The spring competition goes on

Whomever wins the starting positions for the Nationals at first base, left field, center field and in the rotation will face strong competition all season.

» As we started spring training, there were three candidates for first base to replace Nick Johnson until he gets healthy. There are now two. On Monday, we optioned Larry Broadway to the minors. It served as a reminder: Being young and having potential doesn’t guarantee a roster spot. One extra base hit and three RBI later we are reminded you must produce.

Besides, it was clear fielding whiz Travis Lee beat him out defensively — and offensively. And switch-hitting Dmitri Young dramatically beat Larry out offensively. It should be an interesting final 10 days as we determine whether Travis or Dmitri will help our team win more games.

» Left field is shaping up to be a season-long competition. Ryan Church gets first shot. He has tremendous bat speed, off-the-charts depth perception and the potential to hit .300 with 25 home runs and 85-90 RBI. However, he must turn potential into performance.

Chris Snelling and Kory Casto both have played well enough this spring to make it a tight competition. Both excel defensively. Both are hard-nosed players who work the counts and have a history of good on-base percentages. They know how to play the game.

Kory has been one of the most impressive players in camp. He’s a good two-way player who deserves a roster spot. But Kory is the only one of the three who has minor league options remaining. Besides, he’s a good prospect who needs to play every day.

Regardless, you’ll definitely see him, whether it’s in two weeks or two months. He has the potential to be a major leaguer for a long time.

» Nook Logan is one of the better defensive center fielders in the National League; no team plays into October without a top defensive center fielder. However, he still has to hit enough — he’s only been switch-hitting for a short period and his bat is continuing to develop. If he doesn’t hit, when Alex Escobar gets healthy he will compete for playing time both in center and left.

The other important element will be balancing offense with defense. Do you put your best defensive team on the field? The best offensive team, then sub for them late? Or a combination of both? This team will need a lot of managing and constant adjusting. Fortunately, we have the right manager in Manny Acta to get this done.

Make-up, character, inner strength and the ability to deal with pressure are always factors in these competitions. Championship-caliber major league players always have these qualities, and these character traits will show up during the position battles.

By the end of the season most of these players will have enough at-bats for all of us to determine their future roles. In the meantime, competition is healthy and a good way to develop a young team.

As told to The Examiner’s John Keim.

Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden provides an exclusive column to The Examiner each week, ranging on topics from the Nats to the state of Major League Baseball.