On Tuesday, June 24, the Rochester Red Wings will host their “arch-rival,” the Syracuse Mets, on Opening Day 2.0. Rochester finished in 20th place out of 20 teams in the International League’s first half of the season, but on Tuesday, the Red Wings get a “mulligan” or a “do-over.” Every team now has a record of 0-0.

Last year, the Omaha Storm Chasers came in 19th place in the first half. They won the second half by improving their fundamentals and simply playing good, sound baseball. I think coming up with the idea of a split season was an excellent idea. A team that had no hope of contending for a title or simply enjoying a good season now has hope. Also, the rosters of AAA teams in late-June are vastly different than early-April. For example, the Worcester WooSox finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division and have recently called up Abraham Toro, Marcelo Mayer, and Roman Anthony to the Boston Red Sox. Our Rochester Red Wings this week had Brady House and Daylen Lile called up to Washington. Teams also have players who have opted out of contracts, been released, and placed on the Injured List, and teams have added players to their rosters, too. The Red Wings have had over 50 players on their roster so far this season.

The Red Wings have the talent to contend for the title in the second season. They have been playing better lately. Some people might think I'm crazy because this team has just lost 12 games in a row. In three of the Wing's six losses to Worcester, they had the lead late in the game when they were swept. In two of those losses, they had four runs leads late in the games. The Wings then lost six in a row to the first-half champion Jacksonville, and the Red Wings had leads late in the game for five of those six losses.

The bullpen has been an area that needs to improve. They have 20 blown saves this year. Recently, they have been doing better and have some good, young prospects that are doing well. Jack Sinclair, Holden Powell, and Marquis Grissom Jr. are going to make the back end of this bullpen better. The Red Wings need to improve, making more productive outs. The hitters need to reduce the strikeouts and move runners to the next base on outs. They are currently ranked 19th in hitting in the International League, but their team batting average ranks 12th. They are getting runners on base, but their hitting with runners in scoring position ranks low and needs to improve.

The Red Wing's record was 27-45 in the first half-season of 2025. Since May 20, the Red Wings have played much better. They are 15-14 in their last five series, and that includes a 12-game losing streak. The Red Wings never won a series this season until May 25. They have won three of their last five series. On June 24, our record goes back to zero and zero. The Red Wings get a “Do-Over”! Opening Day 2.0 is upon us, and it will be glorious. It also will be over 50 degrees warmer than the April 1 Opening Day, which was 36 degrees at first pitch. I can’t promise that they will win the title in the second half, but they only have one direction to go. I can promise that The Nats Report will keep you updated on the team’s progress and the progress, growth and development of the future Washington Nationals’ players.