Wire Taps: Washington Nationals place Brock Holt on Paternity List; Call up Jake Noll; two with Rays in Tampa + more...

Jackson Rutledge talked over the weekend about his personal development this year at the Alternate Training Site in Fredericksburg, VA, but he was also asked about which players at the site have stood out or made an impression on his in the past few months.

“Recently I think Matt Cronin,” Rutledge said of the 2019 4th Round pick out of Arkansas.

“[Cronin] has been one of the most dominant relievers. He spins the fastball really high, and guys just have a hard time catching up to it. Maybe he’ll get a shot this year. If not this year then the next. And from the hitters’ side, I’ve had some struggles with Jake Noll recently.

“He’s hitting the ball really well off of everybody, and he’s one of those guys that I think I had an 11-12 pitch at bat against, just fouls pitches off and really works to continue at bats.”

Noll is up with the club now after the Nationals placed Brock Holt on the Paternity List on the day off on Monday.

Go read your links...

NATS BEAT:

Meet the cigar-loving, nearly 33-year-old rookie without a baseball card – (The Athletic)
"Hernández immediately called home — to Cuba to tell his mom, dad and sister — but was afraid to tell anyone else until the Nationals announced it."

Roster attrition leaves Nats in tough spot with two weeks to go - (MASN)
"Though they don’t want to admit it publicly, the Nationals have reached the point in their season in which the playoffs are no longer a realistic goal."

Crunch time: 1 goal for each NL East team - (MLB.com)
"The Nats hope their returning players who won it all last season combined with new energy from young prospects can help them transform a slow start into a late-September push."

Nationals’ lost season will be assessed later - (WaPost)
"The Nationals are 17-28 and, as of Monday, three games back of the New York Mets for fourth place in the division."

Why are Nationals games taking so long this season? - (NBC Sports Washington)
"This year, 19.5 percent of non-extra-inning games have taken 3:30 or longer. Last year, that number was 14.8."

NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

MLB playoff teams and the need for home-field advantage - (Sports Illustrated)
"Last year the Washington Nationals had 13 days off in their 30-day run to the world championship."

NL EAST UPDATES:

New No. 1 leads Rookie Power Rankings - (MLB.com)
"[Sixto] Sánchez has been every bit as advertised during the first month of his career, going 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 29/5 K/BB in 32 innings (five starts)."

5 things Braves: Sundays are for winning - (AJC.com)
"Following Sunday’s 8-4 win (Kyle Wright’s first of the season) in Washington, Atlanta is now a major league-best 8-1 (.888) on Sundays this season after going 18-9 to end the weekends last year."

New York Mets hope to make the 2020 postseason, ready for Phillies - (NorthJersey.com)
"The Mets have 13 games left. Those mean something. This team, at least mathematically, is alive."

Spencer Howard dealing with shoulder stiffness, next start unclear - (NBC Sports Philadelphia)
"'Not as severe as that (shoulder fatigue) but a comparable sensation,' he said, describing the previous feeling as sharp compared to this dull feeling."