Is That Nuke LaLoosh Pitching in the Carolina League?

Sure, Carlos Correa looks like the monster everyone predicted he would become. He leads the Texas League in batting and his 1.105 OPS jumps right off the page. If you play in a keeper league and have not tucked him away somewhere, you should. The Houston Astros have an embarrassment of riches that Bill Gilbert must be doing handstands over.

If you look down the same list of league leaders, weighing in with a paltry .941 OPS at number ten in the Texas League for batting average, there is the much maligned “Player to be Named Later:” Trea Turner. Still playing for the San Antonio Missions in the Padres’ Organization, Turner could soon be giving Washington Nationals fans reason to ask, “Ian who?” One of the better shortstops in the game, Ian Desmond is playing out the string, and after this his final year on a two-year deal, he will make himself available to the highest bidder. Fair Play to you Ian!!

Trea Turner will come over to the Nationals organization in a few weeks and the only question seems to be whether he goes to Harrisburg and continues to get reps at Double-A, or whether they jump him to Triple-A Syracuse to see how he fares against better competition. If he goes to Harrisburg, it is because of the development of Danny Espinosa this year in Washington. One of the better glove men in the National League, Espinosa has found his hitting stroke after struggling for the past few years. Along with Yunel Escobar , who has rediscovered his old National League self, the Nationals have a double play combination for 2016 that deserves a shot, which would give Turner at least part of another season to refine his skill set.

As good as the Houston Astros have done drafting young talent in recent years and rebuilding what could be a very good team, the Washington Nationals are cooking from the same Betty Crocker box. They are continuing to feed the major league organization with position players like Michael Taylor and have remade their bullpen with minor league talent that has thrived for the most part. But the best is yet to come.

Lucas Giolito is ranked by most talent grading sources as one of the top ten minor league prospects in the game. Last night, watching him pitch against the Carolina Mudcats, it was easy to see what the fuss is about. But first it bears saying there is something about a minor league game that is just not repeatable anywhere on the planet. You end up looking for Susan Sarandon and in Giolito, “Big Hollywood,” you cannot help but see the tall, slender Nuke LaLoosh. It is the size. He is 6′-6″ and when he drops the ball down behind his back, the long arms that give his fastball some of that snap are obvious.

He was hittable last night and the Mudcats got to him for three runs and they squared up the big fastball several times. In the sixth inning he gave up two runs on a couple of solid hits after the first strikeout got away from catcher Spencer Kieboom. He struck out four batters in the inning and was not undone by the opposing hitters ability to get to his heater. He came back out for the seventh inning and struck out two more and allowed his team to come back to win the game, 4-3.  He is eerily reminiscent of Stephen Strasburg. The big fastball is what gets your attention, but good hitters will get to it unless he has better command in the strike zone.  The 12-to-6 curve is what makes it all work to such devastating effect and when he settles on a third pitch to complement them, he is going to be very good indeed.

Arriving just ahead of Giolito in Potomac several weeks ago was Reynaldo Lopez, who pitched Sunday afternoon in Frederick against the Orioles High-A affiliate there. Lopez has a fastball that is every bit as impressive as Giolito’s, sitting at 96-97 mph all game long. His secondary offerings did not look quite as good, but he baffled the Keys with whatever he was throwing. He allowed one earned run over six innings and it was the first time he had been scored upon in seventeen innings  of work so far in the Carolina League.

As much fun as Nationals fans are having watching Bryce Harper’s campaign against National League pitching this month, there is more happening around the area and getting out to see some minor league baseball is something every fan should do. I am hoping that Trea Turner spends at least a few weeks at Harrisburg so that I can get up there to see him play in the Pennsylvania capital or maybe in Altoona or Reading, great baseball venues all.

There are names to remember playing all across the country and while it is easy to get caught up in the pennant chase in the NL East, there will be big changes afoot for the Washington Nationals in 2016 and beyond. A.J. Cole and Joe Ross could well be pitching alongside Max Scherzer next season. Ross is still at Harrisburg and worth a look. Giolito and Lopez might be ready by 2017. It is great fun to see them now where you can get close enough to the action that want to just reach out and touch it. Watching the Mudcats gather around their starter in the sixth inning I could almost imagine the conversation. “What are you getting them for a wedding gift?” Tickets to DC, is what they want, trust me.