Even a MASN Commenter— or Stevie Wonder, natch—could have seen this coming.
Neither the abbreviated format nor the deferred payout nor the massive reduction in the budget had any noticeable effect in the Nats’ draft approach. Four of six picks were pitchers, three of the four pitchers were from four-year schools programs, and there was the obligatory college senior, who is expected to sign below slot value to “give the Nationals flexibility with other picks.”
As noted by Jesse Doughtery of the Post, GM Mike Rizzo has gone 11-for-15* taking college guys with his first-round pick. And two of those four were junior-college guys (Harper and Rutledge).
* 10-of-14, according to baseball-reference.com
Aside from Doughtery, I can only pass along the party lines from MASN and MLB. Of course, no matter which franchise it’s always Lake Wobegon the day after the draft, no?
I’m presuming Infante will draw a lot of attention and contrasts/comparisons to Carter Kieboom and Ian Desmond, perhaps a mention of fellow alum Chris Marrero. As we’re all too aware, the only thing rarer than a Washington HS draft pick is one who actually signs.
As always, feel free to discuss in the comments.