For the third year in a row, the D.C. Chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association announced their player achievement awards.  It's worth a look to go over to the website and see how the group voted.

Here were my picks (winner in bold; my votes for first, second, third):

Goose Goslin MVP (Michael Morse):  Morse, Jordan Zimmermann, Tyler Clippard.  With the dearth of offense this season, Michael Morse was a savior in spikes.  He emerged as a legitimate clean-up hitter this season and was one of the most valuable hitters in the National League.

Walter Johnson starting pitcher (Jordan Zimmermann):  Zimmermann, John Lannan, Ross Detwiler.  Zimmermann punished the strike zone in his first full season after Tommy John surgery.  He still had a few games where the swing-and-miss pitch was missing, but he was a machine in getting batters out while pitching in the strike zone.

Firpo Marberry relief pitcher (Tyler Clippard):  Clippard, Storen, Todd Coffey.  This in no way takes anything away from the excellent job that Storen did at the back of the bullpen, but Clippard was called upon in any number of situations, from starting innings clean to coming in with the bases loaded and no outs.  He pitched the Nats' highest-leverage innings all season long and did so almost without fail.

Sam Rice hitter of the year (Morse):  Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Ian Desmond.  Hitter of the year award is supposed to take into consideration all-around hitting, situational hitting and base running.  The Nats just don't have an all-around hitter better than Zimmerman, despite having been hurt for two months.  Despite Werth's low average, his OBP and power ratios weren't too far off his career norms.

Frank Howard slugger of the year (Morse): Morse, Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos.  Morse was the unanimous winner in this category, and for good reason.  He homered in his last three games to get over the 30-homer plateau and will be due a huge raise in arbitration this off-season.

Joe Judge defensive player (Danny Espinosa):  Espinosa, Zimmerman, Ankiel.  Espinosa might have trailed off on offense in the second half, but he never took it into the field with him.  He was consistently excellent and give the Nats more range and arm at second than they've ever had before.

Mickey Vernon comeback player (Zimmermann):  Stephen Strasburg, Chien-Ming Wang, Jesus Flores.  There was no shortage of comeback players for the Nats this year, and most voters forgot that Jason Marquis was even on this team this season.  But no story is bigger to the success of this franchise than the return of a healthy Stephen Strasburg.  The season-ending 10-strikeout game will linger in the backs of Nats fans minds all winter long.

Josh Gibson humanitarian (Ian Desmond):  Desmond, Storen, Zimmerman.  No player gives more of his time in the community than Desmond, though Storen gives him a run for his money.  Zimmerman's foundation's gala attracts a lot of attention too.

Minor League POY (Bryce Harper):  Harper, David Freitas, Tom Milone.  This voting was ridiculously close, with one point separating Harper and Brad Peacock, whom I did not vote for.  Harper destroyed Single-A and struggled a bit to start at Double-A, but was seriously heating up when he pulled his hamstring, ending his season.  Looking forward to the Arizona Fall League.

Biggest surprise?  Ryan Mattheus.  He over-performed what I expected in a big way.

Biggest disappointment?  Jayson Werth.

Will Zim re-sign before end of 2012?  No. I think this one goes the long route.

Which players on the 40-man won't be back?  Cora, Pudge, Gomes, Nix, Slaten, Livo, Gorzy, Bixler, Balester, Ramirez, Bernadina, Severino.

Favorite Pro Writer:  Mark Zuckerman.  Facts, stats, opinions.  Mark puts it all out there.

Favorite Non-Pro Writer:  Patrick Reddington.  His volume of work is unparalleled.

The DC Chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association conducted a survey of its members (independent journalists, websites and blogs) on a variety of topics concerning the 2011 Washington Nationals.  The results can be found here. 

It's particularly interesting to gauge the opinions of those that follow the team the closest on some of the position battles, team statistical leaders and wins projections for the upcoming season.

My answers and some analysis can be found below.

1. Who will lead the Nats in home runs? Ryan Zimmerman.  The third baseman is entering his peak seasons and his power indicators are still rising.

2. Who will lead the Nats in RBIs? Adam LaRoche.  No player on the team will benefit from hitting behind two on-base machines (Zimmerman, Werth) more than the new first baseman, expected to his fifth in the lineup against right-handed pitchers.

3. Who will led the Nats in stolen bases? Ian Desmond.  As the second year shortstop feels ore comfortable with his place in Jim Riggleman's lineup he'll utilize his good base stealing instincts.  I don't expect Nyjer Morgan to stay with this team all season.

4. Who will lead the Nats in wins? John Lannan.  I think the lefty is poised for a good season and he's the starter I feel most comfortable projecting not missing time with injury.

5. Who will lead the Nats in saves? Drew Storen.  I think Storen will eventually be given the job full-time,but I also think Jim Riggleman will play match-up a lot at the back end of his bullpen.

