Matt Williams on Danny Espinosa and Nats bench

TAMPA, Fla. - Doug Fister takes the ball today for his first tune-up of the exhibition season. Manager Matt Williams continues his plan of all starters throwing two innings or around 45 pitches. So far, Stephen Strasburg is the only member of the Nationals rotation to even reach 40 pitches.

"At this time, we're making sure that they're getting through their games and they're healthy first and foremost, and when the season starts, then we'll turn them loose and let them go out there and do what they do," Williams said.

"We're conscious of pitch count and conscious of workload and making sure that we're healthy. Last year as a prime example - we started the season without Fister, so we don't want to do something like that again and have one of our guys be either late or down for a while."

Williams said he'll begin to increase pitch counts as each starter gets an opportunity. Gio Gonzalez will be the last of the rotation to pitch when he starts Monday against the Braves at Space Coast Stadium.

Danny Espinosa received his first test yesterday batting from the right side against right-handed pitchers on the mound. In two at-bats facing the Cardinals' Jordan Walden and Carlos Villanueva, Espinosa grounded out and walked.

"He looked good yesterday," Williams said. "He had really good at-bats. He worked the count and laid off some off-speed pitches out of the strike zone. Both of them were deep at-bats. He saw a lot of pitches, which is great.

"He's going to want success, of course, but for right now it's not necessarily important the result. It's more important the way he's going about doing it. And I'm happy with that, he's happy with that. Seeing the ball well, comfortable, so yeah, he's right on track."

Ian Desmond is the only Nats starter who made the trip to Tampa today. Most lineups for road games are filled with bench players or minor leaguers during Grapefruit League play. The Nationals are looking to come out of this spring with better bench support than last year, so games like today's are important for evaluating players during extended playing time.

Kevin Frandsen and Jose Lobaton, both starting today, figure to be part of the Nats bench. So does outfielder Nate McLouth, who's recovering from surgery on his right shoulder that cut his season short in August last year. Before shutting it down, the veteran outfielder managed just a .173 batting average with one home run and seven RBIs in 79 games. He is under contract after signing a two-year, $10.75 million contract with the Nats following a productive 2013 that saw him hit .258 with 12 home runs and 25 RBIs in 146 games for the Orioles. McLouth has not appeared in a game this exhibition season as he continues on a throwing program to strengthen his shoulder.

Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman all missed over 50 games last season and the Nats didn't get much from the bench players who replaced them. So Williams has important decisions as he rounds out his roster for opening day.

"We want to have a little power," he said. "We have some veteran guys in camp that fit that bill that have done it in the past. Mike Carp's done it, certainly T-Mo's (Tyler Moore) done it, Dan Uggla's been an everyday very successful major league player for a long time. That's one of the reasons Mike (Rizzo) brought those guys in, because they have experience and the ability to get the job done in that regard. On any given day, the guys that come off the bench are coming off in a crucial situation where there's opportunity to drive a run in or make a difference in a game."