The Washington Nationals have placed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring, and will call up top prospect Anthony Rendom to replace Zimmerman on the roster.
Zimmerman has been plagued by his normally reliable fielding this season, committing four errors in just 15 games. He hasn't played since Wednesday's game in Miami, and veteran utilityman Chad Tracy has started the first two games of Washington's series in New York as a result. For the season, Zimmerman is hitting .226/.311/.358 with just one homer. He hasn't logged 600 at bats in a season since 2009.
Rendon was Washington's top prospect coming into the season, and the sixth overall pick from Rice in the 2011 draft. He missed a lot of time due to injury in 2012, playing in just 43 games during the regular season and 22 in the Arizona Fall League. He's started hot this year at AA Harrisburg, hitting .292/.462/.500 in 14 games, homering twice and tallying 14 walks while only striking out nine times.
It's expected that Rendon will be sent back down to the minors once Zimmerman comes off the DL, but if he hits a ton, I don't think that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson will demote him without a second thought. One caveat with Rendon is that he *has* struggled against lefties this season, hitting just .071/.316/.071 in 19 plate appearances, but Washington is only scheduled to face one lefty starter over their next seven games: Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals.
