Nationals set to recall top prospect Lucas Giolito

He posted a 5-3 record and 3.17 ERA in 14 starts at Harrisburg this season with 72 strikeouts in 71 innings. Fun fact: This is the third top pitching prospect the Mets have faced this season.

Lucas Giolito, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound right-hander who was the Nationals’ first-round pick in 2012, will be called up from Double-A Harrisburg.

Giolito is not only the Nationals top prospect but also the consensus top prospect in all of Major League Baseball and the expectation by scouts is that he will be an impact front-line starter for years to come.

Pitching in the National League helps to some degree – fantasy owners in NL-only and mixed leagues should definitely look to pick him up – but a potential innings cap and the possibility he could be sent back to the minors once Strasburg is healthy will limit his fantasy value for the rest of 2016.

“He’s very poised and confident”.

For now, Giolito will factor into a rotation that already includes the likes of Max Scherzer, Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Tanner Roark and Joe Ross.

“From the time we drafted him and signed him, then the year off with Tommy John surgery, we’ve seen the kid that has physically progressed, both maturity wise, with his body”, Rizzo said.

“We’re trying to calm down the hype a little bit”, Rizzo admitted. Over his last nine outings he’s held a 2.41 mark.

“It’s based on our player development system”, Rizzo explained. “When they tell me a guy is ready, I trust that all the work has been put in and he’s going to be well rounded and able to do all facets of the game, in his case, all the facets of being a Major League starting pitcher”.

The Mets aren’t exactly on fire heading into their series with the Nats either, having won four of their last six and just five of their last ten, but they have won 5 of their last 6 in the Nationals Park. “When they say he’s the guy who should start against the Mets, we take him and we go with it”.

According to a statement released by the club on Monday afternoon, the Washington Nationals have recalled right-handed relief pitcher Rafael Martin from Triple-A Syracuse.