The Nationals have 7 legit left fielders in spring training. Make no mistake though, 31-year old righty swinging Josh Willingham will be the starter. Willingham played in 133 games for the Nationals last season and he was 111 of 427 (.260 avg, .863 OPS) with 70 runs scored, 24 homers, 61 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Willingham still plays LF like a catcher (his original position) with reckless abandon. He played in 87 games in LF for the Nationals last season and he made 5 errors there while showing good range. He also had 2 assists in LF as he has a decent throwing arm. Look for Willingham to start most of the games in LF for the Nationals in 2010 as long as his back holds up.

31-year old lefty swinging Willie Harris is very versatile and that will give him a good chance to make the Nationals in 2010. He played in 45 error-free games in LF last season but he showed below average range there. If he makes the team he could be used a lot as a defensive replacement late in games for Willingham in LF.

25-year old righty swinging Roger Bernadina could make a move for the Nationals in 2010 if he can stay healthy. He is the Nationals’ #22 rated prospect heading into 2010 according to Baseball America. He played in 3 games for the Nationals last season and he was 1 for 4 (.250 avg, .900 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 stolen base. He also played in 7 games in Rookie+AAA ball last season in which he was 4 of 22 (.182 avg, .490 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 stolen base.

25-year old righty swinging Justin Maxwell is the Nationals’ #8 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He will likely battle Elijah Dukes for the starting job in RF but he could also see some P.T. in LF for the Nationals in 2010. Maxwell played in 2 error-free games in LF for the Nationals last year.

29-year old lefty swinging Jerry Owens is in spring training for the Nationals trying to win a job on the bench. He played in 12 games for the White Sox last season and he was 1 for 12 (.083 avg, .350 OPS) with 1 stolen base. Owens stole 32 bases for the White Sox in 2007 so he has speed to burn which could be helpful off the bench for the Nationals. Owens played in 102 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 127 of 397 (.320 avg, .800 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 3 homers, 39 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.

28-year old lefty swinging Chris Duncan was also signed to a minor league deal over the winter. He played in 87 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 59 of 260 (.227 avg, .687 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers and 32 RBIs. Duncan has a lot of power but like Willingham he is not a good defensive player. Duncan had 3 errors in 68 games in LF last season in which he showed pretty poor range. Duncan at least has a good throwing arm as he had 3 assists in LF in 2009.

32-year old righty swinging Kevin Mench also signed a minor league deal over the winter. He did not play last season. In 2008, Mench played in 51 games for the Blue Jays in which he was 28 of 115 (.243 avg, .677 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 10 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Mench has played in 702 games in his major league career and he has a .269 batting average with a .786 OPS so there is some hope that he still has something left in the gas tank.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR LF IN 2010: C