Winter League Baseball...Nationals' Prospects In The Arizona Fall and Dominican Winter Leagues...

AFL UPDATE...

With an 11-7 win over Scottsdale and a 5-2 Mesa loss to Phoenix, Peoria is now tied atop the Arizona Fall League's American Division with both the Solar Sox and the Saguaros now 16-7. Monday's win saw Saguaros' lefty, Cory VanAllen, (W, 1-1), a Nationals' pitching prospect, collect his first win of the Fall by throwing 3.0 innings in which he allowed 4 hits, 1 run and 1 HR with 2 K's to lower his ERA to 9.24 after 5 starts. 

Cory VanAllen gets a two line review in MiLB.com writer Josh Jackson's article, "Wallace paces Sags with six-RBI day", in which Mr. Jackson writes:

"'Nationals prospect Cory VanAllen (1-1) gave up a run on four hits without any walks in three innings for the win. He struck out two.'"

Another young Nationals' arm, Zechry Zinicola, who got Washington Pitching Coach Randy St. Claire's stamp of approval for an invite to Spring Training in a recent article by MLB.com's Bill Ladson, followed up the publication of that piece with a 1.0 inning outing tonight in which he surrendered 3 hits and 2 ER, with 1 K, and a wild pitch. Zinicola needed 21 pitches to close out Peoria's win, and his AFL ERA jumps up to 3.18 with 10 hits, 4 ER's, 1 HR and 2 walks given up and 7 K's notched in 11.1 IP. 

Nationals' infielder Ian Desmond was 1 for 5 for the Saguaros Monday, with a double, his third, and a K, his fourteenth in 55 at bats this Fall. 

Bonifacio vs Hernandez...Prelude To A Spring Battle...

Licey last played Sunday, taking a 7-3 decision over Escogido, with the Tigres raising their record to 8-7, good enough for third place in the Dominican Winter League standings. 

Nationals' infielder Anderson Hernandez scored the first run of the game with his first HR of the winter in the Tigres' sixth. Hernandez's 2 for 5 game gave him a .433 AVG after 15 games and 67 at bats with Licey in which he has 29 hits, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 1 HR and 11 RBI's with 10 walks and a .407 OBP...Someone wants to play second for DC next season!!!

But don't count Emilio Bonifacio out, the federalbaseball.com readers haven't, as you'll see in the Poll attached below, which currently has 35 of 76 votes cast in favor of Bonifacio starting at second in DC in '09...but Bonifacio started in CENTER? on Sunday, and Bonifacio was 2 for 5, with a double for a .259 AVG after it ended, 15 hits in 15 games and 58 AB's, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 4 RBI's, 13 walks, 3 steals and a .403 OBP...Someone wants to play center next season!!!

The Tigres del LIcey take on Aguilas Cibeanas tomorrow night in Licey's Estadio Quisqueya, live from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic at 7:30 pm AST...

Coming up Today at 2:00 pm EST...After You've Voted, uh, If You're Registered, Not Purged From The Rosters and Able To Get Off Work, Find A Babysitter and/or a ride to the Polls and Properly Cast Your Vote For Your Intended Candidate...The results of the voting for the SBN's NL Rookie of the Year...Check back later...(ed. note - "Non-voters welcome to read whenever you like, I don't judge.")