2025

THE LEAD: Another Rough Week down on the Farm

It was another cold, rainy and lackluster week down on the farm for the Washington Nationals Minor League Affiliates. From Low-A to Triple-A, no one team shined. Although this week, not as bad as week one of the season, it saw the lows of an embarrassing no-hitter thrown against (Triple-A) Rochester, but also a gleam of hope for top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli, who made a rehab start for (Low-A) Fredericksburg. All in all, it was still frustrating for fans and analysts alike to watch all the teams play, especially after the major league teams’ performance on this latest road trip.

 WASHINGTON NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REWIND

Triple-A Rochester Red Wings

Weekly Report from Rochester

The Rochester Red Wings had another really bad week, losing five out of six games as well as being no-hit in game one of a seven-inning doubleheader to the Worcester Red Sox (Boston). Rochester has yet to win a series this year and has fallen to a brutal 4-15 record through 19 games. The Wings struggled in almost every single facet of play this past series; they got outscored 49 to 24, shut out twice, and as I mentioned before, they got no-hit in seven innings. Third Baseman Brady House was the lone bright spot for the Red Wings this week. After going hitless in the first two games, he stormed back to go a combined 6 for 17 over the last four games of the series. That’s encouraging news for the Nationals’ top prospect, as he struggled in the series prior. House’s top 30 prospect teammate, Robert Hassell III, hitting woes continued in this series with his batting average dropping from .280 in game one to .232 in the last game of the series vs Worcester.

Trey Lipscomb had a good start to the series, homering in game one before being called up to Washington to replace the injured Paul DeJong.

Up Next

The Rochester Red Wings will take a trip down the New York State Thruway for a seven-game series with their interstate rivals, the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto). The Bisons have a record of 5-13 on the year and just came off a dreadful series in Syracuse, where they lost five out of six games. Buffalo is led offensively by journeyman catcher Ali Sanchez, who is batting .310 in 10 games this season. The first game of the series starts Tuesday at 6:05 in Buffalo.

 WASHINGTON NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REWIND 

Double-A Harrisburg Senators

Weekly Report from Harrisburg

The Harrisburg Senators traveled up to Manchester, New Hampshire, this past week and took three out of six games from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto). The Senators started the series hot, winning two out of the first three games, but ultimately had to salvage the last game Sunday afternoon to earn a series split. The Sens are still one game under .500 with a 7-8 record through 15 games, but compared to their other affiliates, that’s a very respectable record early on in the season. Right-handed starting pitcher Jarlin Susana labored through his start in game three. The 21-year-old went on to go four and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits, three walks and one hit batter, but Susana did strikeout 10, which is his season high through three games started. Top 30 outfielder prospect Daylen Lile is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting safely in his last seven games. Over that span, Lile is 12 for 32 with three extra-base hits and eight RBIs. Lile was a 2021 second-round pick out of high school. Adding on to the hitting is second baseman Phillip Glasser, who had another good series and has played his way into a starting job. Glasser went 4 for 16 with two walks and only striking out twice in four games. On the injury front, it looks like Infielder Yohandy Morales has some kind of undisclosed injury; he hasn’t played since April 13th.

Up Next

The Harrisburg Senators will return home this week for a six-game homestand against the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit). Erie has a record of 10-5 on the year, and they are coming off a six-game homestand of their own in which they took four games from the Akron RubberDucks. Left fielder Justice Bigbie leads the way for Erie, batting .310 with three homers and 16 RBIs in 13 games. The series starts on Tuesday at 6:30 in Harrisburg.

 WASHINGTON NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REWIND 

High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks

Weekly Report from Wilmington

It was a rough road trip to the Hudson Valley region of New York State this week for the Wilmington Blue Rocks as they got swept, six games to zero, by the Hudson Valley Renegades (New York Yankees). Wilmington will return home with one of the worst records in the minors at 3-12. But what went wrong for the Blue Rocks this series? Hitting, the team couldn’t hit, now you could say it was cold in New York and maybe that played a factor but when you look beyond the curtain you see that the two supposed heavy lifters for this team and big league hopefuls Elijah Green and Seaver King have struggled mightily through 15 games with green striking out a astronomical 26 times through 48 at-bats and King not too far behind with 20 K’s in 46 at-bats with both batting well below the mendoza line. Enough of that. Who was the guy who showed the most hope this week? Second baseman Gavin Dugas had a solid week, going a combined 3 for 11. I think it’s safe to say the Blue Rocks are glad to be heading home and start fresh again.

Up Next

The Wilmington Blue Rocks will also return home this week to face the Aberdeen IronBirds (Orioles). The IronBirds are 7-8 on the young season and just came off a series loss at the hands of the Brooklyn Cyclones. Aberdeen is led by second baseman Aaron Estrada and shortstop Leanadro Arias, who are hitting .309 and .311, respectively. The first game is set to start on Tuesday at 6:35 in Wilmington. The IronBirds will have —- start game one, and the Blue Rocks will count on —- to take the ball.

 WASHINGTON NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REWIND 

Single-A Fredericksburg Nationals

Weekly Report from Fredericksburg

The Fredericksburg Nationals also split their six-game series this past week with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston). After losing the first two games of the series, it felt like it would be a rough go of it for the Fred-Nats, but they bounced back by winning the next three, and then unfortunately fell in the series finale Sunday afternoon, 7-1, thus ending their chance at a series win and dropping their record to 8-7. One very glaring issue from the road trip for Fredericksburg was their fielding; the Fred-Nats committed six errors, and two of those errors led to four runs in game one, which was a 7-6 loss for Fredericksburg. While the team played sloppy in the field, Right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli made his first start of the season in the 5th game of the series and he was phenomenal. Cavalli went four innings, gave up no runs, one hit, and struck out three but ironically made a throwing error trying to pick off a runner at first… Cavalli is rehabbing in the minors, building his arm back up after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the Summer of 2023.

Up Next

The Fredericksburg Nationals will play at home this week as they start a series with the Charleston RiverDogs (Tampa Bay). The RiverDogs are 6-9 to start the season and just finished off a series win against the Hickory Crawdads. Charleston is led by starting pitcher Ryan Andrade, who in 14 innings this year has a 0.64 ERA and 11 strikeouts. First pitch for game one of the series is set for Tuesday at 6:05 in Fredericksburg.

WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING

Speed Reads

📌Spencer Strider goes on the IL (mlb trade rumors)

📌MLB Power Rankings (cbs sports)

📌 Aaron Judge Foul Homerun (yahoo)