Nationals Draft Recap
Nationals Rebuild Gets a Huge Lift
Washington Nationals 2023 Draft Selections
Nats Draft Quality
With the first pick of the 2023 MLB draft, the Pittsburg Pirates selected pitcher Paul Skenes out of Louisiana State University. I confess to feeling a little disappointed as I watched live on MLB Network. But that subpar feeling did not last long.
In a rare draft year with two legitimate number one picks, Skenes’ LSU teammate, outfielder Dylan Crews, “fell” to the Washington Nationals at number two overall. Crews bats and throws righty and is six feet tall and weighs 205 pounds.
When you consider how lucky the Nats got when drafting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper over a decade ago, the fact that they lost the lottery number one pick to the Pirates hardly stings at all.
Pirates Booty
Although I think the Pirates made the right call, I am perfectly content with the winner of the Golden Spikes Award (College Baseball’s version of the Heisman trophy) and College World Series champion. The Nats and their brass have nothing to explain. The pressure is on Pittsburgh.
(Skenes and Crews become the first teammates to go 1-2 in MLB draft.)
I cannot wait to watch the 21-year-old Central Floridian native Crews play for the Nats. I expect to see him live at Nats Park in a year or two. Since Crews is not a pitcher, Nats fans will not have to fret about TJ surgery, bullpen strains, and weather issues. Like Bryce Harper in 2012, we can watch Crews “every single day.”
If you noticed that the Nationals selected first in the subsequent rounds, that is because the draft order reverted to the “worst record” formula that was in place until last year. The Nationals also earned high marks with the first pick of the second round, 3B Yohandy “YoYo” Morales (6’4”, 225) at number forty overall. Pre-draft rankings had Morales in the number 20 spot, so the Nats got some great value right there.
We know that the quality of the Washington Nationals draft scored high. Below are some summary statistics of the Nats 20 draft selections.
Nats Draft Quantified
By Position
Eleven Pitchers
- Two lefties: Jared Simpson (225) and Liam Sullivan (375)
- Two Texas High Schoolers: (71) Travis Sykora and (555) James Ellwanger
- One Junior College Player: 315 Gavin Adams Indian River State
- Adams is also the lightest at 175 pounds. But he’s not the shortest at 6’3”.
Three Outfielders: All fourth-year juniors. Nunez bats and throws left-handed.
Two Catchers: Both from Texas colleges, but Rombach, taken exactly 300 players after Snell, is 6’4” 222 lbs. Snell is 5’10” 202 lbs.
Infielders: 2 short stops, 1 second baseman, and 1 third baseman. All taken within the first 10 picks of the draft.
Two Shortstops
- Both bat lefty: 138 Marcus Brown and 285 Phillip Glasser
One second baseman: Gavin Dugas, teammate of Dylan Crews at LSU. Weight the same as Crews (205 lb.) but is two inches shorter at 5’10”.
Two other players were just as “short” as Dugas: C Snell, and outfielder Nunez. But unlike Dugas and Snell, who are over 200 pounds, Nunez weighs 180 pounds.
One third baseman: The Nats feel like they got a “steal” with the first pick of the second round. Yohandy Morales (No. 40 overall pick, No. 20 Draft prospect per MLB Pipeline)
NO First basemen!
Two players were born last century (1999) and taken in consecutive rounds (9 and 10) by the Nats: Schulz, P and Glasser, SS
By School: The Nats selected two players from Louisiana State University
- Crews and his teammate Gavin Dugas, 2B in the sixth round. (#165 overall)
The biggest guy? Pitcher Liam Sullivan out of Georgia checks in at 6’6” and 255 pounds. That’s the ideal tight end size in the NFL. Eight pounds heavier than number one pick, Paul Skenes.
Deadline to Sign
The Nats have until 5:00 PM on Tuesday July 25 to get their draftees signed.
