Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, July 15.

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Welcome to the Morning Briefing!

Leading this Morning's Briefing: Finally, the Break Is Here

This is the latest that the All-Star break has happened since that event became a thing in 1933, and boy, could the Nationals use a rest. They played seventeen straight days of baseball heading into their four days off, most of it in a heat wave, and managed to go 6-11 in those games only because they took two of the final three in Milwaukee.

Last Game out: Brewers Salvage Series

For the second consecutive start, Jake Irvin got knocked around a bit, conceding seven runs (six earned) in four innings. Juan Yepez continued the torrid start to his Nats tenure since replacing Joey Meneses on July 5th, and James Wood and Ildemaro Vargas also drove in runs. From once being on the cusp of the wild card race, the Nats now have the third-worst record in the National League, ahead of only the Rockies and Marlins.

Nationals Headline of the Day: New Draft Room Selects King, Lomavita, Dickerson

This already does not feel like a Mike Rizzo-Kris Kline draft. With their first pick (#10 overall), the Nats went with Wake Forest shortstop Seaver King, a good athlete but one who needs to tone down his free-swinging ways. Caleb Lomavita And with their second-round pick (#44), the Nats took a cold-weather high schooler, Luke Dickerson of New Jersey. Dickerson is a Virginia commit who also is a hockey star, and some of the bonus pool money the Nats picked up in the Hunter Harvey trade will be ticketed for him. Don’t expect Eddie Ciolek and Brad Haas to punt on the later draft rounds over the next two days for a bunch of “senior signs” - we are very clearly in a different process than past drafts.

Down on the Farm

The minor leagues will also have a four-day break before resuming games on Friday. AAA Rochester was blanked 5-0 by Worcester, with DJ Herz taking the loss. AA Harrisburg beat Richmond 6-1 behind a good start from Michael Cuevas and impressive rehab innings from José A. Ferrer and Zach Brzykcy. High-A Wilmington fell 5-0 to Brooklyn, and low-A Fredericksburg lost 7-4 to Carolina.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day: Bazzana Goes First Overall

Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana became the first-second baseman and first Australian-born player to be drafted first overall when he was selected by the Cleveland Guardians, per MLB.

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