Nationals' "simple" approach in Dominican has paid major dividends

Nationals' "simple" approach in Dominican has paid major dividends
The Nationals have done a very good job in their scouting over the years in the Dominican Republic, especially recently with the signings of Victor Robles, Juan Soto and Wander Suero. Suero was signed in 2010. Robles inked his deal in 2013 and Soto in 2015. Nationals vice president and assistant general manager of international operations Johnny DiPuglia has spent many years scouting and fostering contacts in the Dominican and Venezuela, way before a lot of other teams started to get into the...

Stevenson and Wiseman bring experience in big games to help boost Nats outfield depth

Stevenson and Wiseman bring experience in big games to help boost Nats outfield depth
Continuing our focus on the early camp outfielders, Andrew Stevenson out of LSU and Rhett Wiseman out of Vanderbilt are unique in this group because they come from very good Southeastern Conference baseball programs. Both have played in the College World Series with Vanderbilt winning the title in 2014. "(Stevenson) and Rhett Wiseman both played in college and both played games," said Nationals outfield coordinator Gary Thurman. "So the crowds with those guys is not going to be a...

Martinson pinch-hit HR highlights Salt River's 7-3 victory in finale

Martinson pinch-hit HR highlights Salt River's 7-3 victory in finale
Taxi squad member Jason Martinson hit a ball so hard and so far in his first game in Arizona last month that pitching coach Mark Grater said the umpires did not know how to rule it and called it foul. But it definitely was close to being fair. There was no doubt Thursday for Martinson, who crushed a two-run shot in the eighth as a pinch hitter, capping off a 7-3 regular season finale win for the Salt River Rafters over Surprise. Designated hitter Brian Goodwin had a double and run scored,...

Nationals will play for Salt River in this year's Arizona Fall League

Nationals will play for Salt River in this year's Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League revealed its organization and staff announcements for the 2012 season, which commences Oct. 9. The Nationals will play with prospects from the Diamondbacks, White Sox, Rockies and Blue Jays for the Salt River Rafters at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Former major league third baseman Matt Williams is the manager and the Nationals will be represented by Mark Grater as the pitching coach. Grater is the Nationals' rehab pitching coordinator in Viera, Fla. The...