Nationals minor league hitting instructor Troy Gingrich had more positive news on outfielder Nick Banks, who garnered a lot of attention last summer with his game-winning three-run homer in the Carolina League All-Star Classic in Frederick, Md. Banks, 25, is rated as the No. 27 prospect in the MLBPipeline.com Nats top 30. Gingrich said the left-handed hitting Banks made a big jump in his swing and plate discipline in 2019. His numbers improved as the season got going. He slashed .278/.338/.431...

In part one of our visit with Nick Banks, an outfielder in the Nationals system, we spoke about his experience in the Arizona Fall League. A valuable part of that experience is meshing with and learning from new coaches. In part two, we look into what Ken Joyce, a hitting coach from the New York Yankees organization, was able to do to help Banks with his swing and his approach at the plate. "I loved him. He really did help me a lot this offseason and in the fall league," Banks said. "Just...

These next few weeks, we will take a look back at the Nationals prospects who played in the Arizona Fall League and get their take on the experience. The Surprise Saguaros, the pretty much unheralded group that included Nats minor leaguers, won their division and went all the way to the championship game, which they lost to Salt River 5-1. One of the stars of the team was outfielder Nick Banks. The 24-year-old left fielder out of Texas A&M hit very well all season at high Single-A Potomac...

MLB.com recently ranked the top 25 prospects who played in the Arizona Fall League. Surprise Saguaros shortstop Luis Garcia was ranked No. 15. He is the Nationals' No. 2 prospect behind Carter Kieboom and ranked No. 91 overall. "Garcia scuffled in Double-A this season as a 19-year-old but looked better in the Fall League," wrote MLB.com. "Though he has yet to tap into his solid raw power, the rest of his tools all could be at least above average once he's fully developed." Surprise lost...

The Arizona Fall League opens play tonight as the Surprise Saguaros take on the Glendale Desert Dogs. The schedule runs from Sept. 18 to the Oct. 26 championship game. The Saguaros include players from the Nationals, Orioles, Rangers, Royals and Yankees organizations. The AFL schedule was moved up from its usual October start to this mid-September opening so that prospects can maintain their development moving forward from the end of the minor league postseason. Mexican League teams will...

The Arizona Fall league today unveiled its 2019 rosters, which included the Surprise Saguaros, highlighted by Nationals shortstop prospect Luis Garcia. At 19, Garcia will be the third-youngest player in the Arizona Fall League. He is No. 77 on the MLBPipeline.com top 100 prospects. The Nats will be well represented on the pitching staff with right-handers Jacob Condra-Bogan, Andrew Lee and Sterling Sharp, and left-hander Nick Raquet. Condra-Bogan is a 2017 32nd-round selection pitching for...

One way the Nationals assist their young outfielders in preparing for where to set up defensively is outfield positioning cards. The laminated cards, not much bigger than a credit card, fit in the back pocket of their uniform pants. Left fielder Juan Soto and center fielder Victor Robles use the cards to see where they should stand defensively. Terms like "Pull 3" mean Soto should move three steps to his right for a right-handed hitter. "Oppo 6" directs Robles to moves six steps to his...

FREDERICK, Md. - Potomac Nationals right fielder Nick Banks arrived at the high Single-A All-Star break on a hot streak. Nothing has changed after the Carolina League All-Star Classic. Banks hit a three-run opposite-field home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Northern Division All-Stars to a dramatic, come-from-behind 8-7 win over the Southern All-Stars at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove stadium. The right fielder connected on a first-pitch 80 mph slider off Myrtle Beach...

FREDERICK, Md. - When you are good enough to play elite Division I collegiate baseball in the Southeastern Conference, there is always a chance your paths will cross in the professional ranks. That is the case for a pair of minor league players on the Nationals' farm, Cole Freeman and Nick Banks. The duo got the opportunity to play against each other as opponents in college, in the SEC. Now they are teammates in for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals. Tuesday night in Frederick, Md., the pair...

FREDERICK, Md. - The Single-A Potomac Nationals have four players on the active roster for the Northern Division All-Stars in tonight's Carolina League All-Star Classic. P-Nats second baseman Cole Freeman, a fourth-round selection from 2017 out of LSU, is thrilled to be selected for tonight's contest. He is starting at second base and batting seventh in the lineup. "It's a massive honor," Freeman said. "When you break spring training, this is one of the goals as a player you have....

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....

The Nationals' prospect depth took a little bit of a hit as one could imagine when they sent three of the top pitchers in the system to the White Sox in the trade that netted outfielder Adam Eaton. Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez were always consistently ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the Nationals system by several publications and websites. Former Florida pitcher Dane Dunning was also in the top 10 on those lists. MLB.com has come out with its positional rankings and had the Nats ranked No. 16...