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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, August 5, 2009

NATIONALS MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

WASHINGTON, DC – The Nationals minor league report is a weekly window into the Nationals farm teams, with updated standings, league leaders, team and individual player stats, and the latest team and player news. Player bios can be found in the Scouting/Player Development section of the Nationals Media Guide (Pages 391-429).

This Week’s Top Headline

A HIRED HITMAN: 21-year-old 1B Chris Marrero leads the Single-A Carolina League with 112 hits, and ranks among the league leaders in slugging (3rd, .492), OPS (3rd, .866), batting average (4th, .299), total bases (4th, 184), home runs (t-4th, 16), on-base percentage (5th, .374) and RBI (6th, 62)…in 28 July games with Potomac, he .354 (34-for-96) with 7 doubles, one triple, 5 homers, 17 RBI and 14 walks, which equates to .453 and .604 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively…Marrero was Washington’s first round pick (15th overall) in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs International League North Division 57-51, 2nd Place, 4.0 Games Back

DESMOND ON THE DIAMOND: SS Ian Desmond is batting a combined .305 with 16 doubles, one triple, 6 homers, 22 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 62 games with Syracuse and Double-A Harrisburg…he is 20-for-66 (.303) with 4 doubles, 4 RBI, 11 walks and 4 stolen bases in 20 games since being promoted to Syracuse, July 16...in 42 games with Harrisburg, he collected 52 hits, including 19 of the extra-base variety (12 doubles, one triple, 6 home runs)…Desmond was Washington’s 3rd-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft.

ZACK ATTACK: In 12 appearances since joining Syracuse, July 7, RHP Zack Segovia has allowed one earned in 13.0 innings (0.69 ERA)…he owns a .174 (8-for-46) batting average against and a 3.5/1 -to-walk ratio (14K/4 BB) with the Chiefs...the 26-year-old began the season with Harrisburg, where he appeared in 24 games (3 starts)…Segovia signed with Washington as a minor-league free agent on June 18, 2008…he was originally drafted by the in the 2nd round of the 2002 Draft.

Organizational Player and of the Month – July

INF Mike Morse – batted .337 (35-for-104) with 7 doubles, 3 homers, 18 RBI and a .410 OBP in 28 games.

RHP Jorge Sosa – in 11 appearances, posted 1.29 ERA (2 ER/14.0 IP), recorded 3 saves and struck out 21.

-more- Double-A Eastern League Southern Division 50-57, 5th Place, 16.5 Games Back

MT. EVERTS: RHP Clint Everts is a combined 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA and a 3.8/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (54 K/14 BB) in 31 appearances (48.0 innings) with Harrisburg and Potomac…since joining the Senators on June 9, he is 3-1 with 3 saves and a 1.61 ERA (5 ER/28.0 IP) in 18 games…prior to his promotion, Everts went 3-0 with 2 saves and a 0.90 ERA in 13 appearances with Potomac...the Cypress, TX native was Montreal’s first-round pick (5th overall) in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.

DO TELL, MR. MANDEL: RHP Jeff Mandel is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA (4 ER/14.0 IP) in 2 starts with Harrisburg…he went 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA (40 ER/99.2 IP) in 17 starts with Potomac before earning a July 20 promotion to Double-A…for the season, he is a combined 10-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 19 starts with the Senators and P-Nats…his 10 wins are tied with fellow Senator Erik Arnesen for tops among Washington minor leaguers...Mandel was a 19th-round selection in the ’07 First-Year Player Draft…he is scheduled to make his next start, Friday at Trenton (Yankees).

ROONEY TUNES: C Sean Rooney is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with 2 doubles, 3 RBI and 7 runs scored in 13 games as a Senator…the 23-year- old joined Harrisburg on July 16 from Potomac, where he batted .300 (65-for-217) with 18 doubles, 6 home runs and 40 RBI in 60 games…in a combined 55 games at catcher with Harrisburg and Potomac, he has gunned down 25 of 59 (42%) would-be basestealers…Rooney, a 2008 Single-A South Atlantic League All-Star, was drafted in the 8th round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft.

Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Month – July

INF Joel Guzman – hit .347 (35-for-101) with 9 doubles, 3 homers and 19 RBI in 27 games.

RHP Clint Everts – went 3-0 with one save and a 1.17 ERA (2 ER/15.1 IP) in 9 appearances.

Single-A Potomac Nationals Carolina League Northern Division First Half: 37-30, 2nd Place, 3.0 Games Back Second Half: 25-13, First Place, 1.5 Games Ahead

THE TAMING OF THE DREW: RHP Drew Storen, Washington’s 2nd selection in the first round (10th overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, has 36 and only one walk in a combined 22.2 innings (16 appearances) with Potomac and Single-A Hagerstown…the Stanford University product has fanned 25, walked one and posted a .063 (3-for-47) batting average against in his last 10 games (14.2 innings) between Potomac and Hagerstown…prior to joining the P-Nats on July 19, he struck out 26 and did not walk a batter in 14.2 innings (11 games) with the Suns.

