Well, it's been one full week full of baseball games to analyze and write about.

With 40% of Spring Training completed and Opening Day fast approaching, I wanted to share some of my observations from the past week regarding the Washington Nationals.

The Future is Bright

This week, we saw Washington Nationals pitching prospects Cole Henry, Jackson Rutledge, and Cade Cavalli have strong performances on the mound. We also saw Washington Nationals prospects in the field like Luis Garcia and Drew Mendoza display that they can hang with the big leaguers.

With an aging pitching staff, uncertainty at third base, and a bunch of new faces in the lineup, there will likely be some ups and downs on Half Street this season, but watching Nationals prospects perform in Spring Training is a good reminder that the future is bright.

Welcome to the show Andrew Stevenson

As the 2020 season wound down, Andrew Stevenson made an impact at the plate and maybe secured himself the opportunity to claim the fourth outfielder's spot in 2021. Stevenson hit safely in 12 straight games to end the season and finished with a .366 average, .447 On-base percentage, a .732 slugging percentage, and a 1.179 OPS in 41 at-bats.

So far, this Spring Training, Stevenson has carried over some of that success. In his 12 plate appearances, Stevenson has had two hits, a batting average of .182, an OBP of .250, and an OPS of .432.  Hopefully, with even more playing time during Spring Training, Stevenson can find his groove at the plate and claim that fourth outfield spot for the 2021 season.

Platooning at First Base

During Spring Training, Josh Bell and Ryan Zimmerman are a combined 7-for-10 with 3 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, and 1 SO. While the sample size is small and it's only "Spring Training," Rizzo's approach to how the Nationals are handling first base this year looks pretty smart. How Davy Martinez splits time between the two veteran sluggers will be one of the many storylines that we will follow all season long.

Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin Look GREAT!

This past week we only saw Scherzer and Corbin take the mound against
the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins, respectively. There were some concerns about the status of Max Scherzer due to his ankle injury, but he looked like the same old gritty ace that we have grown to love watching pitch in DC.

The original plan that Manager Davey Martinez had for Scherzer was to throw a max of two nnings, but he ended up throwing 38 (23 strikes) in 1 2/3 innings before getting pulled. Scherzer only gave up one hit, walked 2 and struck out a pair of batters. Corbin was also solid in his start, striking out three batters and surrendering a run while throwing 33 pitches (20 strikes) in two innings.

I can't wait to see Stephen Strasburgh pitch. Hopefully, an injury-free Strasburg will take the mound soon.

Leading Off...

There have been many highlights and encouraging signs from the first week of Spring games. One of the biggest highlights has been the re-emergence of Victor Robles. We all know that Robles is extremely talented in the outfield; however, one of the main concerns coming out of 2020 for Robles was his batting. Robles came into camp trimmed down and more fit, which showed that he took note of his sub-par performance during the shortened 2020 season.

(Read Related article: Perspective: The Case For Victor Robles Leading Off)

Over the past few games, Dave Martinez has put Robles in the leadoff position in the batting order, and the centerfielder is showing that this might be a good idea. Robles has an OBP of .417 in four games. He has been showing plate discipline by taking walks and showing his athleticism by stealing bases. Robles scored a pair of runs, stole three bases, drew three walks and drove in a run in 12 plate appearances. While the sample size is small, Robles looks like he might be the everyday leadoff hitter come Opening Day.

The New Kids on the Block

During the offseason, Mike Rizzo had the unenviable task of filling the many holes that the Washington Nationals had in their lineup. One of the many acquisitions made
during the offseason was trading for first baseman Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates. So far, the newly acquired first baseman has displayed some signs of regaining his 2019 form during Spring Training.

Download and Subscribe to In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

On March 3,  the switch-hitting first baseman slugged his first home run in a Nationals uniform against Miami. Bell has appeared in four games and produced a .444/.500/1.143 hitting line thus far.

The Capitan Is back

It is so nice to see Ryan Zimmerman back in a Washington Nationals uniform, and I think that the team can agree. Zimmerman unloaded a 2-0 bomb to right-center field during yesterday's game that yielded the Nationals three runs.

Too bad for the Mets fan who almost came up with a nice catch. Zimmerman has played in two Spring Training games and has hit home runs in both games.

Even though this is a small sample size, it is nice to have Zimmerman back in the lineup and on first base. For the home run in the fifth inning, the ball left his bat at 102.3 mph and sailed over the fence in right-center some 402 feet away.

Edited by: Jonathan Mailloux