It is winter league time of year, even as the World Series heads toward Game 3. Winter league ball has always been a very important part of a baseball player's continued evolution and a valued experience that can sometimes be that step a player needs to complete his game. Several Nationals prospects are hoping this experience now will help secure spots for 2018. Michael A. Taylor talked about how important his winter league play was to helping him see, time and hit breaking pitches as he...

It turned into a pretty big year for Matt Skole, as he put together consistency with Triple-A Syracuse to the tune of 140 games, 24 homers and 78 RBIs. Skole, 27, was rewarded by his promotion to the Nationals' 40-man roster for the first time in his career. Skole wrapped up his season by playing for over a month in the Mexican Pacific Winter League. In the second part of our look at the winter leagues, we focus on Skole. We also take a look at why winter leagues are so important to the...

Each offseason, a handful of Nationals prospects get the opportunity to work on their skills and gain valuable playing time experience in winter league competition in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Do the Nationals just send whichever players they want to these teams? Or does the player decide when and where he plays? There is a winter league agreement that's the governing document between Major League Baseball and the winter leagues that mandates how many of these...