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Manager Dave Martinez described the Nationals' 2023 season as “progress.” The team improved to 71-91 from a league-worst 55-107 last year and posted its most wins since 2019.

Amid the ups and downs that came with the learning curve of a young team, the direction of the Nats’ next chapter became more clear on the field.

“We talk a lot about our youngsters and how well they played and how much they learned this year,” Martinez said. “It’s progress. I’d say that we’re still not there, but we made a lot of progress and I’m proud of the way these guys went and played. … This year, we made a pretty good jump, so we’ll build off of that.”

Here are six things that stood out as we look back on this season:

Defining moment

The Nationals moved shortstop CJ Abrams to the leadoff spot on July 7 against the Rangers. The shortstop sparked the Nats lineup, creating a 1-2 tandem with Lane Thomas (and later a speedy trio when Jacob Young made his debut and was inserted into the bottom of the order). Washington entered the All-Star break with a series win vs. Texas, building momentum to go 25-15 in a 40-game stretch from July 14-Aug. 26.

What we learned

The core of the Nationals' future is taking shape. At the last two Trade Deadlines, the Nats acquired key players to be part of their foundation. This season, we saw that development happen in real time. During Spring Training, the Nationals signed 25-year-old catcher Keibert Ruiz to an eight-year contract extension. Months later, 25-year-old right-hander Josiah Gray, who was acquired with Ruiz from the Dodgers in 2021, earned his first All-Star selection. From the ‘22 Juan Soto blockbuster trade with the Padres, the 23-year-old Abrams was a dominant basestealer and savvy defender and 24-year-old southpaw MacKenzie Gore established himself in the starting rotation.

Best development

Righty reliever Hunter Harvey emerged as a reliable option to close games. Harvey, 28, earned his first career save on May 7, and he finished the season with 10 saves (out of 15 opportunities). His 0.94 WHIP ranked fourth among NL relievers (minimum 50 IP). In a career-high 57 appearances, he went 4-4 with a 2.82 ERA for the season. Harvey’s development is important for next season. The Nationals could shape their late innings with Kyle Finnegan and the returning Tanner Rainey. Jordan Weems made a strong case this season as well.

Area for improvement

Offensive production. Among NL teams, the Nationals ranked 12th in runs scored (700), slugging percentage (.396) and OPS (.710) as well as last in home runs (151) and walks drawn (423).

“We're a team that we had some strengths,” general manager Mike Rizzo said on Saturday. “We put the bat on the ball, we didn't strike out much [fewest in the NL], but we didn't have enough power. So slug is something that we’re going to try and either acquire and/or develop to get to a point where you don't need to get three or four hits in an inning to score a run and it makes it much more difficult to put up a crooked number.”

On the rise

Ten players made their big league debuts with the Nats this season, including No. 29 prospect Young, who began the year in High-A. Young was tabbed as the starting center fielder since his Aug. 26 debut. In 33 games, he hit .252 with seven doubles and 13 stolen bases (third-most on the team). Young drove in three runs in the season finale against the Braves.

Team MVP

Right fielder Lane Thomas led the Nationals in runs (101), home runs (28), slugging percentage (.468) and OPS (.783). He also tied Joey Meneses for the team lead in hits (168) and doubles (36), and he ranked second in RBIs (86) and batting average (.268). Thomas reached the milestone of 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in the same season, a feat that had been achieved only five times in team history (2005-present).