6. Who will lead the Nats in starts? Lannan.  Jordan Zimmermann is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery and it's entirely likely he'll miss some time with a sore/tired arm in his first full season back.

7. Which pitcher (Chien-Ming Wang, Yunesky Maya or Ross Detwiler) will make more starts for the Nats? Ross Detwiler.  The change in his mechanics and how he's thrown thus far this spring have me more optimistic on the young lefty than I've even been.

8. Which utility player (Rick Ankiel, Jerry Hairston or Alberto Gonzalez) will get more at bats for the Nats? Jerry Hairston.  I think Riggleman will find ways to get the versatile Hairston in the lineup. He could see time at second, short, third, center and left fields.

9. Which catcher will get them most at bats for the Nats? Wilson Ramos.  Ivan Rodriguez hurt the team at the plate last season except for the first 13 games of the season.  Ramos had a great winter league and has continued that success this spring.  He's ready for a full-time workload.

10. How many all-stars will the Nats have and whom? One, Ryan Zimmerman.  If he can avoid his yearly June swoon, this could be the year Zimmerman becomes a national star.

11. Number of wins and place in division? 72, Fourth.  I'm still tweaking my season projections, but I don't think it will fluctuate too much from 72.  As a reminder, I missed last season's win projection by just one (I had the Nats for 68 wins in 2010).

12. Most important development for 2011?  The successful recovery of Stephen Strasburg from Tommy John surgery.  There is no more important player to this franchise and his successful recovery is paramount to anything else that happens in NatsTown this summer.  It's a 12-18 month recovery process, and everyone will be watching and hoping Strasburg can follow Zimmermann's timetable and return to a major league mound in September.

The Washington, DC chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association announced their 2010 Nationals Player Achievement Awards earlier today.  There were some very interesting choices and individual votes, plus folks voted on their favorite professional and non-professional baseball writers.  If you read this blog, you'll want to check out the results.

Here's how I voted.

MVP:  Ryan Zimmerman/Adam Dunn/Josh Willingham.  Zimmerman was one of the most valuable players in the entire National League, not surprising he earned every single first place vote on the ballots.  Dunn did what he always does, and everyone saw how important Hammer was -- when he wasn't there anymore.

SPoY:  Stephen Strasburg/Livan Hernandez/John Lannan.  Hernandez certainly well exceeded any expectation I had for him, but Strasburg's debut was electrifying.  He was dominant for those few starts he had, and that was enough to carry my vote.  Upon his return from the minors, Lannan was the same old John -- only better -- striking out ore and walking fewer.

RPoY:  Matt Capps/Sean Burnett/Tyler Clippard.  Capps wasn't as dominant as Burnett really, but he performed very well, was named the Nats lone All-Star, and was traded for the potential catcher of the future.  All around, job well done for a guy coming off a year of 5.80 ERA.  Clippard vultured his way into a bunch of wins and had some problems, but he was also damn near unhittable at times.

Hitter of the Year:  Zimmerman/Ian Desmond/no third place vote.  I fear the voters didn't read the description of this award as closely as the others, as base running and situational hitting were supposed to be taken into account in this category.  Perhaps a tweaking of the award description next season is in order.  Desi really came around once he was moved up in the order.

Slugger of the Year:  Dunn/Willingham/Michael Morse.  I left Zimmerman off my ballot here as I regard him as more than a slugger.  Morse made the most of the opportunities given him this season.

Defensive POY:  Danny Espinosa/Zimmerman/Alberto Gonzalez.  I really, honestly think if he gets 500-plus at bats next season, Espinosa will win the Gold Glove at second.  I think he's that good.  Zim had another fine year, but his constant sidearm throwing has me nervous.  Gonzo can play anywhere in the infield and has as good an arm as anyone.

Comeback POY:  Jordan Zimmermann/Matt Capps/Roger Bernadina.  I guess most folks thought Livo's comeback from sucking for three years was enough to garner the nod here.  J-ZImm's return from Tommy John in 51 weeks is nothing short of remarkable,and we can only hope Strasburg takes the same route in his rehab.  Bernie's return from his broken leg was good news too.

Humanitarian of the Year:  Capps/Lannan/Willingham.  It's kinda telling in the ballot that Capps finished out of the Top 3 overall, but received four first place votes -- the only people that voted for him.  He did more in less time for the good of the community.  Lannan shows up for everything, and Hammer's foundation and appearances put him on my list.

Minor Leaguer of the Year:  Espinosa/Tom Milone/Tyler Moore.  Espi charged through the ranks and produced at every level.  Milone averaged almost a K per inning and K/BB rate of 155/23 was outstanding at the Double-A level.  Moore's power streak in the middle season was ridiculous, but he'll have to prove himself next year as he was old for Single-A this season (23).

Go take a look at the totals, and let me know what you think in the comments.