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Wire Taps: Washington Nationals morning links - Ryan Zimmerman returning?

Is Ryan Zimmerman coming back for the start of the Washington Nationals' three-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies? What will the Nats do with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 Draft on Thursday? All that and more in today's edition of Wire Taps...

By Patrick Reddington

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Greg Fiume

We decided to try a new feature today wherein we link to all of the latest material we can find around the internet to keep everyone as informed as possible on the goings on with the Washington Nationals.

"There are some quality left-handed college power bats, which is atypical of the Draft class. Most important, we like the quality of the players." -QOTD: Mike Rizzo to MLB.com's Bill Ladson on 2014 Draft class

We hope this will be a helpful addition to the coverage around here while also serving as a way to highlight some of the great work people writing about and following the Nats come up with on a daily basis. Beat stories, stories from national writers who write about the Nationals, local writers on their own sites, pop-culture-y stuff, Nationals' minor league stories and topical stuff, like Draft coverage this week with the 2014 MLB Draft this Thursday. And the Quote of the Day (QOTD) like the one included here today.

We're calling it Wire Taps, two words, so people Googling "wiretaps" don't find Nationals links and get angry at us. We tap into the internet and find all the links that we can with relevant information on the nation's capital's favorites.

In this inaugural edition we have stories about Ryan Zimmerman's fourth rehab outing with the Potomac Nationals, a story about the Nationals' plans for this Thursday's Draft and more. It all starts with the "BIG STORY!" which you can read... RIGHT NOW!!:

• THE BIG STORY!!!:

• "Treinen, 25, took a winding path to the major leagues from Osage City, Kan., through three colleges and countless roadblocks, aided by a blend of small-town connections, genetic fortune, relentless work, unwavering determination and unshakable belief." - "Washington Nationals’ Blake Treinen takes slow road to throwing fastballs in majors" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• NATS BEAT:

• "How Zimmerman fares in left field could have a lot of interesting effects on the Nationals’ future. For one, Bryce Harper will return at some point this season." - "State of the Nats: Ryan Zimmerman’s return near" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "When a player has been your FofF or has a $100M+ deal, don't you have to say, 'This is a huge piece of our team for many years. Lets do it once and get it right, not jerk him around.'" - "Ask Boswell: Redskins, Nationals and Washington sports" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post

• "The more I watch Roark pitch, the more impressed I am and the more I wonder how he kind of snuck up on everyone over the last couple of years." - "Nationals Pastime: Zimmerman could return tomorrow, Roark continuing to make a statement" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "The decisions the Nationals must make when Ryan Zimmerman returns from seven weeks on the disabled list remain a puzzle with no easy solution." - "Ryan Zimmerman's return should boost Nats, no matter where he plays" - Brian McNally, Washington Times

• "'We think the Draft class is deep, with a lot of velocity arms,' Rizzo said. 'I think that's the thing that jumps out at us the most.'" - "Nats excited about options at No. 18 in Draft" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• "'I don’t know,' he said. 'I haven’t really talked to Matt (Williams) or Mike (Rizzo) about that. I think Bryce is going to be out for a little while longer. We’ll see what happens when I get up there...'" - "Ryan Zimmerman ready to rejoin Washington Nationals, play left field" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "'Whenever you do something new, it’s a little nerve-wracking,' Zimmerman said. 'But I feel like I can go out there and do what I need to do.'" - "Ryan Zimmerman likely to return Tuesday after successful rehab game in left field" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "Span has stolen 118 bases in his career. His high water mark was with the Twins in 2010 when he swiped 26 bases. He stole 20 bases in 153 games last season with the Nationals." - "Span steals another base, wants 30 for the season" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Through one-third of the season, Span is on pace to steal just under 24 bases, which would be the second-highest total of his career and best since career-high 26 in 2010." - "Denard Span wants to steal 30 bases this season" - James Wagner, Washington Post

• "Washington dropped two of three games in Philadelphia in the clubs' first meeting in early May." - "Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals - June 3, 2014" - David Adler, MLB.com Preview

• "Roark, 27, emerged as one of the most unexpected developments of the Nationals’ 2013 season. His continued progression as a pitcher has been one of the most encouraging parts of this season." - "Tanner Roark solid again in Nationals’ loss" - James Wagner, Washington Post

• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama):

• NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

• "'It was such a weird feeling,' Morse says. 'I kept watching Stras throwing bullpens, still running, still doing his thing. I thought, 'Man, maybe he's going to come out of the bullpen.'" - "Hudson, Morse find Giant opportunity" - Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports

• "It took two months, but it finally happened on Sunday afternoon: Both teams challenged one play." - "VIDEO: It finally happened -- two challenges on one play" - Mike Axisa, CBSSports.com

