Welcome to NatsTown: Tweets, pics, Vines + more

Beau Dykstra, son of @HbgSenators OF Cutter Dykstra, is a very good 2-year-old baseball player pic.twitter.com/iXDyS9hWuj

— Perry Mattern (@pmattern7) June 9, 2016

Beau Dykstra is not expected to reach the big leagues before 2033. It is hard to tell exactly where he profiles to play defensively, but the Nats clearly want him for his big bat. If anyone out there has more intel on this prospect, please let us know. The real draft is underway, and the Nationals will be picking up plenty of players who will make a more immediate impact tonight. Fingers crossed, but in Rizzo we trust!

Last year, I suggested that Wilson Ramos might want to try hitting the ball in the air more. It turns out, there is a Washington National who appears to have made an effort to put the ball in the air more, but that is not Wilson Ramos...

Marlins 2B and defending NL batting champion Dee Gordon tested positive for Testosterone and Clostebol, according to MLB. Out for 80 games.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 29, 2016

Mysterious forces of nature appear to be colluding to make it harder than ever for anybody to be a Marlins fan. The Marlins speedster's slow start to the season has now ground to a halt as he will begin serving a 80 game suspension for using illegal substances. We are still awaiting comment from Marlins hitting coach Barry Bonds. Luckily for Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins, Gordon will return later this year to start serving the remainder of his guaranteed five year $50M contract. Gordon will miss out on $1.6M of that bounty because of this suspension. This is probably not going to change the dynamics of the NL East, but Dee Gordon was the guy who beat out Bryce Harper for the NL batting crown .333 to .330 last year.

pure athleticism pic.twitter.com/Sm1ZfHfOis

— Danny (@recordsANDradio) April 12, 2016

This may not be the most memorable play from yesterday's game, but this clip makes me laugh every time I watch it. I'm sure the umpire, Bob Davidson, was not intentionally trying to use his stomach to gently deflect Ramos' single into left field, but his body language when he realizes what he's done (especially that almost nonchalant leg kick) cracks me up. The more times you watch it, the more it looks intentional even thought it of course can't possibly be intentional.

In the fifth episode of The Island Chronicles, Terry Byrom (radio voice of the Harrisburg Senators) and Mick Reinhard (Mayflies and Big Flies) talk about the 2016 Senators roster.

Bryce Harper wearing a "Make Baseball Fun Again" hat. Love it, so much. pic.twitter.com/zESqRjO0qN

— Mr. Schäfer (@misterschafer) April 5, 2016

Yes, this is awesome. The famous baseball player known for inviting controversy wants to make it clear that he's there to enjoy baseball and to let fans enjoy baseball too. Harper wore this hat to the post-game conference of the Nats' first game knowing people would be paying attention. Make Baseball Fun Again!

Terry Byrom, the radio voice of the Harrisburg Senators, has launched a new podcast, The Island Chronicles, focused on the Nationals' AA affiliate. In his first episode, he talks with Mick Reinhard of Mayflies and Big Flies about team manager Matt LeCroy, the changes in system management philosophy due to the hiring of Dusty Baker, what minor league players get out of major league camp in spring training, and the keys to a successful minor league team.

This explains the donut addiction #BabyEspi #SeptemberCallUp #BaseballBaby #ByeByeAbs pic.twitter.com/wfnXUdZ8kl

— Sara Espinosa (@Beezo_08) March 10, 2016

This will be Danny Espinosa's first kid as he joins the ranks of the many great dads who have played for the Washington Nationals. Hopefully Danny gets as healthy a baby bump to his performance as Desi did back in the day :) Congratulations to Danny & Sara!

The District: @Nationals Clint Robinson on Spring Training, Dusty Baker, a 0.00 ERA & more. https://t.co/tMjeRjdV2p pic.twitter.com/806nKRjHUd

— ESPN 980 (@ESPNRadio980) March 9, 2016

Nationals' first baseman Clint Robinson visited with our friends from The District, talking about working with Dusty Baker, his debut as a pitcher last season and more. Listen to the interview through the link below...uh, above actually.

