One Night Only! (Roster Expansion Edition)

As smarter fans everywhere will already know, yesterday marked the beginning of the season of Roster Expansion on the MLB calendar.

With that in mind, this edition of One Night Only seeks to prepare the reader for which recently promoted players (with little or no MLB service time) he (or she) might see in tonight’s respective games.

Note, please, that none of what follows ought to be regarded as official prospect mavening. Undoubtedly, at some point, either Marc Hulet or Bryan Smith will address the relative worth of one or more of the players treated here. Rather, allow this to serve merely as a brief catalog of players you might see in action this evening.

For each game, I’ve included (a) the name, age, and position of the recent call-up, (b) said call-up’s ranking both on Marc Hulet’s top-10 and Baseball America’s top-30 preseason organizational prospect lists, (c) the player’s line at his most recent minor league stop, and (d) any notes relevant to better enjoying said player’s promotion.

(wOBA+, or park-adjusted wOBA relative to league average, courtesy of StatCorner.)

New York Nationals at Atlanta | 7:10pm ET
Mets
Lucas Duda, 24, LF/1B
Hulet / BA: NR / NR
Line: 290 PA, .314/.389/.610 (.346 BABIP), .424 wOBA, 124 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Has the best league- and park-adjusted numbers on this list. Distinguishes himself, as well, by specifically not being Jeff Francoeur.

Braves
J.C. Boscan, 30, C
Hulet / BA: NR / NR
Line: 248 PA, .250/.324/.368 (.305 BABIP), .314 wOBA, 94 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Has been in the minors for longer than Jackie Moore’s been alive.

Freddie Freeman, 20, 1B
Hulet / BA: 2 / 2
Line: 519 PA, .319/.378/.518 (.351 BABIP), .387 wOBA, 117 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Most highly rated player on this list. With that name he’s got, could definitely start a smooth jazz band if baseball doesn’t work out.

Philadelphia at Colorado | 7:10pm ET
Phillies
None.

Rockies
Christopher Nelson, 24, SS/2B
Hulet / BA: NR / 29
Line: 356 PA, .317/.379/.498 (.348 BABIP), .384 wOBA, 107 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Actually had like 6 PAs back in mid-June. Total Zone doesn’t appear to like his defense. Turns out, was not lead singer of hair band Nelson.

Oakland at New York Americans | 1:05pm ET
Athletics
Justin James, 28, RHP
Hulet / BA: NR / NR
Line: 19.2 IP, 12.81 K/9, 4.12 BB/9, 1.88 FIP (Triple-A)
Notes: He appears to induce ground balls at a fairly steady pace, too. Could be interesting to watch.

Yankees
Greg Golson, 24, CF/RF
Hulet / BA: NR / NR
Line: 455 PA, .265/.316/.417 (.324 BABIP), .328 wOBA, 97 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Golson actually has 12 career major league PAs. Is 17-for-21 stealng this year.

Boston at Baltimore | 7:05pm ET
Red Sox
None.

Orioles
Brandon Snyder, 23, 1B
Hulet / BA: 6 / 6
Line: 376 PA, .257/.324/.407 (.338 BABIP), .326 wOBA, 103 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Was originally a catcher. Hit .343/.421/.597 (.396 BABIP) with a 128 wOBA+ last year at Double-A.

Detroit at Minnesota | 8:10pm ET
Tigers
Max St. Pierre, 30, C
Hulet / BA: NR / NR
Line: 147 PA, .300/.356/.469 (.318 BABIP), .356 wOBA, 108 wOBA+ (Triple-A)
Notes: Has a shockingly similar profile to Boscan (above). Is from Quebec.

Twins
None.

Cleveland at Seattle | 10:10pm ET
Indians
None.

Mariners
None.

Also Playing
These games are very likely playing at some kind of sporty channel near you.

pNERD = Pitcher NERD
tNERD = Team NERD
Game = Time and Average NERD for Game
* = Estimated NERD