Fangraphs has been running a position by position series on the relative strengths of each team. this accounts for projected time splits, using ZiPS projections with adjustments (especially for pitching).
Here is how the Nats fare, with PA or IP as a proxy for the tiime split and WAR for summary evaluation. Links are provided for each position. My comments are below the quotes, and I've bolded some interesting stuff from the authors.
Catcher - 12th - Ramos 500 PA (3.0 WAR) / Flores 200 (0.5)
Ramos is a legitimate breakout candidate and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he hits the 4-WAR mark this season. He has all the requisite tools to succeed for a very long time. He tallied 3.5 WAR as a 23-year old last year, hitting .267/.334/.445 and throwing out almost one-third of opposing base-stealers.
Flores is a big question mark, as he has shown flashes in the past mostly erased by the annual news of a new injury. He has a career .141 ISO and certainly has pop, but the former catcher of the future will now look for success as a backup.
1st Base - 24 - LaRoche 450 (0.7), Morse 200 (0.
, others 70 (-0.2)
The Nationals probably wish they could trade LaRoche so they can move Morse to first and have Jayson Werth and (they hope) Bryce Harper on the corners of the outfield. For now, they need to play LaRoche, but if he gets hurt again or they pass the deadline with LaRoche hitting poorly, I can see Morse getting more of the at-bats. Either way, I do not see LaRoche sucking up the playing time. The other guys are generic utility payers.
2d base - 11 - Espinosa 650 PAs (3.0 WAR), others 50 (0)
A lot of Danny Espinosa’s value is tied up in his exceptional defense at second base. If he can improve on his rookie line, he might be able to outperform his projected WAR. DeRosa should receive playing time at a bunch of positions, and Lombardozzi may not be up unless there’s an injury. Espinosa played in 158 games last season, so that seems unlikely.
SS - 29 - K.I.D. 500 PAs (1.5 WAR), Blanco 100 PAs (0), Espinosa 100 PAs (0.5)
If the Nationals braintrust deems that Steve Lambardozzi is done cooking, then there’s a very real chance that Ian Desmond loses his starting job as Danny Espinosa moves over from second base. I put Espinosa here as a prospect, though he’s already a veteran of two seasons, so that we can at the very least see his projected stats. I think I would be mildly shocked if Espinosa isn’t playing shortstop by the season’s end, which should improve the stock here considerably.
3d Base - 4 - FotFF! (Face of the Franchise Forever!) 550 PAs (5 WAR), Lombo 100 PAs (0), Other (a/k/a DeRosa) 50 (0)
He’s still only 27. Yes, he had an injury-riddled year filled with whispers that his oblique issues would plague him as long as he stayed at the position — but Zimmerman only 27. And when he’s healthy, he has patience, power and glove to drool about. DeRosa is no backup plan, but Lombardozzi could provide in a pinch. The two teams ahead of the Nationals in the queue, however, are better set in case of injury.
jca note - the 2 teams in 3d and 2d are Texas, which has Young as a backup, and Detroit, which has Inge. Alone on top is Longoria.
CF - 27 - Bernie 150 PAs (0), Werth 250 (1.5) Ankiel 150 (0.5)
Center field is in flux for the Nationals. Part of the problem is the incumbent, Roger Bernadina, who is average at defense and below average at the plate. Another issue is whether and when Bryce Harper makes the 25-man roster. When that happens — and manager Davey Johnson seems to want that sooner rather than later — Jayson Werth will move to center field and Harper will play right. ZIPS expects a better season from Werth than 2011, but still not at the level he produced with the Phillies. The Nationals also signed Rick Ankiel to a minor-league deal, but he seems certain to make the team out of spring training. Ankiel adds good value on defense but not much at the plate. None of these players are perfect fit for the Nationals in center, and will likely share the time there until a more permanent solution is found.
jca note - who is shocked that our two relatively weakest positions are CF and SS, followed by 1B?
RF - 15 - Werth 300 (1.5 WAR), Ankiel 100 (0.5), Harper 200 (1)
The Nationals are by a wide margin the toughest team to place here, as the combination of Jayson Werth and Bryce Harper makes for a wide variety of possibilities in right field in Washington. Does Werth continue to be massive disappointment? Does he rebound? Does Werth move to center field to accommodate Harper’s ascension? Does Werth give way to Harper if he continues to struggle? Does Harper even make the majors in 2012? Does he bust out in spring training? It’s hard to say.
Personally, I have little confidence in Werth returning to much more than he was last year. Nationals Park does not do the same favors Citizen’s Bank Park did, and Werth no longer appears to be an elite defender either. His contract is far too large to simply shove him aside for Harper, but Harper may complicate things with a great spring or a great start in the minors, forcing Werth over to center. Either way, it seems doubtful Harper or Werth will be good enough this year to warrant placing them in front of teams with a more concrete situation at the position.
jca - yet, while clearly no fan of Werth, FG has him at 2 WAR, or average, between CF and RF. No star, not worth the contract, but the whole "Werthless" shtick is not called for in terms of his play, despite MDS's rants.
LF - 10 - Morse 600 PAs (3 WAR), others 100 (0)
Morse broke onto the scene for the Nationals in 2011, hitting .303/.360/.550 with 31 home runs in 575 plate appearances. ZiPS sees the 30-year-old regressing a bit in all categories, but still being well above-average at the plate. Morse suffers from the same limitations that have dogged both Morrison and Quentin, though Morse is projected to hit for more power. I also allotted him more plate appearances, which accounts for the extra win given to him in the rankings.
Many national writers have talked up Rick Ankiel over the past two weeks. They say he appears more comfortable, more calm. While it’s certainly good to hear Ankiel feels better in his surroundings, he will probably spend more time in center field than he will in left field — both because Morse has locked down the position and Roger Bernadina should not produce enough at the plate to garner 500 plate appearances at this level. DeRosa spent the 2011 season in the Giants organization. He remains versatile with the glove and can get the bat on the baseball, but the power is gone. ZiPS reflects that, too.
Starting Pitching - 16 - EJack 200 IP (3 WAR); Gio 195 IP (3); JZ 150 IP (2.5); Stras 120 IP (3); Lannan 120 IP (0.5); Det 75 IP (0.5); Wang 75 IP (0.5); Gorzo 50 IP (0.5)
I was relatively conservative with the innings projections for Strasburg and Zimmerman, so if you think both can stay healthy and pitch something close to a full season, you could bump the Nationals up quite a bit here. Even just giving both of those guys an addition 30 innings would push Washington’s rotation into the top 10, so don’t get too upset over the placement here. There’s obviously a lot of potential here – how well their rotation performs basically depends on how many innings they can get from their young ace, and how quickly they can dump Lannan on someone else.
jca - and if SS and JZ hit their innings targets of 40 more innings a piece, wow.