2025

THE LEAD: Harrisburg surges while Rochester, Wilmington, and Fredericksburg plummet

It was another eventful week down on the farm, from the endless rainouts for Rochester in their visit to Scranton to the winning series put together by Harrisburg. It was probably the best week of baseball we have seen so far this year, by player statistics-wise, but unfortunately, the teams continue to flounder. What feels like a never-ending problem for this organization over the last couple of seasons is injuries. We did have some unfortunate injuries over the past week. We will run everything down for you today!

 Prospect Profile

Prospect Journey: Marquis Grissom Jr.

Marquis Grissom Jr, the son of former Montreal Expos center fielder Marquis Grissom, has made waves throughout the minor leagues and the Nationals front office since he was drafted some years ago. The 23-year-old relief pitcher who was not on anybody’s radar is now one step away from the majors, as he was promoted along with outfielder Daylen Lile to Triple-A Rochester two weeks ago. How did Grissom go from a 13th-round pick to a top-30 prospect? We’ll discuss today on our player journey.

Marquis Grissom Jr. was taken in the 13th round of the 2022 MLB first-year player Draft by the Washington Nationals out of Georgia Tech. He was a starter at GT but wasn’t very productive in his role, getting shelled late in outings. Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo and Co. had a plan for the then 21-year-old righty. He was to become a reliever right off the bat upon entering the organization. That same year, Grissom would start his pro career in the Florida Complex League, where he used his tall frame to intimidate batters and steal first pitch strikes with his 95 MPH fastball, then finish them with a blitz ball of a changeup, which is a 10 MPH difference from the fastball. The Nats loved what they saw in a very small sample size and immediately sent him to Low-A Fredericksburg to finish out the 2022 campaign.

In 2023, Grissom didn’t get any promotions to new levels, but he did earn the attention of many fans from the number of swings and misses he was generating in Fredericksburg. He finished the season with a 2.18 ERA in 41 and one-third innings of work.

Grissom came into 2024 ready to smash the glass ceiling and get his way up the ladder, and that’s just what he did; he perfected his slider, getting it to work towards the glove hand and adding more break to the change-up, not letting it hang up and it all worked out as the righty put up a 1.25 ERA for High-A Wilmington in 21 and two-thirds innings, this earned him his first in season promotion to Double-A Harrisburg where he kept it going. Grissom to end the year in Harrisburg threw 31 and two-thirds innings, striking out 30 and ending the season with a combined 2.21 ERA at both levels.

We didn’t see much of Grissom in spring training earlier this year, but he was still perfecting his craft. He was sent back to Harrisburg to start the season, but he wouldn’t be there very long. After only nine innings of work, he’d be promoted to Triple-A Rochester, where, in a short sample size, he has struggled, but it should be noted at this point that the 23-year-old is playing against guys with more experience than him. No one should be worried, in his five innings or work in Rochester, he has struck out three, it’s all a matter of where and when he puts it all together for the last piece of a long journey. When he does get the last puzzle piece, with a depleted bullpen in Washington, could the kid who was deemed to be a long shot get his shot soon?

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