Ian Desmond has been pretty solid for the Washington Nationals this year
24-year old shortstop Ian Desmond set the bar very high for himself after finishing 2009 very strongly. In 2009, Desmond played in 21 games in which he was 23 of 82 (.280 avg, .879 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This year the pitchers had a book on him but he still has played pretty well. Desmond has played in 126 games for the Nationals this year and he is 115 of 416 (.276 avg, .722 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 9 homers, 54 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. It looks like the Nationals will be well set up on the left side of the infield for the forseeable future with Desmond at SS and Zimmerman at 3B.
It’s amazing, but I still hear Nats fans ragging on Desmond. Sure he has committed a lot of errors, but history shows rookie shortstops who do that eventually cut down on them as they adjust to the majors. Desmond’s range, arm, power and speed are all above average for the position (not everyone can be Hanley Ramirez). I’d like to see him take more walks, but that may also come with time. No matter how you look at it, though, he is a HUGE improvement over Guzman.