The positives and the negatives after two weeks

The Nationals' 2021 season is only two weeks old, but boy does it feel like a lot has happened already or what?

It's been an eventful 13 days since they took the field to face the Braves after seeing their first four scheduled games of the year postponed due to their COVID-19 outbreak. Prominent players have gone on the injured list, prominent players have come off it. There have been two walk-off wins and there have been two blowout losses. There have been lights-out pitching performances and there have been absolute duds. There have been stellar defensive plays in the field and there have been cringe-worthy mistakes.

Add it all up, and you get a disappointing 5-8 record through the season's first four series. There is work still to be done, and improvements to be made.

As the Nationals prepare to open a three-game series with the Cardinals (the team they just beat in two of three games in St. Louis last week), let's take a closer look at some positive and some negative developments for the team to date ...

POSITIVE: Ross and Fedde look great
All that hand-wringing about the lack of quality No. 5 rotation candidates all winter and spring? Maybe it was overdone, because Joe Ross and Erick Fedde have both pitched as well as they ever have in the big leagues. In two starts, Ross has tossed 11 scoreless innings, striking out as many batters as he's allowed to reach base (nine). Fedde was roughed up in his first start, but in two since he's allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out 14 in 9 2/3 innings. Both still need to prove they can sustain this success, but it's impossible not to be encouraged by their performances so far.

NEGATIVE: Strasburg and Corbin look terrible
The Nationals have desperately needed Ross and Fedde to step, because two of their big three rotation members have been awful so far, and one of them is now on the IL. Stephen Strasburg, despite a solid season debut, endured through one of the worst starts of his career Tuesday in St. Louis. And though he and manager Davey Martinez insisted that night there was no physical issue contributing to his struggles, on Sunday the 32-year-old right-hander was placed on the 10-day IL with shoulder inflammation. Patrick Corbin, meanwhile, has labored through each of his first two outings, lasting only two innings Thursday night against the Diamondbacks. He's scheduled to take the mound again Tuesday against the Cardinals, and it's not unfair to suggest a lot will be at stake when he does.

POSITIVE: Soto's first 10 games
Juan Soto burst out of the gates, delivering a signature walk-off moment on opening day and then terrorizing opposing pitchers. Through his first 10 games, he was batting .378 with two homers, seven RBIs, a 1.033 OPS and as many walks as strikeouts (six). He also scored a team-high 10 runs.

NEGATIVE: Soto's last three games
It doesn't happen often, but Soto has been in a mini slump ever since. In his last three games, he's 0-for-9 with three walks. It's only the fourth time in his career the 22-year-old has gone three straight games without recording a hit. And even in his worst slump when he went 0-for-15 over a six-game stretch in September 2019, Soto still drew 12 walks and posted a .444 on-base percentage.

POSITIVE: Zimmerman's bat
If anyone was worried Ryan Zimmerman wouldn't be able to carry over his torrid spring into the regular season, they were mistaken. He's been fantastic to date, going 10-for-33 with two homers. And after a string of line drives and hard grounders, he has begun to drive the ball in the air to right-center field and deep left field. It's been a truly pleasant development for the Nationals, who are reminded just how much they missed their longest-tenured player in 2020.

NEGATIVE: Bell's bat
If anyone was worried Josh Bell wouldn't be able to carry over his torrid spring into the regular season, they were right. After missing the first six games while on the COVID-19-related injury list, the big first baseman has struggled to rediscover his timing at the plate. Bell is batting .100 (2-for-20) with one double, two RBIs and an abysmal .358 OPS.

POSITIVE: Production from the leadoff spot
Nationals leadoff hitters have come through during these opening two weeks. They're batting a combined .306 with a .404 on-base percentage and .914 OPS that ranks sixth in the majors. They've even shown some pop, with five extra-base hits and a .510 slugging percentage.

NEGATIVE: Lack of lineup consistency
Remember when Victor Robles was going to lead off almost every day? That lasted less than two weeks. Though he's reached base at a solid .353 clip, Robles has hit atop the lineup in only eight of the team's 13 games, none of the last five. He's hit ninth twice and eighth three times. Meanwhile, Martinez has used three different No. 3 hitters already: Soto (eight times), Bell (three times) and Zimmerman (twice).

POSITIVE: Most of the bullpen
A group that had plenty of question marks entering the season has overall performed quite well. The bullpen's 4.04 ERA is merely average, but toss out Luis Avilán's disastrous appearance in relief of Strasburg on Tuesday, and that number plummets to 2.83. Brad Hand hasn't allowed a run in any of his first four appearances. Daniel Hudson has allowed only one hit to the 15 batters he's faced (though it was a home run). Wander Suero was really sharp in eight appearances (before landing on the IL). Austin Voth has adapted well to a relief role.

NEGATIVE: Bullpen injuries
Suero, as noted above, appeared in eight of the Nats' first 12 games and warmed up in the 'pen on two more occasions. Then he strained his left oblique muscle Saturday, and now he's out for an indeterminate amount of time. Avilán, meanwhile, threw 38 pitches on Tuesday, then 39 more on Thursday after Strasburg and Corbin were knocked out early. And then he learned he has a tear in his elbow ligament that may require Tommy John surgery.