Outfielder Michael A. Taylor had a solid season at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse that earned him a a tour with the Nationals in August and a September call-up.
Taylor got into 17 games with the big club. His first big highlight came when he slammed a home run against the Mets at Citi Field. He also had three doubles, eight hits, five RBIs and earned three walks, batting .205.
The jump that Taylor made in one season is a big story. I remember interviewing Taylor after he was named...
The Mesa Solar Sox have a good roll going, winning their last three games.
On Wednesday, the Solar Sox won 11-2 over Glendale, highlighted by seven runs in the sixth. Derek Self (1-0) notched his first win of the Arizona Fall League season, going two innings, scattering three hits, one walk and allowing just one run. Self now has an ERA of 1.29. Self tossed 36 pitches, 23 for strikes, in facing 10 batters.
On Thursday, Mesa dropped first-place Salt River 4-2. Spencer Kieboom contributed an...
Left-hander Felipe Rivero has had some rough outings and had to fight through an injury during his first few weeks in of Arizona Fall League play, compiling a 1-4 record.
On Tuesday, he bounced back in a big way with five solid innings, allowing only one hit and one earned run in Mesa's 3-1 win over Salt River.
It was the longest outing of his six AFL starts this fall. It was also the fewest hits and runs the 23-year-old Venezuelan had allowed in a game for Mesa this season.
Mesa extra coach...
First baseman Tyler Moore is batting .375 (15-for-40) through 12 games in the Dominican Winter League for Toros del Este, with a league-leading five homers, 16 runs and 11 RBIs. He also leads the league with 14 walks. He is leading the league in OPS at 1.294 and on-base percentage at .519, while ranking second in slugging at .775.
This is exactly what Moore needed to do: Keep in baseball shape and display that his bat is clicking as he goes after the backup first base/outfield spot next season...
The Arizona Fall League East Division All-Stars downed the West All-Stars 6-2 in Saturday's AFL Fall Stars Game. Dalton Pompey and Roman Quinn combined for three hits and four RBIs in the win.
Nationals second base prospect Tony Renda went 1-for-2 with a single and a strikeout.
It was certainly an honor for Renda to be involved in this All-Star game and again helps his profile. It also is important for Renda to continue to get these at-bats against top competition. He started the AFL with...
Each year, options are picked up or aren't. Players become free agents. Players move on, new players are welcomed in.
So it was certainly business as usual when it was announced that options will not be picked up on veterans Rafael Soriano and Adam LaRoche. One can understand the business reasoning behind each move.
But it is still tough to take when you realize that players like Soriano and LaRoche will not be on the 2015 Nationals roster.
Especially LaRoche. I spoke to LaRoche before and...
The Mesa Solar Sox stand at 10-8-1 and in second place in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League.
Catcher Pedro Severino continues to excel at the plate, batting .280 through seven games. He had a 4-for-5 game on Oct. 22 at Scottsdale, and has a triple, three RBIs, one walk and one run.
Severino hit .247 for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals and was a South Atlantic League All-Star in 2013.
His defensive skills are ahead of his bat, as is the case with most young catchers. But to...
The Mesa Solar Sox are hitting the ball very well in the Arizona Fall League after a somewhat slow start.
On Monday, a pair of Nationals prospects again made good contact, supplying all of the Solar Sox's RBIs in the game.
Second baseman Tony Renda celebrated his selection to Saturday's Fall Stars Game with a 2-for-5 performance that included a double and a run scored.
His run-scoring single in the top of the ninth tied the game at 3-3 and forced extra innings. He has raised his average to...
In the past, the Nationals have leapfrogged high Single-A Potomac for prospects such as outfielders Bryce Harper and Brian Goodwin.
But top pitching talent has usually made a stop in Woodbridge, Va. A new crop of top pitching prospects appear to be headed to Prince Williams County next season.
The question is: Will they stop in Potomac and if so, how long will they pitch for the high Single-A club?
Right-hander Lucas Giolito, the highest-rated Nationals pitching prospect, dominated the South...
The Potomac Nationals defeated Myrtle Beach to win the Mills Cup and the Carolina League title in 2014. It was a sweet victory for the P-Nats prospects, according to manager Tripp Keister, because he believes they kind of flew under the radar despite steadily staying at the top of the standings the entire season.
