Should we be excited that Wilson Ramos is joining the major-league club while Wil Nieves is taking a few days off for the birth of his child?  Let's check the numbers:

This year, Ramos hit 254/292/370 in 295 PA for the Twins' AAA affiliate.  He hit 5 HR, 14 2Bs, and walked 12 times.  Those numbers might have you doubting that he'll be productive in the bigs.  However, he managed to hit 296/321/407 with 3 2Bs in a brief, 28-PA stint on the Twins earlier this season.  That's too small a sample to be confident in the results, but it adds up to a 101 wRC+.  League-average offense from a catcher would be fantastic. Another entry in the encouraging-but-inclusive department: Wilson has been 317/349/483 in 63 PA at Syracuse since the Nationals acquired him, with 2 2B, 3B, and 2 HR.  Does he thrive under pressure?  Countryman Jesus Flores hit a Nieves-like 153/275/254 in AAA in 2008 before spending half a season in the bigs and hitting a respectable 256/296/402. I think we can hope for league-average offense. Keep your fingers crossed that he can take a walk or three.

As for performance behind the plate, he allowed 4 SB and had no CS in his 63 innings in the majors so far, with 1 WP.  However, he's managed 23 CS with 22 SB in 67 games at AAA this season. That's a Pudge-like 51% CS--remember that league-average is only 29%!  He has 4 PB in the minors this year, which is a bit worrisome given the Nats pitching staff.  Still, I think we can hope for league-average defense.  Cross your fingers that he can block the balls in the dirt.

Add up a league-average defensive catcher and a league-average bat and you get 3 or so wins above replacement, about a "B-" on the Doghouse Curve.  I'm excited to see that on the field for the Nats, and you should be, too.