We’re counting down to Opening Day with a position each day!"Op

ening Day is tomorrow (HOLY CRAP – OPENING DAY IS FINALLY TOMORROW!!!!!) and we continue our preview of each position with a look at the catching corps. The Presumed Starter: Joe Mauer Willians Astudillo Jason CastroAlthough his season was shortened last year by injury http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , the veteran Jason Castro is back at full health and will get the nod to be the primary catcher this season for our Minnesota Twins. Joining the Twins in 2017, Castro played in 110 games, hitting to a .242/.333/.338 triple-slash with 10 HR and 47 RBI, before his injury-shortened 2018 campaign yielded only 19 games with a .143/.257/.238 line with a homer and 3 RBI. Castro comes into the 2019 season on the last year of a three-year, $24.5 million contract with the Twins. Depending on how the Twins view the future of its catching staff, Castro may find himself with reduced playing time, splitting that time with Mitch Garver. Baseball-Reference projects Castro to hit .222/.309/.370 with 7 dingers and 27 RBI in 278 plate appearances, which is about 93 games (give or take). The Bench Guys: Mitch Garver, Willians AstudilloGarver took over primary catching duties last year after Castro’s season was lost, catching in 86 games and playing in 102 games total, batting .268/.335/.414 with 7 HR and 45 RBI, garnering 0.9 bWAR. As mentioned earlier, Garver could see about the same amount of time behind the plate as Castro Duane Kuiper Jersey , gaining more experience as Castro potentially leaves and hands the full-time reins over Garver for the foreseeable future. Baseball-Reference predicts Garver hitting 9 HR and 45 RBI en route to a .254/.325/.407 batting line in 373 plate appearances (about 124 games). Fan-favorite Astudillo will potentially see time behind the plate as well. Even though he is considered a general infield/outfield utilityman, Astudillo’s main position is catcher, which is where he played 16 games last season, among some games at second base, third base, left field, center field, DH, and even on the mound. He batted to a .355/.371/.516 line in 29 games last season, hitting three homers and notching 21 RBI. Baseball-Reference sees Astudillo at the plate 249 times (about 83 games), batting .279/.335/.438 with 7 HR, 35 RBI, and even two stolen bases!Tomorrow http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , the grandest day of the year, we’ll take a look at the Twins pitching staff! WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals turned in one of their best performances on the day the meaningful portion of their season ended.Rookie Austin Voth and four relievers combined on a one-hitter, and the Nationals beat the New York Mets 6-0 on Saturday, hours after they were eliminated from playoff contention.“It stings,” manager Dave Martinez said. “But we’ve still got seven more games. … These guys don’t quit. They came out ready to play today.”Matt Wieters and Trea Turner homered for Washington, and Bryce Harper added an RBI double.The Nationals’ loss Friday night, coupled with the Atlanta Braves’ win, knocked them out of the NL East race. Then, shortly after Saturday’s game began, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants on a 10th-inning homer, ending Washington’s slim wild card hopes.“It’s something where we felt like we had the talent in this clubhouse and we still feel like we have the talent in this clubhouse,” Wieters said. “We just didn’t play well enough and that’s why this game’s played on the field and not in the papers and that’s what’s great about it.”Favored to win a third straight division title, the Nationals slid into third place on June 22 and remained there.Ownership stood pat at the July trade deadline Derek Holland Jersey , and the team responded by winning six of seven games. However, a four-game losing streak soon had the Nationals nine games out of first place in mid-August, and the team unloaded players including Daniel Murphy and Matt Adams.The team dealt with injuries to pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Sean Doolittle, as well as Adam Eaton, Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman, but even when healthy, Washington was unable to put together an extended winning stretch. The Nationals are 78-77 with seven games remaining after going 97-65 a year ago.“I think all of us in here would sit here and tell you we came here every day and did everything we could to try and win. At least I did. Because of that I can go home and be at peace with it,” Zimmerman said. “Obviously, it’s frustrating. You want to come out and win every year and have a chance to go into the playoffs.”Voth (1-1), making his second major league start, allowed only an infield single to Michael Conforto leading off the fourth inning. Voth struck out five with two walks in five innings.“He kept us off balance,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “He had a good curveball I thought. He was able to throw it for strikes … and then he got it down when he needed to, and his fastball command was pretty good.”Even with Saturday’s win http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , the Nationals will lose the season series to the fourth-place Mets.Turner’s 18th homer of the season, a two-run shot, put Washington ahead in the third, and Wieters added a three-run homer off reliever Jerry Blevins in the sixth.New York’s Corey Oswalt (3-3) allowed two runs over five innings.Matt Grace, Justin Miller, Jimmy Cordero and Austen Williams each worked an inning for Washington in relief of Voth.Harper drew his 125th walk of the season, a career high and a Nationals record.STREAKINGWashington’s Anthony Rendon extended his on-base streak to 30 games with a sixth-inning double, and Turner extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a first-inning double.TRAINER’S ROOMMets: 2B Jeff McNeil was given the day off.Nationals: OF Eaton (sore and stiff left knee) was out of the starting lineup for the fifth time in six games.UP NEXTLHP Steven Matz (5-11, 4.18 ERA) makes his sixth start of the season against the Nationals, who will start RHP Erick Fedde (2-3, 5.02) in the series finale.