by Tyler Radecki, Staff Writer

AAA Syracuse Chiefs, AAA International League: (18-22, 3rd in North Division)

Pitching Report -

Ross Detwiler: Detwiler turned in his fourth consecutive start giving up four runs or more on Thursday night, going five innings with five hits, four earned runs, four walks, and three strikeouts against Norfolk. It’s now been just about a month since his last “good” start, an April 25th start in which he gave up just one run over 6 1/3 innings. His ERA stands at 5.04 on the year, but he's still striking out two for every one walk.  He needs to turn it around quickly though to avoid being passed over by other prospects.

Brad Meyers: Three starts into his AAA career, the 25-year-old Meyers has a 3.63 ERA (seven ER in 17 1/3 IP) and 16 strikeouts to just one walk. His last start was Friday night, and he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up three earned runs (two home runs) on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks. His control is still very good and as continues to be a candidate for the bigs if injury or attrition call for it.

Yunesky Maya: Maya has continued to pitch himself to the top of the Nats’ call-up list (likely) in Syracuse, throwing 51 2/3 innings so far with a 3.66 ERA. In his last start Wednesday night, he threw 6 1/3 innings, giving up three earned on four hits, one walk and two strikeouts. He’s not striking may batters out, but he’s getting outs consistently and appears to be much more comfortable this year.

Tom Milone: His best start of the season came Saturday, as he threw seven shutout innings against Rochester, giving up just three hits and racking up nine strikeouts. Milone has given up more than three earned runs in just one out of his seven AAA starts. His strikeout to walk ratio is an incredible 44/3 in 43 1/3 innings.

Josh Wilkie: In 2 1/3 innings this week, Wilkie gave up four hits and one earned run, striking out four. His ERA still stands at 1.83 on the year, though he has been hit harder in May (11 hits against in eight innings).

Craig Stammen: Sometimes forgotten because of other, younger pitchers, Stammen has still been good in AAA this season. Prior to Sunday’s start, Stammen had a 3.43 ERA and 38 strikeouts to just five walks. On Tuesday he gave up three runs in six innings, and on Sunday, he gave up seven hits, four walks and three runs over five innings in the Chiefs’ 9-3 victory.

Hitting Report –

Chris Marrero: He had a big day Sunday afternoon, going 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and a walk, raising his overall average to .283. He’s smashing the ball right now, hitting .351 in his last ten games heading into Sunday’s game. He’s not hitting for a whole lot of power, but he’s getting on base and with Adam LaRoche seeking medical advice for his ailing left shoulder, Marrero needs to give the major league team a reason to believe he could be an option.

Jesus Flores: Flores hasn’t hit well this year, and he’s hitting just .229/.363/.343 in his last 10, though he did homer – his second of the year – on Sunday afternoon.

Corey Brown: Brown went just 2-for-14 this week, but he did have three walks and his overall OBP is about a hundred points higher than his average. He’s not hitting well, but he’s drawing walks (nine walks to seven strikeouts in his last 10 games).

Michael Aubrey: Aubrey isn’t considered a prospect, but with LaRoche possibly going to the DL, he may become an option for the major league team. The 29-year-old went 3-for-5 on Sunday afternoon, and is hitting .400/.488/.914 in his last 10 games. This week, he went 8-for-22 (.363) with five walks, one home run and six RBIs. His last time in the major leagues was in 2009 with Baltimore, where he hit .289/.326/.500 in 90 at bats. He maybe getting hot at the right time.

Harrisburg Senators, AA Eastern League (20-19)

Pitching Report –

Brad Peacock: He dazzled again this week, this time tossing six innings of one run ball while give up one hit (a home run) and two walks with 10 strikeouts. He’s given up more than two runs in just one start this year, and his ERA stands at 2.05. Opponents are hitting .180 off of him.

Oliver Perez: The Nationals acitvated Perez from extended spring training and assigned him to Harrisburg.  He made his first appearance of the season Thursday, starting against New Britain.  Perez went five innings and gave up one run on one hit and two walks, striking out three in a 3-1 win.

Hitting Report –

Stephen Lombardozzi: He’s struggled in his last 10 games, especially when it comes to plate discipline, which has always been his strength. He’s struck out 11 times to just one walk in his last 10 games and is hitting .222 in those games (.282/.344/.436 on the year).

Derek Norris: He seems to have finally adjusted to AA hitting, hitting .324 in his last 10 games. He’s riding a six-game hitting streak right now in which he’s 9-for-21 (.428) with four doubles, a home run, three RBIs, four walks and three strikeouts. He’s on fire right now, and his triple slash line is up to .222/.374/.375.

Tyler Moore: He’s hitting a paltry .167/.186/.357 in his last 10 games, and is just one for his last 16 at bats. His strikeout to walk ratio stands at 40 strikeouts to four walks, and his average on the year is at .255 with five homers and 15 RBIs. He may be getting exposed at the higher level after such a torrid summer with Potomac in 2010.

Potomac Nationals, High-A Carolina League (19-23)

Pitching Report –

Daniel Rosenbaum: His start Thursday was a disaster, giving up six runs over five innings against Frederick. His ERA is still just 3.12, and the 23-year-old has been good the rest of the year, so it may just be a bad start.

Josh Smoker: He isn’t getting a whole lot of work, but in 1 2/3 innings this week, he allowed no runs, one hit, two walks, and struck out two.  His season ERA is at 1.23. The adjustment to reliever continues to be a success and we’ll see if he can continue to pitch well in his new role.

Cameron Selik: Selik hasn’t pitched since May 13.

Hitting Report –

Eury Perez: Perez is absolutely raking right now, hitting .463 (19-for-41) in his last 10 games with six runs, one home run, 10 RBIs and four steals. He has 15 SB to just 2 CS on the year, and while he’s not drawing many walks, he doesn’t strike out much either (just 12 in 92 at bats), and his speed is absolutely lethal. He went 1-for-4 on Sunday and has a nine-game hitting streak, with six of those games multi-hit games.

Destin Hood: Hood is also red-hot with a five-game hitting streak – and all of those games are multi-hit games. He’s 13 for his last 22, with five runs scored, eight doubles (three on Sunday), one home run and nine RBIs. He’s just 21 years old, and has built off his strong 2010 campaign in which he hit .285 with five HR, 30 doubles, and 65 RBI.

Steven Souza: The 22-year old first baseman leads the P-Nats in RBIs with 32 and has shown good power in his last ten games, hitting three home runs and driving in 10.  He's hitting .248/.323/.504 for the year with eight homers and 32 RBI with 12 steals to boot.

Hagerstown Suns, Low-A South Atlantic League (27-16)

Pitching Report –

Robbie Ray: Ray has been spectacular in his first three minor league starts, and in his most recent on Friday he pitched six innings, giving up one earned run with four strikeouts. He’s not yet 20 years old, but he’s been very good out of the gate, going 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA (one earned run in 17 innings) with 17 Ks and one BB.

Taylor Jordan: He’s yet to give up more than three runs in a start this year, and his start on Monday was solid: six innings, seven hits, three earned runs, two walks, five strikeouts. His record is 6-0 and his ERA is 2.82 on the year.

A.J. Cole: Cole made one start this week, going four innings and giving up six hits and five runs (just two earned) with five strikeouts.

Hitting Report –

Bryce Harper: Harper was due to come back to earth after his hitting streak, and he was 4-for-19 (.210) this week with three walks, one home run and three RBIs. He’s still hitting .359/.440/.655 this season in Hagerstown with 13 doubles, 10 HR, 34 RBI and 21 walks to 33 strikeouts. Oh, and seven stolen bases and just two errors on the year.

