The Nationals have added Ben Braymer to their 40-man roster, protecting the minor league left-hander from being swooped up by another club in next month's Rule 5 draft. Facing an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline to add prospects to their 40-man roster, the Nats so far have only announced the selection of Braymer, who went 4-10 with a 4.53 ERA in 26 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Fresno this season. Braymer, 25, was an 18th round draft pick in 2016 who was named the organization's...

Right fielder Rhett Wiseman is continuing his amazing run for Double-A Harrisburg. If Juan Soto is out more than 10 days with back spasms, the Nationals might consider finding a way to elevate the former Vanderbilt star. The 24-year-old Wiseman has hit in seven straight games. He is slashing .333/.383/.729 with eight doubles, 10 homers and 24 RBIs. The 10 homers leads the Eastern League by three over Chris Gittens of Trenton and Hunter Owen of Altoona. Wiseman's eight doubles are tied for...

The Nationals get ready for a three-game set against the first-place Phillies tonight at Citizens Bank Park, hoping one of their most important hitters can return to the lineup. Left fielder Juan Soto has been a late scratch each of the last two games against the Cardinals. After the Nats' 2-1 win Thursday night, manager Davey Martinez said the team sent Soto for an MRI to see what is going on with his back, worried that it might be an oblique injury. "We definitely wanted (to do further...

Double-A Harrisburg added to their record-setting start to the season with a 3-1 victory over Reading, thanks to seven strong innings from right-hander Sterling Sharp. Sharp allowed one run on four hits and recorded one walk and six strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, 64 for strikes, and at one point he retired 11 straight batters. Rhett Wiseman homered for the first time since April 15. His bat has been electric to start the season, to the tune of a 1.121 OPS and a .321 average. He has seven...

The amazing start to the 2019 season continued last night for Double-A Harrisburg in a 10-7 extra-inning win over Hartford. The Senators scored four runs in the eighth and four runs in the 11th to seal the victory. Harrisburg is a franchise-best 17-3 after 20 games, dating back to 1987. Chuck Taylor went 2-for-2 and drove in four runs after arriving as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. Starter Tyler Mapes allowed only one unearned run in five frames. Dan Jennings tossed 1 2/3 innings and allowed...

Focusing on the Nationals' early camp roster and the potential for power hitting, I asked Nationals director of player development Mark Scialabba about the players that stand out in this category. Do they go from their high school and college numbers to decide who can hit for power or is it developed as they become better hitters? "You look at our approach. Early on in the hitting program, we are going to make sure that our hitters are the best hitters they can be," Scialabba said....

Center fielder Andrew Stevenson went 2-for-5 with a three-run triple in high Single-A Potomac's 9-6 loss to Lynchburg Monday night. The LSU product is leading off the P-Nats and doing a nice job of starting the offense. His on-base percentage is .381 through the first two weeks of the season. Stevenson told me before the season began that they haven't made any major changes to his swing or approach, just trying to get him to feel relaxed at the plate. "Right now just trying to see the ball...

Some notes on Rafael Bautista and Telmito Agustin as we wrap up our outfield previews from the early camp in Florida. All of these players will be getting their assignments in the next few days as the 2016 season gets rolling. You might have caught outfielder Bautista, 23, getting an at-bat at the end of the Nationals game against the Braves on March 27. It was an infield popup, so it did not demonstrate what he is capable of in the long term. Bautista is still a top 10 prospect and he has made...

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...

The early camp invitees take on the Mets in two games of a home-and-home series this week. Low Single-A Hagerstown manager Patrick Anderson is working with this roster all camp and had an update on infielder Ian Sagdal, a lefty-hitting 23-year-old second baseman out of Washington State. "He really can swing the bat from the left side," Anderson said. "Defensively, (infield instructor Jeff) Garber is really putting his hands on him to get him going defensively so he can maximize as much as he...

The Nationals have a theme going in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. They dipped into the talent-rich SEC pool to select junior Rhett Wiseman from Vanderbilt University in the third round (No. 103 overall). Wiseman becomes the third outfielder the Nats have drafted this year following LSU's Andrew Stevenson and Arizona prep star Blake Perkins from Verrado High School. Wiseman, 20, is slashing .316/.418/.567 this season for the Commodores, who are still alive in the College World Series....