Washington Nationals: Six intriguing players to be called up in September
By Blake Finney
Raudy Read and Pedro Severino – Catchers
With Matt Wieters out of contract this offseason, the Washington Nationals may want another look at Pedro Severino, as well as giving promising backstop Raudy Read some time in September.
Obviously, Severino’s time with the Nats didn’t go as planned earlier this season. He got off to a great start this year, hitting .270 with a .733 OPS in his first 25 games showing excellent discipline at the plate.
But then, his numbers fell off of a cliff. In his next 38 games, he hit just .103 with a .345 OPS and his strikeout numbers soared. A lot of this can be put down to a BABIP of .118 in that span, so we should probably expect something between those two samples moving forward.
Read, on the other hand, has had a completely contrasting 2018. He started off missing the first 80 games of the season through suspension after he tested positive for Boldenone.
But since returning from to game action, he’s having a nice season between Triple-A and Double-A. He’s hit .279 with a pair of home runs, 23 RBI, and a reasonable .711 OPS in 49 games.
He’s arguably been the best offensive catcher in the system for a while, with Spencer Kieboom and Severino more heralded for their glove than bat. Therefore, it’s worthwhile that he gets some starts in September to see if he can be the main guy for 2019, with possibly one of the other two backing him up.
Catcher is going to be one of the front office’s key focuses in the offseason, so these players need to make their case to finish off the year.