AFL action on Oct. 21 delivered plenty of offense, but Salt River still came away empty after letting an early lead slip and falling 11-10 in walk-off fashion in the ninth.
Salt River had already built a 3-0 advantage, then watched that cushion disappear. The club also clawed back from a 9-3 hole and managed to tie the game twice late before the loss was sealed in the final inning.
Teo Banks was the only National in the game, and he made the most of it. Washington’s 18th-round pick in the 2024 FYPD homered twice, scored three times, and drove in four while hitting ninth and playing right field.
Jarlin Susana is scheduled to make his fourth AFL start this afternoon in Scottsdale against the Scorpions.
Meanwhile, the Boys in Durham have kept the pageviews rolling with a set of lists focused on pitchers. The critique there was blunt: those lists can end up feeling like the pitching version of “tools,” the way scout-speak often gets used for position players who are fast, strong, and can hit a fat pitch for big power, even if they can’t hit.
The piece also pointed back to something a high school coach once told the writer at an end-of-season dinner: “All these boys are good athletes, but few of them are players, guys with the skills to play. And that’s why they get beat by smaller, slower teams.”
That idea carried into the example of Luis Perales, who shows up twice on those lists for his cutter and splitter. The argument there was that none of it matters if he can’t throw strikes. His 5.1 BB/9IP at Rochester and 10.6 in D.C. were described as no outliers, and he has averaged nearly five walks a game over his minor-league career across more than 250 innings.
The larger point was simple: numbers can help measure traits, but measurement is not the same thing as evaluation. And that’s why scouts still matter, especially when a pitcher is lighting up the radar gun and racking up strikeouts against hitters with poor habits or weak strike-zone judgment.
In Other News...
CJ Abrams May Not Be Settling Into Washingtons Infield After All
The Nationals plan to shift CJ Abrams from shortstop to second base was meant to smooth over a defensive issue and give the young infielder a clearer path in Washingtons infield. Abrams, though, has not sounded particularly happy about the move, and the situation has already become one of the more watchable roster storylines around the club as it tries to find the right defensive home for one of its most important young players.
Now there is at least some outside buzz that Abrams could eventually wind up in the outfield, even if Washington has not publicly said it is headed that way. He has limited experience there, which makes any further change easier to discuss than to execute, and it leaves the Nationals with another unresolved question about where Abrams fits best long term. For now, the infield shuffle is only part of the story, and the next move remains unclear. [Read more 🡒]
Luis Garcia Jr. Is Reopening A Debate Nationals Fans Know Well
Luis Garcia Jr. keeps finding himself at the center of roster conversations, even after leaving Washington. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Garcia could be used at either second or third base in 2027, a wrinkle that should sound familiar to Nationals fans who watched him try to settle in on the dirt before being shifted over to first base because of defensive issues.
Boone pointed to Garcias infield traits and the Yankees flexibility as reasons the idea is on the table, and it revives an old debate about where the bat fits best versus where the glove can hold up. For Washington, its another reminder that Garcias future value may still hinge on the same question that followed him here: can he stick on the infield, and if so, at which spot? [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Are Betting On A Painful Strategy Fans Know Well
The Nationals have spent enough time on the wrong end of this kind of roster churn to know how it works. Under Paul Toboni, though, they are starting to lean into it themselves, looking at the Brewers and Rays as proof that a team can be built through smart trades as much as through the draft and player development. Milwaukee and Tampa Bay have turned deal-making into a competitive edge, with each organization assembling key pieces that helped keep them in the mix year after year.
For Washington, that means accepting a familiar kind of discomfort in exchange for a clearer long-term path. The Brewers have paired trades with a strong homegrown base, while the Rays have made the trade market a central part of their identity, and the Nationals appear willing to borrow from both blueprints as they try to build something more sustainable. It is a strategy that can test a fan base in the short term, but it is also the sort of approach that can change the trajectory of a club if the moves keep landing. [Read more 🡒]