Last week I wrote about the demotion of Nick Van Stratten and the dire implications being sent back to A-ball had for his career.
None of that has changed. NVS is not at a crossroads, he's now at the point where the road has turned for the worse. He's 26, in a strong system, at Wilmington, the team's high A affiliate.
Nevertheless, in his first week as a Blue Rock, Van Stratten has hit very well, posting a .458/.500/.583 line in seven games. Mr. Celery must be very proud.
Will this hot streak get Van Stratten back to AA anytime soon? Probably not. Nor does it augur anything greater than what it is, a nice week at a low level. That being said, it would have been sad to see Van Stratten get demoted and then hit poorly at a place he was at years ago.
For now, Van Stratten is making the most of his unwanted return to Wilmington. He doesn't have a future as a Royal, but there are 29 other teams. I thought, and still do, that he should use the demotion as an opportunity to really think about leaving the game while he was still relatively young. Such a move would have been drastic, but justified. Instead, he went for the route of continuing to pursue his dream. Onward.