Over the last five First-Year Player Drafts, the Nationals have focused on stockpiling pitchers. Thirty of their first 49 selections since 2015 have been pitchers. The Nats have built up their minor leagues with these hurlers and used some of them in big trades that brought players that helped to bring a world championship to D.C. In the 2019 draft, the Nationals selected five pitchers in their first 10 rounds, along with one catcher, one shortstop, one third baseman and one outfielder. The...

It's been a particularly tough week, with far too much negative news in both the baseball and larger world. So let's try to end it on a lighter note, with a personal anecdote. About the time I ran in the Presidents Race. It's Aug. 17, 2006, and the fourth-inning Presidents Race is still a new event during Nationals games. First conceived as an animated race on the scoreboard, it became live action in July of that summer, after the Lerner family officially gained control of the organization...

Over the last few days, some fans may be losing confidence that we will have a baseball season in 2020. The Major League Baseball Players Association rejected the latest ownership proposal with the sliding scale of salary reductions. The sides seem dug in on their positions and there is not a lot of reason for positivity right now. But this USA Today article indicates to not worry and that they'll get this done. There is too much to lose and no doubt that is true. But time is short. Baseball...

Because I've become quite adept at disappointing fans who seek answers from me during the coronavirus pandemic, I'm comfortable opening my latest "mailbag" and also putting the word in quotation marks. With all of the binge-watching that's taking place in households around the world, I'm hoping that you'll happily accept my latest sequel. Try to fit it in between episodes of "Ozark" and "Tiger King." In a related story, I haven't seen either one. I actually thought the latter was a...

Current short-season Single-A Auburn manager Patrick Anderson says the Nationals need a lot of catchers at their lower levels so they can build stamina at that spot in the lineup. Catching is a position that can administer wear and tear on bodies over the course of a season, especially for teenagers just getting their first taste of playing pro ball. "That position beats them up," Anderson said. "They are not used to 140 games at the low Single-A level. Those guys can get hurt sometimes....

If you didn't realize how far apart Major League Baseball owners and players were in their negotiations over pay cuts for the proposed 2020 season, Max Scherzer served up a harsh reminder late Wednesday night that the chasm right now is vast. The Nationals ace and member of the MLB Players Association's eight-person executive subcommittee said the union has no intention of accepting any more salary reductions beyond what was already agreed to in late March. And he put the onus on owners to...

The weekend was supposed to conclude another month of baseball, most likely leaving the Orioles at the bottom of the division standings, but we'll never know. We do know what happens when we assume. It isn't about wins and losses in a rebuild, the reminders coming at us like line drives. However, we could have checked on the progress of some important players in the organization. Players who are supposed to be pieces rather than placeholders moving forward. Under normal circumstances, if we...

The picture that is painted is an exciting one. It's of a player who not only has a ton of talent but is smart, poised and driven. He can handle the big games and moments. He makes teammates better. What is not to like about Vanderbilt infielder-outfielder Austin Martin? Many outlets project the Orioles will claim him with the No. 2 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft on June 10. Many tab Arizona State's first baseman Spencer Torkelson to go 1/1 and Texas A&M left-hander Asa Lacy...

The baseball shutdown keeps plowing through the month of May, as we knew it would, and the people who cover the sport are digging through a mountain of memories. I've been fortunate to attend some historic moments in a working capacity, including the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park, when players surrounded Hall of Famer Ted Williams during an emotional tribute in the infield - and I got stuck in the elevator afterward - the 2000 Subway Series that shifted between Yankee Stadium and Shea...

No matter what happens on baseball's major league side, the players swatting away another ownership proposal this week as if inhabited by the spirit of Dikembe Mutombo, it appears to be a certainty that the minors will remain shut down until 2021. Fans keep wondering how the Orioles' prospects and the rebuild process are going to be impacted. No one truly knows. These are unprecedented times and there's no history to rely upon. All I can do is assume that it won't be good. What happens with...