PLAYER REVIEW: ERICK FEDDE

Age on opening day 2023: 30

How acquired: First-round pick, 2014 draft

MLB service time: 4 years, 99 days

2022 salary: $2.15 million

PLAYER REVIEW: PATRICK CORBIN

Age on opening day 2023: 33

How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018

MLB service time: 10 years, 105 days

2022 salary: $23 million

PLAYER REVIEW: JOSIAH GRAY

Age on opening day 2023: 25

How acquired: Traded with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo from Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021

MLB service time: 1 year, 75 days

2022 salary: $703,500

PLAYER REVIEW: TRES BARRERA

Age on opening day 2023: 28

How acquired: Sixth-round pick, 2016 draft

MLB service time: 172 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: ALEX CALL

Age on opening day 2023: 28

How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Guardians, August 2022

MLB service time: 74 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS

Age on opening day 2023: 26

How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021

MLB service time: 1 year, 49 days

2022 salary: $706,700

One current Nationals outfielder and one former Nationals outfielder were named Gold Glove Award finalists this afternoon, with Victor Robles and Juan Soto sharing that distinction despite no longer being teammates.

Robles is a finalist among National League center fielders, joining the Padres’ Trent Grisham and Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas. Soto is a finalist among NL right fielders, joining the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Diamondbacks’ Daulton Varsho.

Gold Glove Awards are selected via a combination of analytics and a vote among managers and coaches, all of which are submitted prior to the end of the regular season. The top three finishers at each position in each league are considered finalists, with the winners set to be announced Nov. 1, prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

This is the second time Robles has been named a finalist, coming three years after his breakthrough rookie season in 2019. He stands a good chance of winning this time, given the fact his 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor (another former teammate) and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major leaguers at his position.

Robles also recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, though he was charged with six errors (also an NL-high).

PLAYER REVIEW: YADIEL HERNANDEZ

Age on opening day 2023: 35

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, October 2016

MLB service time: 2 years, 28 days

2022 salary: $714,000

PLAYER REVIEW: NELSON CRUZ

Age on opening day 2023: 42

How acquired: Signed as free agent, March 2022

MLB service time: 15 years, 82 days

2022 salary: $12 million

PLAYER REVIEW: VICTOR ROBLES

Age on opening day 2023: 25

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2013

MLB service time: 4 years, 33 days

2022 salary: $1.65 million

PLAYER REVIEW: LANE THOMAS

Age on opening day 2023: 27

How acquired: Traded from Cardinals for Jon Lester, July 2021

MLB service time: 3 years, 14 days

2022 salary: $723,600

PLAYER REVIEW: CÉSAR HERNÁNDEZ

Age on opening day 2023: 32

How acquired: Signed as free agent, November 2021

MLB service time: 8 years, 154 days

2022 salary: $4 million

PLAYER REVIEW: ILDEMARO VARGAS

Age on opening day 2023: 31

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, May 2022

MLB service time: 3 years, 7 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: KEIBERT RUIZ

Age on opening day 2023: 24

How acquired: Traded from Dodgers with Josiah Gray, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021

MLB service time: 1 year, 64 days

2022 salary: $701,300

PLAYER REVIEW: LUKE VOIT

Age on opening day 2023: 32

How acquired: Traded from Padres with MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022

MLB service time: 4 years, 169 days

2022 salary: $5.45 million

PLAYER REVIEW: CJ ABRAMS

Age on opening day 2023: 22

How acquired: Traded from Padres with MacKenzie Gore, Luke Voit, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022

MLB service time: 131 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: LUIS GARCÍA

Age on opening day 2023: 22

How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016

MLB service time: 1 year, 164 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: JOEY MENESES

Age on opening day 2023: 30

How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, January 2022

MLB service time: 65 days

2022 salary: $700,000

We always knew the Nationals weren't going to be good this season. We just had no idea how bad it would get, not only in terms of their 55-107 record, but the fact they traded Juan Soto in early August in an attempt to completely revamp their farm system.

Sometimes, it's tougher to predict how a bad season will play out than a good one. That certainly was the case for me and my colleagues on the Nationals beat, who attempted way back on April 7 to guess how things would go this year and in most cases failed miserably.

There were a few spot-on predictions, but plenty more swings and misses, as you'll see below. As has been our tradition since we first made these predictions in 2010, we always come back to revisit them after the season ends, just to show everyone out there how misguided we were all along ...

WHICH NATIONALS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Bobby Blanco (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) - Juan Soto
Jesse Dougherty (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Andrew Golden (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Craig Heist (106.7 The Fan) - Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz
Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) - Keibert Ruiz, Juan Soto
Pete Kerzel (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) - Juan Soto
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto

We know the 2022 season wasn’t a success for the Nationals at the major league level. Was it at least at the minor league level?

It certainly was a season of improvement, not that the organization had anywhere to go but up.

The Nats entered 2021 with the lowest-ranked farm system in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. They moved up from No. 30 to No. 23 entering 2022, thanks to their July trades of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and others, plus the drafting of Brady House and signing of top Dominican prospect Cristhian Vaquero.

Then came the 2022 trade deadline, and the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego for six players, five of whom were among the Padres’ top ranked prospects. That influx of talent, coupled with the drafting of Elijah Green, brought the Nationals’ ranking up to No. 15, the highest this system has been regarded in some time.

“I think our system’s different right now than it was a year ago,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “I think it’s deeper. We’ve had two what I believe are successful trade deadline acquisition periods. We’ve had two successful drafts. We’ve done a good job in the international market. I think that our prospect depth is as good as it’s ever been here in the organization, and I think that the upside of our prospect list is probably the highest it’s ever been.”