Washington Nationals Editorial: Brendan Ryan And Scott Sizemore Making Good First Impressions

The Nats are only eight games into spring training, but Brendan Ryan and Scott Sizemore are making good first impressions

Early on in spring training, one of the positions to watch for the Washington Nationals has been at shortstop. Of course, there is the battle for who will start Opening Day in Atlanta between Danny Espinosa and Trea Turner. Turner has made a splash early while Espinosa is still trying to find his form at the plate.

If you look further down the shortstop depth chart, two names that have made good first impressions as non-roster invitees are Brendan Ryan and Scott Sizemore. Coming into today’s game against the Tigers, Ryan and Sizemore were the top two in hits on the team this spring.

Yes, it is still way too early to look at hits, but Ryan has had 13 at-bats, which is tied for the second most on the team with Michael Taylor. (Tyler Moore has had 16 at-bats). He is hitting .385 with one RBI. However, if Ryan were to make the team, his value would be for his defense and versatility in the infield.

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Ryan is 33 years old and has played in fewer than 50 Major League games in each of the last two seasons. As Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post wrote this morning, health is one of the main concerns for Ryan this spring as he tries to stay healthy, even though a spot on the roster seems unlikely because of the signing of Stephen Drew:

"“I’ve just gotta be — trustworthy, I guess — so if they keep me around they can count on me being there. Especially in a background type role, there’s no room for a guy that’s healthy today and hurt tomorrow.” (h/t Janes, Washington Post)"