Six Players with Potomac Nationals Ties to Head to Arizona Fall League
Woodbridge, VA--The Washington Nationals announce today that seven of their top prospects will head to Arizona to compete in the prestigious Arizona Fall League in 2015, six of which have ties to the Potomac Nationals this season. C Spencer Kieboom, 3B Drew Ward, IF Wilmer Difo, LHP Nick Lee, RHP John Simms, RHP Dakota Bacus and RHP Abel De Los Santos.
The Arizona Fall league season begins Tuesday, October 13th and the seven members of the Nationals organization will suit up for the Salt River Rafters that will also be skippered by Potomac Nationals manager Tripp Keister. The season runs from the 13th through Thursday, November 19th with the championship game on Saturday, November 21st.
Kieboom, a burly 6'1", 230-pound catcher served as the primary receiver in Potomac until he was placed on the disabled list on July 25th after originally being selected out of Clemson University in the 5th round in 2012 by the Nationals. A Carolina League mid-season All-Star, Kieboom will return to the AFL for the second straight year after earning a 2014 South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star nod with the Hagerstown Suns. He currently sits as the 21st top prospect according to MLBPipeline.com after opening the season ranked as the 20th. He suited up for The Red, White and Blue in 71 contests and hit .248 (61-for-248). He scored 36 times, hit 16 doubles, a triple, two home runs and he drove in 26, while walking 36 times and striking out 30 times.
Ward, a 20-year old, 6'3", 215-pound infielder from Leedy High School was selected in the 3rd round by Washington in 2013 and has spent the entire 2015 campaign with Potomac. After a 2014 season that saw Ward hit .269 in 115 games for Hagerstown, he has appeared in 105 games for the Nationals and is currently ranked as the 11th top prospect in the Nationals organization according to MLBPipeline.com. He is hitting .249 (89-for-357) with 44 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, six home runs, a team-leading 46 RBIs, 36 walks and 101 strikeouts.
Difo, an international free agent signee by Washington on June 3rd, 2010, has seen time at three levels in 2015, including a brief stint with the big club. The 6'0", 195-pound infielder began the season with Potomac after bringing home the South Atlantic League's MVP award and finishing the campaign with the second most hits in all of minor league baseball with 176 in 2014. Before his promotion to Double-A Harrisburg on April 30th he played 19 games for the Nationals and hit .320 (24-for-75). The Santiago de los Caballeros, DR native comes in ranked as the 4th top prospect in the Nationals organization according to MLBPipeline.com and in his 19 contests he plated 13 runs, hit seven doubles, three home runs, he drove in 13, walked eight times, struck out only 13 times and swiped four bags. Difo also made his MLB debut in 2015 getting eight at-bats with the Washington Nationals and picking up his first hit in his first at-bat, finishing 1-for-8.
Lee was plucked by the Nationals in the 18th round of the 2011 draft from Weatherford Community College in Texas. The 5'11", 185-pound lefty became a full-time reliever in late 2014 and began this year with the Potomac Nationals. The 25th top prospect in the Nats' organization according to MLBPipeline.com was the closer for Potomac and inked nine saves to lead the club prior to his promotion up the ranks to the Double-A Senators on July 4th. He finished 1-1 in 20 appearances spanning 28.0 innings on the mound. He relinquished 20 hits and 11 runs (eight earned), a home run, 14 walks and he struck out 28 hitters while hold opposing hitters to a .202 batting average against.
Simms, the former Rice University Owl, was an 11th round draft pick in 2011. The Woodlands, TX native began the season with Potomac and made 15 appearances with 14 starts before being promoted on July 25th to the Harrisburg Senators. Simms earned a Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Award in 2015 for the period of July 20th through July 26th and finished as the club leader in WHIP at 1.07. His record stood at 6-6 with a 2.74 ERA. He logged 88.2 innings and allowed 70 hits, 35 runs (27 earned), seven home runs, 25 walks and 48 strikeouts and opposing hitters were held to a .219 batting average against.
Bacus, originally a 9th round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics in 2012, was acquired by the Nationals on August 22nd, 2013 in the trade that sent catcher Kurt Suzuki back to Oakland. Bacus went 2-0 in eight appearances with five starts spanning 27.0 innings. Bacus brought home a Carolina League Pitcher of the Week award in 2015 with Potomac from the period of May 11th through May 17th. The 6'2", 200-pound Moline, IL native had an ERA of 2.33 and went three for three in saves. He allowed 23 hits, eight runs (seven earned), a home run, ten walks with 29 punch outs and a .219 batting average against.
De los Santos, pitched for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans last season as a member of the Texas Rangers organization and came over in the trade that sent RHP Ross Detwiler to Texas in exchange for IF Christopher Bostick and de los Santos. The Puerta Plato, DR native is currently ranked as the 27th top prospect in the Nationals organization and is the only Nationals prospect heading to the AFL that has not suited up for Potomac in 2015.
The Potomac Nationals play at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, and are the Carolina League affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Potomac Nationals have claimed five Carolina League Championship titles (1982, 1989, 2008, 2010, and 2014) and nine CL Northern Division Championships. The P-Nats are the defending Carolina League Champions after winning the 2014 Mills Cup Championship Series. Potomac Nationals 2015 season tickets and mini plans are now on sale. Sponsorship opportunities for the 2015 season and beyond are available. Corporate outing reservations for the 2015 season to watch the future stars of the Washington Nationals at The Pfitz may be placed now as the P-Nats offer discounted group rates and all-inclusive picnics. Visit the P-Nats online at www.potomacnationals.com or call the Potomac Nationals Ticket Office at 703-590-2311 for more information!
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