23-year old righty Stephen Strasburg, 24-year old lefty Tom Milone and 23-year old righty Brad Peacock have all been showing off impressive arms the last month or so for the Nationals. Strasburg is throwing just as well as he did last year before undergoing Tommy John Surgery. He has pitched in 4 games (all starts) for the Nationals so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. Tom Milone came into this season as the Nationals’ #16 prospect according to Baseball America. He is also looking sharp for the Nationals as he has started 5 games so far for them and he is 1-0 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. 23-year old righty Brad Peacock came into this season as the Nationals’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 3 games (2 starts) for the Nationals so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Strasburg, Milone and Peacock all have bright futures for the Nationals.

26-year old righty swinging shortstop Ian Desmond is finishing this season strongly for the Nationals. He has played in 19 games so far in September for the Nationals and he is 24 for 83 (.289 avg, .772 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers, 7 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Desmond has now played in 146 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 137 for 551 (.249 avg, .647 OPS) with 60 runs scored, 8 homers, 44 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. Desmond had a disappointing season for the most part and the Nationals might look to deal him over the winter.

32-year old righty swinging RF Jayson Werth got a huge contract from the Nationals over the winter. From 2008-2010, Werth averaged 92.3 runs scored, 29.0 homers, 83.7 RBIs and 17.7 stolen bases per year. It’s starting to look like Werth was more of a product of a great Phillies’ offense. He has played in 140 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 122 of 521 (.234 avg, .730 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 19 homers, 56 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Werth has whiffed an amazing 146 times this year while walking 71 times. Since August 1st, Werth is finally showing signs of life with his bat. Werth is 37 for 140 (.264 avg) withh 20 runs scored, 7 homers, 15 RBIs and 3 stolen bases since August 1st. The Nationals need Werth to pick up the pace.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Wilson Ramos has turning in a solid year for the Nationals. He has played in 102 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 90 for 348 (.259 avg, .756 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 12 homers and 43 RBIs. Ramos should be the Nationals’ full-time starting catcher in 2012. The Nationals brought Ivan Rodriguez in a couple of years ago, but that just hasn’t worked out too well.

29-year old righty swinging 1B/LF Michael Morse finally got his shot to play full-time in the majors this year and he has responded big time for the Nationals. Morse has played in 127 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 140 for 450 (.311 avg, .921 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 26 homers, 82 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 364 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 320 for 1,068 (.300 avg, .857 OPS) with 135 runs scored, 47 homers, 170 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Morse will likely be the Nationals’ starting LF when the 2012 season begins as he has been outstanding this whole year for them.