Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
We start off today’s Daily with a quick announcement from the Nationals. According to the team’s official Twitter account, the postponed game between the Nationals and the Cincinnati Reds from July 8 has been rescheduled for September 28.
While the new date of the game doesn’t cause any major change to the Nationals’ second half schedule, it does alter the last home game of the regular season. The Nationals were originally scheduled to play their home finale September 27 against the Phillies, but now the last regular season game at Nationals Park will be on the 28th. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m.
The postponed July 8 game vs. the Reds has been rescheduled to begin at 3:05pm on September 28. More info here: http://t.co/jOxfxuPA3k.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 3, 2015
We continue today’s Daily with an article about Nationals’ shortstop prospect Trea Turner from MASN’s Byron Kerr. As Kerr writes in his article, Turner has exceeded expectations at Triple-A Syracuse and continues to thrive despite the craziness he’s faced in 2015.
In 34 games with the Nationals’ highest-level minor league affiliate, Turner has batted .310 with three home runs, 13 RBIs and eight stolen bases. His numbers are impressive for anyone in Triple-A, but they’re especially impressive for Turner when you consider that he’s facing the best pitchers in the minors just a year after being drafted. His stats are also impressive given the adversity he’s faced over the last year, which hasn’t slowed him down in the slightest.
As we know, the Nationals acquired Turner from the San Diego Padres last offseason but an old MLB rule prevented the young shortstop from officially joining his new team until June. Before joining the Nationals, Turner played 58 games for the Padres’ Double-A affiliate, where he hit .322. Once Turner joined the Nationals, he reported to Double-A Harrisburg, where he played just 10 games. After tearing through Double-A with a .359 batting average, the shortstop was promoted to Triple-A.
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In four months, Turner has played for three minor league teams from two major league franchises—and he has dominated every step of the way. Given his success at Triple-A, there’s a chance we’ll see Turner join the big league club when rosters expand in September.
With shortstop Ian Desmond set to hit free agency this offseason, the common consensus is that Turner will be the Nationals’ shortstop of the future, but few expected him to become a big league player until 2017. But with his success in the minors this season and given the fact that he’s still learning and continues to improve, there’s a good chance he’ll start playing a role at the big league level much earlier than many anticipated.
Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes discusses the playing time of Nationals catchers Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobaton.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Trea Turner exceeding expectations in Syracuse, continuing whirlwind season
Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs shortstop Trea Turner is ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect in the mid-season Baseball America updated list.
Turner has played 34 games with the Chiefs after playing 68 games in Double-A, 10 of those with the Harrisburg Senators.
Syracuse Chiefs play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown joined me Sunday on “Nats Insider” on 106.7 The Fan and quoted a familiar refrain when discussing Turner’s abilities. Read full article here.
On Wilson Ramos, Jose Lobaton, and their playing time behind the plate
(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)
FLUSHING, N.Y. — The first Nationals hitter to get a hit against Mets starter Matt Harvey on Friday night did so in the sixth inning, when backup catcher Jose Lobaton singled to right. Most second catchers play day games after night games, once every five days, or something like that. Lobaton was playing Friday night’s series opener because Nationals Manager Matt Williams likes him to catch Gio Gonzalez, which he has for six straight starts now.
“Just the fact that they are in sync in their head space when they go out there,” Williams said. “Gio’s not shaking off a lot, which means he’s got a pitch in mind and Loby’s on that same page. Again, it’s not perfect every single time, but you don’t want to mess with something that isn’t broken.” Read full article here.