The Nationals have selected Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon with the No. 6 pick in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft on Monday evening. [More first-round Nationals coverage]
The Rice third baseman is an elite hitting prospect. But injuries and subsequent questions about his position in the big leagues dropped him out of the top spot and beyond. Dealing with a troubling sore shoulder and twice enduring serious right ankle injuries – torn ligaments in 2009 and a broken ankle in 2010.
“I’m feeling great. No problems right now,” Rendon told MLB Network. “My injury helped make me stronger…It was not fun, but I had to deal with it. As a baseball player you have to deal with adversity and overcome it.”
It was a surprise that the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Rendon fell to Washington. But maybe it shouldn’t have been given his health issues. Still, he has a bat that most scouts see as major-league ready soon and they can always switch his position. Remember, Ryan Zimmermann is set at third base for a while.
“We were pleasantly surprised, yes, that he got to us at six,” said Nats general manager Mike Rizzo. “Going into the draft season he was projected to be the No. 1 pick and is one of the best college hitters in the game. And throughout the college season and the draft season he held onto that status. Just 24 hours ago he was going [No.] 1 or [No.] 2 in the draft.”
Rendon, who is celebrating his 21st birthday today, said Washington’s front office hasn’t talked to him about switching positions. He did add he’s played all corner outfield spots and at first, second and short during his career. Only a few of those are realistic in the pros, but with an offensive talent like this the Nats will figure it out. It really isn’t a bad problem to have.
“We think he’s athletic enough to play several different positions,” Rizzo said. “We feel that he has gold-glove caliber defensive skills at third base. We’re going to see where and when we have to make a decision on that. What we think we have is a very polished, accomplished college hitter.”
Rendon was the 2010 national collegiate player of the year. Guys like that don’t usually slip. But Rizzo said the Nats are comfortable with the medical reports on Rendon after “painstaking” research. He was limited to designated hitter duties at Rice for much of the 2011 season. But the team medical staff gave him a clean bill of health. It didn’t limit Washington’s enthusiasm for the player. Rizzo would not, however, go into specifics about the shoulder injury.
Rendon is yet another player with Scott Boras as an advisor. There’s almost no way around that in the draft these days given his sheer number of future clients. But this wouldn’t be Rizzo’s first rodeo with Boras. The two successfully negotiated deals with No. 1 picks Stephen Strasburg (2009) and Bryce Harper (2010).
Rendon’s approach at the plate is professional. He gets on base at a high clip, he works counts and has a fine batting eye. Pitch recognition is well above average and he doesn’t strike out much. Rizzo also says Rendon uses the whole field with a balanced swing, possesses a line-drive stroke and has raw power. Can’t do much better than that. Rizzo, however, wouldn’t go so far as calling Rendon a possible 30-homer player. Not willing to go that far yet or put unfair expectations on his newest draft pick.
The Nats believe Rendon’s junior stats suffered compared to a brilliant sophomore campaign thanks in large part to the shoulder injury and being a designated hitter for the first time. Rendon is likely to start in A ball – whether that’s later this summer or more likely next season. No word from Rizzo if that means low-A Hagerstown or high-A Potomac. But they do expect him to get to the big leagues quicker than most draft picks.
Rendon hit .371 (253-for-682) with 46 doubles, 52 home runs, 194 RBI, 176 walks and 201 runs scored in 187 games spanning three seasons with Rice. He also posted an on-base percentage of .505 during his collegiate career. In 63 games this season. Rendon batted .327 and posted career highs with 20 doubles and an NCAA-leading 80 walks in 63 games this season. He is currently a semifinalist for both the Howser Trophy (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) and the Golden Spikes Award (USA Baseball).
Last season, Rendon won the Howser Trophy as the nation’s top amateur player after hitting .394 with a career-high 26 home runs and 85 RBI as a sophomore. Rendon’s efforts in 2010 also garnered citations from the American Baseball Coaches Association (Rawlings Sporting Goods National Player of the Year) and Baseball America (National Player of the Year).
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