WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--Collin Balester is starting to remind people why he was the Nationals’ top pitching prospect entering the season. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound righthander went seven innings for just the second time this season in high Class A Potomac’s 3-1 win against Winston-Salem on Thursday, allowing one run on five hits while striking out five and walking two. He picked up the win to improve to 4-3, 5.35 on the season with 56 strikeouts and 38 walks in 74 innings. The numbers aren’t impressive, but Balester has been pitching his best the last few weeks. He struck out a season-high eight while walking just one in his last start against Kinston, and he threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless ball against Wilmington in the start before that. He has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of his last eight starts, dating back to a May 16 loss to Kinston. Balester has also improved his control since walking 16 batters over four starts in May and June. In his last five starts, he has issued just eight free passes. "Collin’s a guy that has always been able to pitch with the fastball and pitch upstairs quite a bit, so we’re trying to get him into a little more of a command position while still lighting it up and going after it, and he’s done that," Potomac pitching coach Charlie Corbell said. Balester’s fastball sat in the 90-92 mph range against the Warthogs, touching 93 a number of times. He also racked up several strikeouts with his 76-78 downer curveball and flashed a decent changeup. His command lapsed a bit when runners reached base and his frustration with the home plate umpire was visible as his outing wore on, but he wriggled his way out of any jams by inducing ground balls. "Collin’s a very emotional and hyper kid, and he’s got a lot of energy on the mound," Corbell said. "He’s a big, long, gangly guy who’s still developing his body. What we really worked hard on is getting the repeatability in his delivery, where he’s not spinning off quite so much and getting an opportunity to really live with the fastball. His fastball has a lot of hop to it." A scout with an American League club noticed Balester was dropping and driving off his back leg, which neutralizes the advantage of his height. But the scout said Balester has plenty of time to make that small adjustment. He just turned 20 in June and is holding his own in the Carolina League. --

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