The Rochester Red Wings played an early game yesterday (11:07 first pitch), and the most notable part of it was that Cade Cavalli was the starting pitcher. It cannot be an accident that the Nationals have lined his AAA schedule up with Trevor Williams - although they might want to think about shifting Cavalli’s turn to mirror Mitchell Parker instead. Regardless, Cavalli had the best of his four starts thus far for the Red Wings, tossing five scoreless innings with three hits, a walk, and ten strikeouts in a 3-0 Rochester win. If this keeps up, he will likely remain in AAA only long enough a) for the Nationals to claw back a year of service time (the past two years on the injured list have all eaten at his MLB clock) and b) to pitch effectively into the sixth inning. At that point he should be ready to rejoin the Nationals with the end goal of finishing the season in DC.

Whom should Cavalli replace? If based purely on performance the answer is Williams, with his (entering last night) 6.39 ERA, 1.561 WHIP, lack of swing-and-miss stuff, and general short leash in any given start. However, after an awesome start Parker has thudded back to earth, surrendering 27 runs in 27.2 innings over his last six starts. Parker has options and clearly has some mental approach aspects that he could work on at the AAA level (and perhaps rediscover the strikeout rate he experienced at every level of the minors prior to his promotion last year?), while Williams is the team’s highest-paid pitcher and also a clubhouse leader and mentor (it was he who purchased a suite for the team during the Caps’ first-round playoff series) - demoting him to the bullpen would come with some off-the-field costs. Parker is starting to make this decision easier for the Nationals, especially after Williams threw six shutout innings last night.

Trevor Williams went a long way towards holding onto his spot in the rotation with six scoreless innings on fewer than eighty pitches, and the offense woke up from its recent slumber (well, most of them did - CJ Abrams saw seven pitches in four trips to the plate) against George Kirby, who has struggled mightily in his two starts since coming off of the injured list. Luis García Jr., Josh Bell, James Wood, and - for the first time - Robert Hassell III all homered, and José Tena hit a two-run double as well in a 9-0 Nats win. Brad Lord, Jose A. Ferrer, and Zach Brzykcy each pitched a scoreless frame in relief of Williams, as Davey Martinez was able to continue resting Kyle Finnegan, recently unavailable for a few days due to shoulder fatigue.

Both Bobby Barrels and Daylen Lile have struggled at the plate since each singled on the first major league pitch he saw on consecutive nights last week, but last night they went a combined 4-for-8 with a walk and Hassell’s first major league home run. Jacob Young could be ready to return to play as soon as this weekend, and so either Hassell or Lile (more likely the latter) could be returning to AAA Rochester soon if they don’t make a strong case for staying in the big leagues. I think that Young could actually use a minor league stint to work on pitch recognition and reading pitchers as a base stealer, but the other advantage he has over Hassell and Lile (besides having reached the majors first) is that he is a right-handed hitter, something in short supply in the Nationals’ clubhouse these days. Since Lile was called up to replace Young, the Nats have started seven lefties and two switch-hitters against every right-handed starter, with a third switch-hitter on the bench along with three righties who are part-time-only players (Amed Rosario, Riley Adams, and Alex Call). Anyway, Hassell and Lile already find themselves in something of a competition for who gets to hang around in what may be a recurring theme for the rest of the season.

Peet’s Coffee is crafted for those who crave delicious coffee without the brewing; this versatile blend holds its own in any creation. Silky-smooth and delicious, hot or cold, it takes just one tablespoon and a couple of moments to whip up whatever cup you're craving. Order yours today to take advantage of their limited-time intro price.

📌 A Mathematical Explanation For Home Extra Inning Losses (Fangraphs)

📌 MLB In A Minor League Park (The Athletic)

📌 Why the Rockies Are Worse Than the White Sox (Yahoo!)