David Frietas: He’s been consistent this year, and is hitting .324 in his last 10 games to raise his average to .290 – though more impressive is that he has 20 walks to 13 strikeouts and an OBP of .392. He went 2-for-5 Saturday with a home run and two RBIs and is definitely a catcher to look out for.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE WEEK

Pitcher: Brad Peacock, Harrisburg. He’s been remarkable this year, leading the Eastern League in strikeouts and dominating AA. With the major league rotation staying healthy so far, Peacock has to have some luck to get a call-up soon, but he may get a look in September.

Hitter: Destin Hood, Potomac. He’s just absolutely raking and is hitting for power with eight doubles in his last 13 hits. The 21-year-old is very much still a good prospect, and the former two-sport high school star is looking very good so far in Potomac. If he keeps this up for another month or so, he may get a look in Harrisburg.

by Tyler Radecki, Staff Writer

Syracuse Chiefs, AAA International League (13-22)

Pitching Report -

Ross Detwiler: Detwiler started off the season strong, but has struggled in his last three starts. He pitched twice last week against the Durham Bulls, losing both  Last Saturday he gave up four runs on six hits and three walk in six innings, then Friday he cruised for six innings before he fell apart in the seventh. He allowed four earned runs on 11 hits and one walk,but gave up two home runs in that outing.  His ERA currently stands at 4.76 with 29 Ks and 12 walks.

Brad Meyers: The recently-promoted Meyers has made two starts in Syracuse so far.  He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in his first AAA start before tossing seven innings of shutout ball with eight strikeouts Saturday night. If he continues to pitch well in AAA, we may be seeing in with the big club later this summer. Read about his domination in AA here.

Yunesky Maya: After a rocky first AAA start, Maya has been very impressive this year, throwing five consecutive quality starts. In his last start on Thursday, Maya went 7 1/3 innings with three earned runs on seven hits and one walk, striking out three in the Chiefs’ loss. Maya struggled in his short MLB stint last year, but seems to have settled in nicely in Syracuse. For the season, the Cuban is 1-3, 3.57, with a 36/9 K/BB ratio.

Tom Milone: Other than one seven-run start on April 28th, Milone has been very effective in Syracuse, and in his start last Tuesday, he went 7 2/3 innings with three earned runs on five hits and no walks, striking out seven in a win over Norfolk. He was scheduled to pitch Sunday but the game was rained out.  Milone is 2-3, 4.21 with a 35/3 K/BB ratio this season.  He has several pitchers to leapfrog to get the call to the bigs, but Milone is showing that he belongs on the list.

Josh Wilkie: Cole Kimball got his major league call this past week, so Wilkie is going to try to follow in his footsteps. He’s continued to make his case, giving up just one run in his last six appearances over nine innings. He has 20 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings, so if he continues to post good numbers he will work his way onto the Nats’ radar.

Hitting Report –

Michael Aubrey: At 29, Aubrey isn't really a prospect anymore, but he had a career day Saturday, slamming four home runs in four at bats and seven RBIs, leading the Chiefs to a 11-0 win over the Durham Bulls.  The home runs were the first of the season for the first baseman, who has had cups of coffee in the Majors with Cleveland and Baltimore. Aubrey is hitting .254/.356/.460 this season in 22 games.

Chris Marrero: The first baseman is not hitting for power but he’s getting on base consistently. He’s currently riding a five-game hitting streak in which he’s 8-for-19 (.421) with two doubles. With LaRoche signed through next year, Marrero will have a hard time cracking the lineup, but if he continues to hit well he will force his way into the future picture.

Jesus Flores: Flores was 5-for-19 in the last week with two walks and seven RBIs, but he still is not hitting for much power and has an OBP of below .300.  Flores is starting to make better contact as he continues works his way back from shoulder injury that took the better part of two seasons from his career.

Corey Brown: Roger Bernadina’s call up has ignited the Nats offense, but Brown still is in the picture as well as a future outfielder. He’s hitting .273/.415/.515 in his last ten games, though he has just two home runs and four RBIs on the year.

Harrisburg Senators, AA Eastern League (17-18)

Pitching Report –

Brad Peacock: Peacock’s last start was impressive, fanning 14 batters over seven innings, giving up five hits and one run. MILB.com had a short story about Peacock this week and his ERA currently stands at 2.13 with 56 strikeouts to seven walks.

Erik Davis: Davis has had an up and down year so far in Harrisburg, and was placed on the disabled list with an apparent knee injury after being pulled after two innings in a May 11 start. Davis is 1-1 with a 3.49 ERA in six starts for Harrisburg.

Hitting Report –

Stephen Lombardozzi: Lombardozzi had a five-game hitting streak snapped Sunday, but he’s still hit just .217 in his last ten games with a .265 OBP. His overall average is down to .279, but he is still having a solid year at second base and should work out of this slump quickly.

Derek Norris: His average is just .197 after an ice-cold start to the year, but this past week he went 6-for-15 (.400) with seven runs scored, two doubles, one home run and two RBIs. He’s still adjusting to AA pitching and hopefully this recent success will translate as the season progresses.  The good sign is that his elite on base skills are not suffering, as his OBP is .357 despite the low average.

Tyler Moore: He’s hitting .295 in his last ten games, capped off by a 3-for-5 on Sunday. He’s had a solid start to the year, but Chris Marrero is blocking him in AAA.  Moore has five home runs and 15 RBIs with a .270/.301/.482 slash line in 137 at bats. 

Potomac Nationals, High-A Carolina League (14-21)

Pitching Report –

Daniel Rosenbaum: He’s pitched seven innings in four of his last five starts and has yet to give up over three earned runs in a start this year. Saturday against Wilmington he gave up three earned runs on 10 hits and three walks in seven innings and did not factor in the decision. He's 1-1 with a 2.28 ERA in seven starts this season.

Josh Smoker: A first-round pick in 2007, Smoker has struggled with injuries so far in his career but he may have found his niche as a reliever. He’s given up just two ER in 13 innings so far this year (1.38 ERA), and at 22 years old, he’s still young enough to consider a prospect.

Cameron Selik: Selik started the year off in Hagerstown and got promoted to Potomac, but he got roughed up this week in his start against Wilmington.  He only went 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits and a walk.

Hitting Report –

Eury Perez: Perez is red-hot in his last 10, hitting .419 with five stolen bases. He went 4-for-4 on Sunday with three doubles in the Nationals 5-4 win Sunday, and his slash line for the season is .313/.343/.358. He’s not hitting for a lot of power, but he has nine hits in his last 15 at-bats. Impressive.

Destin Hood: He also had a 4-for-4 day Sunday, but he had a home run and three3 RBI as well. He’s hitting .316 in his last 10 games, and his average is up to .246. He has a lot of potential, and he may be coming around in Potomac.

Hagerstown Suns, Low-A South Atlantic League (25-12)

Pitching Report –

Robbie Ray: Ray’s first two professional outings probably couldn’t have gone any better, as he went a combined 11 innings, giving up just three hits, no runs, one walk and 13 strikeouts. The fourth round pick in the 2010 draft has been impressive so far in his short time in Hagerstown and is proving the draft experts correct in that he had first round talent.

