It’s finally here. After 108 days of hot stove season since the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series, it is time for baseball to return. The first major league team (if you can call the Phillies a major league team) graced the diamond for spring training play today, as teams across Florida and Arizona will transition from practices to games in the coming days. The Nationals arrived in Florida for the franchise’s final spring in Viera nine days ago and will open their spring training slate against Tampa Bay in Port Charlotte on Wednesday. But as exciting as the prospect of games is, the performance of individual players will be a more important storyline to track over the next month than the that of the team. So which players should Nats’ fans be tracking over the next thirty-four days?

First, the most important four to follow, the team’s promising but relatively unproven, young, potential stars: Lucas Giolito and Trea Turner, and its two back of the rotation starters: Joe Ross and Tanner Roark.

Lucas Giolito

Simply put, Lucas Giolito is the Nats’ biggest prospect since Bryce Harper. Earlier this month, Keith Law placed him third on his top 100 prospects and first among pitchers, while Baseball America ranked him fifth, just behind the Dodgers’ Julio Arias. He likely would have been the #1 overall pick in 2012 before Tommy John surgery caused him to drop to the Nats at #16. Since entering the team’s system his fastball has clocked in at triple digits, while he has developed an excellent curveball that acts as a devastating out pitch. Before his eight starts at Double-A Harrisburg last season, he had recorded an ERA below 2.78 at every stop in the minors.

While it’s assumed that Giolito will right his “struggles” at Harrisburg (where he has a 3.80 ERA in eight starts), this spring will be fans’ first chance to see how he handles major league opposition. His performance will also serve as a critical indicator to the front office regarding his major league-readiness, with the team’s rotation looking unstable for the first time in years. Though Scherzer, Strasburg, Gonzalez, Ross, and Roark form a promising group, Roark struggled in limited starts last year and Ross is relatively unproven despite an impressive debut season last year. Giolito proving his ability to face major league competition in spring would put him in line to be the first fill-in should a starter struggle or go down rather than the current uninspiring candidates such as Taylor Jordan and Bronson Arroyo. Furthermore, he is sure to be in the 2017 Opening Day rotation, and good performance now will show that he can replace Stephen Strasburg as the team’s second ace a year from now.

Trea Turner

Unlike Giolito, Trea Turner has already made his major league debut, in a brief 40 at-bat stint in Washington last fall. But while he was mostly limited to pinch-hitting appearances last year, Ian Desmond’s departure has created an opening at shortstop, where the 22-year-old speedster will compete with Danny Espinosa for the starting role. Though it is assumed Espinosa will man the position until May 30 when the Nats can call up Turner without losing a year of service, Turner could press the issue by impressing in his first spring in Viera. More importantly, he can prove that his consistent batting averages over .300 and high walk rates can translate to the major leagues. Doing so would establish that the Nationals have a quality, major league-ready shortstop waiting in the wings who can be a difference-maker at the top of the lineup and replace Desmond’s 2012-14 production.

Joe Ross

One of the few pleasant surprises of 2015, Joe Ross will head into spring training looking to prove he can repeat his heroics of last summer. After posting a 3.03 ERA in 32.2 innings in June and July with a mere 3 walks, he allowed 18 free passes across 44 August and September innings, causing his ERA to rise to 4.09 in those months. A strong spring will dismiss those late struggles as nothing more than a young pitcher experiencing fatigue at the end of his longest ever season. A poor spring, though, could fuel concerns about last season being lucky rather than legitimate improvement and give him a shorter leash once the games start to count.

Tanner Roark

Roark may be the most important player to watch throughout the season, and that starts at spring training. Despite never being regarded as a top prospect, the 2008 25th round pick burst onto the scene with a sub-2.00 ERA in 53.2 innings as both a starter and reliever in late 2014. He followed up those heroics with a 2.85 ERA, 1.092 WHIP, and 3.54 K:BB rate in nearly 200 innings in 2015. But after the stunning acquisition of Max Scherzer last offseason, he was mostly demoted to the bullpen, where his ERA skyrocketed to an abysmal 4.38. Now entrusted with a starting spot once again, he will have the opportunity to prove himself as a member of the Washington rotation for years to come. A bad spring, meanwhile, would be the first step to losing the trust of the front office and maybe even his spot in the rotation. A return of 2014 Roark could make the Nationals’ rotation one without weaknesses and help bring it back towards its dominating 2012-14 levels and be a critical factor in catching the Mets. 2015 Roark, on the other hand, could create inconsistency in the rotation and force Taylor Jordan back into the rotation, an experiment that did not fare well last year.

Final Roster Spots

These four, though, are hardly the only players to watch. Like with every year, one of the most important story-lines will be the final roster spots. So, briefly, here are some of the players who will spend the next month fighting for their jobs.

Abel De Los Santos, Matt Grace, Oliver Perez, Blake Treinen, Austin Voth

These five pitchers will likely vie for the final two spots in the Opening Day bullpen after Papelbon, Kelley, Gott, Petit, and Rivero take the first five. All but Voth have reached the major leagues, with Perez the most experienced of the group, having been in the bigs since 2002. Unfortunately, his 2015 was a significant drop-off from his 2012-14 production, and a poor spring could prevent him from making his Nats debut. Of the younger options, Voth is widely regarded to have the most potential, while Blake Treinen has performed at a high level with Washington, though last season was disappointing for him. De Los Santos and Grace are less likely candidates, though both could make the team.

Matt den Dekker, Tyler Moore, Reed Johnson, Stephen Drew, Brendan Ryan

The Nationals bench includes three players almost sure to make the roster in Michael Taylor, Clint Robinson, and Jose Lobaton. Assuming Robinson is used primarily as a first baseman, that leaves one infield and one outfield spot. The infield spot will likely be handed to Trea Turner by late May, but on Opening Day, it will likely belong to either Stephen Drew or Brendan Ryan, the two middle infielders brought in by Rizzo in the offseason to vie for a bench spot. In the outfield, the team looks towards three options who began 2015 with the team. Den Dekker is the most likely choice after a strong finish to 2015. He boasts plus defense and a capable bat. If den Dekker fails to impress, though, Rizzo could turn to either Reed Johnson or Tyler Moore. Johnson was intended to be the fifth outfielder before a foot injury in the memorable comeback at Atlanta ended his season in April. Moore is a much more familiar face to Nationals fans. He is out of options, meaning a failure to make the Opening Day roster would likely put him on waivers. His aptitude at Triple-A is well-documented but since reaching the majors in 2012, he has not been able to produce consistently for the Nats. One of these two will likely be the last hitter on the roster as the fifth outfielder.

Others

The players listed above will be the most important ones to follow over the next month, but here are some other players who have something to prove this spring.

Ryan Zimmerman, Anthony Rendon, and Jayson Werth: Health. It will probably make the difference in the NL East this season. These are three of the most important players for the Nats’ offense, and them bouncing back from injury-riddled season will be of the utmost importance.

Jonathan Papelbon: Can he act like a civil human? He is a great closer but he needs to fit into the Nats’ clubhouse as well.

Wilson Ramos: In his last season before free agency, the buffalo will try to produce and be healthy for the first time in his career.

Bryce Harper: Can he be God again? Can he hit .400 with 80 home runs and a 2.000 OPS? Probably.

These are some of the players to watch over the next month, but mostly, just enjoy baseball being back and have fun watching the greatest sport in the world.