Meyers rewarded with Triple-A promotion, plus other farm notes

The Washington Nationals continue to reward their outstanding young pitchers in the farm system. Yesterday, Cameron Selik was promoted to the advanced Single-A Potomac Nationals after an outstanding first month with low Single-A Hagerstown Suns. On Thursday, righthander Brad Meyers got the call to head to Triple-A Syracuse from Double-A Harrisburg. The club really loves Selik's competitiveness on the mound and his overall command of all four pitches. His first start for Potomac will be Friday night in Kinston, N.C. Meyers had a great April following a tough season last year in which he battled foot issues. He is completely healthy and strong now and it is revealed in his impressive mound performances. The 6-foot-6, 195 lb., Meyers is 3-2 with a 2.48 ERA, 38 strikeouts and no walks. That is not a typo - Meyers has not walked a batter in six starts spanning 36 1/3 innings showing his incredible spot-on command and control is at midseason form. That's right, the P-Nats are headed out on another road trip. They were home for all of three games after a 17-road trip. I took in the Tuesday morning affair in which they lost 20-6. It got so bad in the late innings that the P-Nats had shortstop Jose Lozada finish off the game. Lozada pitched because the bullpen was taxed from the previous grueling road trip and the game was out of hand. Don't worry, Lozada's original job at shortstop is safe after allowing five runs in the ninth frame. Also, I can update you on the field conditions at Pfitzner Stadium. You can see in right field an area where there are dark green lines in football yard line style. This is where the grass has now grown up around the new drainage system that was installed during the off season. The left field and center field drainage systems had been installed before the 2010 campaign. It makes one wonder if the field will be in good enough condition for No. 1 prospect Bryce Harper's arrival, or will the phenom hitter just bypass Woodbridge, Va., for Harrisburg? The field looks playable now. They are also constructing an addition to the home clubhouse that will give the players and coaches a little more room to operate. Reliever Ryan Demmin was sent to extended spring training, where the club wants him to work on consistency with his breaking ball. He needs to get better at strikes, put aways and just his overall basic feel. But the organization is still very high on him or they wouldn't have sent him back to Florida.