Washington Nationals: Five Who Must Step Up In 2017

At the dawn of a new season, the Washington Nationals are on a lofty perch. Who must stand and deliver this year to ensure the Nats success?

To get past the National League Divisional Series block, a few things need to happen for the Washington Nationals. First, they have to win. Yes, that is a Tim McCarver answer. Still, with the New York Mets healthy, a division title repeat by the Nats is not a given.

Then, they must remain injury-free. An impossible task but, if they avoid the serious ones to key players, the nagging day-to-day things are survivable. Trea Turner going down in May with a fractured wrist is not. A front line layer hitting the 60-day disabled list makes getting to the playoffs an immense challenge.

Throw in luck—as no team goes through six months without something good happening—and you are left with performance on the field.

If this season goes down in history as a success, these five players or groups must have either a career year or close to it. Washington won 95 last year thanks to tremendous efforts of Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos. Yet injuries to Ramos and Stephen Strasburg hurt against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

If beating those Dodgers or Chicago Cubs is in the cards, the Nats must have elements of the above. Health, winning and luck. Although the first and last on the list are things Washington cannot control, the win thing is.

Here are the players who must perform at a higher level all year to win.