Time to give Pedro Severino a start in the big leagues

There are only three games left in the regular season and we have not seen that much of the rookies that have been the September call-ups.

Trea Turner has gotten into games. He has even made a handful of starts. He came up a little bit earlier. Since August 21, Turner has played in 25 games. He has played shortstop and second base and has a great shot at making the team next season.

When catcher Pedro Severino was called up September 1, there was optimism that the most tenured backstop in the Nationals' minor league operation would get some valuable experience on the big league club. Severino has certainly learned a great deal just from being around Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobaton on an everyday basis and learning from the Nationals coaching staff.

But Severino has not made a start and has appeared in just one game. On September 20 against the Marlins, Severino went 1-for-1 with a double. He is hitting 1.000 in the majors. That is one game in the entire month of September.

The Nationals were still in the hunt for at least the first two weeks of September. The sweeps at the hands of the Mets and the Orioles took away those chances of maybe coming back and making this weekend's series even more meaningful.

With only three games left in the season, I believe the Nationals should give Severino at least one start.

It would be extremely valuable to his growth as a professional and give him a big boost as he gets into offseason work. Having Severino call a game for one of the Nationals starters this weekend would give him the test he wants desperately to pass and pass with flying colors.

What will Severino do with Tanner Roark's pitch choices? Severino was lights out in throwing runners out to begin this season. How does he block the plate on a low pitch that skips in the dirt? Let's see his athleticism.

Let's test him with a runner on first or second and see how he works the infield bases with his arm. How about giving him a start with Max Scherzer. It would be a fascinating preview of what could possibly be a battery tandem in the future.

The opportunity to get five at-bats in a row in a big league game would also help him to develop his tempo and work on his approach for at least one game.

There are a lot of ups and sometimes downs in a big league game. Severino's communication with a Nationals starter will be very important in comparison to what he saw at the minor league level, where he has played in 339 games. Time to put "two games" by his name on the big league statistics run down.

More than anything else, these top prospects are the Nationals future. How about Wilmer Difo at shortstop, Turner at second base and Severino as the catcher. Let's see them play under the big city lights in New York this weekend.