Freeman's consistency and versatility keys to his success

Freeman's consistency and versatility keys to his success
Infielder/outfielder Cole Freeman has put together two of the most consistent seasons in his first two campaigns in the Nationals organization. Along the way, Freeman has proven his ability to excel as the level of competition intensified. In his first season out of LSU in 2018, Freeman played in 122 games with low Single-A Hagerstown, slashing .266/.354/.371 with 32 doubles, three triples, three homers, 26 stolen bases and 43 RBIs. The next season, he was even better. In 2019 at high Single-A...

Rizzo named Baseball America Executive of the Year

Rizzo named Baseball America Executive of the Year
Following the most successful season in Nationals franchise history, which resulted in a first World Series title, president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo has been named Baseball America's Executive of the Year. The 2019 campaign was Rizzo's 11th as head of baseball operations with the Nats and 14th overall with the organization. He has 36 seasons of professional baseball experience. Since 2012, the Nats have posted a .562 winning percentage (730-566), the second-best...

Venters made mechanical adjustment to return to form

Venters made mechanical adjustment to return to form
DETROIT - Left-hander Jonny Venters made his Nationals debut Saturday with five big outs to keep his team in the game. Venters arrived at a critical moment. The 27,716 at Comerica Park were riled up after the Tigers had rallied to tie the game at 3-3 with one out in fifth. Miguel Cabrera was standing at first base after delivering a two-run single. The outing did not start out the way he had planned, however, when Venters hit Christin Stewart with his first pitch thrown. Cabrera went to second...

Nats players initiate auction to help Doug Harris

Nats players initiate auction to help Doug Harris
Nationals players have organized an auction named "Bidding to Beat Cancer" in an effort to help offset costs for treatment to help assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris as he battles leukemia. Harris has been fighting leukemia since 2015. A new cutting-edge treatment known as CAR-T cell therapy will give Harris a chance to beat the disease. His wife, Lisa, started a GoFundMe page which raised over $150,000 towards the goal of $400,000. That page is now...

GoFundMe page started to help Nats assistant GM Doug Harris with medical costs

GoFundMe page started to help Nats assistant GM Doug Harris with medical costs
Nationals assistant general manager and vice president Doug Harris has been battling leukemia since 2015. In May of 2017, it appeared he had defeated the cancer, with the bone marrow transplant appearing to take full effect. But the cancer was not completely eliminated. The next step for Harris is a doctor-recommended CAR-T cell therapy, which is still in trial research. The therapy is extremely expensive. His wife, Lisa, has set up a GoFundMe page to try to offset the cost. The Harrises are...

Gardner on his transition to minor league roving coordinator

Gardner on his transition to minor league roving coordinator
Following four seasons as the manager of the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, Billy Gardner Jr. takes on a new challenge within the Nationals organization as the minor league roving coordinator. Gardner said it was a new position that assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris brought to Gardner in the offseason. Randy Knorr would then move to Triple-A manager. Gardner is excited about this new opportunity. "Well, Doug called me at the end of the year and said there...

Nats re-sign with Harrisburg through 2020 season

Nats re-sign with Harrisburg through 2020 season
The Washington Nationals officially announced today that they have signed a two-year player development contract extension to remain with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators through the 2020 season. The Nats and Senators had previously been signed up through the upcoming 2018 campaign, and this continues a 14-year relationship includes a total of 28 seasons that began with the Expos. "Dating back nearly 30 years - the Harrisburg Senators have been a valuable component of our player development...

Baker says promoted Robles is "tremendous talent"

Baker says promoted Robles is "tremendous talent"
Manager Dusty Baker remembers top prospect Victor Robles from the outfielder's play in spring training in February and March, and has seen the 20-year-old progress to the point where he joined the Nationals today. "He didn't play a whole bunch, but he wasn't intimidated at all," Baker said. "He was happy to be there. He's actually one of the leaders of the young Latin corps that we have here. You can tell how they kind of gravitate towards him. I heard he is a heck of a player. I also...

Spin Williams honored with Mike Coolbaugh Award

Spin Williams honored with Mike Coolbaugh Award
Many times over the years, if you were attending a Nationals minor league game, you would have a good chance of seeing Donald "Spin" Williams there. Williams, the Nationals' senior advisor for player development, has been a part of the organization for 11 seasons and is beginning his 39th season in professional baseball. Today, Williams was honored by Minor League Baseball as the recipient of the ninth annual Mike Coolbaugh Award. The award was created in 2008 to honor the late Mike...

Quick rise continues for reliever Koda Glover, who jumps to Triple-A Syracuse

Quick rise continues for reliever Koda Glover, who jumps to Triple-A Syracuse
Right-hander Koda Glover made his second jump of the season today when the Nationals announced his promotion from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Syracuse. How quickly has he moved up? Consider Glover was selected by the Nationals in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. He was picked in the eighth round out of Oklahoma State. The Nationals signed Glover on June 15, 2015 and he was assigned to short-season Single-A Auburn. Last July 8, he moved to low Single-A Hagerstown. Glover began this season...

