Notes on Dozier, Doolittle and Carter Kieboom

Of course, new second baseman Brian Dozier would love to be getting better results at the plate in the first three games of the season, but the Nationals can already see the difference he brings defensively to that side of the infield.

Dozier has gone 0-for-10 with three strikeouts in three games, so he is working toward that first hit as a National. But his defense has been above average and is an upgrade to the spot where the Nationals got average, and sometimes below-average, defense from Daniel Murphy.

Dozier shows outstanding footwork to move around a ball and throw it to first base. He also has gotten to balls that some second basemen would not have been able to stop and has been able to take away base hits with his glove.

Against the Mets on March 30, he made putouts to get J.D. Davis to end the third, then Michael Conforto and Wilson Ramos on back-to-back plays to begin the fifth in support of starter Stephen Strasburg.

"Yeah, picked me up there," Strasburg said. "It's a missile up the middle, makes a great play. There were a couple of other tough plays that he made. Kind of taking away outs like that really helps me a lot out there."

Over the next couple of days of the Mets series, manager Davey Martinez saw plays Dozier was making, and they were consistent with what he saw in spring training from the 31-year-old, and what he expects from the vet over the regular season on defense.

"When it comes to defense, I don't take that for granted at all," Martinez said of Dozier's play. "It makes our pitching better, and he's been really, really good. We knew that when we signed him. He was a Gold Glover. Last year he's battling a knee injury all year, and a testament to him, he never ... when you talk to him, he'll say 'I know my knee was bothering me but I just want to play.' And he went out there and played with it. And he feels good. And we knew him coming in and our defense will definitely improve."

* Closer Sean Doolittle attended the University of Virginia, playing on the same collegiate baseball team with Ryan Zimmerman. So you can understand Doolittle's emotional state Saturday night watching his Cavaliers come back in the final six seconds to beat Purdue for a spot in the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball championship.

Doolittle described how he watched the game and how he tried to help Virginia's defense find a way to slow down Carsen Edwards (42 points) for the Boilermakers:

"I was moving all around the apartment. I can't really watch in public, because I get super into it. And I don't need to embarrass myself in public like that. I was in the apartment in the TV room. I kept moving around, I was trying to find the right spot to help the guys on defense, cause Edwards was going off. I was on the couch for a while, sitting on the floor. I was 'D-ing' up, slapping the floor, trying to help them play defense. It was an absolutely incredible game. Caught a couple breaks there at the end. It's so exciting.

"I think there's a sense that they might not win that game without going through what they went through last year, having lost to that 16-seed. ... Having gone through all that, I don't know, maybe that gave them a little bit of an edge last night. First team ever to lose to a 16-seed and then go to the Final Four the next year, right? It's been a fun year. Hopefully, it's not done yet."

Doolittle was also asked about facing hitters, such as those he will face in this series (Bryce Harper), who he knows well or were his former teammates.

"It goes through your head who it is, because you're thinking about how you want to attack him. But aside from that, I never look at the hitter. I might look at his feet or his hands to see if he's trying to tip what he's doing. I've made accidental eye contact with a hitter a couple times in my career. It's really awkward. You've got to step off. The hitter's got to step out. Everybody's like: What just happened? It's like 'Ghostbusters' when they cross the streams and you have to stop. You really don't pay attention.

"You know who it is. But you're putting all that to the side and trying to remind yourself what the game plan is and what you're looking to do against him. The ultimate goal is to have a mindset where it doesn't matter who's in the box. You're just executing your pitches and blocking all that stuff out. Sometimes that's tough to do. But that's the goal."

* Shortstop Carter Kieboom will begin 2019 with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, he confirmed on Twitter Sunday.

See everyone Thursday!! @FresnoGrizzlies https://t.co/UPffT19Zwa

-- Carter Kieboom (@carterkieboom) April 1, 2019

Kieboom hit .279 in 25 spring training games with the Nationals, with three doubles, three homers and 10 RBIs. Last season, he hit a combined .280 with 31 doubles, one homer and 16 RBIs in the minor leagues, and is the Nats' No. 2 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. Official rosters are out this morning via the minor league affiliates.