Taylor Jordan: A 2009 draft pick, Jordan has pitched well in Hagerstown, with a 2.51 ERA in seven games (six starts). Wednesday he went six innings, allowing two earned runs (five total) on seven hits. He did not walk or strike out a batter.  For the season, Jordan is 6-0 with a 2.51 ERA with 16 Ks and six BBs in 32 1/3 innings.

A.J. Cole: Cole has given up three earned runs in 7 2/3 total innings in two starts for Hagerstown. His last start was a four inning outing, and he allowed one earned run on two hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Cole has been on a pitch count early this season after starting the year in extended spring training.

Hitting Report –

Bryce Harper: Harper’s hitting streak came to an end on Sunday after 18 games as he went 0-for-4 with a walk against the Lakewood BlueCrabs, but boy did Harper have a great streak. His line so far this year: .381/.458/.683, 9 home runs, 31 RBI, 11 doubles, 18 BB, 30 K, 6 SB/3 CS. The Post had a great slideshow featuring Harper this week. If Harper continues to rake, he may find himself in Potomac very soon.

David Frietas: He’s a sleeper prospect at catcher, and is hitting .325 over his last 10 with a seven-game hitting streak. He's hitting .283/.386/.451 overall and has four HR and 25 RBI on the year, and he’s definitely one to watch.

Randolph Oduber: Oduber hit .297/.357/.297 in his last ten games with six stolen bases and five runs scored. He's hit safely in eight of his last ten games.

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PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR THE WEEK

Pitcher:  Brad Peacock is dominating in AA, and if not for some stud pitchers in Syracuse, he may be getting a call-up soon.

Hitter:  Eury Perez is one to watch in Potomac. He may be the future in CF for the Nationals, with tons of speed and solid hitting.

When Eric Hinske homered for the Atlanta Braves in the bottom of the seventh off Washington Nationals reliever Doug Slaten for an insurance run that gave the homestanding Braves a 3-1 lead, it could have spelled doom for the Nats.  And when the Braves went to closer Craig Kimbel in the ninth for the save, it should have been lights out, as the Nationals were winless this season when trailing after eight innings.

Until last night.

Despite striking out the side, Kimbrel also left a couple of pitches up. Base hits by Laynce Nix and Jerry Hairston set the table, and when Alex Cora snuck a ball back through the middle for a two-run single, the Nationals found themselves in a brand new ballgame.

Then, in the top of the eleventh inning, Ian Desmond doubled to left field to drive in two and Jayson Werth followed by pounding a hanging slider into the left field bleachers for his sixth home run of the season.  Just like that, the Nats had taken the first two games of the series from the Braves, lifting their record for the road trip to 4-4 with one game left and evening their season record at 18-18.

Washington is now 5-1 in extra innings this season.

Drew Storen (3-1, 0.44), with a perfect tenth inning, picked up his second win of the week and Tyler Clippard threw a scoreless inning in the eleventh to finish off Atlanta.

Scott Linebrink (0-1), who gave up four earned runs in the last inning, suffered the loss for the Braves.

The Nats offense, which is last in the league in hitting, came alive a little bit, pounding out 13 hits and walking five times.  Cora, Desmond, Werth, Laynce Nix and Jerry Hairston all had multi-hit nights in the effort.  The team still struck out 11 times, but came thought last night in the later innings despite all the Ks.

John Lannan started for the Nats and provided a quality start, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out three.  It was a much needed solid performance for the left-hander, and brought his ERA for the season back under five at 4.79.

Todd Coffey, Sean Burnett, Storen and Clippard provided 4 2/3 shutout innings of relief.

The final game of this brutal 10-day, nine game road trip is Thursday night and the Nats now have a chance to make it a winning trip and return to D.C. above .500, something that probably wasn't considered when they dropped the first three games of the trip to the Philadelphia Phillies in no uncertain terms. 

The trip has been a big test for this Nats team, and it says a lot about this group of players that they didn't let that three-game sweep to their most bitter rival snowball into a bigger losing streak.  This team may or may not go on to be competitive the rest of the season, but for now the Nats are staying respectable record-wise despite being at the bottom of the league in offense and missing their best overall player due to injury.

_____________________________________________________

THE GOOD: Drew Storen.  Completely dominated in his one inning of work.  Laynce Nix went 3-for-5 with three ground ball base hits.  Alex Cora went 2-for-2 as a late inning replacement and made a couple of nifty plays at third base.

THE BAD: Danny Espinosa went 0-for-4 and stranded four runners.

THE UGLY: Doug Slaten. He finally gave up an earned run of his own, the Hinske homer, instead of allowing inherited runners to score.  But his job is to get left-handed batters out, not let them hit home runs like he did against Hinske.

THE STATS: 13 hits, five walks, 11 Ks.  4-for-14 with RISP, 10 LOB, one GIDP. No errors, two DPs.

NEXT GAME: Thursday in Atlanta. Jordan Zimmermann (2-4, 4.10) vs. Derek Lowe (3-3, 3.22)

HARPER WATCH: Bryce Harper went 4-for-5 with a grand slam and five RBIs in Hagerstown's 11-5 win over Delmarva.  For the season, the prodigy is hitting .396/.472/.712/1.184 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs with five steals in 31 games.  He also had an outfield error, his second of the season.

One look at the stats page for the Hagerstown Suns tells you an awful lot about where Bryce Harper is in his progression to the Major Leagues.  His numbers, through 30 games, fairly pop off the page.

30 games, .377/.459/.679/1.138, 11 2Bs, 7 HRs, 25 RBIs, 5-for-7 stolen bases, one outfield error.

Pretty impressive.

Harper earned the low-A South Atlantic League player of the week honors for last week, when he hit .500 (12-for-24) with four doubles, one homer and four RBIs, and in a day game today extended his hitting streak to 14 games, going 2-for-5 with two singles and an RBI in a 7-3 Hagerstown win.  In fact, Harper has multiple hits in seven of his last eight games, including today's.

Harper's hot streak has coincided with his starting to wear contact lenses as a result of an eye exam in D.C. a couple weeks ago.  Scary to think he went his entire high school and junior college career not being able to see.  That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the contacts did prompt Harper to say that he was seeing "in HD" now.

Pitchers in the Sally should be the ones that are scared.

With all of Harper's success thus far, the big question on everyone's mind in NatsTown is "When will Harper get promoted?"  The Nationals explicitly said all through spring training that they were not going to rush the phenom for any reason, but also would let his play dictate his progress.  That progress needed to be measured not only at bat, but in the field and how he handled the rigors of playing every day.

According to all reports, and his manager in Hagerstown, former big leaguer Brian Daubach, he's passing every test with flying colors.  There was the one brief incident two weeks ago against the West Virginia Power, where Harper stood up for himself after the opposing pitcher taunted him after striking out Harper looking.  But other than that, the 18-year old has been a model citizen on and off the field.

With the Nationals struggling so much at the plate, fans are already wondering when he'll be summoned to the show.  But despite his early success, it's still highly unlikely that Harper pulls on a big league uniform this season for a number of reasons.

First, he's only played 30 games in the outfield, and while that might sound like enough to get comfortable with a position, it isn't nearly enough games to learn all the angles, when to let throws rip and when to play it safe, etc.  When we saw him last Saturday night he played center field, and he's been splitting time in right field as well.  He's already had one incident where he slammed into the outfield fence going after a ball, and we saw him have some confusion on a ball with the right fielder Saturday.  He just needs to see more playing time in the outfield since this is the first time in his life he's played the position on a regular basis.

