His Nationals teammates insist that second baseman Danny Espinosa is flying under the radar around Major League Baseball. If the 24-year-old keeps this up that won’t continue much longer. Despite a .217 batting average, Espinosa is doing plenty right to put his name in the mix for National League rookie of the year.
How about two home runs off Phillies ace Cliff Lee on Tuesday night? That’s goes pretty well with his homer off two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay on Monday. Espinosa now leads Washington with 10 home runs and 33 RBI. Only Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo has as many homers among rookies. Only Trumbo has a better rookie OPS than Espinosa (.778 to .772).
Add in his at times spectacular defense at second base and two months into the season the Nats are seeing the progress they’d hoped for when they handed Espinosa the job in spring training. And others have noticed. Even during his first recall from the minor leagues last September Espinosa had an obvious air of confidence about him. He was a rookie then and still is now. But he doesn’t act like one. And that gives his teammates comfort. Espinosa is still a work-in-progress. His at-bats from the left side of the plate are getting better, but he has room to grow. Once that happens, according to manager Jim Riggleman, Espinosa will be close to a complete player. But he has to be smart enough to know he isn’t there yet.
“He’s a very confident young kid. You know he’s got a world of talent,” said starting pitcher Jason Marquis. “He’s got to remember that this game doesn’t come easy. It’s not an easy game. Look around this clubhouse and ask guys like Pudge [Rodriguez] and Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. These guys have had success for a long time. But they’ve had their struggles. And the game’s not easy. Hopefully, mentally he can ride that wave and be constant. He’s going to have his up and downs physically. But as long as you don’t get off what you want to do and off your path I think he’ll be fine.”
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