Starting RF Jayson Werth broke his left wrist last night diving for a ball, and he’s going to miss at least the next six weeks and maybe as many as 8 weeks. Werth has played in 27 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 27 for 98 (.276 avg, .810 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. 25-year old righty swinging Tyler Moore is likely going to get his big shot to show what he can do unless the Nationals trade for a veteran. Moore has played in 5 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 2 for 7 (.286 avg, .571 OPS).

UPDATE: (5/7/2012) - Jayson Werth has underwent surgery on his left wrist and he will miss the next 12 weeks.

22-year old righty swinging outfielder Destin Hood came into this season as the Nationals’ #11 prospect according to Baseball America. Hood has played in 26 games in AA-ball this year and he is 24 for 100 (.240 avg, .670 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hood has now played in 371 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 377 for 1,367 (.276 avg, .754 OPS) with 179 runs scored, 24 homers, 224 RBIs and 41 stolen bases. The Nationals are likely going to take their good sweet time with Hood and make sure he’s ready before they eventually call him up down the road.

19-year old lefty swinging outfielder Bryce Harper is already making a big impact with the Nationals. He is hitting well, playing outstanding D and he has been aggressively running the bases. Harper has played in only five games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 6 for 16 (.375 avg, 1.014 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 4 doubles, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. With all of the injuries the Nationals have suffered this year, they need Harper to keep up the good work. He looks like he’s going to be a star in the near future, maybe even in 2012.

23-year old switch-hitting SS/2B Steve Lombardozzi came into this season as the Nationals’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America. He will likely start at 3B with Ryan Zimmerman out of action for a while. He has played in 13 games for the Nationals so far this year and he was 8 for 26 (.308 avg, .766 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs. Lombardozzi has now played in 26 games in his first two years in the majors and he is 14 for 57 (.246 avg, .598 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 4 RBIs. The Nationals hope that Lombardozzi is up to the challenge.

With Brad Lidge on the D.L., the closer’s job belongs to 25-year old righty reliever Henry Rodriguez. Rodriguez has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Nationals so far this year and he is 0-1 with 5 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. He has only given up 1 hit while whiffing 10 batters in only 8 1/3 innings, showing just how dominating he has been. But, he needs to tighten up his control a little bit as he has walked 6 batters so far this year, but that is nitpicking. Rodriguez has pitched in 100 games (0 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 4-4 with 7 saves, a 3.49 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Nationals hope that Rodriguez keeps up the good work going forward.