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FBB On MASN: Washington Nationals' Next Wave Of Starters Back In Action In Organization

2011 3rd Round pick Matt Purke made his first start of the year this week with Class-A Hagerstown. 2010 2nd Round pick Sam Solis is pitching for Potomac. Christian Garcia's going to Double-A soon. Lucas Giolito's slowly working his way back. The next wave of Nats' arms is back in action...

By Patrick Reddington
Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

[ed. note - "Every Friday morning throughout this season, hopefully, if they'll continue to have me, I'll be writing a post over at MASNSports.com's Nationals Buzz, "... as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest," writers to their site. All opinions expressed are my own... A sample follows... You can read the entire post HERE or through the link included below."]

"On Wednesday morning at McCormick Field in Asheville, N.C., 22-year-old 2011 third-round pick Matt Purke made his first start of the season for the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns.

"It was just the fourth professional start for the 6-foot-4 left-hander and one-time Texas Rangers first-round pick who failed to sign with Texas, went to college instead and suffered a shoulder injury, which caused his stock to drop and left him available for selection by the Nationals when the 96th pick of the 2011 Draft came around. The Nationals gave Purke a four-year $4.15 million deal to get him into the organization. Last October, after doing all they could to avoid it, the lefty was finally forced to undergo surgery to clear up bursitis and scar tissue in his shoulder. The good news at the time was that doctors found no damage to the pitcher's labrum or rotator cuff when they finally did get in and look at his throwing shoulder.

"You talk about a late draft, a 12th-round (pick), had shoulder surgery, was rehabbed by our rehab coordinators down in Viera, was developed by our pitching coaches down in the minor leagues..." - Mike Rizzo on 106.7 the FAN on Nate Karns

"The night before Purke returned to the mound with the Suns, 2009 12th-round pick Nate Karns made his major league debut in the nation's capital, two years after he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. After rehabbing the shoulder and throwing 216 1/3 minor league innings in the Nationals system, Karns found himself on schedule to throw when the Nats needed a starter, so they brought the pitcher up to fill in for injured lefty Ross Detwiler, whose oblique injury forced him to miss a start. Karns gave up five hits and three runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, but the fact that he was on the mound in Washington, D.C., was a minor triumph for the team that drafted, rehabbed and developed the right-hander."

• Read the entire post through the link below:

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