Walters among players impressing Williams

By Bill Ladson

March 14, 2014

LAKELAND, Fla. -- Nationals manager Matt Williams said he is pleasantly surprised by certain players this spring, including infielder Zach Walters, who is playing multiple infield positions and was hitting .474 entering Friday's game against the Tigers.

First baseman Brock Peterson is another player who is having a nice spring, hitting .389.

"He has a short manageable swing," Williams said.

First baseman Tyler Moore was hitting .242, but clubbed a two-run home run Friday. Williams said before the game that he believes his bat is coming around.

"I think Tyler is really close," Williams said. "It's taking him a while to get going. His at-bats against the Mets [on Thursday] were really good. We'll continue to give him more and more [at-bats]."

Williams also likes reliever Aaron Barrett, who has pitched seven shutout innings and struck out five batters this spring.

"I like him a lot, especially the way he has handled the situations we put him in," Williams said.

Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashingNats.