Desmond drives in both runs in win: Washington shortstop Ian Desmond had a nice offensive performance in the Nationals' 2-1 victory in Philadelphia on Monday. Desmond drove in both the runs for the Nationals in the win. Desmond went deep for his seventh home run of the season in the second inning off Kyle Kendrick. He added an RBI single in the fourth inning. Desmond went 2 for 4 and is batting .280. (Updated 05/21/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Desmond has hit in nine of his last 10 games with three homers, five doubles and eight RBI over that span. He's getting hot at the plate right now and his seven homers and 20 RBI on the season makes him a solid Fantasy option in mixed formats at a thin position. (Updated 05/21/2012).
05/23/2012 23:22 Hamels (7-1) stops Nats; Phils end skid
Cole Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings, finishing up by retiring Bryce Harper on a grounder as the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a season-long four-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 3-1 victory against the Washington Nationals.
05/23/2012 06:28 Fantasy Relief: Is Chapman finally the man in Cincy?
Is any role in baseball under the microscope as much as closers these days? One wrong move and you could be out of a job. Michael Hurcomb goes over the big stories in his Fantasy Relief.
05/22/2012 21:55 Nats move into first place in NL East
Jordan Zimmerman pitched six solid innings, and Ian Desmond and Rick Ankiel homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
05/22/2012 14:21 The new PED: Having a child
Ian Desmond is off to a career-best start in terms of power. And he attributes it to fatherhood.
Fantasy owners branded Ian Desmond a sleeper last year simply because he was a shortstop with some measure of power and some measure of speed. But the fact of the matter is he had limits to his offensive ability, and those limits came to the forefront when he took a step backward during his sophomore season. His biggest problem was he struck out 100 times more than he walked, making him too often an easy out for opposing pitchers. Certain power hitters can survive the drawbacks that go along with a sloppy approach, but Desmond doesn't pack enough of a punch to get away with a batting average on the wrong side of .270. The good news is he showed improvement late in the season, hitting .314 over the final six weeks, so maybe he still has enough growth left at age 26 to become an advisable mixed-leaguer at what has historically been Fantasy's shallowest position. He won't maintain that batting average over a full season, but if he can come closer to the .281 mark he produced as a leadoff hitter last year and contribute about a dozen homers to go along with his 25 steals, he'll be a definite asset in Fantasy. Just keep in mind that those numbers are likely a best-case scenario for him. (Updated 1/18/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
