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2012 Washington Nationals starting lineup and pitching rotation Adam Kilgore’s analysis of the starting lineup and pitching rotation for the 2012 Washington Nationals.
1. SS Ian Desmond
The Nationals handed Desmond their shortstop position in spring 2010, and ever since he has tantalized them. “I feel like I've shown everything,” Desmond says, “in flashes.” Consider the flash at the end of last season: 41 games in which he hit .305 with a .342 on-base percentage and committed only five errors. It made the Nationals hand him another position: the leadoff spot. But with Steve Lombardozzi and Anthony Rendon in the wings, this year could be make or break. If he cannot turn the flashes into consistency, he could get his next chance in a new city.
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2. RF Jayson Werth
Werth chafes at the criticism he received for his first season in Washington, a year in which he produced a paltry .718 OPS and drove in 58 runs. The only way to make it stop, though, will be to recapture the form that earned him the seven-year, $126 million contract he signed in December 2010. Werth bought a house in the Washington area this offseason and worked out all winter at Nationals Park. Comfortable in his new surroundings, Werth believes he'll revert to his old self and not, at 32, start becoming old, period.
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Associated Press
3. 3B Ryan Zimmerman
The Nationals began their spring by erasing any thought of life without Zimmerman, signing him to a six-year, $100 million contract extension. Zimmerman has the ability to reward them by winning a Gold Glove or even contending for the MVP — if he stays healthy. Zimmerman missed 60 games last year after undergoing abdominal surgery, the third time he lost at least 20 games to injury in his six-year career. Despite the issues, Zimmerman has become one of Washington's athletic pillars, and he is ready to take his place among the game's best players.
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The Washington Post
4. 1B Adam LaRoche
The Nationals nearly made LaRoche irrelevant to their season. But their free agent dalliance with Prince Fielder fell short, and LaRoche became one of their primary arguments for why an offense that ranked 25th in the majors in runs scored will improve. The Nats made no significant upgrades, but LaRoche serves as an addition after he missed all but 43 games last year because of labrum surgery. If LaRoche can match his career averages – 25 homers, a .340 on-base percentage – the Nationals may be tempted to exercise their $10 million option for 2013. Manager Davey Johnson plans to use a platoon with Mark DeRosa early in the season to protect LaRoche from his lingering injuries.
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The Washington Post
5. LF Michael Morse
Even if it seems like he emerged from nowhere, Morse's 31-homer breakout last year was no overnight success. Since the Chicago White Sox drafted him in 2000, Morse changed teams twice and switched positions three times, constantly battling injury and the perception he could be no more than a bench player. While Morse's 3.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio suggests he'll have a hard time sustaining his 2011 production, his rare power suggests he can. His biggest obstacle may be the strained right lat he has battled all spring and that has him on the DL to start the season. “The sky is the limit,” Jayson Werth said. “He's just got to stay healthy.”
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6. 2B Danny Espinosa
If they awarded Rookie of the First Half, Espinosa might have an extra trophy on his mantel. He entered the break last year a borderline all-star, an electric fielder with 16 homers, 3.3 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. His sophomore challenge will be erasing the epic slump that followed, specifically by making more contact – he struck out once every 3.96 plate appearances. Espinosa spent too much energy analyzing himself and preparing for games, a mistake he vowed not to make again. Given the disparity between his two halves, Espinosa may be the Nationals' biggest wild card.
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The Washington Post
7. C Wilson Ramos
Ramos wants baseball to define him, to keep the harrowing kidnapping episode he endured this winter in his native Venezuela part of his past only. His future is undeniably bright. Ramos finished fourth in rookie of the year voting last year after he hit .267 with 15 homers while throwing out 32 percent of the runners who tried to steal on him. Ramos became part of the Nationals' bedrock. The ovation Ramos receives when he steps to the plate for the first time at Nationals Park will be a moment to remember.
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The Washington Post
8. CF Rick Ankiel
The Nationals needed somebody to keep an outfield spot warm for Bryce Harper, and so in early February they brought back Ankiel on a minor league contract. The Nationals felt comfortable with Ankiel, especially the left arm that serves as one of baseball's best defensive weapons. Last year, Ankiel played standout defense and, when healthy, provided offensive pop. Ankiel last hit better than .240 in 2008, but a new, more relaxed approach at the plate led to an impressive spring. Ankiel, who will start the season on the DL (quadriceps), may not have the position for long, but he intends to be more than a placeholder.
