The full-season minor leagues got back underway as well on Friday, and in Harrisburg, the Senators took two of three in their short home series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a low-scoring weekend, with the Senators winning the aggregate 6-3, but that just means there were good pitching performances, right? Let's dive in.

Scores and Standings

New Hampshire 3, Harrisburg 2 (Friday); Harrisburg 1, New Hampshire 0 (Saturday/10 innings); Harrisburg 3, New Hampshire 0 (Sunday). The Senators are now 8-13 in the season's second half, seven games behind Akron in fifth place in the Eastern League's Southwest Division.

Pitcher of the Week - Andry Lara, RHP

No single player made as big a leap up our midseason prospect rankings update as Lara. He was the top-rated pitcher in the 2019 class of international prospects but is still just 21 years old. A rough start in Wilmington last year obscured a strong finish to the season, and he was promoted to AA after six starts this year. Sunday was his third shutout appearance in eleven starts for the Senators, as he tossed seven innings on an efficient 84 pitches, walking one and striking out five around six hits. With Josiah Gray likely to miss the entire 2025 season, Lara becomes even more critical rotation depth for next year. He is Rule-5 eligible for the first time this winter and will absolutely be added to the 40-man roster, and appears to be well on track to make his MLB debut sometime next year. Yes, Harrisburg specifically and the Eastern League in general are pitcher-friendly environments, but a sub-3.00 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across his eleven AA starts will play, and should earn him a promotion to Rochester in the near future.

Hitter of the Week - Andrew Pinckney, OF

As noted earlier, offense was at a premium this weekend, but Pinckney collected four hits in twelve trips, including the lone-extra base hit for the Senators, a double. Pinckney is the only legitimate hitting prospect in Harrisburg that is a) still here, b) healthy, and c) effective. Dylan Crews and Brady House are in Rochester, Robert Hassell III and Yohandy Morales have been out for weeks, and Kevin Made has managed one hit since his promotion from Wilmington. Pinckney keeps chugging along, and might move up the chain whenever Dylan Crews gets "the call" (August 20th? Pretty please?).

Other Notes

Kyle Luckham pitched well in a losing effort in the Friday opener, giving up two earned runs over six innings...Holden Powell was the only other Senator pitcher to allow a run this weekend...Zach Brzykcy had another successful rehab outing, and should be in the majors by August...Carlos Romero continues to take to AA like a duck to water and force himself into the future bullpen conversation; he has allowed a single earned run in fourteen innings while striking out twenty-three batters.

Coming Up

The Senators are on the road this week visiting the delightfully named Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado's AA farm team) in Connecticut.