Next, he's striking out a ton, with 26 Ks in 106 at bats.  He might be the type of player that is going to strike out a lot anyway, and while it's not necessarily a problem, the Nats are going to want to make sure he is making enough contact and has enough plate discipline at each level he plays before moving him up.  The Nats don't want to confuse a hot streak for mastering a level of the minors.

Lastly, and this might be artificial, but he's only 18 years old.  The Nats are going to take every precaution necessary to ensure Harper makes a natural, steady progression, learning the lessons of becoming a professional ballplayer at each stop along the way.  He may be a very mature player, but they don't want to overwhelm him with everything that goes along with the territory.  The very last thing the Nationals want to do is promote him too quickly and have to return him to a previous level.

One blogger's guess as to Harper's timeline, as long as he continues to produce at the appropriate rates: He stays with Hagerstown long enough to get named to the Sally All-Star team and plays in that game on June 21 in Salisbury, MD, then immediately gets promoted to High-A Potomac for a month.  If he dominates at High-A like he has against Low-A, I could then envision seeing him spending the last month of the season at Double-A Harrisburg.

At that point, I think the Nats would give him a month or so off before sending him to the Arizona Fall League to play full-time, not on the taxi squad like he was last fall, limited to just two games a week.  After that, it's on to spring training to try to win a job.

Of course, this is just a projection.  If he spends the next two weeks getting multiple hits every night, he could be in Potomac before June.  It seems there's nothing this kid can't do on a baseball field.

Except maybe grow a mustache.

Derek Norris is congratulated by Brian Bixler for his game-winning pinch-hit. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Derek Norris hit a blast to the left-center field warning track with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, leading the Washington Nationals to a 6-5 win over a bunch of guys wearing New York Yankees jerseys before a capacity crowd at Space Coast Stadium on a spectacularly sunny Saturday afternoon, running the Nats spring training record to 9-5.

It was a big moment for the young catcher, bound for the minor leagues this season, as manager Jim Riggleman had the prospect pinch-hit in that situation for Roger Bernadina, slated to get plenty of at bats in the major leagues this year.

Bernadina's prime competition for playing time, Michael Morse, had another terrific day, going two-for-three with an opposite field homer and run-scoring single.  The big outfielder is hitting .500 this spring with a team-leading five home runs.

Yunesky Maya got the win, going four innings and allowing one unearned run on two hits and three walks, striking out three.  The run scored when Bernadina dropped a fly ball in center in a stiff breeze, the runner got three bases on the play, originally scored a triple but later changed to an error.

Maya gets the win against the Yankees. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

John Lannan started and had a rough go of it.  He went four and two-thirds innings and gave up four runs on four hits and three walks, striking out three.

The Yankees only brought a handful of Major Leaguers for the game, including CF Brett Gardner, C Russell Martin and 2B Robinson Cano.  A.J. Burnett started for the pinstripes and went four innings, allowing two earned runs on Morse's home run.

The other big news out of Nats camp was the re-assignment of OF Bryce Harper to Class-A Hagerstown.  The 18-year old phenom more than held his own with the big league club in 13 spring training games.  He went 7-for-18 (.389/.450/.556) with three doubles and five RBIs and played in 13 of the Nats 14 Grapefruit League games.

Harper survived the first two round of cuts, leading to speculation by the fan base that perhaps his good results would change GM Mike Rizzo's plan of starting last year's No. 1 overall pick in the low minors.  Harper did perform well in his initial tryout, but he needs to get four at bats a day and play the outfield on a regular basis to cultivate the immense and obvious talent he possesses.

There's also the "old school" in Rizzo that wants Harper to ride the buses and carry his own bags and pay for his late-night dinners out of per diem like just about every other ballplayer in the history of the game.

Harper took the news with his typical blend of confidence and bravado, but the kid came out in him too. 

“I’ve never not made a team,” he [Harper] said.

"I understood that I wasn’t going to make the team. I understood that completely from the first day. But I got to tell myself, ‘You’re here. You got to act like you’re that star player on the team. You got to come out here every day, and you got to play like you’re the guy.’"

“Hopefully,” he said, “I’ll see you guys in July.”

Harper will make his MLB debut for the Nationals soon enough.  For now, Rizzo is content in allowing the teenager to simply learn how to be a ballplayer.  Saving the franchise will have to wait.

NATS NOTES:  The Nationals optioned reliever Atahualpa Severino to Class AAA Syracuse and reassigned reliever Ryan Mattheus and Tim Wood to minor league camp after the game.

Bryce Harper grimaces after taking a fastball in the upper arm in the ninth inning. (C.Nichols/Nats News Network)

WANG NOT THROWING HARD

By all accounts of this morning's first official workouts, Chien-Ming Wang still isn't close to throwing full out from a mound.

From Zuckerman: 

Now, I'm by no means a pitching expert, and my eye for these things isn't anywhere in the same area code as Steve McCatty and the rest of the coaching staff. But Wang sure wasn't throwing the ball with much oomph. He's got a very slow, deliberate motion, so that can make things look a little deceptive. But the ball wasn't coming out of his hand with nearly as much velocity as the other guys pitching alongside him.

And Goessling: 

Most of the other pitchers looked fine, but Wang's arm strength just isn't there yet. He's going to start on the DL, and it could be a couple months before he's ready to pitch in the majors.

And Kilgore: 

Several pitchers threw bullpen sessions, including Chien-Ming Wang, and the low level of intensity of his session shows why he believes he'll probably have to start 2011 in the minors, building up innings.

Anyone surprised by this development?  I was very surprised Mike Rizzo brought Wang back after Wang's failure to pitch competitively last season.  It's almost like he's doing him a favor.  Wang himself said the other day that he wouldn't be ready before May.  Didn't we hear that last season as well?

I frankly don't expect to ever see Wang pitch at Nats Park.

STRASBURG PLAYS CATCH

Stephen Strasburg, recovering from the world's most famous Tommy John surgery, threw lightly from about 45 feet with trainer Lee Kuntz.  It's the first baby step in a process that will last all season and perhaps into the off-season and next year.  But the Nats have to be extremely cautious with their franchise arm.

FLORES BACK BEHIND THE DISH

Jesus Flores participated fully in the bullpen sessions, taking pitches and throwing back tot he pitchers without any difficulty.  If you remember back to this time last season, he had to endure the indignity of handing the ball to a trainer to send back to the pitcher he was catching.  Flores returning to Major League duty will be one of the more interesting stories to watch this spring.

MORE POSITION PLAYERS REPORTING

Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel arrived at the clubhouse in Viera today.  It's encouraging that many of the position players are in camp, taking BP and shaking the rust loose before the official reporting date.  But the Nats really aren't speical in that regard, it's happening all over baseball and it happens every season.  Most of these guys are as anxious to get started as the fans are.

What will be really interesting is when Bryce Harper hits the big league clubhouse, expected in the next day or so.  Will he be another media distraction?  How will he fit into the clubhouse?  Is Ladson's rental car safely parked far enough away to escape BP homers from crashing into the windshield?

 
Oh, and the phemon is now on twitter (@BHarp34).  Of course he is.

I am not in Arizona, so I did not see Bryce Harper's debut in the Arizona Fall League last night with the Scottsdale Scorpions.  But I've spoken with a couple who did witness the event, and I've read all the accounts and can link a few here for you.

Let's start with the results:  Harper went 1-for-4 with a two-RBI ground rule double in his last at bat.  His outs were a towering pop fly to short left, a hard liner to center that hung up enough for the CF to make a shoestring catch, and a hard grounder to third.  He swung at six of the seven pitches he saw in four at bats.  The double was with the bases loaded and hit to left center that bounced on the warning track and over the fence.

