Minor League-day after memorial day monday

Columbus Clippers

Things are starting to come around for Tyler Clippard in Columbus. The 23 year old righty pitching prospect had struggled early this season despite high expectations, however in his last two starts he has returned to the form that excited so many scouts earlier in his career. His last two starts has seen him allow only one earned run in 11.1 innings pitched. He’s allowed only six hits and four walks. Despite his struggles early in the year, his strikeout rate has been high throughout, recording 53 K’s in 52 innings pitched. Clippard clearly isn’t ready yet as we can see with his inconsistency, however if he continues to pitch well we may see a midseason call up and a spot start.

Harrisburg Senators

In all the discussion about who to bring up for injured Austin Kearns, many have overlooked the 23 year old speedster in Harrisburg, Roger Bernadina. Bernadina is a major league level prospect who combines great athleticism with good plate patience and solid power. Currently through 45 games in Double A, Bernadina is batting .324 with a .381 OBP. He has 17 extra base hits, with 27 RBI’s and has walked 15 times. These numbers are solid enough to warrant a call up to Columbus, especially when you consider in his last 10 games he’s even hotter, batting .389. "He's got a very good collection of offensive and defensive tools, and now he's playing within those tools," said the scout, who's been following Bernadina for years. "He has good bat speed, his bunting is a weapon, he's a good aggressive base runner and a plus defender”- Baseball Prospectus

Hagerstown Suns-
Michael Burgess is quickly making a name for himself as one of the top power prospects in baseball for his age group. At only 19, Burgess is tearing up low A ball Hagerstown, to the tune of 11 homers and a .516 slugging percentage. While Burgess had gotten off to a good start in the power categories, he had struggled making consistent contact, batting below .250 for most of the season. In the last 10 games he has started to show more plate discipline batting .364 in that stretch. Burgess is still unpolished, and the lefty slugger has a way to go before he makes it to Nats Park… but the ceiling is starting to look good, real good.