You want some good news? The Nationals will be drafting the highest they have picked in 7-years!

By the way, the Washington Nationals have the 17th spot in the 2019 Draft. It could have been the 16th if the Diamondbacks won 1 more game because the Nats had the better head-to- head record as they tied wih an identical 82-80 record this season. This is the highest the Nationals have picked in 7-years when they chose 16th overall in the 1st round and took Lucas Giolito.

Notable 17th overall picks in the past have included some Hall-of-Fame level players and several All-Stars like Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Gary Matthews, Charles Nagy, A.J. Pollock, Jeromy Burnitz, Cal Eldred, Brian McRae, and possibly the greatest catcher in Washington Nationals history. Adley Rutschman of Oregon State and Shea Langeliers of Baylor are the top 2 college catchers projected in the 2019 MLB draft. There will be a lot of baseball played between now and the draft. Last year Joey Bart was chosen with pick #2 by the Giants and Bart was the top catcher chosen. The Yankees used their #23 pick to draft the second catcher in last year’s draft to take Anthony Seigler who was rated the 46th best player.

Here is the 2019 Draft Order:

1. Orioles (47-115)
2. Royals (58-104)
3. White Sox (62-100)
4. Marlins (63-98)
5. Tigers (64-98)
6. Padres (66-96)
7. Reds (67-95)
8. Rangers (67-95)
9. Braves (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Carter Stewart)
10. Giants (73-89)
11. Blue Jays (73-89)
12. Mets (77-85)
13. Twins (78-84)
14. Phillies (80-82)
15. Angels (80-82)
16. D-backs (82-80)
17. Nationals (82-80)
18. Pirates (82-79)
19. Cardinals (88-74)
20. Mariners (89-73)
21. Braves (90-72)
22. Rays (90-72)
23. Rockies (91-72)
24. Indians (91-71)
25. Dodgers (92-71)
26. Diamondbacks (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Matt McLain)
27. Cubs (95-68)
28. Brewers (96-67)
29. Athletics (97-65)
30. Yankees (100-62)
31. Dodgers (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder J.T. Ginn)
32. Astros (103-59)
33. Red Sox (108-54)

 

Here is a history of Nationals/Expos 1st round picks over the years:

SEASON PLAYER POS SCHOOL/HOMETOWN PICK
2018 Mason Denaburg RHP Merritt Island HS (Merritt Island, FL) 27
2017 Seth Romero LHP University of Houston (Houston, TX) 25
2016 Dane Dunning RHP Florida 29
2016 Carter Kieboom 3B Walton High School (Marietta, Georgia) 28
2014 Erick Fedde RHP UNLV 18
2013 N/A N/A
2012 Lucas Giolito RHP Harvard-Westlake H.S., Studio City, Calif. 16
2011 Alex Meyer RHP Kentucky 23
2011 Anthony Rendon 3B Rice 6
2010 Bryce Harper C College of Southern Nevada 1
2009 Drew Storen RHP Stanford 10
2009 Stephen Strasburg RHP San Diego State 1
2008 Aaron Crow RHP Univ. of Missouri 9
2007 Ross Detwiler LHP Missouri State 6
2006 Colton Willems RHP John Carroll HS (Fort Pierce, Fla.) 22
2006 Chris Marrero OF Monsignor Edward Pace HS (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) 15
2005 Ryan Zimmerman 3B Virginia 4
2004 Bill Bray LHP William and Mary 13
2003 Chad Cordero RHP California State U. 20
2002 Clint Everts RHP Houston, TX 5
2001 Josh Karp RHP UCLA 6
2000 Justin Wayne RHP Honolulu, HI 5
1999 Josh Girdley LHP Jasper, Texas 6
1998 Josh McKinley SS Dowingtown, PA 11
1997 Donnie Bridges RHP Hattiesburg, MS 23
1996 John Patterson RHP Orange, TX 5

What certainly stands out are all of the swing & misses from the Expos days with all the Top-10 picks they had especially from 1997-2002. John Patterson and Chad Cordero were the only names on the Expos list that made any impact for the Washington Nationals.

What also could be significant is forfeited draft picks if the Nationals sign free agents who have been given Qualified Offers. The Nationals for instance could forfeit their 2nd Round pick of 2019 if they signed a player like Patrick Corbin who almost certainly would be QO’d.

This entry was posted in Draft, Feature, MikeRizzo. Bookmark the permalink.