Giving first-half awards to these 3 Nationals

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PHILADELPHIA -- Although the All-Star break separates the first and second half of the season, the Nationals hit the exact halfway point of their 162-game campaign in Friday night’s 2-1 win over the Phillies.

With more than half of their games now in the books, this seems like the perfect time to hand out some unofficial first-half awards:

Top hitter: Lane Thomas

Thomas is the Nationals' most likely All-Star representative (reserves will be announced on Sunday) -- and for good reason. He leads the team in homers (14), RBIs (44), runs (57), batting average (.303) and OPS (.865). His seven stolen bases are third on the team, trailing only CJ Abrams (nine) and Victor Robles (eight).

The 27-year-old outfielder has taken a significant step forward in 2023, after showing glimpses of his potential over the past one and a half seasons with the Nats. He hit .270 with an .853 OPS in 45 games in 2021 after being acquired at the Trade Deadline in exchange for Jon Lester. Thomas then put up 17 home runs and 52 RBIs in 146 games last season -- totals he's already closing in on after just 80 games this season.

"The one guy who really stands out is Lane Thomas," manager Dave Martinez said when asked about highlights from the first half of the season. "He's done really well, he really has, in this first half. He built off of what he did last year, and he's actually playing really well on both sides of the ball. Hitting, baserunning, defense -- he's been doing really well."

Top pitcher: Josiah Gray

One of the centerpieces of the Max Scherzer and Trea Turner blockbuster from 2021, Gray's first one and a half seasons in a Nats uniform didn't exactly go to plan. The right-hander posted a 5.11 ERA over 40 starts with Washington in 2021-22. Last season, Gray allowed an MLB-high 38 home runs and issued an NL-high 66 walks.

The walks are still a bit of an issue -- his walk rate is up from 10.2% last season to 10.5% in '23 -- but Gray has drastically cut down the home runs. He's allowed just 12 in 95 1/3 innings. His home run rate of 2.9% is less than half of what it was last season (5.9%).

One of the biggest culprits for Gray's struggles over the past couple years was his four-seam fastball. It had a run value of +22 last season, according to Statcast, making it the fourth-worst offering by any pitcher in the Majors. To put that in perspective, that was out of a pool of 582 pitch types that were thrown at least 400 times by a particular pitcher.

Gray has added a cutter to his arsenal that not only is an effective pitch itself (-5 run value), but it's also helped keep hitters from jumping his four-seamer. Opposing hitters are slugging .386 off Gray's four-seamer this season, after posting a .738 slugging percentage against it last year -- the worst for any pitcher.

"He's done everything we've asked him to do," Martinez said. "He's getting better. He's been pitching really well in high-leverage situations, which is something that we talked to him about last year. So, he's doing outstanding."

Top all-around player: Jeimer Candelario

Candelario has also put together a compelling All-Star case, but there is plenty of competition at third base in the NL. After Nolan Arenado was announced as the starter on Thursday, Candelario is competing with Austin Riley, Max Muncy and Manny Machado, among others, for a reserve role.

Not only is Candelario an above-average hitter, with a 123 OPS+ entering Sunday, but he's proven to be one of the more capable defenders at the hot corner, where he's racked up six Outs Above Average (he had -6 OAA for Detroit last season) and two Defensive Runs Saved.

Put it all together and Candelario has accounted for 2.3 offensive WAR and 0.5 defensive WAR, per Baseball Reference. Toronto's Matt Chapman is the only other third baseman with at least 2.0 oWAR and 0.5 dWAR this season.

And yet Candelario wasn't among the top 10 vote-getters at third base in the NL.

Fair to say he gets overlooked?

"I definitely think he does," Martinez said. "Again, another guy that's put up some good numbers for us in the first half. Everybody watches him hit, but nobody talks about his defense. His defense has been unbelievable over there at third base. ... Everybody talks about the Arenados of the world, but [Candelario] is that guy who's just steady over there and makes all the plays."