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Three Nationals players saw action for the Scottsdale Scorpions on Thursday in the Arizona Fall League; infielder Stephen Lombardozzi, who was DHing, went 1-for-5 with a RBI.
Outfielder Michael Burgess was 1-for-3, also walking and stealing a base, and reliever Adam Carr had a rough eighth inning, allowing a run on two hits and a walk.
I'm interested to see how Burgess performs in Arizona, because his window to lock down the Nationals' right field job in the majors is smaller than it was a year ago.
Bryce Harper will likely take that position over at some point, which might mean Burgess moving to another spot, or another team. He's coming off a solid year in the minors, during which he raised his average 30 points (to .265), improved his on-base percentage by 32 (to .357) and his OPS by 87 (to .822). He's got a strong arm in the outfield, and did a better job of cutting down on his strikeouts this year.
Still, he's going to whiff a lot, and he's probably at least another year away from the majors. With Harper seemingly on the fast track, it'll be interesting to see how Burgess responds.
