VIERA, Fla. -- Nationals pitchers and catchers had their first workout on Sunday, but first baseman Nick Johnson highlighted the day by working out in front of general manager Jim Bowden and manager Manny Acta for the first time. Both Bowden and Acta were pleased by what they saw.

Johnson, who missed the entire 2007 season because of a broken right leg, was on Field 1 at the Carl Barger Complex and took four rounds of hitting practice. During the first round, Johnson was trying to find his swing and appeared frustrated, but after that, he was hitting mostly line drives. Johnson even took fielding practice. He went to his left and right without having any problems.

The last time Bowden and Acta saw Johnson practice was late last year and it was clear that Johnson was not ready to play baseball. He had a noticeable limp for most of the season and had no strength in his right hip. Last August, Johnson had a rod and a screw removed from his right hip to get more mobility in the leg. The surgery, it appears, has worked wonders.

"Nick looked phenomenal," Bowden said. "What a great way to start Spring Training when, in Day 1, he comes out and swings and shows that he is going to be potentially 100 percent by Opening Day. It was a very surprising day for me. There were no restrictions on his right leg. It went through the strike zone at the plate. Obviously, we never saw any of that last year."

Acta is a person who usually doesn't judge players by what they do on the first day, but in the case of Johnson, the skipper saw something he didn't see last year.

"That was refreshing because the last image I had of him last season in D.C. -- taking ground balls and swinging the bat -- was totally different than what I saw today," Acta said. "I'm even looking at him when he is not doing [baseball] activities. [I want to know if] I see any favoring [of the leg] or any limp. He looks normal. He looks good. Now, we have to see if he could bounce back and can take the everyday grind of Spring Training."

While he was happy to do baseball activities, Johnson said he has to work on his swing and he still needs to slide toward the bases, something he hasn't done since the '06 season.

"The last time they saw me, it wasn't too good -- hobbling around," Johnson said. "I come a long way from that. I feel good. There are no real big worries."

Johnson wasn't the only player who pleased the Nationals during the workout. They saw right-handers Shawn Hill, Garrett Mock and John Patterson throwing free and easy, while Ross Detwiler, the Nationals' first-round Draft pick last year, appears to have fixed his mechanics.

Both Hill (right elbow and left shoulder problems) and Mock (left knee surgery) had bullpen sessions. Pitchers are scheduled to throw eight minutes, but Hill threw only six minutes on purpose. The Nationals want to take it slow with Hill.

"We have a month and a half before the bell rings," pitching coach Randy St. Claire said. "There is no reason to go out there and make Shawn go [eight] minutes. He has been throwing in the offseason."

Mock missed most of last season because he was still recovering from knee surgery, but on Sunday, he was throwing all of his pitches. Mock is competing for a spot in the rotation.

"He threw the ball extremely well," St. Claire said.

Patterson (nerve problems in the right arm) had a long tossing session, and Bowden saw the zip in Patterson's throws.

"I can just throw the baseball and be me, be happy, be excited and be focused on the work that I'm doing that day and know what my plans are for tomorrow instead of being in pain," Patterson said.

During a bullpen session, the Nationals noticed that Detwiler changed his pitching motion and reduced pitching across his body.

"Ross threw the ball very well," St. Claire said. "We changed his setup before he started any part of his delivery."