Nieto, 5th-round draft pick, signs with Nationals
Nieto signs with Nationals
Adrian Nieto, the Nationals' fifth-round draft pick, signed with the club on Sunday and will report to the Gulf Coast League Nationals on Tuesday.
The 18-year-old is considered to have one of the best bats among catching prospects selected in this season's Draft.
Nieto led his high school to a state championship as a senior, batting .372 with 16 doubles, five home runs and 38 RBI for American Heritage High School (FL).
The switch hitter compiled a .361 batting average with four homers and 17 RBI during
an injury-plagued junior campaign, earning him spots in the AFLAC All-American Classic and USA Baseball Tournament of Stars.
He entered the national spotlight after hitting .381 with four home runs and 27 RBI during a breakout sophomore season, when he was cited as an AFLAC All-American and was named All-County and Third-Team All-State.
Then, in the draft, Nieto got just what he wanted, as he said he wanted to play for the Nationals. "Washington was one of the teams I wanted to be picked by," Nieto said. "As a matter of fact, I told them, come on, if you have a chance, pick me. I want to play for you guys. I want to be a National. I want to play for you guys.'"
The Nationals have signed 26 of their 50 picks in this year's First-Year Player Draft.
Washington has until Friday to sign the remainder of their picks, including first-round selection right-hander Aaron Crow, shortstop Daniel Espinosa (3rd round) and left-hander Graham Hicks (4th round).
Triple-A Columbus International League West Division
62-59, 3rd place, 11 games behind
The Clippers went 2-5 last week and dropped 11 games behind first place Louisville.
Columbus, who was shutout by Louisville on Sunday, wraps up their four-game series with the Bats Monday night before traveling to Indianapolis to play a two-game set with the Indians.
The Clippers have just 21 games left this season and will need to go on a series winning streak if they want to catch the Bats.
Double-A Harrisburg Senators Eastern League Southern Division
66-56, 3rd place, 5 1/2 games out of first
The Senators went 3-5 this past week and lost a game in the standings to Akron.
On Sunday, the Senators got a 1-out, 2-run, walk-off homer from Seth Bynum, his second longball of the game, to knock-off Altoona 5-4. Bynum led-off the fourth with a solo shot to left-center, and one-out later, Bill Rhinehart's 2-run blast gave Harrisburg a 3-0 lead. It was Rhinehart's fifth homer of the season.
The Senator's have Monday off before beginning a 3-city, 9-game road trip on Tuesday in New Hampshire.
Single-A Potomac Nationals Carolina League Northern Division
27-22, 1st place, 4 game lead (2nd half)
The P-Nats, the only team with a winning record in the Northern Division, went 3-4 last week and lost a game in the standings to Wilmington, but have won two straight over Winston-Salem.
They had lost four in a row before the two straight wins. Potomac beat the Warthog's 7-5 on Sunday. Winston-Salem committed five errors, allowing the P-Nats to score three unearned runs. Center-fielder Francisco Plasencia and first baseman Andrew Lefave each had two RBI in the win.
Potomac begins a three-game series with the Fredrick Keys Monday night.
Single-A Hagerstown Suns South Atlantic League Northern Division
20-29, 5th place, 14 games out of first (2nd Half)
The Suns went 1-5 last week, dropping five straight, and fell to fifth place in the division. They are just 2-8 in their 10 games.
Hagerstown dropped an 11-5 decision on Saturday night and saw BlueClaws first baseman, Michael Durant tie a Lakewood record with seven RBI.
The Suns had Sunday off and begin a four-game series at Rome tonight.
Short-Season Single-A Vermont Lake Monsters
New York-Penn League Stedler Division
21-28, 3rd place, 5 games back
The Lake Monsters went 2-3 last week and picked up a half-game in the standings, but fell into last place in the division.
Sunday's game against the Auburn Doubledays was rained out and they will play a doubledeader Monday night. Game one is scheduled for 6:00pm. The Lake Monsters won the first game of the four-game series, 5-2, last Saturday night. Starter William Atwood tossed five innings of scoreless ball to earn his first win of the season. Third baseman James Keithly had three RBI to pace the Lake monsters offense.
Gulf Coast League Nationals
Gulf Coast League East Division
23-18, 2nd Place, 1½ game behind
The Nationals went 1-4 last week, losing four straight and dropped to second in the division, one and a half games behind the Dodgers.
The Dodgers hammered Nationals pitching on Sunday, shutting out the Nationals 15-0. The Dodgers collected 17 hits off four Nationals pitchers.
Starter Marcos Frias gave up three runs on seven hits and five innings to suffer his fourth loss of the season. The relievers gave up 12 runs, 10 earned, on 10 hits in just three innings. The Nationals have three straight road games, beginning with the Mets Monday afternoon.
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