Here is an update of Nationals players' progress in the Dominican winter league, which has played nine games: OF Victor Robles Robles is the second-leading hitter for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican winter league. Robles is batting .480 (12-for-25) in six games with two doubles and 14 RBIs. He has walked one time, struck out three times and stolen one base. His OPS is 1.060 and he has not committed an error in the field. He went 3-for-4 on Oct. 16 and has gone 2-for-4 in each of his last two...

Due to the impending potential impact of Hurricane Florence on the North Carolina coastline, the Carolina League decided Tuesday afternoon that the Mills Cup between the high Single-A Potomac Nationals and the Buies Creek Astros would be changed from a best-of-five series to a one-game, winner-take-all championship in Buies Creek, N.C. on Tuesday night. Potomac tallied a run in the fifth on a Nick Banks RBI double to go up 1-0. In the eighth, the Astros tied it at 1-1 on a Jake Adams solo shot....

Pitching a no-hitter in baseball is unique and rare. Pitching two no-hitters in back-to-back games of a doubleheader on the same day is like winning the lottery. Four pitchers for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nats pulled off the nearly impossible Sunday by doing just that: combining to throw two seven-inning no-hitters. In the opener, Joan Baez, down from high Single-A Potomac to work on some of his mechanics, twirled six no-hit innings in a 4-0 win over the GCL Marlins. He struck out...

In theory, the difference between playing to win and developing talent should be, um, minor. Getting ahead in the count (or not falling behind) is what you need to learn to get to the majors (and remember to stay there). In practice, however, it's not always one and the same. Last Saturday night in Woodbridge was a good example of the difference. Joan Baez is the No. 29 Nationals prospect according to Baseball America, which for better or worse is the bellwether for most prospect followers. He...

We heard early in spring training what the new Nationals facility in West Palm Beach meant to the major league players. It also is a big deal to the guys fighting to move up in the minor league camp. Low Single-A Hagerstown manager Patrick Anderson said the minor league camp players were thrilled to get into such a state-of-the-art facility and work so closely with the major league squad. "We feel very fortunate," Anderson said. "It's unbelievable. It's a great fresh feeling of starting...

Bullpen depth is a commodity the Nationals want to shore up in 2017. The good news is that the organization is soon going to bear the fruit of its top talent from the Dominican Republic. The Nats also have some outstanding Dominican starting pitchers building from the lower levels on the farm. Here is a list of some of the up-and-coming hurlers in the Nationals pipeline that could make a major step forward in 2017: RHP Jefry Rodriguez 23 6-foot-5, 185 lbs. Haina, D.R. Rodriguez logged 123 1/3...