WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A little after 8 a.m., Nick Lee walked into the Nationals clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, popped his backpack off his shoulder and onto the chair in front of his locker stall, and stored his keys in his lockbox. If not for the fact that his left arm was wrapped in a bandage and encased in a black sling, there was no hint that today was any different than any other in spring training. Lee is recovering from what manager Dusty Baker called a non-displaced...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Now that we've reached the midpoint of spring training - which is about a week longer than usual due to the World Baseball Classic - it might be a good time to talk about spring training statistics and what can be learned from them. In a word, little. A wise baseball sage once cautioned me against putting too much stock into spring or September numbers. Simply put, statistics are like a pushover parent; with enough cajoling, batting of the eyes and pouty lips, you can...

JUPITER, Fla. - This was shaping up to be an entirely positive afternoon for the Nationals, who got three scoreless (and efficient) innings from Gio González and then five more scoreless innings from a parade of relievers to carry a 1-0 lead over the Cardinals into the bottom of the ninth at Roger Dean Stadium. And then things took a decided turn for the worse. St. Louis' Patrick Wisdom launched a game-tying home run to left to lead off the inning, leaving the game suddenly tied 1-1. Then...

Three top Nationals prospects were invited to big league camp, which starts this week, including the Nats' top pitching prospect. I have written a good amount on Erick Fedde, Drew Ward and Andrew Stevenson. Here is a closer look five other non-roster invitees to Nats camp: RHP Taylor Hill 27 6-foot-3, 230 lbs. Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt Hill has made nine appearances and pitched 21 innings in the big leagues with the Nats from 2014-2015, including one start. He has made 74 appearances in his...

Left-hander Nick Lee was able to rebound from one tough Oct. 27 outing against Mesa to have a solid finish in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs. In that game, Lee surrendered four hits and two runs over 1 1/3 innings with one walk and two strikeouts. But Lee was able to post a 1.54 ERA in 10 overall outings. He had 14 strikeouts, allowing 10 walks and 10 hits in 11 2/3 innings. The impressive thing for pitching coach Sam Narron was seeing Lee, 25, display the calmness...

Glendale did their part to reach the Arizona Fall League title game, stopping Peoria 3-1. The Desert Dogs (17-15) won seven of their last 10 games, finishing the fall season as the hottest team in the league. But Surprise also won their final game to win the West division by a half-game. The Saguaros (17-14-1) face Mesa in Saturday's championship. In the final game, five Nationals prospects got to play. Center Fielder Andrew Stevenson went 1-for-3 with a walk from the leadoff spot. Stevenson...

The Glendale Desert Dogs got off to a slow start in Arizona Fall Leaque play, but led by the likes of Nationals prospects Andrew Stevenson and Drew Ward, they are surging to the finish line. The D-Dogs (11-12) won their fifth straight game in a 15-3 shellacking of first-place Peoria on Monday. Glendale posted 16 hits and enjoyed outbursts of five runs in the third and fifth innings. Glendale's elimination number is seven. They are just 1 1/2 games behind Peoria and Surprise for the West...

Southpaw Nick Lee spent his entire season at Double-A Harrisburg. In 45 appearances, the 25-year-old Lee went 3-1 with a 4.32 ERA with two saves. In 50 innings, Lee walked 42 batters and struck out 55. Lee pitched 1 1/3 innings Tuesday as Glendale rallied to beat Scottsdale 8-7 in Arizona Fall League play. The Desert Dogs scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth after trailing 3-0, 5-3 and 6-3. Lee gave up an unearned run on two hits with three walks, but his ERA is still at 2.35. He has...

The Glendale Desert Dogs are 2-3 and one game out of first place in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. After starting 2-1, they have dropped two games in a row. Third baseman Drew Ward is hitting .444 (4-for-9) with a double, an RBI, two walks and two strikeouts in three games. Shortstop Osvaldo Abreu is hitting .273 (3-for-11) with a double and three RBIs in three games. Center fielder Andrew Stevenson is hitting .250 (3-for-12) with a homer, six RBIs and one stolen base. He has...

The Arizona Fall League announced rosters for the offseason league where top prospects play games in October and November. The Nationals have six prospects who have been invited to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Right-handed pitchers Austin Voth and Ryan Brinley will join left-hander Nick Lee on the team. The Nationals appear to have one more pitching slot available to be named at a later date. The spot could be offered to right-hander Erick Fedde. Infielders Osvaldo Abreu and Drew Ward...

The Salt River Rafters did well in Arizona Fall League play, finishing second to eventual champion Scottsdale. At 16-13, the Rafters were 1 1/2 games back of the Scorpions in the East Division. Second baseman Chris Bostick had the best surge to finish the fall season. He had nine hits in his final six games, including three doubles, a triple and a home run. It was a whirlwind 2015 season for Bostick. Last season, he was with high Single-A Myrtle Beach and then traded to the Nationals. He played...

Right-hander Abel del los Santos took the loss in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game on Saturday night as the West beat the East 8-3. With the game tied at 2-2 in the fifth inning,, de los Santos allowed a couple of hits, a wild pitch, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly. He did finish the inning, allowing only the one run. The Salt River Rafters (12-8) are one game back of Scottsdale for first place in the East Division as the second half begins in AFL play. The Rafters have lost two in a...

We are seeing a scorching start for Nationals outfield prospect Rafael Bautista, who currently ranks second in the Dominican Winter League in batting average at .472 over his first 10 games. His slash line is .472/.513/.639 and his OPS is 1.152. Bautista is 17-for-36 with four doubles and one triple, plus three RBIs and two stolen bases for Escogido. Catcher Pedro Severino is hitting .261 over eight games for Aguilas. He has two doubles, a homer and three RBIs. * In the Arizona Fall League,...