28-year old righty swinging RF/LF Mike Morse has really swung a good bat for the Washington Nationals this year. He has played in 95 games for the Nationals this year and he is 75 of 259 (.290 avg, .853 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 13 homers and 39 RBIs. Morse has now played in 234 games in his six years in the majors and he is 178 of 611 (.291 avg, .801 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 19 homers, 86 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Morse might finally go into spring training in 2011 with a job already locked up for the first time in his major league career.

23-year old switch hitting Danny Espinosa was the Nationals’ #5 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 123 games this year in AA+AAA-ball in which he was 129 of 481 (.268 avg, .801 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 22 homers, 69 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Espinosa was a shortstop in the minors but he is playing 2B for the Nationals right now and that’s where he future probably is with Ian Desmond locked in at SS. Espinosa has played in 25 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 21 of 90 (.233 avg, .789 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 6 homers and 15 RBIs.

30-year old lefty swinging 1B Adam Dunn wants to return to the Nationals but he will become a free agent at the end of the year. They should almost do whatever it takes to retain Dunn who loves playing in Washington. Dunn has played in 147 games for the Nationals this year and he is 137 of 522 (.262 avg, .898 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 35 homers and 95 RBIs. He has played in 306 games now in his two years with the Nationals and he is 283 of 1,068 (.265 avg, .914 OPS) with 162 runs scored, 73 homers and 200 RBIs. It would be very hard for the Nationals to replace what Dunn gives them.

The Nationals got their first look at 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Nyjer Morgan last season after acquiring him from the Pirates. He played in 49 games for the Nationals last year and he was 67 of 191 (.351 avg, .831 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. But this year Morgan hasn’t looked too good at all. Morgan has played in 128 games for the Nationals this year and he is 125 of 484 (.258 avg, .636 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 0 homers, 23 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Even more disappointing about Morgan has been how he has been acting lately. He has been suspended for 15 games for some idiotic actions which could really hurt his standing with the Nationals.

24-year old righty starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman was looking good last season before he injured his elbow, requiring Tommy John Surgery. He started 16 games in 2009 for the Nationals and he was 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He has made a quick recovery as he’s already back in the starting rotation for the Nationals. Zimmerman has started 3 games for the Nationals this year and he is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has only given up 11 hits in 14 innings while whiffing 15 batters as he is throwing very hard right now. Look for the Nationals to build around Zimmerman in 2011 as long as he finishes this year healthy.