Matt of Matt's Bats: Nationals in good place after All-Star break

The All-Star break has passed and the second half of the 2015 MLB season has officially begun. After the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend, the Nationals face the Mets to kick off the second half. This is the first time the Nats are facing their second-place rival since the first week of May, if you can believe it.

Even with all the injuries and the poor performance in May, it was a very good first half for the Nats. They ended the first half with sole possession of first place in the NL East. Their record of 48-39, however, would have only been good enough for 3rd in the NL Central. But the Nats are in a weak division, with the Marlins, Braves, and Phillies almost already out of contention. The Mets are the Nats' biggest challenge.

How solid is 48-39? Last year, when the Nats won 96 games and had the best record in the National League, their record at the break was 51-42. That's only a three-game difference. In 2012, the first half record was a slightly better 49-34, and the team ended up with the best record in baseball. On the other hand, when they missed the postseason in 2013, the Nats were 48-47 at the All-Star Game. It's the same number of wins, but a lower win percentage. That year, the Nats made a late push, but lost a wild card berth by four games. The Nats will probably have to win the NL East if they want a ticket for October baseball, since the other divisions are too competitive right now to think they'll be a wild card from the East.

So I think there's a reason to be optimistic. But remember when everyone was panicking because the Nats were slumping in April and May? Thankfully, that's basically a thing of the past, even though the last time the Nats fielded a full opening day-caliber lineup was on April 21 against the Cardinals. Bench men like Clint Robinson and Tyler Moore have stepped up at the plate for the team. Michael A. Taylor, who was supposed to be a reserve outfielder, has also filled in very nicely. Danny Espinosa has shown his power, and of course the biggest story of the first half is Max Scherzer. There are no words to describe how dominant he was in June. Drew Storen has thrown All-Star quality innings, even though he didn't officially make the team.

On the downside, the rest of the bullpen hasn't shown well. It needs to improve. Also, Ian Desmond is having a season he'd like to forget in an important contract year for him. The good news is that fans can expect the Nats to add a few veteran big bats in the second half when Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Denard Span and Anthony Rendon return to regular play.

All in all, the Nationals go into the second half in first place by two games. Being in first place is always the best you can ask for. The starting pitching has been piling up wins. I expect some additions to the bullpen before the trade deadline. We'll have some of the best hitters in the lineup returning healthy to make a postseason run. I like what I see from this team, and I think we have pretty good chances to win the division and go into the playoffs.

Ten-year-old Matt blogs about the Nationals at Matt's Bats. Follow him on Twitter: @MattsBats. He shares his views weekly as part of MASNsports.com's initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.