• "A little bit of baseball replay history, and an old-fashioned inexplicable Ron Washington decision, all on a simple stolen base attempt." - "The Nationals And Rangers Both Challenged The Same Play" - Barry Petchesky, Deadspin

• "They are a team without obvious holes that hasn't performed up to expectations, and they don't have the kind of farm system that looks to cure any wounds, either." - "Washington Nationals among teams that should be buyers at trade deadline" - Paul Swydan, MLB - ESPN

• "Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper dialed down the fierceness for his latest national campaign ad..." - "Nationals' Bryce Harper shows some glove in new Rawlings commercial" - Greg Otto, Washington Business Journal

• "Doug Fister. Remember him? Of course you do. You can't keep your eyes off him. The sheer mention of his name probably causes steam to shoot out of your ears." - "Chat: At one-third mark, Detroit's trade of Doug Fister doesn't look so promising for Tigers" - James Schmehl, MLive.com

• NATS MINORS:

• Low-A Hagerstown: "The Hagerstown Suns (38-19) increased their lead in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division standings to four games over the Delmarva Shorebirds (34-23) with a 4-2 win over the Shorebirds..." - "Suns up lead over Delmarva with 4-2 win" - Eli Pearlstein, Hagerstown Suns News

• High-A Potomac: "9:32 p.m. — And in what will probably be his final at-bat of the night (and his rehab), Zimmerman records an infield single." - "Ryan Zimmerman makes final rehab appearance at Class A Potomac" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Monday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com

• "For the past two seasons, Denard Span has been tracking everything down in center, but his questionable on-base skills and ineptitude against left-handed pitching have left much to be desired." - "Nationals Prospects Spotlight: Will Taylor leapfrog Goodwin as 'centerfielder of the future'?" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Is the Senators' coaching staff concerned with all the strikeouts this season?" - "Will we see Ryan Zimmerman in Harrisburg this week? Rehab assignments star in this week's Senators mailbag" - Geoff Morrow, PennLive.com

• Double-A Harrisburg: "One of the standout stars for the 2013 Senators, the 25-year-old Souza made the jump to Triple-A this season and has even played a few games for the Nationals." - "Ex-Harrisburg Senators Tanner Roark, Steven Souza, Jim Ed Warden shining in their respective leagues: organizational glance" - Geoff Morrow, PennLive.com

• Triple-A Syracuse: "Steven Souza, Jr. blasted off for the first Syracuse (32-25) run in the fourth inning. With one out, Souza smashed an 0-1 pitch from Kyle Drabek off the netting high over the left-center field wall for a solo home run." - "Chiefs blast off in win over Bisons" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• NATSTOWN:

• "'A lot of people don’t realize you might only get one shot,' Morse recently told USA Today. "One shot. That could have been the only shot.'" - "Why Michael Morse still regrets the Nationals’ Strasburg Shutdown" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog

• "The biggest news of the Washington Nationals' off-day on Monday? Forget Ryan Zimmerman's potential return on Tuesday..." - "When Denard Span saw Mike Tyson at the mall..." - Nats Enquirer

• "What? You expected talk about the offense? It's going to take more than a couple of fluke high-scoring games to get me praising those guys again." - "Monday Quickie - The Starting Pitching is peaking" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "The one thing keeping the starters from an A- is innings pitched. They’ve thrown just 313 innings this season, which is fourth-lowest in baseball." - "Washington Nationals Report Card: April and May 2014" - Joe Drugan, The Nats Blog

• "Yu Darvish's performance on Sunday (five hits in eight innings with 12 strikeouts) certainly qualifies as one of the better games ever pitched against the Nationals..." - "Nationals Buzz: Marty Niland: Sub-.500 team can blame some notorious Nats killers" - Marty Niland, MASNSports.com

• "All Good with Destin Hood" - The Nationals Review

• "Does Strasburg fall apart after an error is committed behind him more than any other pitcher would? There certainly seems to be a perception that he does..." - "Does Stephen Strasburg Really Fall Apart After an Error?" - Nationals 101

• "Nats’ May in review: It’s frustrating" - Nat Anacostia, Nats Noodles

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Phillies: "Philadelphia will send rookie David Buchanan, who has had two career starts, to the hill..." - "Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals - June 3, 2014" - David Adler, MLB.com Preview

• Mets: "Juan Lagares’ addition to the Mets’ disabled list on Monday has left manager Terry Collins pondering new options in the leadoff spot, none of which are obvious fits." - "Mets have hole to fill at top of order" - Mike Puma, New York Post

• Marlins: "At 37, Randy Wolf has lived through plenty of three-game losing streaks. His experience has taught him how to stop them." - "Miami Marlins: Randy Wolf earn first win since 2012 with six strong innings Monday" - Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel

• Braves: "The Braves' rotation has thus far exceeded any expectations that were set when Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy were lost in March." - "Braves aim to make most of Draft sans first-round pick" - Mark Bowman, braves.com: News

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