From the accounts, there are two things that stand out about Harper's debut to me.  I'll let The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore set the scene for the first thing: 

On a ball hit into [the left centerfield] gap that occupied a pair of infielders as cutoff men, Harper bolted from right field to second base in order to cover the bag in case of a bad throw, just as Nationals instructor Tony Tarasco taught him last month in the Instructional League.

Harper, playing right field, saw that both the second baseman and shortstop went out for the relay and no one was covering second, so he hustled from right field to cover second if needed on the play.  This tells us two things about the just 18-year old outfielder. 

Number one, he's got good game-situation recognition, and that probably comes from playing catcher most of his career.  Second, he's listening to his coaching, which will go a long way in helping him get to the big leagues as quickly as possible.  So many times players with a strogn pedigree think they know that game, whenthey've really just been excelling and dominating physically inthe amateur level.  That Harper recognizes he has things to learn, and is willing to be instructed, shows a lot about his makeup.

The second biggest thing that stood out to me was in this picture from Getty Images that accompanied Keith Law's almost gushing review at ESPN.com (link to "Insider" article).

Getty Images

Can you spot it?  No batting gloves.  But more than that, his pinky on the bottom hand isn't even on the bat.  You can see how his ring finger is elevated from the the rest of his fingers on his right hand because it's on the knob of the bat.  It will be interesting to watch to see if the organization tinkers with that grip at all. 

Harper will play again Sunday, per the conditions of his placement on the taxi squad for the Scorpions.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson just reported that the Washington Nationals have assigned Bryce Harper to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, joining some of the Nats other top prospects in the prestigious developmental league.

Here's the entirety of Ladson's story: 

The Nationals have decided that outfielder Bryce Harper will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, effective immediately, according to general manager Mike Rizzo. Harper will be on the Taxi squad, which means that he will play twice a week.

The news comes after Harper hit .319 for the Nationals in the Instructional League. He also led the team in RBIs and runs scored.

The club did not want Harper to be idle for the next two months, so they felt it was better for him to continue playing baseball under manager Randy Knorr.

Rizzo, manager Jim Riggleman, hitting coach Rick Eckstein, special assistant Phil Rizzo, a special advisor to the general manager, will also be in Arizona to help develop Harper.

Harper was sent home from the instructional league over the weekend. It now turns out that simply was to give him a chance to celebrate his 18th birthday with his family (Oct. 16) before being moved on to the AFL.

Harper, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's amateur draft, acclimated well in the Instructional League, and will now be facing some of the top talent in the minor leagues.  It will be an excellent test of his natural ability, and give him a chance to shine on a very big stage in front of some of the top talent evaluators in the game.

Bryce Harper was introduced today as a member of the Washington Nationals (Photo by Ian Koski/Nats Daily News)

The Washington Nationals introduced their newest prodigy, 17-year old outfielder Bryce Harper, to the media and Nationals fans with a press conference before tonight's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The remarkably composed and well-spoken Harper, who should be getting ready for his senior year of high school instead of embarking on a professional baseball career, was asked what his first purchase would be with his signing bonus.  He replied, "Fix the dent in my truck."

The logical follow up was, why not buy a new one?

He replied, "Why?  It only has 120,000 miles on it."

Harper was handed his No. 34 jersey from face of the franchise Ryan Zimmerman, who joked that he would have to get something written into his next contract about the extra duties.  Harper explained that the No. 34 was significant because his favorite player was Mickey Mantle, and three plus four equals seven, the number Mantle wore in his prodigous career as a Yankee.

Ryan Zimmerman welcomes Harper to the team. (Photo by Ian Koski/Nats Daily News)

Much like his hero, Harper will be asked to change positions at a young age.  Mantle moved to center after playing shortstop in the minors, but Harper won't take that long to make the switch to right field from catcher, as he'll be sent out to the Nats minor league facility in Viera, FL to begin his training for the Florida Instructional League.

Harper took batting practice earlier in the day at Nationals Park for the first time, an experience he described as "It felt like home."

He hit several tape measure blasts, including pulling one into the third deck in right field, and several to left field.  "Oppo boppo," Harper said, more than once. 

"It's every kid's dream to take BP at a major league park," Harper said of the experience.  "But I'm not where I want to be...  I have a lot of things to prove."

Harper interviewed by MASN's Bob Carpenter. (Photo by Ian Koski/Nats Daily News)

General Manager Mike Rizzo described Harper as a middle of the order bat, a cornerstone of the organization on and off the field.  He listed Harper with Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann as the core of young talent that would carry the Nats out of their perennial predicament of picking at the top of the amateur draft.

Harper has spent the bulk of the summer at home in Las Vegas, hitting in the cage with his father and working out with his high school football team, running passing routes and lifting weights.  He took every opportunity to praise and thank his high school and college coaches, and said on several occasions he's anxious to start his path to the big leagues.

"I can't wait to show 'em what I can do."

So Bryce Harper signed a major league deal with the Washington Nationals worth $9.9 million last night before the midnight deadline.

Awesome.

What's it mean?

To start with, it means he had to be placed on the 40-man roster, and that happened today with Luis Atilano beiong transferred to the 60-day D.L. He wasn't going to return this season after surgery on his elbow to remove bone chips.

The team will have Harper in next week on the homestand to meet the media and the major league staff, and will probably work out as well. Don't expect him to be taking any batting practice while the gates are open though.

After that, it's off to Viera, FL, home of the Nats minor league complex to work out, and perhaps he'll get in a few Gulf Coast League games before the season ends August 28. If the team feels like he's ready, they could then send him out to a minor league assignment for a week or so.

Once the season ends, Harper will go to the Nats Florida Instruction League, where they send their best prospects for intensive workout and training, and perhaps -- and General manager Mike Rizzo was non-committal about this last night -- he could even be assigned to the Arizona Fall League, the annual showcase for the top young talent in the major leagues.

Then, since he has the major league contract, he'll be invited to big league spring training to get a taste of that before spending next season in the minor leagues. Instead of his senior year of high school.

But that's logistics. What do yesterday's signings -- all four of them -- mean to the big picture?

I asked Rizzo this at last night's press conference, and his answer was concentrated on the immediate: that the Lerners were invested in building this organization:

"We feel that we landed Harper, Solis, Hague, Cole -- and even Robert Ray -- were guys we were extremely happy about and these guys are going to be impactful players for us. It comes down to the committment from ownership to field a championship organization."

In the even bigger picture, it's a huge leap toward making the Nationals minor league system viable. The Nationals signed 25 of their top 26 picks and 33 of the total of 50 or so. Most of the unsigned picks were high schoolers at the back of the draft who will go to college or junior college to improve their draft standing.

This organization is still bereft of prospects in the higher minor leagues, what media-types like to call "major league-ready" talent. Shortstop Danny Espinosa is having a tremendous year (he hit another home run last night, his first game for AAA-SYR) and catcher Derek Norris made many national off-season prospect lists, but his status was hurt this season dealing with injuries, first hamate surgery, then a concussion.

After that? Pretty slim, especially as far as hitters go.

Most of the Nats best young talent is already on the major league roster: Strasburg, Storen, Zimmermann, Desmond.  Espinosa might join them as soon as next year.  But along with last year's bumper crop of college arms, Rizzo outdid himself signing three "impactful" --his words -- pitchers using over-slot money to bolster the farm system.

