Right-hander Boone Whiting did very well at high Single-A and now has been promoted to Double-A by the Nationals. Whiting, 26, an 18th-round selection for St. Louis in 2010, reached Triple-A with Memphis and Albuquerque from 2013-2015. At Harrisburg, he is 2-2 with a 6.00 ERA, but was too much for Carolina League competition. With the P-Nats, he went 8-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 12 starts. He recorded 43 strikeouts and 10 walks in 72 2/3 innings. Potomac manager Tripp Keister, appearing on my "Nats...

The Home Run Derby and All-Star Game have come and gone, but now we've got the long, two-day wait without any baseball until the second half of the season opens Friday night at Nationals Park. So we'll spend these two days looking back at what has transpired so far and looking ahead at what may transpire the rest of the way. Tomorrow, we'll break down the top storylines of the second half for the Nationals. First up today, though, we look back at the first half and hand out grades for the...

All four of the Nationals' eligible players appeared in tonight's All-Star Game, and three of them did their part to try to help their league emerge victorious. The fourth, unfortunately, came up short in his one key at-bat, and the rest of the National League squad didn't have enough offense to overcome a tough American League team that took an early lead and held on to win 4-2 in San Diego. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy combined for three hits, and Max Scherzer dominated during one inning...

The Home Run Derby is done. The All-Star Game is gone. The Orioles can rest for a day, hop on their charter Thursday and head to Tampa for their workout. It's getting serious again. Manager Buck Showalter reminded his players to make smart decisions over the break. They understand that 75 games remain in the regular season, that there's still so much work to be done, but it never hurts to drive home the point. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are only two games behind the Orioles in the American...

The only Orioles starter in tonight's All-Star Game in San Diego, third baseman Manny Machado went 0-for-3 before the Blue Jays' Josh Donaldson replaced him. Machado swung at the first pitch from National League starter Johnny Cueto in the first inning and flied to shallow left field. He also swung at the first pitch from the Marlins' Jose Fernandez in the third inning and grounded to third base. Facing the Braves' Julio Teheran to lead off the fifth, Machado flied to the left field warning...

We're back! After a short absence, Byron Kerr and I are back for another episode of the District 34 podcast! The Nationals ended the first half of the season hot, winning 11 of 15 games before the break, including six of seven against the division rival Mets. The Nats have given themselves a comfortable six-game lead in the National League East over the Mets and Marlins, but they still have a long way to go in the second-half stretch. Before the break, we heard some comments from manager Dusty...

You may have noticed that the Orioles rotation ranks near the bottom of the American League right now, while the team has a 51-36 record to rank at the top of the AL East. But in the second half, the rotation will need to pitch better and the Orioles will need to find pitchers that can do that. That brings us to Dylan Bundy. The organization, fans and even Bundy himself have waited a long time to see the 23-year-old right-hander both healthy and showing the promise he showed on the farm in...

Right-hander Erick Fedde has been keeping opponents off the scoreboard recently, allowing one or less earned runs in each of his last six outings. On Friday in a 5-1 win over Carolina, Fedde twirled six innings, allowing three hits and one run with one walk and eight strikeouts. He has won five of his last six decisions. High Single-A Potomac manager Tripp Keister, appearing with me on Sunday's "Nats Insider" on 106.7 The Fan, likes the groove and tempo Fedde is pitching with heading to the...

Any discussion of Wilson Ramos' offensive breakthrough this season naturally begins with the obvious: his eyes. Ramos had LASIK surgery in March after his annual spring training exam suggested his vision could be improved. And almost instantaneously, the 28-year-old catcher began seeing the ball like never before. Those sliders off the plate he used to flail helplessly at now are clear as day, so he just lets them go by, waiting instead for a pitch over the plate he can hit. But ask Ramos the...

As the five Orioles get ready for tonight's All-Star Game in San Diego, they also may wonder how the roster will look on Thursday when players gather at Tropicana Field. The Orioles are taking a 2 p.m. flight to Tampa and heading directly to the ballpark for a 6 p.m. workout. The rotation is a little light at the moment. It includes three confirmed starters, with Yovani Gallardo pitching on Friday and Chris Tillman on Saturday versus the Rays and Kevin Gausman pitching Monday night against the...