Welcome to DC: Top debut seasons for Nats

There are players who don’t need very long to make an impression on their team. Over the Nationals’ team history (2005-present), emerging young talents and veterans alike have stood out in their debut seasons in Washington. This list covers position players and pitchers, and there were a lot of strong options to choose from, with close calls between top five and honorable mention -- so there is a sixth on here. It is worth noting this highlights debut seasons vs. rookie seasons, which would have included players like Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman.

1. Bryce Harper, 2012
Harper entered the Major Leagues in historic fashion. The first overall pick in the 2010 Draft, he made his debut on April 28, 2012, at age 19. In 139 games, Harper slashed .270/.340/.477 with an .817 OPS and a 118 OPS+. He also recorded 144 hits, 22 homers, 98 runs, 59 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. After being named National League Rookie of the Month in May and September, he capped off the season by becoming the second-youngest player to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. He also was the youngest position player to earn an All-Star selection.

2. Max Scherzer, 2015
Scherzer tossed not one but two no-hitters in his first season with the Nationals. With stellar performances on June 20 vs. the Pirates and Oct. 3 vs. the Mets, he became only the fifth pitcher in baseball history to throw a pair of no-hitters in the same season. Scherzer posted a 14-12 record with a 2.79 ERA and 276 strikeouts that year. Among all pitchers, he ranked first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.12), second in strikeouts (276), third in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9) and fourth in WAR (6.9). Scherzer was named an All-Star and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting.

3. Daniel Murphy, 2016
Murphy made his mark on the Nats in just one season. In 2016, he set a franchise record when he hit .347 -- just .001 shy of tying the Rockies' DJ LeMahieu for the Major League batting title. Murphy also tied Washington's single-season record of 184 hits. Overall, he paced the NL in slugging percentage (.595), OPS (.985) and doubles (47). He finished second place in NL MVP Award voting, garnered his second All-Star selection and earned his first Silver Slugger Award.

4. Alfonso Soriano, 2006
In Soriano’s debut -- and only year with the Nationals -- he set a franchise record for most homers (46) and runs scored (119) in a single season. He also paired his home runs with 41 stolen bases, becoming only the fourth 40-40 player in Major League history. Over 159 games, Soriano posted a career best in OBP (.351), slugging (.560), OPS (.911) and OPS+ (135). With this achievement, he earned his third consecutive Silver Slugger Award, fifth straight All-Star selection and finished sixth in voting for the NL MVP Award.

5. Juan Soto, 2018
A 19-year-old Soto made his Major League debut on May 20, 2018, and he slugged his way to third-most home runs on the Nationals (22). Soto slashed .292/.406/.517 with a .923 OPS and 142 OPS+ -- and these numbers stood out even more for his age. Among all teenagers in baseball history, he ranked first in wRC+ (145), wOBA (.392), OBP, OPS, OPS+ and walks (79). Soto finished second in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting.

6. Gio González, 2012
González joined the Nationals in 2012 and helped lead them to their first playoff appearance that year. He topped all of baseball in wins (21-8), FIP (2.82) and home runs per nine innings (0.4) over 32 starts and 199 1/3 frames. He also led the NL in strikeouts per nine innings (9.3) and ranked sixth in ERA (2.89), while throwing two complete games. González was named an All-Star, finished third for the NL Cy Young Award and finished 20th in voting for the NL MVP Award.

Honorable mention

Joey Meneses, 2022
Meneses only appeared in 56 games after making his Major League debut on Aug. 2, 2022, but what he accomplished during the final two months of the season are notable. He burst onto the big league scene at age 30 by slashing .324/.367/.563 with a .930 OPS. Meneses crushed 13 homers and drove in 34 runs in 240 plate appearances. He became the first player in Nationals franchise history to hit five homers in his first nine games.

Stephen Strasburg, 2010
Strasburg would have made the top five had his debut season not been cut short by injuries. In 12 starts (68 innings), the first overall pick from the 2009 Draft went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA. He struck out 33.6 percent of batters faced, and he had a rate of 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings. As for his Major League debut, Strasburg memorably fanned 14 batters over just seven innings on June 8, 2010, against the Pirates.

Doug Fister, 2014
Fister set Washington’s record for best single-season ERA with a mark of 2.41. The righty went 16-6 over 25 starts, including a shutout, and ranked eighth in Cy Young Award votes.

Rafael Soriano, 2013
Soriano recorded 43 saves -- the second most in a single-season in the Nationals’ franchise history as well as the second most in the NL that season -- in 2013. The right-handed reliever also finished 58 games (third most in the NL) and posted an ERA of 3.11 over 66 2/3 innings.