A look back at Potomac's championship season: Part 2 - Managing an evolving roster

A look back at Potomac's championship season: Part 2 - Managing an evolving roster
One of the most difficult parts of a fielding a winning minor league team is keeping the roster cohesive throughout an entire season. This is a difficult proposition because the main goal of the minors is to get prospects ready for the big leagues and sometimes they are moved up based on injuries or needs the big club has, which leads to a trickle-down effect on the lower levels. In Part 2 of our series on high Single-A Potomac's championship season, we focus on how the P-Nats were able to...

A look back at Potomac's championship season: Part 1 - Game 3 comeback

A look back at Potomac's championship season: Part 1 - Game 3 comeback
It is still difficult to watch the World Series, or really any of the playoffs, with the Nationals not a part of the festivities. It is like being sick for a party you were invited to and have been looking forward to for months. But one thing that might bring some satisfaction to a few fans is a look back at the play of the Single-A Carolina League champion Potomac Nationals. In 2014, the P-Nats won another league title despite starting the season with a good set of arms and an offense that...

Potomac a winner, Syracuse looking to get on the board

Potomac a winner, Syracuse looking to get on the board
The Nationals' minor league teams are in the middle of the playoffs. The Single-A Potomac Nationals advanced to the Mills Cup championship series with a 4-3 win over the Lynchburg Hillcats. The P-Nats swept the best-of-three series 2-0. It is their second straight appearance in the Mills Cup final. Last year, the P-Nats lost to Salem. Salem is facing Myrtle Beach in the other half of the draw. The winner of that matchup faces Potomac on Friday in game one of the championship series. Isaac...

Despite rough outing, Gonzalez felt rehab start was progress

Despite rough outing, Gonzalez felt rehab start was progress
Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez had his first rehab start for high Single-A Potomac on Friday night. Gonzalez allowed eight earned runs in 3 2/3 innings, but Potomac rallied with five runs in the ninth to stun Wilmington 11-10. Despite getting roughed up, Gonzalez said his arm and shoulder feel good after the start. "Good, really good," Gonzalez told reporters. "It was more fatigue. just (my) body trying to get back to where I want it to be. Arm felt great. Just need to get back to...

Zimmerman heading to left field for P-Nats

Zimmerman heading to left field for P-Nats
All the talk about Ryan Zimmerman playing left field is about to move from conjecture to reality. Nationals manager Matt Williams said this morning that Zimmerman's minor league rehabilitation assignment with high Single-A Potomac will continue this evening with the veteran scheduled to play in left field for five innings. The P-Nats host Salem at Pfitzner Stadium at 6:35 p.m. "The plan is he'll play five innings tonight on defense," Williams said."He had four at-bats last night DH-wise,...

Catching prospect Severino more comfortable and assured

Catching prospect Severino more comfortable and assured
Twenty-year-old catcher Pedro Severino continues to progress well in the Nationals system with his promotion to high Single-A Potomac this spring. There is a lot of buzz surrounding the young Dominican backstop, primarily for his solid defense and great hands. The 6-foot-1, 180-lb. Severino started his first game with the P-Nats on Thursday at Carolina. He expects to get a ton of at-bats with Potomac to see now how his bat advances. "He has got a real good swing," said Nationals vice...

P-Nats' Mooneyham irons out mechanical issue, is confident to start 2014

P-Nats' Mooneyham irons out mechanical issue, is confident to start 2014
WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Left-hander Brett Mooneyham cruised to an outstanding start last season for low Single-A Hagerstown. But when he got called up to high Single-A Potomac late in the season, he struggled a bit with his mechanics. With the Suns, Mooneyham was 10-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 17 starts with 79 strikeouts in 93 innings, and 41 walks. For the P-Nats, the 6-foot-5, 235-lb., Stanford product went 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA in three starts over 11 1/3 innings with only six strikeouts and 13...

Nationals' minor league games are scheduled close to local fans

Nationals' minor league games are scheduled close to local fans
I was putting together a schedule for Nationals minor league games that will be located within driving distance of Nationals Park for the 2014 season. Here are the list of reachable games and the names of each stadium. I also put in the distances for Syracuse, Harrisburg and Auburn home games if you are considering a summer road trip to see some of the future Nats play. Syracuse Chiefs (Triple-A) NBT Bank Stadium Distance from Nationals Park: 376 miles (5 hours 57 minutes) Click here for the...

Early look at how 2014 Potomac Nationals roster might shake out

Early look at how 2014 Potomac Nationals roster might shake out
The Potomac Nationals are coming off a tremendous season that saw them win both halves of the Carolina League Northern Division season and appear in the Mills Cup Championship final series. Most of those prospects from 2013 will now move on to Double-A Harrisburg. That will mean that new high Single-A manager Tripp Keister will have most of his roster from low Single-A Hagerstown to follow suit and join him in Woodbridge, Va. Here is my educated guess as to who will be on the field for the...

Michael Taylor on 40-man roster and next step with Nationals

Michael Taylor on 40-man roster and next step with Nationals
FAIRFAX, Va. - Center fielder Michael Taylor has returned from the Puerto Rican winter league and was honored Sunday as the 2013 Potomac Nationals Player of the Year at their 19th annual Hot Stove Banquet. Taylor hit .365 for los Indios de Mayaguez with seven doubles, two triples, three homers and 10 RBIs. He scored 20 runs with 50 hits and earned a .428 on-base percentage. He had a span of five games where he smacked 10 hits in the final couple of weeks of his time in Puerto Rico. "It is...

