The Nationals have placed 34-year old righty reliever Tyler Walker on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation. This is a bad break for the Nationals as Walker has been pitching well out of the pen for them this season. Walker has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The Nationals have called up 26-year old righty starting pitcher Craig Stammen who will start for them tonight. Stammen pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the Nationals early this season and he was 1-2 with a 5.43 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Nationals hope Stammen will be better this time around for the Nationals. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this season after his demotion and he was 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP.

26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Roger Bernadina is making the most of his chance for P.T. this season for the Nationals. He has played in 52 games so far this season for the Nationals and he is 44 of 155 (.284 avg, .790 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers, 23 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Bernadina is pretty much the starting RF for the Nationals right now as Willie Harris has been awful this year. Coming into this season Bernadina played in 29 games in the majors in which he was 17 of 80 (.213 avg, .563 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

Recently signed 29-year old switch hitting 1B/OF Jason Botts is off to a so-so start for the Nationals in AAA. Botts has played in 14 games in AAA-ball this season for the Nationals and he is 10 of 40 (.250 avg, .751 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homers and 5 RBIs. Botts last played in the majors in 2008 with the Rangers. Botts has played in 93 games in his major league career and he is 65 of 282 (.230 avg, .669 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 5 homers and 28 RBIs. Botts has whiffed 108 times in the majors as he does have some holes in his swing.

The Nationals have sent 25-year old lefty starting pitcher John Lannan to AAA. Lannan has started 14 games for the Nationals so far this season and he is 2-5 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 104 hits and 35 walks in only 75 innings this season for the Nationals while whiffing only 24 batters which is pretty amazing. The Nationals have called up 34-year old righty reliever Joel Peralta to replace Lannan on the pitching staff. Peralta has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 2-0 with 20 saves, a 1.08 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP.

29-year old lefty swinging outfielder burst onto the scene for the Nationals last season after coming over from the Pirates in a trade. He played in 49 games for the Nationals last year and he was 67 of 191 (.351 avg, .831 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 1 homer and 24 RBIs. Morgan also stole 24 of 31 bases he attempted to steal last year. This year though he been pretty rough for Morgan so far. He has played in 66 games for the Nationals this year and he is 63 of 254 (.248 avg, .637 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 0 homers, 9 RBIs and he’s 15 of 25 stealing bases. The Nationals need Morgan to get his act together soon or he needs to start batting ahead of the pitcher and nowhere near the top of the lineup.