With so many of the exciting and dynamic players from this team either in AAA Rochester these days or on the injured list, the midsummer portion of the season has been rough for your Harrisburg Senators, and they just dropped five of six in Hartford this past week to plummet to last place in their division for the second half of the season. There could be some major shaking up of the roster over the next week as the twenty newly drafted Nats enter the system and force some subtractions to keep the 165-man limit in place.
Scores & Standings
Hartford 5, Harrisburg 4 (Tuesday); Hartford 7, Harrisburg 1 (Wednesday); Harrisburg 5, Hartford 3 (Thursday); Hartford 4, Harrisburg 3 (Friday); Hartford 5, Harrisburg 2 (Saturday); Hartford 5, Harrisburg 0 (Sunday). The Senators are now 9-18, in sixth place in the Eastern League's Southwest Division, ten games behind division leader Akron.
Pitcher of the Week - Carlos Romero
Since none of the starters had elite performances against the Yard Goats, let's highlight Romero, who pitched two scoreless innings on consecutive nights to continue his torrid start to his AA tenure. Since joining the Senators in early June, Romero has allowed one earned run in sixteen innings (0.56 ERA), allowing eight hits and six walks while striking out 25 (0.875 WHIP). He has quickly made himself a candidate both to get another promotion this summer and to be added to the 40-man roster this winter (he is already Rule 5-eligible, as he originally signed with the Nats way back in 2016).
Hitter of the Week - CJ Stubbs
The younger brother of Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs, CJ was picked up by the Nats in May after being released by the Astros, and has been one of three catchers on the Senators' roster since the end of May. He only played in three games this past week but went 3-for-9 with two doubles and two RBI for a .333/.455/.556 line. His season OPS of .683 isn't anything to write home about, but it is the best among Senators catchers that have played more than two games.
Other Notes
Outfielder Daylen Lile went 7-for-21 with a double and more walks (3) than strikeouts (2) this week...shortstop Kevin Made collected just three hits, but one of them was his first AA home run...Zach Brzykcy continued his rehab in the Harrisburg bullpen, getting strafed for three runs on Tuesday night but bouncing back with two further scoreless appearances - he's a strong candidate to join the big club after the trade deadline, presumably to replace either Kyle Finnegan or Dylan Floro...Rodney Theophile had an excellent start on Tuesday but couldn't make it out of the first inning on Sunday, his first bad outing since getting promoted to this level...although Andry Lara gave up five runs in five innings on Saturday and only struck out one, he might also not be long for this level - Rochester needs some more rotation help, and Lara could do with the challenge as he too will be added to the 40-man roster this winter...Marquis Grissom Jr. threw two more scoreless innings to lower his Harrisburg ERA to 1.20.
Any Roster Moves?
Starter Kyle Luckham moved up to Rochester on Wednesday...Tyler Stuart, acquired from the Mets for Jesse Winker on Saturday night and late of the Eastern League's Binghamton Rumble Ponies, was immediately assigned to Harrisburg and should slot right into their rotation...outfielder Jeremy de la Rosa joined the Senators this week from Wilmington. There was a plethora of moves at lower levels, and like I said up top, we could see a lot more this coming week.
Up Next
The Senators are hosting division leader Akron this week at FNB Field.