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.

The Nationals have extended 35-year old righty starting pitcher Livan Hernandez’ contract by a year. He will make $1 million bucks plus incentives in 2011 for the Nationals. Hernandez has started 27 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 9-9 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. In his six years with the Expos/Nationals, Hernandez has pitched in 162 games (all starts) in which he is 61-56 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Hernandez came out of nowhere to post pretty good numbers in 2010 so the Nationals are getting him for 2011 without promising him a lot of money unless he pitches like he did this year.

34-year old righty reliever Joel Peralta has been pitching excellent out of the pen for the Nationals so far. Peralta has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) this year for the Nationals and he is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has been attacking the strike zone with only 7 walks in 35 innings yet he has only given up 25 hits. Peralta also has 31 whiffs so he’s also missing a lot of bats. The Nationals hope he can keep up the good work.

21-year old rookie righty starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg is done for the season due to a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm. Strasburg pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the Nationals this year and he was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He whiffed 92 batters while only giving up 56 hits in his first 68 innings of his major league career. The most impressive thing to me about Strasburg this year was his control as he only walked 17 batters this year. The Nationals have to be very excited about Strasburg who will likely give them an ace at the top of the starting rotation for a long, long time.

UPDATE: (8/28/2010) - Strasburg is not only done for 2009 but he’s done for 2010 as well as he needs Tommy John Surgery. This is a HUGE blow to the Nationals’ organization.

The Nationals have placed 31-year old righty swinging LF Josh Willingham on the 15-day disabled list with a medial meniscus tear in his left knee. This injury will likely end his 2010 season. Willingham played in 114 games for the Nationals this year and he was 99 of 370 (.268 avg, .848 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 16 homers, 56 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Nationals will miss Willingham’s power. The Nationals have activated 29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Nyjer Morgan to replace Willingham on the active roster and in the outfield. He has played in 103 games for the Nationals this year and he is 103 of 394 (.261 avg, .644 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 20 RBIs and 29 stolen bases.