The Former Nationals Watch (2023)

[aspenbubba]

Candy only batting .349. I'm glad we didn't keep him . Kevin Made is tearing it up and batting .069

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Candy only batting .349. I'm glad we didn't keep him . Kevin Made is tearing it up and batting .069

be careful or Mega Herz will throw one high and tight on you. 16 IP, 24 Ks, 6 BB, 0.69 WHIP, 2.25 ERA at Harrisburg. That's 28% 9K%-BB%). I don't think there anyone else in the organization near that.

Made is still a long way off. Far enough that we won't have to protect him in Rule 5, which is OK. I won't call him a bust unless he can't hack it at an age-appropriate level next year.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Giolito getting roughed up in Philly.5-3 in 6th

[Natsinpwc]

Giolito getting roughed up in Philly.5-3 in 6th

But he’s only given up 4 hits. Unfortunately 3 HRs.
I think Slate may be right about him being a sticky stuff guy. 

[imref]

Barraclaugh gave up 10ER in 4.1 for Boston, ERA over 12 in 3 appearances since getting called up

[imref]

Wilmer Difo is currently with the AAA Scranton Rail Riders Yankees affiliate.

[Slateman]

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez were claimed by the Guardians.

Just cant seperate those guys

[imref]

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez were claimed by the Guardians.

Just cant seperate those guys

Now, do they get traded for Adam Eaton?

[imref]

Twins calling up Andrew Stevenson, first major league appearance since 2021.

[welch]

On Fedde in Korea.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/09/03/erick-fedde-south-korea-nc-dinos/

[JCA-CrystalCity]

On Fedde in Korea.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/09/03/erick-fedde-south-korea-nc-dinos/

Kind of hits home some of the stuff Slate and others have been saying about how behind the Nats have been on things like pitch shaping as well as mechanics.

For the first nine years of his professional baseball career, all spent with the Washington Nationals’ organization, Fedde lived and trained in his hometown of Las Vegas during the offseason. But last fall, he was 29 and on the verge of being released. He had never been to a pitching lab, only heard the way his teammates and friends raved about the experience. So he put his home on the market and moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., a short drive from a workout facility named PUSH Performance.

...

First, though, he was assessed at PUSH and put on a program. PUSH partners with Next Level, a physical therapy facility that was critical in mending Fedde’s shoulder. By the end of 2022, Fedde knew he had to get healthy before he could fine-tune his pitches. But since PUSH and Next Level work in tandem, they were able to tackle multiple objectives at once. Beyond sounder mechanics, they looked at Fedde’s fastball shape, overhauled his breaking ball and tweaked the grip and wrist position when he throws his change-up.

...

The biggest changes to Fedde’s pitch mix are that he now throws a sweeper — a slider with more horizontal than north-to-south movement — and has upped his change-up usage. Last season with the Nationals, he threw 39.9 percent sinkers, 28.8 percent curves, 27.6 percent cutters and only 3.6 percent change-ups. With the Dinos, he figures he is around 25 percent for each pitch, something that has been pushed by the team’s analytics staff. After struggling to finish off hitters in Washington, he has 149 strikeouts to 32 walks in the KBO, a league of patient batters who want to work long counts.

[imref]

Via optastats

Lucas Giolito is the first pitcher to allow 8+ runs in a game for 3 different MLB teams in the same season since Bill Magee did so in 1899 for the Louisville Colonels, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators.

[welch]

Giolito's accomplishment made Sports Illustrated:

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/09/05/lucas-giolito-makes-unwanted-mlb-history-not-seen-since-1899?fbclid=IwAR3hWSU_O2hZbL1R4nhsXtSXbyMYRkV_vRGlYaTbwiYDO_Snt0lkl80hVWI

[imref]

Giolito's accomplishment made Sports Illustrated:

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/09/05/lucas-giolito-makes-unwanted-mlb-history-not-seen-since-1899?fbclid=IwAR3hWSU_O2hZbL1R4nhsXtSXbyMYRkV_vRGlYaTbwiYDO_Snt0lkl80hVWI

27.00 ERA. That's going to get him mocked by Trevor Williams.

[Senatorswin]

I'm watching the Phillies/Padres game and they mentioned they have to get used to Bryce Harpers new look. Then they show him playing first base. I thought holy smokes, that's Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon playing first.

