12/1 Winter ball update

Tony Campana was hitless in three at-bats on Friday for Leones del Caracas in Venezuelan Winter League play. Campana is 2-for-20 (.100) in eight games so far with two stolen bases. Reports are that he’s playing well defensively. Luis Valbuena went 1-for-4 for Lara and was batting .316 in Venezuela with four home runs and 11 doubles.

In the Dominican, Esmailin Caridad has compiled a 1.80 ERA in 26 games, pitching primarily in relief for Yaquis de Obregon. He has 35 strikeouts in 30 innings. Michael Bowden has a 3.92 ERA in five games. In his last outing on Monday, he gave up one run on three hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings, striking out three.

* GM Jed Hoyer was asked Friday about Junior Lake, who is ranked among the batting leaders in the Dominican, but also has been playing in the outfield.

“Junior is an amazing athlete,” Hoyer said. “He has the ability to move around. When you have a guy who can play short and third and left and center field, I think we’ll use all that athleticism. We don’t know exactly what his final home will be but it’s been nice to get reports from [long time scout and Dominican manager] Dave Jauss from the Dominican Republic talking about [Lake's] performance and development. I hope he can springboard off a good winter ball and head into Spring Training with some confidence.”

– Carrie Muskat