Sammy Solis, the second round pick, is a polished left-handed starter.  He may have a limited ceiling of a No. 3-4 starter in the bigs, but he should get there quickly.  Robbie Ray, another lefty taken in the 12th round, was lured away from the University of Arkansas and possesses a big arm and projectable size. 

And the coup de grace is A.J. Cole.  The big righty from Floirda touches 97 mph already as a prep and was considered by many to be the second best high school arm in this draft.  He was widely ranked as a first-round pick that fell all the way to the Nats in the fourth round, where Rizzo could no longer pass up the opportunity to convince him to bypass the University of Miami and turn pro. 

All it took was $2 million dollars.

So as this year's version of the Nationals slog their way toward 90 losses, keep all these names in the back of your mind.  And don't worry about re-signing Adam Dunn.  By the time this talent reaches the majors and finally makes the Nationals a truly competitive team, he'll be 34 and probably past his usefulness.

The next veteran contract Nats fans really has to worry about is Ryan Zimmerman, who becomes a free agent after the 2013 season, right about the time Harper should debut as a full-time player.

The Washington Nationals held a press conference after the midnight deadline to announce the signings of OF Bryce Harper, LHPs Sammy Solis and Robbie Ray and RHP A.J. Cole.

Harper was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft.  Solis was the second round choice, Cole the fourth rounder and Ray the 12th round pick.  Cole and Ray are high schoolers and Solis a junior from U. of San Diego.

Rizzo, on what it means for the franchise: "It gives us another impact player in the system.  We feel we've really become a deep system with not only good major league prospects but sprinking in a smattering of several impact type players which is a big differential from what we believe are good major league players to above average inpact type of guys.

[Harper] is a guy that could possibly be a cornerstone in our lineup the very near future and a talent we're pleased to put into the organization."

Rizzo on the major league contract:  "We do feel he's a fast-track 17-year old player.  The fact that he handles the wood [bats] so well and he's very experienced with it helped us with our evaluation of him.  I think it speaks to how hard he's worked over the season and how ready we feel he is to endure the rigors of professional baseball."

Rizzo, on the game plan:  "We're going to bring him in to D.C. probably our next homestand to meet the media, then we will certainly get him to Florida [Gulf Coast League] and get his professional career underway."

"We certainly have plans for him to go to our Florida Instuctional League.  There's an outside possibility he could spend some time in the AFL, but we want to evaluate and see if he's ready for that fairly advanced league just after getting his feet wet inprofessional baseball."

Rizzo on the deadline:  "As it usually takes with these deadline type of negotiations, you go down to the last second until somebody blinks and you make your last ditch efforts, and this time it came out to a great conclusion and we feel happy with the result."

Kasten, on the deadline:  "The truth is, with a full minute to go Mike and I both thought we were not going to have a deal."

"This was literally right at the end.  It was both sides just coming together."

Rizzo, on all four signings of the day:  "It means the committment from ownership to give us the resources to go out and really have an impactful draft.  We had four players at some time during the amateur season that were first round picks on Baseball America's list. 

We feel that we landed Harper, Solis, Hague, Cole -- and even Robert Ray -- were guys we were extremely happy about and these guys are going to be impactful players for us.  It comes down to the committment from ownership to field a championship organization. 

As Stan has said at numerous times, it all starts on the mound.  We went big time upside pitchers with great talent and to land two position players like Harper and Hague and to sprinkle in not only a veteran college quick to the big leagues type of pitcher in Solis -- to get two of the brightest upside high school arms in the draft -- we feel that Kris Kline and Roy Clark did an outstanding job, as we knew they would, and that's why they were brought in here."

----------

There was much, much more, including a whipped cream pie in the face for Rizzo and detailed information from Clark and Kline on why they were so high on Solis and Cole, and we'll file that and more of the press conference tomorrow morning.

The Washington Nationals tonight agreed to terms on a Major League contract with College of Southern Nevada outfielder Bryce Harper, the first-overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement.

Various reports are emerging on the terms of the contract and we will update this post when we confirm the amount of the deal.  Rizzo has not addressed the media at the time of this post, but we will provide his comments when available.

Harper earned his GED after his sophomore year in December 2009, making him eligible for the June 2010 amateur draft in order to begin his professional baseball career earlier.  For the 2010 college season, Harper enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada of the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC), a league that uses wood bats in conference play.

Harper's freshman year was something out of a video game.  In 66 games, he hit 31 home runs, 98 RBI, hitting .443/.526/.987.  His 31 home runs broke the school's previous record of 12. He was named the 2010 SWAC Player of the Year.

He also won the "Golden Spikes" award as the top amateur player in the nation.

In the Western district finals of the 2010 Junior College World Series, Harper went 6-for-7 with five RBIs and hit for the cycle.  The next day, in a doubleheader, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run double in the first game, and in the second game went 6-for-6 with four home runs, a triple, and a double.

In 2009, Harper was cited as Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year after he batted .626 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 36 stolen bases in 39 games for Las Vegas High School. The season prior, in 2008, Harper hit .590 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI in just 38 games as a high school freshman. In March of 2009, Harper became the first high school sophomore ever named a Pre-Season First-Team All-American by Baseball America.

Harper represents something the Nationals sorely need in the organization, a legitimate hitting prospect.  He's been on the national radar for years -- at 15 he hit a ball off the back wall in Tampa's Tropicana Dome and routinely hits home runs over 450 feet.

Harper also has the reputation for being extremely confident -- bordering on cocky.  He had several ejections during his freshman year, including in the playoffs when he taunted the home plate umpire after what he thought was a bad call, drawing a line in the batter's box where he thought the ball crossed.  It cost him his next game and his team was bounced form the playoffs.

Harper spent much of his high school and JuCo career catching, but on draft day the Nationals announced he would move to right field as a professional.  In post-draft interviews, Harper said he was looking forward to playing the position and learning more to become a major league caliber outfielder.

He has good speed, and according to scouting reports, great base running instincts.  His sophomore year in high school he scored six times from second base on a wild pitch. 

Honestly, if every game he has played since the time he was 14 wasn't recorded on video and observed by scouts, you wouldn't believe the numbers or accounts.

With Harper under contract, the Nationals have signed 25 of their top 26 draft picks and 33 picks overall.  For the second season in a row, the Nats have spent more money in the draft than any other team in baseball.

Rizzo has said previously that Harper would probably start his professional career in the Gulf Coast League.  Since he's been off for the better part of two months, it's hard to envision a scenario where he would move up to Class-A ball this season.  It's a good bet, though, that Harper will be ticketed for the Arizona Fall League, a showcase for the top talents in minor league baseball.

It's ridiculous that all of NatsTown -- General Manager Mike Rizzo included -- must sit and wait until midnight tonight to announce what surely will be another record amateur contract for another Scott Boras client.

Bryce Harper, 17, out of the College of Southern Nevada, waits too.

For under Major League Baseball's arcane and downright silly guidelines, the Commissioner's Office doesn't want anyone else to know how much the contract is worth until it's too late to affect anyone else's.

MLB has guidelines in place -- recommendations for bonuses based on the "slot" a player is chosen -- for how a draft pick gets his money.  Instead of a rookie salary scale, in place in the NBA, this slotting system is a cloak-and-dagger operation, leaving everyone in the dark until about 10:30 pm on deadline day.

