The Nationals are back on their home field this week against Columbia, which comes into Tuesday’s series opener tied with Kannapolis for first place in the Carolina League’s South Division standings.
After picking up a pair of victories to jumpstart the road trip against the Mudcats, the FredNats (11-20) went on to drop the following three before breaking a 3-3 tie with a run in the sixth, and then adding two more insurance runs in the eighth to salvage the split at Five County Stadium on Sunday.
Center fielder Elijah Green, the organization’s No. 3 overall prospect, collected at least one hit in five of the six games against Carolina, and delivered a 2-for-4 performance in the series finale Sunday that included a double, which was his first extra-base hit of the month.
Third baseman Brady House (No. 5) went 4-for-14 with an RBI and three runs scored in his four contests against the Mudcats.
Left fielder Daylen Lile (No. 15) produced five hits, two runs and drove in two more in the Nats’ first two wins against Carolina, breaking out of his mini-funk at the plate. The 2021 second-round pick is batting .301 with 3 homers (tied with House for the team lead), a team-high 20 RBI and 7 stolen bases this season. Lile’s 28 hits and 8 doubles also lead the club.
Shortstop Armando Cruz (No. 13) is in the midst of a 3-for-29 slump in the month of May, but managed two of those hits last week, along with three runs scored. Cruz is certainly not the only Nat who is struggling with the bat, however.
First baseman Roismar Quintana (No. 16) struck out six times in his three games against the Mudcats, but notched his 14th base knock of the season and scored a run in the series opener Tuesday. Quintana is batting just 1-for-17 (.059) with nine strikeouts in five May contests. Right fielder Brenner Cox (No. 22) is in a 1-for-19 skid of his own, and is now batting just .164 on the season. Cruz, Quintana and Cox are all hoping for better results back at Virginia Credit Union Stadium this week against the Fireflies.
On the mound, Jarlin Susana (No. 6) went four innings Wednesday, and although he didn’t factor into the decision, he struck out four Carolina batters while only allowing two unearned runs on two hits and a walk. Susana is 0-2 with a 5.17 ERA in his five starts. The 19-year-old has fanned 20 batters and walked 15 across 15.2 frames in 2023.
Jake Bennett (No. 9) registered his first win of the year in Tuesday’s opener in Zebulon, also giving up just two hits. Bennett posted a walk and two strikeouts across five scoreless innings to help end the Freddies’ four-game losing streak. In six starts, Bennett is now 1-2 with a 2.05 ERA and a team-best 31 punchouts across his 26.1 innings of work.
The Fireflies (19-14), the Royals’ Single-A affiliate, have dropped six of their last nine games after a hot 16-8 start to the season. Columbia lost four of its six games at Salem last week, but managed to remain tied at the top of the standings with the Cannon Ballers (18-13).
Columbia second baseman Lizandro Rodriguez (.235, 12 RBI) is ranked the 25th-best prospect in the Royals’ farm system, with shortstop Daniel Vazquez (.288, 19 RBI) not far behind at No. 27. Those two have combined for 55 hits, 34 runs and 31 RBI on the season for the Fireflies.
The Royals’ top pitching prospect, Ben Kudrna (No. 2 overall prospect), was the 43rd overall pick in 2021, and has produced a pair of wins in his first six starts, including two of his last three. Lefty Frank Mozzicato (No. 7) was taken seventh in that same ‘21 draft. He’s sporting a 2.45 ERA with a league-best 48 strikeouts in 29.1 innings, but has taken the loss in each of his previous two starts. Together, Kudrna and Mozzicato have helped guide the Fireflies to the second-best ERA in the league (3.44), and have combined for 75 strikeouts.
First pitch for Tuesday’s series opener is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The FredNats will be back on the road next week at Salem, then will return to host Delmarva the following week.
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