25-year old righty swinging 3B Ryan Zimmerman finished in a tie with Justin Upton and Huston Street for 25th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award. Zimmerman played in 157 games last season for the Nationals and he was 178 for 610 (.292 avg, .888 OPS) with 110 runs scored, 33 homers and 106 RBIs. He has now played in 620 games in his five years with the Nationals appearing in 602 games in which he is 672 for 2,363 (.284 avg, .825 OPS) with 350 runs scored, 91 homers, 364 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Look for Zimmerman to continue to play at a high level as the Nationals are looking at getting him some more help in the lineup.

24-year old righty swinging shortstop Ian Desmond is off to a good start to his major league career. He has played in 16 games for the Nationals so far this season and he is 18 for 59 (.305 avg, .886 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Desmond is showing why he was the Nationals’ #19 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 97 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he was 115 for 348 (.330 avg, .878 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 7 homers, 32 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. The Nationals might ask Christian Guzman to move to 2B to make room at SS for Desmond in 2010.

30-year old lefty swinging reserve infielder Pete Orr has been swinging a good stick for the Nationals. He has played in 18 games for the Nationals this season and he is 15 for 49 (.306 avg, .770 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Orr could be in for a lot of playing time the last couple of weeks of the 2009 season so the Nationals can decide whether to bring him back or not in 2010.

30-year old righty swinging LF Josh Willingham is hitting the ball well for the Nationals. It’s just too bad that the Nationals weren’t starting Willingham from day #1 this season. He has played in 117 games for the Nationals this season and he is 103 for 371 (.278 avg, .852 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 22 homers and 59 RBIs. With Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham in the middle of the lineup the Nationals will continue scoring a lot of runs. They really need to bring in some quality pitching for next season.

The Washington Nationals should keep outfielder Josh Willingham unless a team comes to them with some legit pitching prospects who are close to contributing at the major league level. Willingham cranked two grandslams in yesterday’s game as he is on a power surge. Willingham has played in 76 games for the Nationals this season and he is 68 for 228 (.296 avg, 1.006 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 16 homers, 39 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Willingham is not a good defensive player but he can really swing the bat.