Known for his amazing defensive prowess at shortstop, Bronx-born Nunez, who played his high school ball in Georgia, made his MLB debut on March 30, 2024.
The Washington Nationals are in a rebuild and the way the team is currently playing and the riches of minor league talent coming down the pipeline, the prevailing thought is that they won’t be down for long.
We’ve heard about the position player prospects like power hitter James Wood, the club’s second-ranked prospect. Then there’s 2023 No.2 overall pick Dylan Crews who’s got all the tools to be great. Elijah Green was a top pick in 2022 and he’s currently learning how to survive in pro ball.
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But fans also want to know how the club’s pitching is looking in the farm system.
Once known for their dominant pitching, which led the franchise to its first and only World Series title in 2019 with pitchers like Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, the Nationals are hoping to groom and develop some new hurlers to lead the rebuild.
One name that’s definitely in the team’s plans is 2022 13th round pick Marquis Grissom Jr. who was promoted to the club’s High-A affiliate In Wilmington.
👨🍳♨️ @MarquisJr9 https://t.co/XGIS7pYcGy
— Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (@GTAthletics) April 30, 2024
Last year Grissom displaying his abilities on the mound in Single-A Fredericksburg, which included a solid (4-2) record in 31 appearances to go along with a paltry 2.13 ERA and 39 strikeouts in just over 41 innings of work. He also boasted a 1.11 WHIP which is (walks and hits per innings pitched). For his efforts he was named a 2023 MiLB All-Star, and now he’s been promoted
.
Right now, Grissom Jr. projects as a relief pitcher with the ability to become a lights out closer. Grissom ‘s biggest improvement has come is in his control on the mound, and the increased velocity which is now around 97 MPH after being around 94.5 MPH when drafted.
When he was drafted Grissom Jr was known as a “fastball/change up guy.” That changed a bit in 2023 and now in 2024 as he’s learned to utilize his slider more often.
Team officials raved about his ability to make hitters uncomfortable. In fact, they told reporters this about Grissom Jr.
That’s a huge reason why he was promoted to High-A ball.
Thus far in 2024 Grissom Jr. has been lights out. In nine appearances he’s posted a (1-1) record with a 1.88 ERA, 20 strikeouts and a 1.05 WHIP. This in just over 14 innings of work.
Keep this up and it won’t be long before he’ll be getting the call up to Double-A ball.
Malik Wright caught up to Washington Nationals rookie third baseman Trey “The Truth” Lipscomb to discuss his journey, the rising Nats and forming the only #MLBbro left side infield duo in the game.
MLBbro.com reporter Malik Wright caught up with Washington’s Nationals second-year shortstop CJ Abrams who has been performing at an All-Star level and has a team not expected to do much, cooking early in the season playing .500 ball.
Don’t look now but the Washington Nationals are on the move in the National East. After a slow start that had them in the basement, the Nats are currently on a two-game winning streak and at 4-6 they are 2.5 games out of first as of this Tuesday (April 9).
Washington at this point is in a transitionary period, still trying to find talent to build their roster. MLBbro.com found not just one but possibly two MLBbros as a foundation to build on.
They are easy to find too. They happen to be playing on the left side of the infield at shortstop and third base.
MLBbro CJ Abrams is already considered one of the best shortstops in the National League and Trey Lipscomb has capitalized on his opportunity due to injury sine being called up on March 30th.
CJ Abrams had a coming out party in 2023 in Washington and is building off the momentum this season. The former No. 6 overall pick and former key piece of the Juan Soto trade in 2022 has been one of the best offensive weapons the Nationals have had prior to him leaving the lineup with a jammed finger he suffered last Friday.
But before his injury, his stats show that Washington will need him back sooner than later.
In the first seven games, the Nats struggled to cross the plate, collecting only 27 total runs. Despite these offensive woes, Abrams had hitting slashes of .321/.387/.607 leading the team at the time in homers with two while adding five RBI and three stolen bases. MLBbro.com’s Jaelen Gilkey adds visual aids here to our MLBbro’s exploits early this season in the “Factz” segment…
The stat that the team and fanbase will be watching is home runs. Abrams has hit two bro bombs in six games, reaching that mark 18 games quicker than last season.
MLBbro.com covered Trey “The Truth” Lipscomb over the weekend highlighting his on base streak and ever improving play in the field…
Trey Lipscomb Impresses Nats With On Base Streak and Glove Work
But this was the tip of the iceberg after becoming the first Nationals rookie to have three hits and three steals in the same game. One of those steals included a slick swipe of home in a 8-1 win over San Francisco.
Our MLBbro’s on base streak was snapped and he hit a mini 0-11 slump. However, his recent 3-5 performance with an RBI got him back on track. “The Truth” has gained the confidence of the coaching staff to battle through a dip in production and he has rewarded them in tow.
Trey has a hitting slash of .265/.286/.353 with a homer, three RBI, five runs scored and four steals. That’s a lot of production to squeeze into 35 plate appearances.
Two Bros on the leftside of the infield is indeed rare. Why? We don’t know, we just bring you the stats and factz, no matter how mindboggling.
The only combos of significance we could think of were both great contributors to World Series winning franchises.
If the seed of MLBbro.com movement was planted, it might have happened during the era of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 80’s. The lineup was loaded with MLBbros such as Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Lonnie Smith who burned up the base paths. However, the two MLBbros who shut down the left side of the infield were former NL MVP Terry Pendleton and the “Wizard of Oz”, Ozzie Smith.
Pendleton was one of the steadier third basemen throughout his career and his 1985 partnership was one of the more exciting combinations not just in MLBbro history, but in baseball history. The multi-tool skills of the pair helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series losing to the Minnesota Twins led by MLBbro icon, Kirby Puckett.
Even though Pendleton couldn’t help deliver a championship, he was vital to deep playoff runs. He played in five World Series in his career.
Ozzie Smith’s accomplishments could fill up a whole article, about six videos and even his trade to St. Louis for Garry Templeton is reality show material (on Templeton’s side). He could be partnered with any MLBbro and would qualify. He is considered the greatest defensive shortstop ever…period.
While this duo had multiple chances over their careers to get to the World Series, only Ozzie Smith tasted the champagne. This duo however had a different outcome.
Derek Jeter (shortstop) and Charlie Hayes (third base):
These two collaborated the strong side of the infield to a World Series title in 1996 ending a championship drought dating back to 1978. Charlie Hayes was very instrumental in the victory with some timely hits throughout. He was also the one that sealed the championship, catching the final out in Game 6…
It was the only championship of Hayes’ career, but it was only the first of five for MLBbro icon Jeter.
Derek Jeter became the modern-day New York Yankees legend with this MLBbro infield connection. Jeter parlayed this into a Yankees dynasty winning three more in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His final championship for the thumb came in 2009. His stats were impressive, but it is his leadership in the New York spotlight, something not seen since Reggie Jackson and was missing until Aaron Judge, that makes him a legend.
It will take some time for the Washington Nationals to catch up with the success of the St. Louis Cardinals of the 1980’s or the New York Yankees of the late 90’s to the 2000s, but the future is now the dynamic left side duo of CJ Abrams and Trey Lipscomb at shortstop and third base.
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