Hey, @taylorswift13. @Anthonyrendon_6 likes your style. pic.twitter.com/clvO5Di5es

— MLB GIFS (@MLBGIFs) February 25, 2016

Apparently Nationals' third baseman Anthony Rendon hearts Taylor Swift so much he made a homemade t-shirt to express his feelings to the world. We're impatiently waiting and following Taylor's twitter account to see if there is any response... Good luck, Anthony...

#Nationals reliever gets Jeopardy treatment pic.twitter.com/KNVVX5QnuJ

— Howard Fendrich (@HowardFendrich) February 25, 2016

Easy slam dunk for Nats fans, I'm sure. How many people out there watching Jeopardy know who Treinen is, even if the second half of the clue may be enough to give a contestant a solid chance at a correct guess? Treinen is certainly unique in this regard. People (mostly Chapman) throw 100 mph fastballs all the time. (Spoiler! The answer is not "What is a fastball?") What is a _______?

@UniWatch Angola, Indiana pic.twitter.com/c0xrOJt0ks

— Carson Moore (@Carson_Moore5) February 3, 2016

It's not un-American to have divided baseball loyalties, but who would do this to a hat? The way this was done the Reds (who naturally get the white third of the hat) play second fiddle to the Nationals, which we're fine with, but for future reference, you should probably just buy one hat for each team and switch them out every day or two. Even wearing a jersey from one team mismatched with a cap from the other team would be better than a Frankenstein hat. Does anybody out there have theories on how this came to be?

Speed, Power, Hit, Arm, Fielding. Here are the #Top100Prospects with the best sets of tools: https://t.co/TFhwKnTS9p pic.twitter.com/sOSipOZg5B

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 2, 2016

The Nationals have another five tool player in the pipeline and though he is only 18 years old, Victor Robles is an exciting player to watch. He spent last year destroying the lowest levels of competition and got scouts raving about his potential. 2016 will be a big year for him as he tries to show that he is the real deal. Though his strongest tools, as shown above, are his speed and arm, what really has people impressed is his mature approach at the plate. It may be a few years before his true power show up since he is still just a teenager not named Bryce Harper, but he does have some pop already. Here is Baseball America's writeup on him from last August. Baseball Prospectus recently ranked him as the the 29th top prospect in all of baseball. We'll keep you updated as his 2016 season unfolds.

Early look at our @NYDNSports back: Cespedes signing with @Nationals would be nightmare for @Mets. @APSE_sportmedia pic.twitter.com/DEVvnpEtSx

— Tom Biersdorfer (@TomBiersdorfer) January 22, 2016

I know many of us are not sold on Cespedes, and the longer these rumors go on the less likely anything is actually going down (plus the storm may delay any face to face negotiations). It's fun, though, to see a rival city freak out at the idea of the Nats signing one of "their" players.

Bryce Harper on killing his hair and why remaking 'The Mighty Ducks' would be a dumb idea https://t.co/NIybaK0DZo pic.twitter.com/n6i9pGCkmH

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 12, 2016

Why did he dye his hair silver? What did his brother get him for Christmas? What does he listen to when he works out and how does he choose his walk-up music? Bryce Harper talks all that and more in this Rolling Stone interview...

2016 Spring Training first workout dates announced for all 30 Clubs. pic.twitter.com/VCZwnlnLAp

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) January 11, 2016

Pitchers and catchers start work on February 20th and everybody else has to be there by the 25th. Of course, in past years lots of Nationals have shown up early and we hope that this trend continues in 2016 so that we can get even more Spring Training news and see who is in the best shape of their lives and such. The countdown can begin in earnest now!

Now former #Nats' reliever Drew Storen thanked #Nationals fans via Twitter after he was traded to the #BlueJays: pic.twitter.com/gIBeIC8QXs

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) January 9, 2016

Drew Storen was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays last night for outfielder Ben Revere and a PTBNL. This morning, the now-former Washington Nationals' reliever took to Twitter to thank fans in D.C. for their support "through thick & thin."

Well...it's snowing finally...That means it's time to head south! #SpringTraining can't come soon enough! #Nats

— Clint Robinson (@BatHoarder) January 9, 2016

I'm with you, Clint. We all are. Does anyone here want to wait through another month without baseball? Three weeks? Where are the sunny Florida practice fields we're all dreaming of?