The players might take years to develop, if at all. That’s just fine with the Nationals, who love the idea of building through the draft.
And that’s why they’re excited about having five of the top 70 picks when the first five rounds of the draft are held today, starting at 2 p.m.
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“If you want to catch the Braves, Mets and some of the teams that are on the top of the division,” Nats Scouting Director Dana Brown said, “you have to get young talent that can make an impact at the big-league level.
“When you are behind, you need to pour prospects into the system. When you lose a lot of players like we lost when we were the Expos, it takes time to make up that ground.”
The Nationals are likely to select one of the following players:
» Top hitters: The top three hitters in the draft are Cypress (Calif.) High School third baseman Josh Vitters; Chatsworth (Calif.) High School third baseman/catcher Matt Moustakas and Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters.
» Top pitchers: Vanderbilt lefty David Price; Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep’s Rick Porcello and Missouri State’s Ross Detwiler.
Meanwhile, a handful of local players are possible draft picks sometime in the next two days:
» Maryland left-handed closer Brett Cecil is expected to be drafted within the first two rounds, possibly between picks 15-25. Another college player who could go as high as round three is Virginia outfielder Brandon Guyer, a Herndon graduate. George Mason junior catcher Jason Bour (Westfield), junior pitcher J.J. Pannell (O’Connell) and senior Chris Fournier could be picked, too.
» Two high school players could be drafted in the first 10 rounds. St. John’s pitcher Connor Hoehn and Osbourn’s Sean McCauley. Hoehn, clocked in the low 90s, has signed with Alabama while McCauley is committed to Western Carolina. McCauley caught and pitched for Osbourn and was a two-time Cedar Run District player of the year.
