If you are a Washington Nationals fan, I would recommend making a trip up to Rochester, New York this April. Recent demotions have made the Nats Triple-A affiliate one of the most fascinating in the minors. Dylan Crews being sent down solidified the Rochester Red Wings as being must see TV.
There are multiple former top 10 picks, an All-Star, and a top 100 prospect the Nationals acquired this offseason. The Rochester Red Wings have never been more interesting than they are right now. I am not sure
if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but they certainly have my attention. Let’s run through some of the big names down there and discuss when we could see them in DC.
Dylan Crews is the biggest name down there, so I want to start by talking about him. Despite a woeful spring, the decision to send Crews down was a surprise. Crews still has so much pedigree and is a massive name. Sending him down is a gutsy decision by the new regime. At the same time, it makes all the sense in the world.
When Crews was in Triple-A in 2024, he was good but not great. He posted a .795 OPS in 49 games with the Red Wings. That was enough for Mike Rizzo to call him up to the big leagues though. Crews was pretty clearly rushed, with Rizzo looking at his college pedigree rather than his relatively mediocre minor league numbers.
Now Crews will truly get a chance to master the level and develop properly. Rochester will be a good place for him to do that. Matthew LeCroy is a beloved manager up in Rochester and they also have a pair of strong hitting minds. Brian Daubach was retained as the Triple-A hitting coach, a role he has had since 2018. His experience will be combined with the new analytically minded assistant hitting coach Travis Fitta. Hopefully those two can help rebuild Crews.
However, Dylan Crews is far from the only interesting character in Rochester. There will also be a former All-Star in the Red Wings rotation to start the season. That would be Josiah Gray, who is back after missing most of the last two seasons due to Tommy John Surgery.
In the first half of 2023, Gray was emerging as part of the Nats long term plans in the rotation. Gray was part of the Max Scherzer/Trea Turner return and was looking like a middle of the rotation arm in 2023. There was some luck involved in his great first half, but he was still a dependable arm.
Now, he is on the mend, looking to re-establish himself after missing so much time. The 28 year old is very likely to get his shot in the Nats rotation at some point. However, he still needs to find some sharpness in AAA. His breaking stuff looks crisp, but his velocity is down from his pre-surgery levels. Gray is confident that velo will come with more reps.
Gray will be throwing to a big name catcher in Harry Ford. The Nats acquired Ford in a trade that sent Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle. After the trade, I figured Ford would be the starting catcher right away. He had a great year in Triple-A last year and made his big league debut. Ford was even on the Mariners playoff roster.
However, the Nats decided that he needed more seasoning. Ford did not light the world on fire this spring, so the team decided to roll with Keibert Ruiz instead. He also spent some time away from the team at the WBC, which may have hurt his case. Ford did have a couple big moments, including a homer for Great Britain at the event.
That was not enough for him to lock down a job though. If he has a strong start to the season, I think he could be in the big leagues pretty quickly. There could be some service time games being played here with Ford. If he is down for a few weeks, the Nats will gain an extra year of team control.
The young catcher had an .868 OPS in AAA last year, so I expect him to hit while he is in the minors. After years of bad catching, I am really excited to see what Ford can do when he gets to DC. We will have to watch him in Rochester first though.
Those three are far from the only intriguing players in Rochester. Another big name in AAA is Robert Hassell III. The former top 10 pick was a big piece in the Juan Soto trade and made his MLB debut last year. While Hassell struggled in the big leagues, he did hit .310 with an .839 OPS in AAA.
Hassell’s development has not gone as expected since coming to DC, but he is still just 24 years old. He showed some of the hitting chops he was known for in the past last season. However, that did not translate to the MLB. If he can hit in AAA again, he will get another shot.
A few pitchers I am interested in seeing are Luis Perales, Riley Cornelio, Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez. All of them have interesting traits. Parker has been in the Nats rotation the last two years, while Cornelio broke out in a big way last year. Perales is a top prospect the Nats got in a trade with the Red Sox. He is a fireballer, but his size and control questions give him relief risk. Alvarez is a crafty lefty who looked good at the end of last season and in the spring.
If you want to see one of the most interesting teams in Minor League baseball, go up to Rochester. You are going to have to do it quickly because some of these players will be in the big leagues soon. I know I will be checking Rochester Red Wings box scores every day and you should too.