Currrently, 17 of the 32 first round picks are still unsigned, less than eight hours before the deadline, including the top three and nine of the first 12 picks.  Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com has a much more elaborate description of the situation in his column today discussing Harper's negotiations.

Most expect the rules to change with the next collective bargaining agreement with the player's association, since both the teams and MLB players want to divert money that would go to draftees toward players in the association.  The losers:  top draft picks and their agents.

But back to Harper.

There's no reason why Harper shouldn't end up signing once the clock strikes midnight.  Boras and Rizzo have a good working relationship.  Harper has nothing to prove and everything to risk going back to play JuCo ball.  And he graduated high school a year early for just this opportunity!

Add on the uncertainty of potential changes in the system -- of which Boras is fully aware and no doubt "advised" Harper and his family of in their decision for him to get his GED and enter this draft -- and all doubt is removed.

So it all boils down to how much of Uncle Ted's money does he get.  Frankly, the number doesn't particularly interests me.

A bigger question in my mind is the fates of the other three high draft picks still unsigned:  second rounder LHP Sammy Solis (U. San Diego), fourth rounder RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo (FL) H.S.) and 12th rounder LHP Robbie Ray (Brentwood (TN) H.S.).

All three have been rumored to have already signed.  And that might be the case.  But, as with Harper, we still need to wait.  Because all three "fell" to the Nats and therefore if they sign will sign for above-slot money.  Which again means that the Commissioner's Office won't want the amounts coming out until it's too late to affect any other negotiations.

But here's the rub:  the cat's already out of the bag.

It's been widely reoprted (first by Baseball America's Jim Callis) that Solis signed a $1 million deal, Cole a $2 million deal and Ray for $799 K.

The Cole deal is the big one here.  Two million is huge money for a fourth round pick and will blow out of the water the previous record deal for a player taken in that slot.  ESPN.com's Keith Law twittered today that he "Heard several places that the A.J. Cole deal with Washington ($2MM) is pushing up demands on other HS arms..."

Now we know the potential "snag in negotiations" over the Cole deal.

Regardless of the posturing, it now sounds like all four players will be in the fold at the deadline, when best guesses would have been maybe two of the four on draft day.  The two high schoolers are both committed (Cole to Miami, Ray to Arkansas) and Cole seemed a real long-shot to sign.  He was considered a low first round talent, and slipped all the way to the fourth over signability concerns.

If Mike Rizzo can bring all four of these players under contract tonight, he will have produced D.C.'s finest draft class ever, and one of the best in baseball this season.

Just a shame we have to wait so long to find out.

The Washington Nationals conducted a brief conference call with 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Harper and D.C. media

Harper indicated that he was extremely excited to join the Nationals, and looking forward to one day joining the lineup with Stephen Strasburg.  He said he'd be on a plane this evening but was DVRing tonight's game to go back and watch.

He was asked on several occasions to give a timeline or predict what his summer would look like, but the Scott Boras client held the line, maintaining that he would spend his summer working out, spending time with family, and get a little fishing in.

In yesterday's press conference, Nats GM Mike Rizzo seemed confident that the team and the player would be able to come to a quick agreement to get Harper on the field "before the Aug. 15 deadline," but Harper wouldn't bite when asked to comment what his timetable might be to make his debut this summer.

Harper said his motivation would be to get stronger over the summer and work on all facets of his game.  He is excited to play outfield full-time, citing a need to play there more, but that he feels comfortable in right field, center field, catcher or third base.

The Nationals plan to have another press conference later this evening to discuss later draft picks.

"We're going to take the rigors and the pressure of learning the difficult position of catcher away from him and really let him concentrate on the offensive part of the game," Mike Rizzo, on moving Bryce Harper from catcher to the outfield.

The Washington Nationals today selected College of Southern Nevada outfielder Bryce Harper with the first-overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Senior Vice President & General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement.

Harper—who stands 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. and hails from Las Vegas—hit .443 (101-for-228) with 23 doubles, four triples, 31 home runs, 98 RBI, 39 walks and 20 stolen bases in 66 games for College of Southern Nevada in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, which uses wood-bats. Despite being 17 years-old and the youngest player in the SWAC, Harper posted .526 and .987 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively, en route to a stellar 1.513 OPS (OBP+SLG) this season. He led his conference and team in virtually every primary offensive category.

Harper was named 2010 SWAC Player of the Year last month. He also earned First-Team SWAC All-Conference status. Harper’s 31 home runs in 2010 set a College of Southern Nevada single-season mark, easily besting the former record of 12, which was set during CSN’s era using aluminum bats.

From the very get-go, when MLB Commisioner Bud Selig called out the name "oufielder Bryce Harper", there was no mistake about the Nationals plans for their shiny new toy, 17-year old Bryce Harper.  Though he played most of his time this season at catcher, Rizzo said--in no uncetrain terms--that Harper's path to the majors would be in the outfield.

"We're going to take the rigors and the pressure of learning the difficult position of catcher away from him and really let him concentrate on the offensive part of the game, and let his athleticism take over as an outfielder. He's got above-average speed and a plus-plus throwing arm.

We believe he could pull off being a major-league catcher. We think his bat is well ahead of his defense as a catcher. And with the rigors of the game of catching -- the squatting, the beating they take behind the plate -- we just think it will accelerate his development in the minor leagues and also extend his career as a major leaguer."

There have been questions about Harper's make-up, with the war paint he smeares on his face, to the umpire baiting, to taunting opponents.  But Rizzo dismissed all those concerns very quickly today. 

"We know him as well as any team in baseball can know a player. We've been scouting him for a long time. We've done a lot of homework on his character, his family background and that type of stuff.

This kid gets after it like few amateur players have since I've been doing this. He's a great kid. He's a very spiritual kid, solid family background, good parents. We have high expectations, not only of his tools, but of his makeup and his character."

"There are no concerns about the player’s make up. We are sold on him and the family, the character of the player. He acts like a 17-year old at times. I don’t want to tell you what I did at 17. So, he’s mature beyond his years as far as performance on the field--tools, development, and even his social skills. This guy has been through, he’s had more hype and more publicity than most 25-year olds have had already. And I think he has handled it remarkably."

As for the full-time position move, Harper told MLB Network about the move to the outfield, "Yeah, I can get better out there, I think. Anywhere they need me, I'll play. I'll play third, I'll play outfield, I'll play center. Anywhere they need me, I'll play there. I just want to make it. We'll see what happens when I get there."

 

As for his signability, Rizzo seemed to dismiss that as well.  "He's a player that wants to get out and play.  He's the type of guy that does not enjoy idle time.  We have hopes of getting him out and playing sooner than August 15."

 

Harper's advisor, Scott Boras, typically keeps his players close to the vest and negotiations often stall until the Aug. 15 deadline, as they did last year with Stephen Strasburg.

 

For now, the Nationals will be content to dream about getting Harper into the lineup in D.C., dream about pairing him with last year's double No. 1 picks, Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen.  Washington baseball fans will get a taste of the future tomorrow, with Strasburg's major league debut.

by Anthony Amobi, Staff Writer

Over the weekend, the Washington Nationals endured a pair of soul-crushing losses to the Cincinnati Reds, both games exemplifying the trouble the Nats have had for the last three weeks or so.  The losses are a stark contrast to off-the-field celebrations of the next two days, as the team is set to draft "The Next Lebron" and debut their once-in-a-generation ace on successive days.

On Monday night, the Nationals are expected to select highly touted 17-year old Las Vegas, Nevada native Bryce Harper as the first pick in the 2010 First Year Player Draft.

