Rockies Romp the Nats 13-1

It’s getting kind of tough to watch…

The Washington Nationals fell to the lowly Colorado Rockies 13 to 1 this evening in an obvious total blow out.

The Nationals recorded their only run in tonight’s game when Andres Chaparro led off the bottom of the 2nd with his 9th home run. 1-0 Nats.

The rest of the evening was all Colorado…

The Rockies took the lead in the top of the 5th. Connor Norby led off the inning with a walk and came home courtesy of Troy Johnston’s 4th homer to right field. Later in the inning, Jake McCarthy ran out an infield hit and came home on Cole Carrigg’s 6th home run to left field. 4-1 Colorado.

The Rockies truly broke it open in the top of the 7th. Hunter Goodman and TJ Rumfield both singled and were followed by a Willi Castro walk, loading the bases. With two outs, Connor Norby hit his first career grand slam to center field, his 6th dinger of the year. 8-1 Colorado.

The Rockies weren’t done yet. In the top of the 8th, Cole Carrigg singled to left. Hunter Goodman followed with a two-run shot to left field, his 36th home run this season. With 2 outs, Willi Castro and Mickey Moniak both drew base on balls. Connor Norby then singled to center scoring pinch-runner Ryan Ritter. Troy Johnston was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Ezequiel Tovar then singled to center, scoring Moniak and Norby. 13-1 Colorado.

And that, my friends, was the final score.

The Colorado Rockies scored 13 runs on 15 hits, 4 of which were home runs. Conner Norby led the way going 2 for 4 with a grand-slam and a total of 5 RBIs.

Tanner Gordon got his first win of the year for Colorado, throwing 7 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 5.

The Nationals sent 6 pitchers to the mound. Matt Waldron started his first game for the Nats. Waldron was just claimed yesterday after being waived by the San Diego Padres. He pitched the first 2 innings giving up 2 hits and 0 runs. Will Dion took the loss while giving up 4 hits and 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings. Luis Perales made his major league debut as one of those pitchers. He was called up earlier today from Triple-A Rochester. Perales had a tough night, going 2 innings while giving up 4 runs on 4 hits while walking 3 and striking out 3.

The Rockies are now 52 and 81 for the year, while the Nationals dropped to 62 and 73.

Final game in the series is tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 ET.

We’re just playing out the string…

Dave’s Dime…Future Stars

Yesterday we talked a little about the minor leagues and how every major league team has four official minor league affiliates. I mentioned the four teams linked to the Washington Nationals. I thought today we’d take a deep dive into these teams and see what might be coming up the pipeline.

On the lowest level of affiliation would be the Single-A Fredericksburg Nationals. They play out of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and are members of the Carolina League. Fredericksburg plays their home games at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, which can hold up to 5,000 fans. They’re affectionally known as the FredNats. That’s a lot easier to type. The team won the first half of the season in the Carolina League North Division with a record of 46 wins and 29 losses.

Some of the FredNats best prospects include:

Gavin Fien was selected 12th in the 2025 draft. He’s listed as a third baseman. Gavin was the 2024 MLB High School All-American Game MVP. He’s batting .242 this year with 10 home runs and 52 RBIs.

Coy James is an infielder who was selected in the fifth round in last year’s draft. He’s set a record by hitting 19 home runs so far for the FredNats this year. He also has 71 RBIs and a.228 batting average.

Landon Harmon is a right- handed pitcher who was drafted out of high school this past year. He has a 1 win 1 loss record with the FredNats this year with an impressive 1.59 ERA. He’s a big kid at 6’5” and 190 lbs.

All three of these young men are 19 years-old and have a bright future ahead of them…hopefully.

One rung up on the minor league ladder are the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks who play out of Wilmington, Delaware. They hang out at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium and are members of the South Atlantic League. They can fit 6,404 fans in their seats. Wilmington finished the first half of the season with a record of 60 wins and 60 losses.

The Blue Rocks have a few good prospects:

Eli Willits is only 18 years-old and was the Nationals’ first round draft pick in 2025. This year with the Blue Rocks, Willits is batting .258 with 13 home runs and 65 RBIs. He’s playing short stop for Wilmington. Definitely someone to watch.

Ronny Cruz is a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round in 2024. He’s hitting .233 this year with the Blue Rocks. He’s smacked 13 homes runs and driven in 61. Cruz has been playing various infield positions for Wilmington.

Luke Dickerson is another infield prospect for Wilmington. Dickerson was chosen in round 2 of the 2024 draft. He’s 21 years old and hails from Morristown, New Jersey. He’s batting .238 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs.

The Nationals sure have a plethora of infield prospects.

Next up on the minor league ladder is the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, who play out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They enjoy their home games at FNB Park with a capacity of 6,187. The Senators play in the Eastern League. They finished the first half of the season with a record of 34 wins and 35 losses.

Top prospects for the Senators include:

Seaver King is a 23-year-old third baseman and outfielder. He played his college baseball for Wake Forest. King was selected 10th overall in the 2024 MLB draft. He started this season with Harrisburg, hitting .335 with 5 home runs and 27 RBIs in 35 games. He was promoted to Triple-A Rochester in May.

Alex Clemmey is a 21-year-old left-handed pitcher drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in 2023. He’s also a big kid at 6’6” and 205 lbs. Clemmey has appeared in 25 games this year for the Senators with a 4-win 6-loss record and a 4.69 ERA.

Sam Petersen is a 23-year-old center fielder drafted by Washington in 2024’s 8th round. Peterson has been busy this year. He started the season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and was promoted to Harrisburg on March 30th. He moved up again on August 4th and is now playing for the Rochester Red Wings in Triple-A. Good job, Sam!

Now we’re up to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings who call Rochester, New York, their home and ESL Ballpark their stadium, one that can hold up to 10,840 fans. The Red Wings are members of the International League. Rochester led the East Division at the mid-point of the season with a record of 45 wins and 28 losses.

Now this is pretty cool. I looked up the top Rochester prospects at the beginning of the year, and all three are now playing in the big leagues with the Nationals.

Catcher Henry Ford was originally selected by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft. He played a few games with the Mariners in 2025. Ford was traded to the Nationals’ organization in December of that year. He made his Washington Nationals debut on June 17th of this year. He’s been struggling lately and is currently batting .190 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs in limited appearances for the Nats.

Abimelec Ortiz is originally from Puerto Rico. He played his college ball in Fort Myers, Florida. Ortiz originally signed a contract with the Texas Rangers organization after going undrafted in 2021. He made it all the way to Triple-A with the Rangers, but was traded to the Nationals in January of this year. He was promoted to the big leagues just last month. Ortiz is hitting .221 with 5 home runs and 10 RBIs since his promotion. He’s been playing first base for the Nats.

Andrew Pinckney was selected by Washington in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. He worked his way through the minor leagues and made his major league debut just a few weeks ago. He was called up due to James Wood going on the disabled list. He has been playing in the outfield for the Nats. In his second at bat as a National, Pinckney smacked a 402-foot solo home run, making him the seventh Nationals’ player who can say his first hit in the major leagues was a long ball.

In fact, Henry Ford is actually the starting catcher in tonight’s game. And Andrew Pinckney pinch-hit.

I’m sure some of you readers have visited a couple of these minor league stadiums in the past. Minor league baseball is actually a fun time for all. And I’m not even getting paid to say that. Cheaper tickets, less expensive parking, still some good grub, a more laid-back atmosphere. Not as many egos. What more could you want?

So, there you go…remember the names…and let’s just sit back and see what the future holds.

Dave Carter