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Right-hander Christian Garcia made a nice move all the way to the Nationals in 2012 after dominating opponents while pitching at Triple-A Syracuse. Garcia began the season at Double-A Harrisburg. In 18 games, he went 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA with seven saves in 20 innings, firing 28 strikeouts to six walks. Then, in Syracuse, Garcia went 1-1 with a 0.56 ERA in 27 games
There has always been a lot of talk about the potential of outfielder Eury Perez. Last season, for the first time, Nationals fans finally got to see him play in the big leagues. Perez, ranked as No. 7 on Baseball America's list of 10 top Nationals prospects, played in 13 games in September, going 1-for-5 (.200) with three stolen bases and three runs. It was
I remember that July day in 2011 when left-hander Sammy Solis notched his first victory at the high Single-A Potomac Nationals. The southpaw was pretty pumped about that victory and the promise that inevitably lied ahead. That promise is still intact, now that Solis is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in March. If everything goes well this season, Solis will be able to return
The Nationals had the best record in baseball in 2012 with 98 victories. Heading into the 2013 season, the team is already receiving expectations that they will be just as good. ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney ranks the Nationals as No. 2 on his early power rankings behind world champion San Francisco Giants (subscription required). Olney cites the addition of center fielder Denard
A heavy dose of potential is a theme for a few of the Baseball America Nationals' top 10 prospects. Left-hander Matt Purke is a pitcher I get constant questions about, as the Nationals have been unable to see Purke make it through an entire season healthy after showcasing one of the more amazing pitching arms at the collegiate level. Purke resides at No. 9 on
Third baseman Zach Walters is No. 10 in Baseball America's top 10 Nationals prospects for 2013. The infielder, who can also play shortstop, played 126 games in three levels of the minors in 2012, plus the Arizona Fall League and winter ball in Puerto Rico. Here is the complete top 10 list from MASNsports.com's Dan Kolko. We will countdown from No. 10 to No. 1
It was about one year ago that Tripp Keister was making the jump from collegiate coach at Wesley College to his job as manager for the Gulf Coast League Nationals. Now he has been promoted to manage the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns. Keister believes his purpose and job description really hasn't changed despite the classification jump. "I look forward to being at (Hagerstown)," Keister said
Here are some updates on Leones de Ponce in the Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (offseason league) this past week and how the Nationals' prospects are faring. Third baseman Zach Walters has put together four multi-hit games in his last nine contests, with 10 hits since Dec. 6. He had three hits on Dec. 6 and Dec. 16, plus a pair of base knocks
A pair of former College of William & Mary standouts, Will Rhymes and Bill Bray, will be looking to make the Nationals out of spring training. Second baseman Rhymes is a non-roster invitee who most recently played for the Tampa Bay Rays. The 5-foot-9, 155-lb. infielder is a career .266 hitter with 23 extra-base hits and 29 RBIs in 130 games. He broke in with
The Nationals will announce their 2013 minor league coaching staff and coordinators later today. A club source told MASNsports.com that the biggest changes are two managerial promotions at the Single-A level. Brian Daubach moves from low Single-A Hagerstown to high Single-A Potomac as manager, while Tripp Keister steps up from the Gulf Coast League Nationals to manage the Suns. Hitting coach Mark Harris has been
Although Cole Kimball is always a fierce competitor when he takes the mound, the Nationals told the right-handed reliever that his innings in the Arizona Fall League were more important than the numbers. But if you know Kimball, and if you remember how he pitched for the Nationals in his short 2011 stint, he is never satisfied with just pitching. He wants to go out
If Adam LaRoche re-signs with the Nationals, does that mean Michael Morse will be traded? With Denard Span in center field, Bryce Harper in left and Jayson Werth in right, is Morse the first baseman? If that is the case, is LaRoche gone? These questions have been in play for what seems like almost a month, as teams expressed interest in Morse and LaRoche sought
What a difference a year makes. Or three years. Remember those days when free agents shied away from D.C. as a preferred destination? Zack Greinke turned down the Nationals a couple of years back (that worked out for him with the Dodgers this year, but that is not my point). There were a few seasons where high-priced free agents couldn't be persuaded to consider the
The Nationals made a big splash this week at baseball's Winter Meetings, agreeing to a one-year deal with former Angels right-hander Dan Haren. Haren arrives with 119 career victories as a three-time All-Star, and would solidify one of the best starting rotations in baseball. With Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler already in the fold, the Nationals were looking for a fifth
Former Nationals prospects Danny Rosenbaum and Jeff Kobernus knew the Rule 5 draft was was today at 10 a.m. Eastern time (7 a.m. Pacific time in California, where Kobernus is). And around that time they both considered the possibility of being picked up by another team, but did not let it dominate their thoughts. Then the calls came in. Kobernus, a second baseman, got his
Right-hander Dan Haren fits into the ideal mold of what Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo looks for in a starting pitcher. At 6-foot-5 and 215 lbs., Haren will be an imposing veteran presence on the mound in Nationals Park, and be a perfect complement to the Nats' already lethal rotation. Haren would match left-hander Ross Detwiler as the tallest of the five starters: Stephen Strasburg
Nationals outfielder Roger Bernadina will play for his native Netherlands in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in March beginning in Japan and Taiwan. In 2012, Bernadina hit .291 with 15 stolen bases in 2012, and continued to be a critical utility player for Davey Johnson, as the Nationals won their first ever NL East title. In a release, World Baseball Classic, Inc. today announced the
Right-hander Erik Davis was thrilled to get the call that he had been added to the 40-man roster last week and he is primed to take another step forward towards the Nationals in 2013. "It was huge for me," Davis said. "I was down in the Dominican Republic when I found out. One of our coaches called me in from shagging batting practice. Obviously, I
Right-hander Ryan Tatusko has had a pretty good run with Leones de Ponce in the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League. Tatusko has made five starts since Nov. 8, going 0-2 with a 1.54 ERA, allowing just four earned runs with 21 strikeouts, nine walks and no home runs allowed in 23 1/3 innings. He has given up only a .212 batting average against. Tatusko was
