Good Morning Washington Nationals Fan,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, May 29th, 2023. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, my name is Haden Raymer and we are back for another morning briefing. Today’s top story is James Wood being promoted to Double-A.

Be sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for all the latest headlines and more.

Leading today’s Morning Briefing: James Wood made his Double-A debut last night

On Sunday morning, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported James Wood’s promotion. That same day, Wood made his Double-A debut with the Harrisburg Senators. He wasted no time, getting a knock on the first pitch he saw.

James Wood shoots the first pitch he sees right back up the middle for his first Double-A hit 💥

— Nats Farm (@NatsFarm)
May 28, 2023

Wood failed to record a hit the rest of the night, but that’s ok. It’s the 20-year-old’s first Double-A game, a level where there are only a handful of players younger than him. He was already unfathomably good at Wilmington. In fact, NexGen Nats had him as one of the best players to play there in the past ten years.

James Wood is demolishing expectations, and with the rate that he is climbing, he could be on the 2024 Opening Day roster.

Nationals fail to sweep but take series over Royals

The Nationals won their first two games against the Kansas City Royals. In game one’s 12-10 victory, Luis García went 6-6, the second National to ever do so. Stone Garrett had a good game off the bench, going 2-2 with a stolen base. Joey Meneses went 3-5 with a walk and three RBIs.

On Saturday, Corey Dickerson recorded his 1,000th career hit after hitting a home run the night before. The bullpen threw five scoreless innings to fend off the Royals 4-2.

On Sunday, the Nationals led for most of the game, but solo shots by MJ Melendez and Edward Olivares tied the game, allowing a walk-off single by Michael Massey. MacKenzie Gore was dominant this game, striking out 11 batters in seven innings. He only allowed four base runners via three hits and a walk. That performance made MacKenzie Gore the Nats Report Player of the Game.

The Nationals continue their road trip, heading out to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. Their first game is tonight at 9:10 p.m. on MASN.

Down on the farm

Paolo Espino threw five innings of three-run ball for the Rochester Red Wings. Jose Ferrer walked one and allowed a hit, but struck out a batter in his relief appearance. Darren Baker went 1-5 with a triple, Jake Alu went hitless, and Carter Kieboom 2-4 with a walk.

The Harrisburg Senators lost the series finale to the Reading Fightin Phils 3-0. We already talked about James Wood. Jackson Cluff recorded a knock and threw out a runner at home.

The Wilmington Blue Rocks fell 8-4 to the Hudson Valley Renegades. Jackson Tetreault struggled in his second rehab start, allowing seven runs over 2.2 innings pitched. Dusty Saenz continued his dominance at the A+ level, striking out seven batters over five innings and allowing only one hit. Trey Lipscomb went 2-4 with a home run, hopefully jumpstarting a strong summer after starting off slow.

The Fredricksburg Nationals game was canceled because of rain. I will take the time to highlight Brady House, who has been remarkable of late. He is ninth in wRC+ among hitters 21 or younger in A ball. His teammate Daylen Lile is 13th.

Links around the league

Jesse Dougherty breaking the news on Wood’s promotion
Our friends at TalkNats talking about the recent bullpen meltdowns
TalkNats talking about Davey and Rizzo’s future with the organization
Mark Zuckerman on what Davey had to say about Wood (plus a Doolittle update)