In Part 3 of our series on the Potomac Nationals championship season, we will examine how this team won the title despite not having as much fire power as Myrtle Beach displayed...
One of the most difficult parts of a fielding a winning minor league team is keeping the roster cohesive throughout an entire season. This is a difficult proposition because the main goal of the minors is to get prospects ready for the big leagues and sometimes they are moved up based on injuries or needs the big club has, which leads to a trickle-down effect on the lower levels.
In Part 2 of our series on high Single-A Potomac's championship season, we focus on how the P-Nats were able to...
It is still difficult to watch the World Series, or really any of the playoffs, with the Nationals not a part of the festivities. It is like being sick for a party you were invited to and have been looking forward to for months.
But one thing that might bring some satisfaction to a few fans is a look back at the play of the Single-A Carolina League champion Potomac Nationals. In 2014, the P-Nats won another league title despite starting the season with a good set of arms and an offense that...
Major League Baseball is looking into the length of games and studying to see if there is a way to speed up the contests without affecting the quality of play.
This fall, MLB implemented pace of play rules in select Arizona Fall League games.
There is a 20-second pitch clock and a time limit between innings of 125 seconds. There also are no-pitch intentional walks and only three meetings allowed at the mound.
Mesa Solar Sox coach Patrick Anderson, who is the manager for the low Single-A...
The Mesa Solar Sox evened their record at 5-5 on Saturday with an 8-4 victory over Salt River in Arizona Fall League play from Cubs Park.
Left-hander Felipe Rivero notched his first win of the campaign, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and striking out two batters to improve to 1-2. He threw 62 pitches, 35 for strikes.
Teammate Derek Self piggy-backed the start with his second hold, going 2 1/3 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks and...
Nationals prospects continue to work in the Arizona Fall League. Low Single-A Hagerstown manager Patrick Anderson is an extra coach with the Mesa Solar Sox and provided an update on each Nationals player playing for the team.
Second baseman Tony Renda: "He's looking great. He's hit so many balls right on the nose right at people, I feel so bad for him. We all laugh. How many balls can you hit so hard right at somebody and have nothing to show for it like ever? I'm waiting for balls to fall...
Situational hitting is key in any game, but doubly so in playoff matchups when opportunities are few and far between because of the quality of pitching.
The Nationals struggled with situational hitting in the San Francisco series. In Game 4 at AT&T Park, with Bryce Harper at second base and no outs down 2-1, Wilson Ramos grounded out to the shortstop. It handcuffed Harper, who wasn't able to get to third base with less than two outs.
It was a critical play in a game the Nationals had to...
Steven Souza Jr. put on a late-season display of his offensive and defensive abilities for the Nationals. The outfielder was named International League Rookie of the Year and the organization's top minor league player for his 2014 exploits.
Souza played in only 21 games for the Nats, but showed off his immense power by hitting a couple of home runs, one a moon shot in Atlanta. At the minor league level, Souza has hit 56 home runs since 2012.
He also made an defensive play that will forever be...
The Mesa Solar Sox, the Arizona Fall League team that includes Nationals prospects, went 1-1 over the weekend.
On Friday, Surprise beat Mesa 14-3. Nationals prospect Neil Holland was charged with a blown save after allowing five runs on four hits in one inning of work. The big blow was a Kyle Waldrop two-run shot against Holland, who entered the game with a 3-2 lead.
Catcher Pedro Severino went 1-for-3 with an RBI single. Second baseman Tony Renda was a part of three double plays, but went...
Nationals manager Matt Williams spent time this morning with The Junkies on 106.7 the Fan in Washington and talked about the loss in the National League Division series.
Williams was obviously still disappointed about the way the season ended with a 3-1 series loss to the Giants.
Listen to the entire interview here.
The Junkies asked Williams to explain why he decided to keep relievers Matt Thornton and Aaron Barrett in the game to face the right-handers in the Giants lineup in Game 4.
"We...
Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche spent a good 15 minutes this morning with "The Junkies" on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., and talked about the unfortunate abrupt ending to a great season.
To listen to the entire interview, click here.
One major topic is LaRoche's future with the team and whether the veteran will be with the Nationals next season or will the organization decide to put Ryan Zimmerman at first base.
LaRoche's lefty bat, high baseball IQ and leadership in the...
