Surge puts second baseman in rookie of the year race
A strong June has turned Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa into a legitimate National League rookie of the year candidate.
Washington saw enough positives from Espinosa during an initial call-up to the big leagues last September to make him the starter in 2011. His defensive abilities weren’t in doubt. Espinosa was a shortstop in college at Long Beach State and played that position for his first three minor league seasons. On the verge of a promotion late in 2010, he was moved to second base by the Nats, and he had little trouble adjusting. But could Espinosa hit well enough to establish himself as a key piece moving forward?
Apparently, yes. Espinosa, 24, is far from a finished product at the plate, especially from the left side. But the switch hitter has shown plenty of power with 19 home runs in 100 big league games. He has pushed his batting average up to .237 this season, but with 91 career strikeouts he still can get overpowered at times by a good fastball. That leaves him with a weak .308 on-base percentage.
| The Espinosa File |
| » Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa entered play Wednesday leading all big league rookies in home runs (13), RBI (43), runs (35), slugging (.470), OPS (.791), triples (four) and stolen bases (eight). |
| » A native of Santa Ana, Calif., the 6-foot, 190-pound Espinosa was selected in the third round of the 2008 major league baseball draft. |
“As good as [Espinosa’s] playing, we certainly haven’t seen the best of him yet,” Washington manager Jim Riggleman said.
Among all major league second basemen since the start of 2010, Espinosa (11.8) ranks only behind Ben Zobrist (Tampa Bay), Chase Utley (Philadelphia) and Dustin Pedroia (Boston) in the ultimate zone rating/150 innings stat. His range is excellent. His arm is strong. Washington general manager Mike Rizzo wanted to help his pitching staff during the offseason by improving defensively. Espinosa was the most obvious internal improvement after Adam Kennedy and Cristian Guzman played there last season.
“[Espinosa] plays hard-nosed baseball. He plays the game the right way,” teammate Jayson Werth said. “He comes to play every day. He’s here early. He works hard. He does all the right things, says all the right things. He’s intense. He learns quick. He gives it his all up there. There’s not a whole lot that you don’t like about him.”
And he is making strides at the plate working with Washington hitting coach Rick Eckstein. Espinosa has a .714 career OPS from the left side against right-handed pitching. And that’s a problem because that’s also where he bats 73 percent of the time. From the right side against left-handed pitching he has a .926 OPS. Espinosa is getting better, though. He has 21 hits in 73 at bats in June with six doubles and also has three homers over the last five games, including a game-winner Thursday vs. St. Louis.
“You know he’s got a world of talent. He’s got to remember that this game doesn’t come easy,” teammate Jason Marquis said. “Look around this clubhouse and ask guys like [Ivan Rodriguez] and Jason Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. These guys have had success for a long time. But they’ve had their struggles. 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 your path he’ll be fine.”
