On Friday, the Washington Nationals placed Ryan Zimmerman on the disabled list with a left rib cage strain and called up top prospect Trea Turner to take his place. Turner, rated as the Nationals' No.1 prospect by MLB.com and Baseball America, entered the season in a top-10 prospect in all of baseball and his numbers this season have done nothing but support those rankings.
This season for Triple-A Syracuse, Turner has torn the cover off the baseball with a .302 batting average, .372 on-base percentage and 25 stolen bases. His ability to make solid contact and use his speed has been on display plenty of times this season and it earned him a brief promotion to Washington earlier in the season when Ryan Zimmerman went on paternity leave for three days.
While it's unknown how long Zimmerman will be out, Turner's role right now is likely a bench player who can serve as a pinch runner and utility fielder. While he has extreme upside in fantasy dynasty leagues and is a must-own, he is a riskier pickup in non-keeper leagues given the limited at bats.
Turner had recently been making starts in center field in the minors as the Nationals looked for new ways to work his bat into the lineup and center field could be that spot with leadoff hitter Ben Revere hitting just .230 with a lowly .276 on-base percentage.
Speaking of center field, the Nationals called up Michael Taylor, who had spent most of the season with the nationals before he was sent down on July 4. Before he was sent down, Taylor had a .225 batting average, .266 on-base percentage and has struck out 64 times in 203 plate appearances. He has the power-speed combo that fantasy owners and scouts adore, but his inability to make contact will keep him out of the Nationals' lineup.
Washington sent down Lucas Giolito to make room for Taylor. With the All-Star Break approaching and off days, Washington wouldn't need a fifth starter until late July, so they added an extra hitter to the bench, while Gioltio can go down and keep working in the minors. It is unknown if he will return in late July, given Joe Ross could return from the disabled list.