The Opening Day roster will have the following players who play outfield: Lastings Milledge, Austin Kearns, Elijah Dukes, Adam Dunn, Willie Harris (though he will play more 2nd base) and Josh Willingham.
Left field will have Adam Dunn as its primary starter. Dunn, who signed just before spring training, has hit 40 home runs in 5 consecutive seasons. He will add a big-time home run threat that the lineup has lacked since 2006, when the team had Alfonso Soriano in left. Dunn may strike out a lot and play poor defense, but he is just about a lock for 40 home runs (barring injury) and will draw tons of walks. Seeing him drive balls into the right field seats will be a great sight. There isn't much to say about Dunn; he's been remarkably consistent
Playing center field will be Lastings Milledge, who will also bat leadoff. Milledge had an inconsistent 2008 but hit .299 after the all-star break and hit .336 with 6 home runs in August. He was hurt for part of the year and hit cleanup when the roster was decimated with injuries. He actually hit over .300 at the 4 spot, but luckily the lineup will be much deeper and he won't be hitting there anymore. Now he is at leadoff, which was an interesting decision by manager Manny Acta. Milledge doesn't draw many walks, but has improved his discipline and is a potential 25/25, which is rare at a leadoff spot. Milledge can hit for power but has had a terrible spring. It will be interesting to see how he does to start the season and how long Acta will keep Milledge at leadoff if he struggles.
Right field is by far the most competitive. The favorite is Elijah Dukes, who had a rough start to 2008 but finished strong and could very well end up being a complete, 5-tool player. Hard to imagine the Nationals got him for a pitcher who will most likely never see the majors. I slot Dukes in at RF to start the season, with Austin Kearns getting one start a week. Kearns was terrible in 2008, but you could attribute that to injury; personally, I think he's just a mediocre hitter but a solid defender. Kearns is an expensive fourth outfielder but he will be on the roster unless the team can swing him in a trade (if he plays well, a team could use him in July). Former Marlin Josh Willingham will also be backing up Dukes (and Dunn) and should be solid off the bench. He will get some starts in both left and right and could see some time at first base as well.
Manager Manny Acta has some juggling to do, and a lot will depend on the health of first baseman Nick Johnson. If Nick gets hurt - and history says he will - then Dunn and Willingham will help out at first, giving everyone more playing time. For the first time in a while, the Nationals have actual depth. Willingham could start on a lot of teams. Having him and Kearns off the bench will be a huge boost.
Look for more previews as the week goes by, and eventually I'll give my prediction for the 2009 Nationals season, and also look for some MLB talk on the show, maybe even tomorrow.
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