WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Trey Lipscomb was the surprise standout of Nationals spring training this time last year. A former third-round pick and top-30 prospect who was invited to major league camp for the first time and was expected just to learn from the experience.

But the Frederick, Md., native did much more than learn. He took that opportunity and ran with it, nearly making the Opening Day roster out of camp. In 21 Grapefruit League games, Lipscomb slashed .400/.455/.540 with a .995 OPS, two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBIs, a stolen base and five walks to seven strikeouts, all while playing excellent defense all over the infield.

After a less-than-spectacular spring by Luis García Jr., who needed to prove he deserved his spot on the major league roster, Lipscomb played his way into the conversation for Opening Day.

Ultimately, the Nats decided to stick with García and have Lipscomb start his season at Triple-A Rochester. But then Nick Senzel fractured his thumb on Opening Day in Cincinnati and Lipscomb was on his way to the big leagues for the second game of the season.

What followed was an up-and-down year for the young infielder. Literally.

It’s time for the third installment of our 20 Greatest Players in Nationals History series, which means we’ve reached the Top 10. If you missed the first two installments, be sure to click these links for No. 16-20 and No. 11-15.

It was no easy task finalizing the 20 greatest players in 20 years of Nats baseball, and it was no easier deciding who made the Top 10, and in what order. Reminder: This is a subjective exercise, so there’s no hard and fast rule or stat to determine the order. This is about both the player’s tangible performance and also his broader impact and significance within the history of the organization.

We’ll wrap things up next Sunday with the highly anticipated Top 5. But before we get to that, here’s No. 6-10, featuring some pretty big names who each played parts of at least seven seasons in D.C. …

NO. 10 – IAN DESMOND
Shortstop, 2009-15
Stats: 927 G, 3793 PA, 3480 AB, 424 R, 917 H, 185 2B, 21 3B, 110 HR, 432 RBI, 122 SB, 37 CS, 232 BB, 890 SO, .264 AVG, .312 OBP, .424 SLG, .736 OPS, 99 OPS+, 16.5 bWAR, 16.2 fWAR

In March 2005, the Nationals called up a 19-year-old shortstop drafted the previous summer by the then-Expos to play in a few big league spring training games. He immediately turned heads with some dazzling plays in the field, prompting Jim Bowden and Frank Robinson to declare him the organization’s “Shortstop of the Future” and give him a chance to play in the team’s first exhibition game at RFK Stadium.