THINGS HAPPEN IN 3’S: For the third consecutive week, a Potomac National has earned MiLB.com Single-A Carolina League Player of the Week honors…OF Jesus Valdez follows 1B Chris Marrero (July 13-19) and INF/OF Dan Nelson (July 20-26) as the CL POTW…Valdez posted 5 multi-hit games, going 13-for-23 (.565) with 5 doubles, 3 RBI and 6 runs scored during the week of July 27-August 2 to garner the selection…he is hitting .312 with 13 doubles, one triple, 3 home runs, 30 RBI and 34 runs scored in 57 games with the P-Nats.

HOLDER STEADY: RHP Trevor Holder, Washington’s 3rd-round pick in this June’s Draft, hurled 5.0 innings of one-run ball to earn the win in his Carolina League debut, Friday vs. Winston-Salem (White Sox)…the 22-year-old, who played collegiately at the University of Georgia, is a combined 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in 6 starts with the Potomac, Hagerstown and GCL Nationals.

Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Month – July

OF Francisco Plasencia – hit at a .330 (31-for-94) clip with 4 home runs, 22 RBI and 16 runs scored in 25 games.

LHP Tom Milone – went 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA (12 ER/38.0 IP) in 6 starts.

-more- Single-A Hagerstown Suns South Atlantic League Northern Division First Half: 31-36, T-6th Place, 10.5 Games Back Second Half: 14-22, 7th Place, 7.5 Games Back

SCINTILLATING SUN: C Derek Norris continues to dominate the South Atlantic League, leading the league in home runs (23), total bases (204), walks (61) and OBP (.416)…the 20-year-old paces all catchers in professional baseball in homers and RBI…Norris ranks among full-season minor league leaders in home runs (t-5th) and slugging percentage (15th, .573)…the right-handed hitting slugger has posted a team-best 33 multi-hit games…he has reached base safely via hit (110), walk (61) or HBP (7) 178 times in 100 games (1.78 times per contest)…per Baseball America, he entered the season rated as the No. 6 prospect and top overall catching prospect in Washington’s system.

EVEN STEPHEN: 2B Stephen Lombardozzi paces the South Atlantic League with 75 runs scored, and ranks 2nd in hits with 115…in 99 games overall, the 20-year-old is hitting .299 with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers and 44 RBI…Lombardozzi was a 19th-round pick in the 2008 Draft out of St. Petersburg JC (FL).

Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Month – July

1B Tyler Moore – hit .305 with 18 extra-base hits (12 doubles, one triple, 5 homers) and a team-high 29 RBI.

RHP Marcos Frias – in 5 starts, went 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA (9 ER/28.2 IP).

Short-Season Single-A Vermont Lake Monsters New York-Penn League Stedler Division 22-23, 3rd Place, 4.5 Games Back

EVAN SENT: After being drafted by Washington in the 29th round of the 2009 Draft, LHP Evan Bronson has gone 2-0 with 2 saves and a 1.00 ERA in his first 11 games as a pro…he has limited opponents to a .182 (18-for-99) batting average against…the southpaw has 18 strikeouts against just one walk in 27.0 innings of work…Bronson played collegiately at Trinity College (TX).

FRANCISCO TREAT: INF Francisco Soriano has hit safely in a team-high 9 straight games, going 13-for-35 (.371) during the tear...his .418 OBP is tied for 2nd in the league, while his 14 stolen bases rank 5th…Soriano signed with Washington as a non-drafted free agent, July 5, 2007.

Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Month – June/July

OF J.P. Ramirez – in 41 games, collected 43 hits and recorded 22 RBI.

RHP Pat Lehman – posted a 3-1 mark with a 1.65 ERA (5 ER/27.1 IP) in 7 games (3 starts).

-more- Gulf Coast League Nationals Gulf Coast League East Division 19-14, 2nd Place, 3.5 Games Back

PEREZ DISPENSER: OF Eury Perez is hitting .337 with one double, 2 triples, one , 12 RBI and 12 walks in 26 games…he has recorded a team-high 12 stolen bases…Perez, 19, ranks 4th in the GCL with a .419 OBP…he signed with Washington as an international free agent, April 13, 2007.

NEWSOME IS GOOD. IN VIERA, EVEN BETTER: 1B Brett Newsome leads the GCL in walks (21), slugging (.590) and OPS (1.012)…19 of his 32 hits have been of the extra-base variety (12 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers)…in 27 games overall, he is hitting .305 with 21 RBI and 21 runs scored.

Organizational Player and Pitcher of the Month – June/July

OF Destin Hood – in 25 contests, hit a team-best .330 with 10 doubles, 3 homers and 18 runs scored.

RHP Ruben De La Rosa – went 3-0 with a 1.12 (2 ER/16.0 IP) in 9 games…struck out 26 and walked 5.

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