Coming in at No. 7 on Baseball America's Top 10 Nationals prospects is right-hander Cole Kimball, who made a meteoric rise up the rankings with a very successful 2010 in several challenging leagues.
The 25-year old Kimball was ranked fourth among minor league hurlers in the Nats organization in 2009, after posting 122 strikeouts for Single-A Hagerstown in 2008. The 2006 12th-round selection was so good this year, he was rewarded with a place on the 40-man roster last month.
Aaron Fitt of...
Greetings from Alabama where it snowed here in Birmingham for the first time ever! (That is the rumor.) I am here with George Washington basketball as they take on Alabama-Birmingham tonight.
As we did in Oregon last week, how about all the major league ball players from Alabama? Okay, so that would take awhile.
The list is much longer than in Oregon, headed by all-time players like Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, Ozzie Smith, Bo Jackson, George Foster and Willie Mays plus former Nats outfielder...
Nationals prospect first baseman Chris Marrero had another solid year at Double-A Harrisburg and followed that up with a superb campaign in the Puerto Rican winter league. Last month, the Nats placed Marrero in the 40-man roster.
Marrero was impressive, to say the least, with the Senators, batting .294 in 141 games, smacking 18 homers with 82 RBIs. That included 154 hits, 28 doubles and 73 runs scored.
Showing it was no fluke, he continued to hit well for Ponce, batting .306 in 26 games with...
In case you missed Ben Goessling's outstanding update on Baseball America's list of Top 10 prospects in Nationals organization, here it is again.
I spoke with Aaron Fitt of Baseball America who works to put together the prospect list each season and asked him to run down the Nats top prospects. We begin at number 10, right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock.
Peacock's numbers were pretty impressive in 2010, as he was promoted from Single-A to Double-A. He finished 6-11 with a 4.50 ERA overall in...
So how is Philadelphia reacting to the loss of Jayson Werth?
Former Phillies standout John Kruk was on ESPN talking about the team's signing of Cliff Lee.
He told the story of when he woke up his son with the news, "Guess who the Phillies signed?" His son answered, "Did they get Jayson Werth back?!" It gives you an idea of the impact of Werth had on the Phillies and their fans.
Matt Gelb covers the Phillies for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I asked Gelb to go back to the first time...
Catcher Derek Norris made quick leaps at the end of the 2010 season with a championship at Potomac, expert education at instructional league, followed by another title in the Arizona Fall League.
Along the way, newly appointed Syracuse manager Randy Knorr kept tabs on the talented backstop and liked what he saw. Knorr says Norris is closer to making that next step but still has work to do in the minor leagues.
"I don't see him as a big league catcher yet," Knorr said. "I think there is...
Greetings from the spectacular Pacific Northwest, I am writing to you from Corvallis, Ore., on the campus of Oregon State University. I am here with George Washington basketball for a game tonight.
(By the way, who are the most famous major league baseball players from Oregon? My picks are Harold Reynolds, Dale Murphy, Aaron Rowand, Wally Backman and Larry Andersen. Do you have a few?)
But I am always thinking Nationals baseball and have contemplated the long-term impact Jayson Werth in...
The Nationals took another step with the trade of popular outfielder Josh Willingham to the Oakland Athletics for right-hander Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown. Willingham confirmed the trade and is excited about his new opportunity but also is appreciative of his time with the Nationals.
As for his new team, Willingham says the Athletics are going in the right direction and have talent in the outfield.
"Oakland has got a .500 baseball club and already has some good outfielders...
Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner knew from his first meeting with outfielder Jayson Werth that this is a player he wanted and could play in D.C. for a long time. Lerner was struck by what kind of man Werth was during their initial conversation and how they shared a similar vision for the Nationals.
"No surprise as far as I am concerned," Lerner recalls. "When we went and interviewed him in Scott Boras' office in California a couple of weeks back, we were so impressed with the young...
The Nationals like what they have seen so far from young infielders Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, who appear to be the shortstop and second basemen of the future for the Nats in 2011 and beyond.
The next second baseman set to impress in the chain is Stephen Lombardozzi, who displayed solid numbers in Single-A Potomac, Double-A Harrisburg and Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League this season.
