Thursday morning I was lucky enough to take in a game between the visiting Lynchburg Hillcats, the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, as they played a getaway game against the home Potomac Nationals. It was middle school science day, so the stands were filled with youngsters extremely boisterous about not being in school and soaking up the outstanding weather. In a well-played contest between each team, the P-Nats were fortunate to send the crowd home with a victory 7-5 in the series finale. These are some of my scouting notes about the members of the Potomac squad.
Ronald Pena RHP Potomac Nationals
The Nationals 16th round pick in 2012, Pena served as Potomac’s starter on Thursday and immediately impressed with his tall, lean, athletic build and noticeably fast arm. The 22-year-old Pena has a near ideal pitchers frame at a listed 6-4 210lbs. with room to add another 15-25 pounds in the future. His arsenal Thursday consisted of a 90-92mph fastball, touching 93mph, an 80-82mph changeup with nice sinking action, and a below-average 72-75mph curveball. I was particularly impressed with his changeup, which at times baffled left-handed hitters and caused them to flinch at the plate.
Pena has plenty of effort in his delivery, and struggles with his command as evidenced by his career 3.39 BB/9 ratio, meaning he could be destined for the bullpen. The raw tools are there for him to continue to rise in the organization, and if he sees an uptick in his stuff as he fills out physically, Pena could blossom into a possible major leaguer. The Nationals’ Scouting and Development people should be commended for finding a talented, projectable arm like Pena so late in the draft.
Long one of my favorite sleeper prospects in the Nationals system, right-fielder Brandon Miller impressed me again in this appearance. Miller, the Nationals 4th round pick in 2012, has impressive physical tools but his difficulties working into a favorable counts and swing-and-miss tendencies cause him to struggle to allow his power to play in game situations. Also, Miller lost considerable weight last season, which sapped much of his power in the later part of the year.
In particular Thursday, in Miller’s 3rd at-bat of the game he worked the count to 2-0, before taking a monster cut at an 87mph fastball that he just missed. However, the next pitch he shortened his swing and still hit an opposite-field home run down the right field line. This adjustment shows he has matured as a hitter, which could help boost his batting average and allow his prodigious power to appear more often. Not to mention he has added much of the weight he lost last season and looks physically solid. Remember the name Brandon Miller, as he has the tools to be a solid major league right fielder if things come together for him.
Dakota Bacus, the prospect the Nationals acquired last summer from Oakland for Kurt Suzuki, entered the game in relief of Pena and blanked the Hillcats in his three innings of work. Bacus featured an 88-90mph fastball and an 82-85mph slider with late break that resembled a hard cutter, in addition to a changeup, and a curveball. In addition to having one of the better names in baseball, I was impressed with how Bacus pounds the strike zone and never threw a straight pitch. His lack of top-end velocity likely limits his ceiling, but Bacus has a good chance to continue climbing the minor league system in future years.
Another name that quickly caught my eye was Oscar Tejeda, a former top prospect in the Red Sox organization, who was playing third base and batting third for Potomac. The 24-year-old Tejeda is an excellent looking athlete who can be described as a “tool shed”, with good speed, a strong arm, and obvious power at the plate. After spending the last three seasons struggling with injuries in Double-A, I am somewhat surprised to see Tejeda playing for Potomac in 2014. However, if he can stay healthy and make more contact at the plate, the Nationals could have a diamond in the rough in Tejeda. This is a quality name to watch this year.
Serving as Potomac’s closer Thursday was Robert Benincasa, who overwhelmed the Lynchburg hitters in the 9th inning with a 91-92mph fastball with movement and an 80mph splitter. Benincasa, the Nationals 7th round pick in 2012, locates his fastball well to both sides of the plate, and the movement on the pitch causes a large number of ground ball outs. Now 23-years-old, Benincasa should continue to move through the farm system and looks like a future major league middle reliever.
A Special Thank You to Bryan Holland and the Potomac Nationals for their hospitality.