for me right there. UPDATE - milb.com lists the GCL Nationals as the division winner. So the doublheader did it and we have our second minor league playoff team for the year (Potomac = 1st) and for the history of the Nats. Go GCL NAts!
Carol | 26-Aug-08 at 7:33 pm | Permalink
Stephen Englund is out of the lineup for the second straight night due to a possible broken rib from diving for a fly ball sunday night