It was the 10th round this July. Darren’s adviser had told him he may not be drafted until the next day, but Darren felt he’d waited long enough. Last summer, the draft was shortened to six rounds, leaving Darren to choose to sign as an undrafted player or go back to Cal.

But in Washington, General Manager Mike Rizzo told a room of scouts and front office staffers that if Darren wasn’t taken, he was their guy. No one questioned that. At 6 feet and 180 pounds, Darren is a left-handed contact hitter with speed, a strong glove and no power (yet). His numbers spiked this spring — 73 hits, a .402 on-base percentage, 28 steals — and to explain why, Darren nodded to Dusty’s lesson of swinging at more in-zone fastballs. Dusty felt it was fitting, too, that the Nationals gave Darren a chance.

“What I like is that they’re not just straight sabermetrics,” Dusty Baker said. “ … They’re a combination of old school and new school and I think that’s a perfect place to realize his talents. Everybody else is saying he’s not strong, he’s not hitting the ball out of the ballpark. He will. And if he doesn’t, he’s still a leadoff man-type at this point in time, a speed guy."

no way he has 121 at bats so far this year. Are those his career stats?

But Luis Garcia is... 21?

I don't think Darren Baker is more than a bench prospect down the line. But he still has time. He is only 23, so he isn't too old for Wilmington. If he has a good season, they should happily advance him in the system.

Darren Baker has a future?

Probably ESPN and MLB thought it would be a good story.

Still hitting, now in AA. .272/.337/.364 with a .652 OPS. Not a lot of pop in his bat, but he seems to fill up the Harrisburg box score every night from the top of the lineup.

He was hitting .273 in A+ and now .272 in AA, he has 12 SO and 9 BB in his 23 AA games. Send him to the AFL and there is an outside chance he factors in at 2B next spring/summer.