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Nationals' lineup for series finale with Marlins: Trea Turner at second base! Rejoice!

He's made just one start since being called up to the majors back in August, but today he's making his second. Top infield prospect Trea Turner is in the Washington Nationals' lineup for the series finale with the Miami Marlins.

By Patrick Reddington
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

During his weekly appearance on 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s The Sports Junkies last Wednesday, Washington Nationals' skipper Matt Williams was asked the burning question on everyone's mind:

No, not, "Will you be back next season?" And no, not, "How are you letting the Mets win the division?" No, not, "How could you ask Anthony Rendon to bunt in a 3-1 count?" Stop it with those questions!! Williams was asked, "When will top infield prospect Trea Turner FINALLY get some starts in the majors?"

"From what I know of Trea, he's got the ability to put the bat on the baseball, he's got speed, he does a lot of things on the baseball field that can help us win." -Matt Williams on Trea Turner before his MLB debut

Turner, 22, was called up to make his major league debut back on August 21st, but before today, he'd come on mostly as a pinch hitter, defensive replacement or pinch runner, making just one start.

So when, Williams was asked, will we FINALLY get to see him start some games? Inquiring fans want to know!!?!?!!

"Well, I can understand that," Williams said, "but we're also in a position where we're trying to win every night. Not that Trea is not going to give us an opportunity, but listen, I'm trying to put the best lineup out there I can and trying to help us win games, and the last three have been good. Pitching has been good. Offense, since late August, has been really good. So just trying to do the best job we can. Trea will have time to play, for sure, he's a great talent, and at some point he'll get that opportunity to be an everyday guy, tonight we're just going to try to win the game and go from there."

At Double-A in the Padres and Nationals' organizations and Triple-A with the Nats, the 2014 1st Round pick, acquired in this winter's three-team trade with San Diego and Tampa Bay, put up a combined .322/.370/.458 line with 24 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs, and 29 stolen bases in 116 games and 500 plate appearances.

GM Mike Rizzo told reporters after Turner was called up that the goal was to get him acclimated to the major league level since he's considered by most the likely successor to Ian Desmond at short.

"He's gone through a lot of trials and tribulations this season," Rizzo said, "with that said, he takes a while to warm up at each level that he's played at, so we're not expecting him to be the savior of the offense or the savior of the ballclub, we just want him to do what he does best, add his skill set to Matt Williams' arsenal of tools to win baseball games."

Through 17 games, Turner started just once back on August 28th, but it's been pinch running, pinch hitting and late game replacements since. Turner's just 2 for 12 so far, with his first "legit" hit last time he took the field in this past Friday night's game with the Marlins.

This afternoon, he's getting his second start at second base in the series finale with Miami:

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