Potomac Nationals Hot Stove Banquet set for Jan. 26

Potomac Nationals Hot Stove Banquet set for Jan. 26
I wanted to make sure you got a chance to get your tickets for the Potomac Nationals 19th annual Hot Stove Banquet which takes place Sunday, January 26th at the Hyatt Fairfax at Fair Lakes in Fairfax, Virginia. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include Washington Nationals Director of Player Development Mark Scialabba, new P-Nats manager Tripp Keister and 2013 P-Nats player of the year outfielder Michael Taylor. There will also be a silent auction which will include hallmark items such...

Emotion of final series still lingers with Hagerstown players

Emotion of final series still lingers with Hagerstown players
One of my favorite parts about watching, broadcasting and writing about sports is seeing a team grow through the season, maturing and learning, getting better at its craft, reaching its potential, ultimately earning a postseason berth and thriving. One of the amazing parts of watching minor league baseball teams have success is if you are good at your level, your organization will move you up right in the middle of the season. Another player from a lower level takes your place and the team...

Harrisburg, Potomac and Hagerstown all lose in minor league playoffs

Harrisburg, Potomac and Hagerstown all lose in minor league playoffs
The high Single-A Potomac Nationals' season ended in Salem on Tuesday as the Red Sox won the Mills Cup championship 6-4. The Red Sox won the series over the P-Nats, three games to none. Left-hander Sammy Solis took the loss, allowing five runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. Solis allowed two runs in the second and then the Red Sox scored four times in the fourth inning to take commanding 6-1 lead. Catcher Adrian Nieto went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, but the...

Potomac clinches second-half division crown, begins playoffs Sept. 4

Potomac clinches second-half division crown, begins playoffs Sept. 4
The high Single-A Potomac Nationals dropped Winston-Salem 8-7 in 11 innings Wednesday, completing a game delayed from July. The P-Nats' win clinched the second-half division crown. It is the first time the P-Nats have clinched both the first- and second-half crowns in the Carolina League's Northern Division since 2008. The 2008 team - with future major leaguers Jordan Zimmermann, Craig Stammen, Ross Detwiler, Jhonatan Solano and Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr - went on to win the Carolina...

Potomac and Hagerstown clinch first-half crowns

Potomac and Hagerstown clinch first-half crowns
It is not the most important goal of the minor league system, but when the Nationals get one team into the postseason, it is a good measure of the talent and ability of the players to come together as a unit. The Nationals did that one better - they had two teams clinch first-half crowns Sunday. Both Single-A squads, the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns and the high Single-A Potomac Nationals won their respective divisions in the first half of the season. This guarantees the Suns and P-Nats...

Werth plays into sixth with Single-A Potomac as rehab for sore hamstring continues

Werth plays into sixth with Single-A Potomac as rehab for sore hamstring continues
Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth got a bigger test on his sore hamstring and appears to have passed. Playing for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals for the second straight night, Werth went 2-for-3 with two singles, one RBI and one run scored in a 7-3 win over the Salem Red Sox. Werth had to make a pair of catches on flyballs in right field and ran the bases two times on his base hits. His final at-bat came in the sixth inning. Manager Davey Johnson had said Thursday in Baltimore that...

Potomac's Solis "excited to be back out there" in first game since Tommy John (updated)

Potomac's Solis "excited to be back out there" in first game since Tommy John (updated)
FREDERICK, Md. - Left-hander Sammy Solis got his work in and did well. It had to feel pretty good after almost two seasons of waiting. It was his first game since 2011, having recovered from March 2012 Tommy John surgery, and Solis pitched into the third inning of high Single-A Potomac's game at Frederick. He finished with two innings, three hits, two runs, one earned, one walk and one strikeout. Solis, who did not factor in the decision, was able to exhale after the game and said it was...

Martinson working to stay consistent at the plate for Potomac

Martinson working to stay consistent at the plate for Potomac
High Single-A Potomac Nationals shortstop Jason Martinson got off to a hot start in Woodbridge, earning a pair of Carolina League Player of the Week honors in April. "I felt a lot more confident having been in this league already," he said. "Still a lot of work to get done but I'm doing everything I can to make that next jump. Martinson has already hit seven homers and has 26 RBIs for Potomac. He has cooled off a little bit since his April run. His average stands at .253 through May 19....

Nationals Ryan Zimmerman confident rehab game has him ready to return

Nationals Ryan Zimmerman confident rehab game has him ready to return
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was able to pass a big test in his return from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday on a cool night at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. Zimmerman played third base for the Potomac Nationals in his lone rehab start to test the recovery of a sore hamstring, and despite an 0-for-3 performance, he felt his swing and timing are back. "Everything feels good," Zimmerman said. "I think seeing some live pitching was good. I saw pretty much every pitch,...

Robbie Ray continues to pitch well early for Single-A Potomac

Robbie Ray continues to pitch well early for Single-A Potomac
Left-hander Robbie Ray received a no-decision Wednesday that might have been a bit overshadowed in the high Single-A Potomac Nationals' 3-2 loss to Carolina at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. Ray did walk four batters, but did a very nice job of getting out of potential jams with seven strikeouts over five innings. He scattered four hits and allowed two runs. His pitches were so accurate at painting the edge of the plate that the Mudcats arguing of those close calls got a batter and their...