The Washington Nationals are in last place in the N.L. East with a 39-50 record, which has them 13.5 games behind the Braves. The Nationals have had some surprises and big disappointments this year and here’s a closer look at them:

Pleasant Surprises: The Nationals kept saying all winter that they wanted to sign a “Livan Hernandez” type pitcher for the starting rotation. They couldn’t find one so they settled for the real deal. 35-year old righty Livan Hernandez has started 18 games for the Nationals this year and he is 6-5 with a 3.37 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. 26-year old righty closer Matt Capps has bounced back from a rough 2009 for the Pirates. Capps has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he is 3-3 with 23 saves, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. 26-year old lefty swinging RF Roger Bernadina started this year in the minors. But he is really playing well for the Nationals right now. Bernadina has played in 63 games for the Nationals this year and he is 51 of 181 (.282 avg, .781 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 5 homers, 24 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. 28-year old righty swinging utility man Mike Morse has been outstanding for the Nationals this year. Morse has played in 35 games for the Nationals this year and he is 22 of 71 (.310 avg, .885 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 homers and 9 RBIs.

Disappointments: The Nationals gave 31-year old righty starting pitcher Jason Marquis a lot of cash to serve at the top of the rotation. He only lasted 3 starts in which he was 0-3 with a 20.52 ERA and a 2.88 WHIP. He gave up 18 hits (2 homers) and he walked 6 batters in only 8 1/3 innings before undergoing the knife. 25-year old lefty John Lannan was a pitcher the Nationals thought they could depend on but he was pathetic earning a trip to AAA. Lannan has started 14 games for the Nationals this season and he is 2-5 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. 32-year old lefty swinging Willie Harris came into this year as the starting RF for the Nationals. He quickly lost that job. Harris has played in 71 games for the Nationals this year and he is 22 of 122 (.180 avg, .618 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 32-year old righty swinging Wil Nieves has really been awful this season as the Nationals’ backup catcher. Nieves has played in 38 games for the Nationals this year and he is 21 of 113 (.186 avg, .475 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs.

The Nationals are sitting at 6-6 on the season which has them in 4th place in the N.L. East, 2 games behind the Phillies. The Nationals have been outscored 77-60 this season so the pitching has been pretty awful. Timely hitting is the main reason that the Nationals are winning their fair share of games but for the winning to continue the pitching has to improve. The Nationals will host the Rockies (4 games) and Dodgers (3 games) this week.

The Nationals are now 3-3 on the season after winning their last two games over the Mets. The Nationals have been outscored 37-22 this season with most of that damage coming against the Phillies. The Nationals will get tested this week as they play three games in Philly and then they will host the Brewers for three games this coming weekend. We will find out what the Nationals are made of this week as both the Phillies & Brewers have good baseball teams.

The Nationals are now 1-3 as they have been outscored 32-13 so far this season. The Nationals have had problems scoring runs, the rotation has been awful and the bullpen has been throwing gas on the fire when summoned into the game. The biggest problem so far has been the starting rotation as it’s getting beat up early in games which is burning out the bullpen. Nationals’ starting pitchers are 0-2 with a 9.56 ERA and a 2.44 WHIP which is downright pitiful.

29 year old righty reliever Chris Schroder is getting things right in his 2nd major league season.  He has pitched in 33 games since the Nationals recalled him from the minors and he is 2-2 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP.  In 42.2 innings, Schroder has allowed 30 hits, walked 13 batters and whiffed 40.  Schroder has been a key component in a bullpen that is helping keep the Nationals out of last place in the National League East.  The Nationals are currently 68-83 which has them in 4th place in the National League East, 15.5 games behind the Mets and 3 games ahead of the Marlins.