Who might join Soto in Nats outfield in 2022 and beyond?

If you had to pick one position group on the Nationals roster you feel best about in both the short- and long-term, would you pick the outfield? There's a good case to be made it's the most reasonable answer.

Not because the Nats outfield is loaded, or even guaranteed to be successful. There's still plenty of uncertainty at two of the three positions.

But you can't find anything to complain about at the third position. And there is some ample reason to be optimistic about the future at the other two, if things play out as they could in the months and years ahead.

It all starts, of course, with Juan Soto in right field. If he isn't the best offensive player in baseball right now, he's on the short list. And he's no slouch in the field, either, having done a nice job adjusting back to his original position after playing left field his first three seasons in the majors.

Even when it appeared he was destined for a substandard - substandard, that is, by his ridiculously high standards - 2021 season, Soto found a way to flip the switch after the All-Star break and put together one of the greatest second-half stat lines (.348/.525/.639) in recent history. He walked more than twice as many times (87) as he struck out (41), a staggering fact in this day and age.

It leaves you wondering how on earth Soto could get any better, but at this point we should have learned he's always motivated to improve in any way possible. He'll again focus on better work in the field and on the bases while continuing to perfect his batting eye and swing, albeit with a new hitting coach in Darnell Coles after Kevin Long departed for the Phillies.

Soto is the one sure thing in the Nationals outfield, but there are other intriguing pieces around him, and fallback options if something doesn't work out as hoped.

Not long ago, Victor Robles' name was uttered in the same breath as his fellow Dominican teammate. That's not the case anymore after a disappointing 2020 followed by a dreadful 2021 that ended not in D.C. but in Rochester, of all places. Robles didn't even earn a September call-up on a club embarking on a full-scale rebuild.

That's ample evidence of just how far his stock has fallen within the organization, but that's not to say he's viewed as a lost cause. A strong final month at Triple-A (.325/.381/.610) served as a reminder of Robles' potential, and earned the 24-year-old the right to come to spring training and compete for his old job again. Whether he makes the most of that opportunity is up to him.

The Nationals don't necessarily have to bank on a return to form by Robles, though, because of the most unexpectedly pleasant development of the 2021 season: Lane Thomas. The final player acquired at the trade deadline, in a deal with the Cardinals for an aging Jon Lester, the 26-year-old looked to most like a fifth outfielder at best, a right-handed bat off the bench.

Then Thomas began playing and performed so well that he left the club with no choice but to demote Robles and leave him in Rochester for the rest of the season. With speed, power and a good eye at the plate, Thomas was everything Robles was supposed to be, in surprise packaging.

That said, we're still only talking about 45 games from a player whose stock had fallen precipitously within St. Louis' farm system. Thomas is no sure thing yet, and maybe those two glorious months were a fluke. He did show enough in that time, though, to pique anyone's interest. And at this point, it's hard to imagine an opening day lineup that doesn't include him, whether in center field or perhaps in left field if Robles earns his old spot back.

Left field seems to be wide open at this stage of the winter. Maybe Thomas winds up there. Maybe Yadiel Hernandez gets a chance to keep playing regularly after the 34-year-old acquitted himself well in his long-awaited first lengthy stint in the big leagues. Though Hernandez has always felt like an ideal left-handed bench bat, both because of his naturally gifted swing and his unnatural moves in the field.

What, though, becomes of Andrew Stevenson, another left-handed batter who has more than proven himself as an elite pinch-hitter and smooth defensive player and baserunner, if not good enough to crack the starting lineup on a daily basis? You wouldn't think the Nats would have any reason to want to part ways with Stevenson, who at this point is out of options and can't be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers.

Also knocking on the door, though, is Donovan Casey. Another prospect acquired from the Dodgers in the Max Scherzer-Trea Turner blockbuster, the 25-year-old profiles as a strong backup outfielder who can play all three positions and swing a decent right-handed bat. And the fact the Nationals just added Casey to the 40-man roster last month suggests they believe he's close to helping them out in the majors.

Further down the organizational depth chart but no less intriguing is Yasel Antuna, signed out of the Dominican Republic for a hefty $3.9 million bonus in 2016 to be a future shortstop for the Nationals. That won't be happening anymore, because the team has decided to convert him into a corner outfielder after a 36-error nightmare at shortstop for Single-A Wilmington. But Antuna's bat remains potentially potent, and if he can put up strong numbers at Double-A Harrisburg in 2022, his path to the majors could quickly open up.

The Nationals' remaining well-regarded outfield prospects still have a ways to go before arriving in D.C. Jeremy De La Rosa, T.J. White and Daylen Lile all are under 20 and all figure to open 2022 at Single-A. Any or all of them could eventually be part of the plan here, but for now it's too soon to estimate when that might happen.