Lombardozzi produced the game-winning RBI hit to lift Scottsdale to the AFL championship. He...
New Syracuse Chiefs manager Randy Knorr guided the Scottsdale Scorpions to the Arizona Fall League title last month with several Nationals prospects on his roster, including No. 1 overall selection Bryce Harper.
Harper had a great month in Arizona, batting .343 with three doubles, two triples, a homer and seven RBIs in nine games. He had an RBI single in the championship game, a 3-2 win over Peoria.
"Everybody sees him hit the ball out of Yellowstone Park, per se, and he does do that,"...
Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is rehabilitating on schedule from Tommy John surgery in early September. Strasburg is in good spirits and says he is one or two months away from baseball activities.
"They have a plan in place that is normal to start throwing about four or five months after surgery," Strasburg said. "I am now three months post-surgery. So, in a month or two, I will be able to get throwing again. Right now, I am concentrating on getting my elbow stronger."
Strasburg...
With the Nationals signing of Jayson Werth this week, the focus on 2012 becomes even more exciting for Nats fans with the prospect of a healthy Stephen Strasburg paired with Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and say, even Bryce Harper?
That is what Bryce is hoping for. He talked about making his debut in 2012 with Strasburg to MLB Network during the Arizona Fall League championship.
But a more realistic debut for Harper would be 2013, according to Jim Callis, executive editor for Baseball...
Nationals prospect Michael Burgess had a solid October-November in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions. Burgess won the championship with the Scorpions and played on the Rising Stars team, hitting .246 with three doubles, three triples, two homers and 12 RBI.
Scorpions batting coach Alan Zinter liked what he saw from Burgess in Arizona, comparing his power capability to another prospect in the Nationals chain.
"His power is right up there with Bryce Harper," Zinter...
Despite an uproar by Nats fans to Adam Dunn leaving for the Chicago White Sox, baseball expert Jim Callis thinks it is the right move for the Nationals in the long term.
"I think it makes sense," says the executive editor of Baseball America.
"Could Adam Dunn help them next year, certainly. When you are looking long term, the Nationals still aren't ready to contend. So what Adam Dunn would have done for your 2011 team would have been irrelevant."
It is obvious Dunn is, and can continue...
Nationals left fielder Josh Willingham is rehabbing well from knee surgery and will be 100 percent for spring training.
"The knee is good," Willingham said. "I rehabbed it for the first three weeks in Washington. They said go home and do it so I rehabbed it for three more weeks (in Alabama). Since I have been done with rehab I took some time off and then started working out again and everything is good. I am 100 percent."
Willingham remembers when he first got hurt and how the knee...
Nationals' second baseman Danny Espinosa underwent hand surgery the day before Thanksgiving to remove the hamate bone and is recovering nicely.
"My right hand feels good," reports Espinosa. "I can move my fingers and my wrist. The stitches are still in place, but I do not need pain medication."
Espinosa says the injury occurred while playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, but he doesn't remember the exact moment because the pain was never intolerable.
"I actually don't know when I...
Nationals left-handed starting pitcher John Lannan is enjoying his off season and will begin throwing soon as he gets ready for 2011 spring training. It was a roller coaster summer for Lannan, as he fought off a tendon problem, a demotion to Harrisburg, and then rebounded nicely to finish with a flourish.
Lannan ended up with an 8-8 record and a 4.65 ERA, but in his final 10 starts, he posted a 6-3 record with a 3.41 ERA. He allowed 4 ER only twice in that span.
Lannan says overcoming the...
Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann is enjoying this off season much more so than last year when he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
"It is nice," says Zimmermann. "I can actually go home and have a month off and not have to worry about rehabbing every single day. I have been working out for (four weeks now). It is good to get back in the swings of things and not have to worry about going to rehab every day and just working on my arm. I can lift like a normal baseball player...
Nationals prospect Steven Lombardozzi wrapped up another successful season by knocking in the winning run for the Scottsdale Scorpions in a 3-2 win over Peoria in Arizona fall league championship, culminating a memorable season for the Chaska, MN native.
Lombardozzi advanced from Potomac to Harrisburg this summer, refined his skills in the instructional league and then participated and excelled in Arizona.
"It was pretty special, especially to come together in such a short time with all new...
