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.

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.

26-year old righty swinging 3B Ryan Zimmerman has played really well for the Nationals in 2011, when he has been healthy. Zimmerman has played in 74 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 89 for 294 (.303 avg, .841 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, 38 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 818 games in his first 7 years with the Nationals and he is 922 for 3,182 (.290 avg, .839 OPS) with 476 runs scored, 126 homers, 487 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Zimmerman is still the cornerstone of the Washington Nationals’ franchise.

Ex-manager Jim Riggleman said that Laynce Nix was a big longshot to make the team out of spring training. He has not only made the Nationals, but he has been one of the best hitters on the team so far this year. Nix has played in 65 games for the Nationals this year and he is 54 for 189 (.286 avg, .851 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 12 homers, 30 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Nix has career highs in the majors of 15 homers and 46 RBIs and he should easily surpass those numbers if he can just stay healthy.