Barrett begins throwing; more prospect watch on Giolito and Turner

Barrett begins throwing; more prospect watch on Giolito and Turner
On Monday, left-hander Gio Gonzalez showed a video on Instagram of his first flat ground throwing session of the new year. It was just some standard warm-up for Gonzalez as he prepares once again for a major role in the Nationals starting rotation in 2016. But yesterday, maybe a more significant video from a Nationals pitcher was posted. Last Sept. 3, reliever Aaron Barrett underwent Tommy John surgery and then had a procedure to repair bone spurs and bone chips in his left ankle on Dec. 3. On...

Instructional league work paying dividends now in cold January days

Instructional league work paying dividends now in cold January days
The progress the young pitchers in the Nationals system make during this offseason began with October and early November instructional league workouts and games. The fruits of that labor are not seen by fans right now. The work these players are doing right now is fortified by what they learned at instructional league this year. Thirty pitchers descended on the Nationals' Florida training facility at the end of the 2015 campaign and were given specific offseason regimens and points of emphasis...

With rotation spot available, Cole adding weight and strength for long run

With rotation spot available, Cole adding weight and strength for long run
The major league debut for right-hander A.J. Cole did not go as well as he might have envisioned. That night at Turner Field certainly did not demonstrate the capabilities the laser-throwing prospect had shown at the minor league level. In his April 28 debut at Atlanta, Cole registered two innings and allowed nine runs, four them earned on nine hits, with one walk, one strikeout on 55 pitches. "The way I look at it is it's good to get up there and get the feel for it. I went down and had a...

Report: Doug Harris could be a front-runner for Milwaukee GM job

Report: Doug Harris could be a front-runner for Milwaukee GM job
There appears to be some Nationals-related buzz brewing in Milwaukee, where there is a vacancy for the Brewers' general manager position. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote Sunday that Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of player development and pro scouting Doug Harris is a front-runner for the vacancy created when Doug Melvin stepped down after 13 seasons earlier this month. "(Harris) could emerge as the front-runner for the GM job in Milwaukee," Cafardo wrote....

Giolito and Lopez continue throwing in Florida, will head north in late April (with P-Nats roster)

Giolito and Lopez continue throwing in Florida, will head north in late April (with P-Nats roster)
The Nationals released rosters for their minor league affiliates Tuesday. Noticeably absent from the high Single-A Potomac Nationals are top pitching prospects Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. The pair has remained in Viera, Fla., at the Nationals training facility and are in good health, just a couple of weeks behind their teammates. They have been working on a throwing program since their arrival in Florida in February, according to Nationals assistant general manager and vice president...

Ankiel on life skills role with Nats: "I felt like this was going to be my niche"

Ankiel on life skills role with Nats: "I felt like this was going to be my niche"
The game of baseball is filled with highs and lows. Sometimes it can feel like it is mostly lows. Or it's the lows that you remember longer. A bad pitch leads to a huge inning. A strikeout with the bases loaded foils a possible big rally. It happens in almost every game. Rick Ankiel, probably more than any other player in the modern era, knows about the highs and lows of playing Major League Baseball. He started as a top pitching prospect. Through his well-documented wildness on the mound, he...

More on Nats minor league coaching additions; P-Nats Hot Stove banquet adds Giolito

More on Nats minor league coaching additions; P-Nats Hot Stove banquet adds Giolito
Here are quotes from Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of player development and pro scouting Doug Harris on the recent additions to the minor league coaching staff: On minor league pitching coordinator Paul Menhart: "Menhart's really done a terrific job. He's earned his stripes at every level. He's an excellent teacher. Mechanically he does a terrific job in developing deliveries, developing specific pitches as well as the mental side of the game. We felt like he was...

Bloxom transitions from player to newest Nationals amateur scout

Bloxom transitions from player to newest Nationals amateur scout
Former Nationals minor league first baseman Justin Bloxom has traded in his cleats and glove for an opportunity to find the top prospects in the country and sign them to the Nats. Bloxom has been hired by the Nationals to be their amateur scout for the Kentucky and Tennessee regions. The 26-year-old Bloxom played six seasons in the Nationals system, but realized the final couple of years that he would need to transition into a new line of work. As he searched for a new position, he knew that he...

Nats leave Winter Meetings with major league, farm rosters intact

Nats leave Winter Meetings with major league, farm rosters intact
SAN DIEGO - The Nationals got through the major league phase of this morning's Rule 5 draft without losing any players, nor did they make a selection with the 29th pick in the first round. They survived five rounds - yes, you read that right, five rounds - in the Triple-A phase of the draft without losing anyone and didn't add any players. And when all 30 clubs passed in the Double-A phase of the Rule 5, the Winter Meetings closed without the Nationals making a move. The morning entry by...

Senators Hot Stove Dinner date set; Mesa wins nailbiter in Arizona

Senators Hot Stove Dinner date set; Mesa wins nailbiter in Arizona
The Double-A Harrisburg Senators have announced their 5th annual Hot Stove Dinner will be January 24, 2015, at the Best Western Central Hotel and Conference Center in Harrisburg. Headlining the event will be former Senators Josh Johnson, Steven Souza Jr. and Michael A. Taylor, as well as a special appearance by Doug Harris, the assistant general manager and vice president of player development for the Nationals. Johnson played with the Senators from 2010-2013. In 2012 and 2013, he split time...