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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 24, 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 Headlines

JUST DOMINANT: Including his win last night at Scranton Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), Triple-A Syracuse RHP J.D. Martin has won 4 straight starts, 5 of 6 and 6 of his last 8…Martin is 8-2 with a 2.31 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) overall… Martin has allowed 2 runs or less in 10 of those 12 starting assignments...he has yielded just 7 walks in 70.0 innings of work, an average of 0.90 walks per 9.0 innings…he ranks among the International League leaders in wins (t-2nd), WHIP (t-3rd, 0.91) and ERA (6th)…Martin signed with Washington as a minor-league free agent, November 24, 2008.

THEIR TIME TO SHINE: Last night, Nationals farmhands participated in the Single-A -California League All-Star Game and the Single-A South Atlantic League All-Star Game...in the CL vs. CL tussle, Potomac OF Michael Burgess (Nationals No. 4 prospect per America) went 1-for-3 with a walk, while RHP Jeff Mandel allowed one in 2.0 innings...Potomac RHP Brad Meyers was a Carolina League All-Star, but did not pitch...Hagerstown C Derek Norris (Nationals No. 6 prospect per ) went 1-for-2 and RHP Marcos Frias worked 1.0 inning, allowing 3 runs, while pitching for the Northern Division squad in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game.

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs International League North Division 37-32, 3rd Place, 4.0 Games Back

START ME UP: RHP Collin Balester has earned the win in 5 consecutive starts, and is 5-0 with a 2.00 ERA (9 ER/40.1 IP) and just 13 walks in his last 7 outings…beginning with his May 17 start, Balester has lowered his ERA from 6.35 to 4.00…he has allowed 3 runs or less in 11 of 14 starts overall…Balester, 23, made 15 starts at the big league level last season with Washington.

ARE YOU MOCKING ME?: RHP Garrett Mock struck out 10 in a complete-game, 3-hit shutout on Monday vs. Columbus (Indians)…in his last 2 starts, he is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA (1 ER/15.0 IP) and 17 …since being optioned to Syracuse on May 21, Mock has gone 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA (7 ER/27.1 IP) and 35 strikeouts in 5 starts…opposing batters are just 19-for-98 (.193 BAA) against him in that span.

-more- Double-A Eastern League Southern Division 26-41, 5th Place, 20.0 Games Back

MT. EVERTS: RHP Clint Everts is a combined 3-1 with a 1.26 ERA and a 4.3 -to-walk ratio (35 K/8 BB) in 19 appearances (28.2 innings) with Harrisburg and Single-A Potomac…since being promoted to Harrisburg on June 9, he has posted a 2.08 ERA (2 ER/8.2 IP) in 6 games…prior to joining the Senators, Everts went 3-0 with 2 saves and a 0.90 ERA in 13 games with Potomac...the Cypress, TX native was Montreal’s first-round pick (5th overall) in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.

LIKE A RHINEHART COWBOY: 1B Bill Rhinehart is hitting at a .348 (24-for-69) clip with 8 doubles, 2 homers, 9 RBI and 12 runs scored in 17 games this month…after beginning the season batting .226 (14-for-62) with just 5 extra-base hits in 18 contests, he has hit .298 (43-for-144) with 13 hits of the extra-base variety (9 doubles, 4 homers) in 34 games…Rhinehart, who played collegiately at the University of Arizona, was selected in the 11th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.

Single-A Carolina League Northern Division 37-30, 2nd Place, 7.0 Games Back

OSCAR MEYERS: RHP Brad Meyers leads Carolina League starting with a 1.67 ERA…in his most recent start, Sunday vs. Salem (Red Sox), he fired a career-high 8.0 shutout innings of one-hit ball…Meyers has allowed no more than one run in 10 of his 13 appearances (12 starts) overall…he was selected in the 5th round of the ’07 Draft out of Loyola Marymount University (CA).

Single-A South Atlantic League Northern Division 31-36, t-5th Place, 10.0 Games Back

SCINTILLATING SUN: C Derek Norris leads all in professional baseball with 14 home runs and 51 RBI…the 20-year-old ranks among the Single-A South Atlantic League leaders in nearly every offensive category, including RBI (1st), home runs (t-1st), total bases (t-2nd, 133), OPS (2nd, .968), slugging (3rd, .568), walks (t-3rd, 35), OBP (5th, .400), runs (t-5th, 42) and doubles (t-7th, 18)…Norris has posted a team-best 21 multi-hit games…the Kansas native has thrown out 40% (25-for-65) of would-be basestealers…per Baseball America, he entered the season rated as the No. 6 prospect and top overall catching prospect in Washington’s system.

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