Call-Ups: Washington Nationals, Danny Espinosa and Yuneski Maya

Once again it is collaborative post time here on Call to the Pen. This month’s topic is September call-ups. To get the ball rolling, I posed the following question to each of our Lead Writers, “Which player do you want your team to call-up in September and why?” It is a simple question but I think you will find the responses to be very diverse.

Taking the path less traveled this month, I decided to post each team’s write-up individually instead of grouping them by league or division as we have done in the past.

Representing the Washington Nationals and Teddy Never Wins is the site’s Lead Writer, Jeremy Stewart. Check out what he has to say after the jump.

Jeremy’s Take:

This has been a rough week for Nationals fans. The team was swept by the lowly Cubs, learned that the Savior needs Tommy John, and now it looks as if slugging 1st baseman Adam Dunn will be headed to free agency. But there is hope. The 2010 draft class might be 3-4 years away but it was both talented and deep. Shortstop Ian Desmond has blossomed since being moved to the top of the lineup and there appears to finally be a wave of good young players on the way.  The problem is that most of them are a year away. Former GM Jim Bowden’s last few years were criminally bad in terms of drafting and player development, but Mike Rizzo has managed to do a great job in a short time.  The A and AA teams are loaded with excellent position players. Guys like Destin Hood, Chris Marrero , Michael Burgess, Tyler Moore (29 HRs at High-A), and Jeff Kobernus will all become recognizable names in a year or so.

As for this year, I’d like to see 2 players come up in September. The 1st is second baseman Danny Espinosa. He has been on the radar for a long time as a top Shortstop prospect, even playing it in AA this season. But with the rise of Ian Desmond, Espinosa was moved to 2nd upon being promoted to AAA. Over the course of his time in Double and Triple-A, he’s has hit 22 HRs and stolen 25 bases in 2010. He is the Nats long term answer at 2nd and should get an audition of this month in preparation for 2011.

The other prospect I’d like to see called-up has only been with the Nats for a few months.  28-year old Yuneski Maya signed out of the Dominican over the summer after defecting from Cuba. The right-hander has only has made a few starts in the system, but possesses a low 90s fastball, low 80s slider, and big looping Livan-like 65 mph curve. Maya could make a few starts, talk shop with Livan, and prepare to compete for the Nats 2011 rotation.

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My Notes:

It appears the Nationals are of a like mind when it comes to Maya, at least they were a week and a half ago.