FRESNO - The Fresno Grizzlies (Triple-A, Pacific Coast League) have signed a two-season Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Washington Nationals. Washington, a perennial playoff contender in the National League East, has won that division four of the last six seasons (2012-2017), finishing no worse than second place during that span.
The Nationals’ player development has been exemplary as well, counting current MLB superstars like 3B Anthony Rendon, RHP Stephen Strasburg and OF Bryce Harper among their homegrown talent, critical to their sustained run of success. Very recently, 19-year-old big league rookie Juan Soto has taken the baseball world by storm. The outfielder, with 64 RBI this season (in 104 games as of September 17) has the most runs driven in by a teenager in the Majors since Mickey Mantle- in 1951. Soto is just the third teenager in the history of Major League Baseball to hit 20 home runs in a season, with two weeks remaining on the schedule.