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The Washington Post
1. RHP Stephen Strasburg
The scenes replayed in pitching coach Steve McCatty's mind all winter long, "a lasting impression," he said. Strasburg announced his full recovery from Tommy John surgery on the final day of last season, striking out 10 Florida Marlins in six one-hit innings. It left no doubt that Strasburg could arrive at spring training this year at full strength, able to stand out because of his talent but blend in because of his health. "Just another donkey," he said. The Nationals anointed Strasburg their No. 1 starter but must limit him to 160 innings, a necessary precaution that could turn controversial should the Nationals contend.
Jonathan Newton
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The Washington Post
2. LHP Gio Gonzalez
On his first trip to Washington this winter, Gonzalez toured the city's sights with his family. As his father urged him on to the next monument, Gonzalez told him to relax. They have time, he said, because this is home now. After the Nationals sent four prospects to the Athletics for the hard-throwing left-hander, Gonzalez signed an extension that could keep him in Washington through 2018. He moves out of Oakland's spacious stadium and into an unfamiliar league. If he can keep down his walks (4.4 per nine innings for his career) and keep throwing his one-of-a-kind curve, he should find his new home plenty comfortable.
Julio Cortez
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Associated Press
3. RHP Jordan Zimmermann
Zimmermann debuted in April 2009, but Tommy John surgery forced him to wait until now for his first full season. Zimmermann posted a 3.18 ERA last year, 10th in the National League, but his most lasting memory is boredom. Zimmermann did not play in September, shut down by his 160-inning limit. Finally, Zimmermann will pitch without restriction, and he hopes to throw 200-plus innings. Zimmermann developed a changeup he feels comfortable with after three years of trying. The pitch could help him finish starts, the one area he wants to improve. He already knows he can finish the season.
Toni L. Sandys
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The Washington Post
4. RHP Edwin Jackson
Even before the Nationals signed Jackson to a one-year, $11 million contract — giving Jackson the seventh uniform of his meandering career — they noticed a flaw they believe can unlock the potential he hasn't yet tapped. With runners on, the league had a .665 OPS against Jackson last year. With the bases empty, it was .869. The Nationals believe Jackson reveals the ball too early in his wind-up, and Jackson spent the spring trying to find consistency with tweaked mechanics. Jackson figures to be a workhorse, having thrown 806 1
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3 innings in his past four seasons. How effective those innings are will depend on his adjustments.
Toni L. Sandys
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The Washington Post
5. LHP Ross Detwiler
At the end of last season, Detwiler started to show why the Nationals had drafted him with the sixth overall pick in 2007. That was supposed to happen earlier. In 2010, the Nationals were counting on giving one of their rotation spots to Detwiler, and then he arrived at spring training in need of hip surgery. It took him almost two full seasons to again convince them he deserved a place. His repertoire – the mid-90s fastball, changeup and biting slider – came together last year. Detwiler is still part of the Nationals’ future, but very much a part of their present.
Paul Sancya
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AP
Closer Drew Storen
Storen did not begin last season as the Nationals' full-time closer, which he made easy to forget by the end. Storen saved 43 games in 48 chances, becoming the fifth closer with so many saves in his age 23 season or younger. Storen established himself, but he will not begin this season as the Nationals' closer, either. Elbow inflammation will land him on the disabled list, but the Nationals have capable reinforcements in Brad Lidge, who has 223 career saves, and Henry Rodriguez, who last year threw the hardest fastball in the majors. They would prefer Storen, the man to whom the job now belongs.
Julio Cortez
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Associated Press
Bullpen
The Nationals' bullpen ranked fifth in the majors last year with a 3.20 ERA, and with Brad Lidge's addition, Henry Rodriguez's maturation and Sean Burnett's possible rebound, it could be better. It revolves around Tyler Clippard, an all-star whose usage the past two years has bordered on abuse. Since 2010, no reliever in baseball has thrown more innings than Clippard, who in 2011 put up a 1.83 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 88 1
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3 innings. Davey Johnson views Clippard as too valuable in his role to make him a closer — or to burn him out.
Jonathan Newton
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The Washington Post
Manager Davey Johnson
The word comes out of players' mouths over and over when Nationals players discuss Johnson. Presence. There is a presence to him, they say. The players look beyond the weathered face and the aw-shucks drawl, and they know what Johnson knows: how hard it is to play major league baseball, how to motivate, how to win. ”He's privy,” Mark DeRosa said, “to a lot of what's going on in our heads.” They know he spent 11 years out of a major league dugout before parachuting into last season after Jim Riggleman resigned, that at 69 he's the oldest manager in baseball. They still know they love playing for him.
Jonathan Newton
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The Washington Post
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