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Washington Nationals reportedly calling up top prospect Trea Turner; Ryan Zimmerman going on Paternity List

According to multiple reports tonight, the Washington Nationals will bring top prospect Trea Turner up to the majors to take Ryan Zimmerman's spot on the roster as Zimmerman goes on paternity leave...

By Patrick Reddington
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

According to multiple reports, Washington Nationals' first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is headed to the Paternitly List as he and his wife await the birth of their second child and top prospect Trea Turner is going to be called up to take his place on the roster as the Nationals start a three-game set with the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow night.

Turner, who'll turn 23 on June 30th, has put up a .310/.376/.472 line over 50 games and 222 plate appearances with the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse after impressing in his first Spring Training with the team this past Spring.

Both GM Mike Rizzo and Nats' skipper Dusty Baker talked this Spring about what the future held for the 2014 1st Round pick acquired from the San Diego Padres along with right-hander Joe Ross in the three-team trade that sent outfielder Steven Souza to the Tampa Bay Rays.

"He's got one full season of minor league baseball under his belt," Rizzo told ESPN.com's Buster Olney.

"He's a guy that could use some more at bats in the minor leagues."

"He's a guy that's not far away from the big leagues and a guy that we think that will impact the club when he gets here."

"Let's face it, he hasn't had many minor league at bats," Baker told reporters in March.

"You're reluctant to rush a kid," he continued. "Like Hank Aaron used to always say, he'd rather bring a kid up a month later than a month earlier, because most of these kids have never failed at anything in their entire life, so you'd rather bring them up or have them here killing it than you would start off with them and then they fail and then you've got to send them down and rebuild them back up."

Holding Turner, who accumulated 45 days of service time after he was called up to the majors last August, back before bringing him up, also guaranteed another year of team control before he hits free agency, of course.

Baker talked before a May 24th game against the New York Mets about what he was hearing about the top infield prospect in the organization.

"He's doing pretty good," Baker said, "that's what I've heard. I see the stats every day. But, you know, two months or less don't make a season. You hope to see him progress. It's not only about batting average, it's about baserunning, it's about defense, especially when you're a shortstop and a catcher.

"You've got a lot of responsibility. You've probably have a more responsibility on the field than anybody. And so it's just a matter of letting him play. Nowadays, we're in a hurry to rush some kid up here just because his batting average... so I've just really kind of paid attention -- not really paid attention, but I see how he does every day and how all the guys do in our organization, but this is May, so we've still got a long way to go and a lot of games to play."

Now Baker will get a chance to get a closer look at Turner...

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