The very-much hyped Harper, who attended school at the College of Southern Nevada and is being advised by super-agent Scott Boras has set the baseball world on fire with his bat, arm, and amazing athleticism at such a young age. At 6'3" and 205 lbs, he's already got the size and pedigree that many look for in a baseball player much more a power hitter.

Harper skipped his final year of high school, got his GED, enrolled in college and excelled against the competition where players were a year, two, three or four older. Hes smashed school and conference records, so theres really not much else left for him at the collegiate level.

Right now, Harper's primary position is catcher; however, he is expected to become an outfielder down the road--perhaps a right fielder--to preserve his body and maximize the years in his pro career.

His numbers at the College of Southern Nevada in 2010: 21 HRS, 59 RBI, .410 AVG, .917 SLG, 1.414 OPS.

The can't-miss player is regarded as the best all-around player in the draft, although there are some concerns about his makeup, ego on the field and attitude at times.

Still, thats not expected to deter the Nationals from selecting him at all. The team will be expected to pay a huge amount for the youngster, but most are expecting him to progress within two-to-three years to the major league level.

Stephen Strasburg, 2009's No. 1 overall selection, will make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The team is expecting a sell-out, and has released some standing-room only tickets, as well as released individual tickets for some suites that are usually only sold as part of a seeason ticket package.

It should the the closest thing to a playoff atmosphere in Nationals Park since Opening Day 2008 when the team moved into the ballpark on South Capitol Street.

As for the baseball on the field:

On Sunday, the Washington Nationals endured another crushing loss to the Cincinnati Reds, this time in ten innings by a score of 5-4. Cincinnati used a Drew Stubbs RBI-single in the 10th inning to take two out of three games from Washington this weekend.

Washingtons record stands at 27-31 and they are now 6.5 games back in the National League East. They are also 3-7 in their last ten games.

Dark clouds loomed over Nationals Park during June 6 game

(Ian Koski/natsdailynews.com)

Matt Capps, who started the season off on fire after a tenuous year in Pittsburgh, blew his fourth of the season in the ninth inning. The Nationals had a slim 2-1 lead, but Drew Stubbs ripped a one out-single to right and then pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes hit a RBI-double to left, tying the game at two.

Moments later, Scott Rolen who pinch hit for starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo crushed a Capps offering and launched over the left field wall for a two-run homer that upped the Reds lead to 4-1. Rolens homer was his 14th of the year.

The Nationals would rally in the ninth off Reds closer Francisco Cordero and tie the game at four. Their offense could come alive as Mike Morse would hit a two-run double to right field that plated both Josh Willingham (who reached base on a walk) and Ian Desmond (who reached base via a single).

Cincinnati won the game in the tenth as Jay Bruce hit a two-out single to left and Drew Stubbs got the winning single off Washington reliever Miguel Batista. Pitcher Doug Slaten (2-1), who allowed the winning run to reach base initially in the frame, took the loss.

The Reds Nick Masset earned his first save of the season as he retired Ian Desmond with a groundout to second base with two men on. Cordero would earn the win (2-3) despite blowing the save.

The Nationals and Reds both got impressive pitching performances from their starters on the mound to close out the rubber game of the series.

Washington's Craig Stammen perhaps had his most outstanding start of the year as he went 6 2/3 innings and gave up a run on seven hits. For Stammen, despite his solid work on Sunday, he was sent down to Triple-A Syracuse after the game to make room for Stephen Strasburg who will make his major league debut on Tuesday at Nationals Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

RHP Craig Stammen had best start of season on June 6 and was sent down to

Syracuse immediately following game to make room for Strasburg.

(Ian Koski/natsdailynews.com)

After the game, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman remarked to the media assembled on Stammens start and showed quite a bit of empathy for the situation at hand.

"Somebody's got to go, and it's Craig and I feel terrible about that, too. One of the guys who has been leaving it all out there for you takes the hit on this."

Cincinnati scored on Stammen in the first inning as Joey Votto singled to right to plate Orlando Cabrera for a quick 1-0 lead.

Washington tied the game in the bottom of the inning off a Ryan Zimmerman RBI-single and made the score 2-1 in the fourth off an Ian Desmond RBI double.

Bronson Arroyo started the game on the mound for the Reds and went eight innings. He gave up two runs on six hits, plus struck out five, while walking one.

The upcoming week will be big for the Nationals and the eyes of the baseball world will be descending on the nations capital aside from Stephen Strasburgs aforementioned major league debut.

On Saturday, the Washington Nationals were defeated by the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1. They fell to 27-30 on the season, but the 22,896 in attendance would only remember what happened towards the end of the contest.

The game was pretty mush settled in an absolutely wild eighth inning in which Cincinnati held a 2-1 lead. With Washington reliever Tyler Walker on the mound, the Reds jumped all over him and the bullpen. Orlando Cabrera led off the frame with a double – in fact, he barely missed hitting a homer – and then scored on a Brandon Phillips RBI single.

After Phillips’ single, things would get real interesting. Reliever Sean Burnett would be called into the game and he would begin his night on the mound on shaky ground as he allowed Phillips to advance to second on a wild pitch. Moments later, Phillips would advance to third after umpire Dan Bellino determined that shortstop Ian Desmond interfered with his ability to get to third.

Washington manager Jim Riggleman, who thought the call by Bellino was incorrect, tried to plead and argue his case would find himself tossed.

Manager Jim Riggleman was ejected from June 5 game

(Max Cook/WeLoveDC.com)

Burnett would walk Joey Votto and Scott Rolen would ground out to short, but Brandon Phillips – who was on third – decided to be aggressive and advance home. Phillips would score, only after barreling over catcher Wil Nives and knocking the ball out of his glove.

After he crossed home plate, Phillips would then show a display of theatrics – perhaps something one would do in the pro wrestling on football – by pounding his fist on his chest and yelling like a caveman. The Nationals were not amused and they would exact revenge in ninth inning against him.

The Reds would add another run off a one-out Jay Bruce RBI-single in the frame for a 5-1 advantage.

In the ninth inning, the Nationals would engage in the ‘unwritten rules of baseball’ as reliever Miguel Batista threw inside to Phillips and would get him in the ribs. Umpire Joe West would eventually eject Batista, but most everyone figured it was in response to Phillips’ brazen celebration in the eighth inning. No other incidents would flare up on the evening.

The events of the eighth inning perhaps overshadowed the work that Washington starting pitcher Luis Atilano did on the mound. Although Atalino (5-2, 4.24) would take the loss, he went seven innings, allowed two runs – which one was only earned on six hits.

Although he pitched well enough for the win, he was outshined by Cincinnati’s Mike Leake, who won and still remains undefeated on the season with a 5-0 record with a 2.22 ERA.

With Stephen Strasburg starting on the mound this Tuesday and getting the lion’s share of national attention with his work in the minors, it seems that Leake’s work so far in the majors has gone completely under the radar. Amazingly, Leake actually never saw any time at the minor level and was promoted directly to the majors from spring training.

Pitcher Mike Leake slid twice during June 5 game

(Max Cook/WeLoveDC.com)

On Saturday, Leake showed why the Reds had so much confidence in him as he went seven innings and gave up one run on seven hits. He struck out five in his outing.

Washington’s only run came in the sixth inning as Ryan Zimmerman scored from second on a Joey Votto error.

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead in the first off a Votto RBI-double to right. They would add another run in the fifth as Cabrera’s RBI-double to left plated Leake.