District Daily: Is Wilmer Difo the Nationals’ future second baseman?

Jul 18, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals manager

talks with general manager Mike Rizzo before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning DoD readers! Start off your day with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web in our District Daily:

Is Nationals’ prospect Wilmer Difo the future at second in the nation’s capital?

(Patrick Reddington, Federal Baseball)

Washington Nationals’ prospects Wilmer Difo and Lucas Giolito tore up the South Atlantic League this season and the Nats’ farmhands walked away with the SAL awards for MVP and “Most Outstanding Pitcher,” respectively, when the 2014 campaign was done.

Giolito, the no.1 prospect in the organization was also named the Nationals’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Both played for the Hagerstown Suns.

Difo’s impressive season earned him a mention from Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo, who told 106.7 the FAN in D.C.’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhierthis past September that while Giolito, A.J. Cole, Michael Taylor and Steven Souza were well-known prospects, the Nats’ system went a lot deeper than the names everyone knows. Read full article here.

Giants scout Steve Balboni saw Nationals as ‘best team in baseball’

(Adam Kilgore, Washington Post)

For the final two weeks of September, Steve Balboni watched the Nationals more closely than any evaluator in baseball. The Giants assigned Balboni, the former Royals slugger who is now one of their top advance scouts, to cover the Nationals, to gather detailed information in case the Nationals and Giants met in the first round.

Once they did face off in the NLDS, Balboni’s scouting report helped the Giants win a tight, 3-1 series and knock top-seeded Nationals out of the playoffs. When he studied the Nationals, Balboni mostly saw a team to fear, a team capable of reaching the World Series perch the Giants currently occupy. Read full article here.