[Natsinpwc]

Max out pitched by his nemesis Verlander. The latter may be a prima donna but he is also the better pitcher at this point in their careers.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/surprise-trea-turner-is-still-really-good-at-baseball/

Third best projected WAR as a SS for the next 5 years, behind Lindor and Wander, and you have to wonder if Franco will play again.  discussing his turnaround:

How has he done it? Improved plate discipline has been a part of the equation. Turner has been a more aggressive hitter the last few years, and his out-of-zone swing percentage spiked to 36% last season with the Dodgers, easily the highest in his career to that point. For the first four months of 2023, that went even higher, to 39%. While he’s still remained aggressive over the last month, with his swing rate hanging steady at 52%, the types of pitches he’s swung as has changed; his out-of-zone swings dropped by five percentage points, and his in-zone swing increased by the same margin. This kind of improvement is harder than it sounds, as reducing out-of-zone swings more often than not results in fewer zone swings due to increased passivity. Staying aggressive while seeing these kinds of movements in the numbers reflects how talented a hitter Turner is.

Unsurprisingly, hitting better pitches has resulted in better results. Statcast hard-hit numbers stabilize quickly, and Turner’s 48% hard-hit rate over the last month is well above his 40% rate over the first four months of the season. His total of 17 barrels in that span almost matches the 20 he hit over the first two-thirds of 2023.
...

 The back of the contract still looks unpleasant, but it was always going to, simply because we’re talking a 30-year-old shortstop’s projected performance in his early 40s. But the front end of the deal looks a lot nicer, and let’s be honest, that’s why he’s in Philadelphia, not because of what he would theoretically do in 2033. He entered the year with the best five-year projection of any shortstop in baseball; by August, that was down to seventh. In a single month, he’s climbed back up to third, behind Lindor and Wander Franco, whose future looks very murky as a result of some serious investigations in his home country. Turner has even got his Hall of Fame trajectory mostly back on track; ZiPS seems him finishing around 2,300 hits and 300 homers with 60 WAR, and while that’s a tough case to make based on history, those numbers put him right around Alan Trammell, who should absolutely be in the Hall.

[Senatorswin]

Earlier in the year when I saw Turner come up every time he got two strikes I would think throw a breaking ball well outside and he's toast. It looks like he's fixed that.

I just hope the Phillies go a few more years without winning the world series. At that point they'll be stuck with Harper 8 years into his contract and a 33 year old shortstop with presumably their best years behind them.

[Senatorswin]

There's an article in Sportskeeda two days ago the Angels fans are fed up with Anthony Rendon. He was asked about his injury and he pretended to not understand English. At the end of the article it suggests the Angels might be better off just releasing Rendon and eating the rest of the money.

I was critical of Rendon when he was a free agent and visited the Dodgers to get an offer. Then we he signed with the Angels he said L.A. wasn't the place for his family. It was as if he hadn't been to LA every year since he's been in the league and didn't already know what LA was like before his visit.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-los-angeles-angels-fans-infuriated-anthony-rendon-pretending-speak-english-avoid-giving-injury-update-he-done-anaheim

[machpost]

There's an article in Sportskeeda two days ago the Angels fans are fed up with Anthony Rendon. He was asked about his injury and he pretended to not understand English. At the end of the article it suggests the Angels might be better off just releasing Rendon and eating the rest of the money.

I was critical of Rendon when he was a free agent and visited the Dodgers to get an offer. Then we he signed with the Angels he said L.A. wasn't the place for his family. It was as if he hadn't been to LA every year since he's been in the league and didn't already know what LA was like before his visit.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-los-angeles-angels-fans-infuriated-anthony-rendon-pretending-speak-english-avoid-giving-injury-update-he-done-anaheim

On one of the Nats Facebook groups, an admin was saying how he had to kick some of Rendon's family out of the group after they were making some unhinged, threatening comments on posts critical of Rendon a while back. Odd behavior all around.

[Five Banners]

On one of the Nats Facebook groups, an admin was saying how he had to kick some of Rendon's family out of the group after they were making some unhinged, threatening comments on posts critical of Rendon a while back. Odd behavior all around.

Were they responding to a wisecrack that his infant son was disappointed in him?

[Natsinpwc]

No se nada.

[imref]

Candelario leaves yesterday's game with back tightness

[imref]

Look who is back in the bigs: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/dodgers-select-wander-suero-place-gus-varland-on-15-day-il.html

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Look who is back in the bigs: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/09/dodgers-select-wander-suero-place-gus-varland-on-15-day-il.html

pitched against the Nats this weekend