What have we learned so far

So I have been a little busy at work but have still been able to catch a couple of the games via my MLB subscription, and I thought rather then do a report on each game I would do a bit of a status report. It is early I agree, but anyone who is following the NATS knows that for a large portion of the roster every pitch and at bat is being scrutinized.

The team has played 7 games so far with not much success 1-6, so what are some of the takeaways from these games:

1) Team defense is an issue
2) Some pitchers are developing
3) Zimmerman is continuing to shine
4) Prospects / suspects

Defense: this was a major issue last year and was something that the team focused on in the off-season, the primary moves being Lopez (who was one of the worst defensive SS in baseball) to 2nd and a hope that Logan would be able to become an everyday player. Now I realize that some of the errors are being made by minor leaguers or players who won't be with the team but by my count there have been 10 errors in 7 games. Yikes!

Pitching: Patterson seems to be fully back as well as Hill, both have pitched well but have lost either via unearned runs or some soft hits. There is a lot of potential between these two, however health issues have kept both of them from realizing that potential to its max. As far as the bullpen goes it seems that Rauch is continuing where he left off last year and that Wagner is also back on track. Traber is teasing us again but maybe he has turned a corner, Bill Ladsen has said he is looking good.

Zimmerman: I definitely thought there would be a drop-off with Zimmerman if nothing more then a sophomore slump. I know its early but he looks great again which hopefully translates into similar numbers as last year. Lets be honest I don't think anyone thought Zimmerman would be a 100 + rbi guy out of the gate, there are just too many factors that need to happen for that to take place, especially with a rookie but he did it. I would be ecstatic if he could maintain that and would be even more impressed if he was able to elevate his overall game. He himself has mentioned better defense and OBP while lowering his SO. Man, to have all that talent.

Suspects or prospects: Well it seems that a couple of our prospects aren't working out just yet. Logan is hitting .200 but is playing good defense. I have never liked the type of player that Logan is, speed, little power, good defense but won't walk has holes in their swing (in his case from the left-side) and continue to rely only on those tools. That is why I wondered about the Womack signing (who was released today), unless these players hit around .300 they do not make a contribution, which is magnified on a team that needs everyone to contribute. Our other suspect is Fruto who is popping th radar gun but getting hit, ERA of 23.14 so far. Its early and I don't think that the NATS really expected him to contribute at the major league level this year, but I was listening to the broadcast the other day and the visiting teams commentators said that Fruto had a reputation in the Mariners organization as not staying focused and that he liked too see the speed on the radar gun rather then worrying about the score.

The one prospect that seems to be working out is Flores. He is hitting the ball with some pop and is looking comfortable at the plate. By the looks of it behind the plate is where the issues will come, especially considering the staff that we have this year.

So things have gone pretty much as everyone expected and the team will continue its evaluation right up to the last day. It would be a major success if the team played at or above .500 for the 2nd half of the season because during the 1st half there will be lots of exploration and discovery.