The Rochester Red Wings’ best hitter and the Washington Nationals’ top pick of the 2021 draft is finally earning a call-up to the big leagues.
Third baseman Brady House, the 22-year-old from Georgia who has torn up the International League in recent months for the Rochester Red Wings, is going to Washington to join the Wings’ parent club, the Washington Nationals.
Although not officially confirmed by the team, several outlets both nationally and in Washington have revealed that the right-handed hitter, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Nationals’ system by MLB.com Pipeline, will join the Nationals on Monday when they host the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park. Outfielder Daylen Lile, who hit well over the past week after being sent down by Washington after his first stint with the team, has also earned the call. Outfielder Robert Hassell III and infielder Jose Tena are heading to Rochester as a corresponding move.
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House and Lile have been rare bright spots during the Red Wings’ current 12-game losing streak. House, who has a 15-game hitting streak and leads the International League with 79 hits, is hitting .365 in June with three home runs and 10 RBI. He leads the Red Wings in most offensive categories this season, including batting average (.301), home runs (13), and RBI (39).
Lile, meanwhile, had a 3-for-5 day in Rochester’s loss on Sunday, a day after he drove in three runs at the plate.
Just hours before their call-up, Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy spoke of how both House and Lile have been doing.
“He got a good taste of the big leagues [from his first call-up],” said LeCroy. “It did him well to go up there and see what it was like and then come down here and work on some things and just play.”
And of House?
“He’s progressing the way we want him to progress,” LeCroy said of House. “He’s starting to swing at more strikes, he’s doing some things defensively we like. We just got to keep him hot, and hopefully, he gets a shot at the next level.”
After Sunday’s call-up, that shot is now.
I would say those two are escaping baseball hell…except they are going to another baseball hell…only the pay is much better. Things in DC are in turmoil; the manager is under fire; the fans are mad and the team is in a long losing streak.
And standings are much more important in MLB than they are in AAA these days.While wins and losses appear to be incidental in the IL making post season in MLB is still a very big deal.
So maybe the two promoted Wings will help?