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Nats Finish 2022 Draft, Go Heavy on Position Players

No, not that kind of heavy… and yes, I’m aware he’s a lot lighter these days
The Nats wrapped up Day 3 of the 2022 MLB Draft by continuing two contrarian trends to their usual m.o. – H.S. picks and position players. Here’s the breakdown after 20 picks:

POSITION PLAYERS – 13
PITCHERS – 7

HS – 6
JuCO – 1
College So. – 1
College Jr. – 6
College Sr. – 6

Don’t worry, one of the college seniors turns 24 in September, and, they went legacy again by picking the son of a franchise legend, Marquis Grissom, Jr. So not all of the old habits were broken.

Now, we wait to see how the chips will fall. Assuming the rosters online are accurate—which they probably are not—Washington has 189 players listed. The domestic limit is reportedly 150 active, 180 total, and 190 in the offseason.

Setting aside any exceptions, loopholes, or other roster shenanigans, it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that some releases have to be coming. Maybe not 20 – that would be way too easy/logical – but probably double digits, no?

As noted in the comments, a mass release used to happen at the end of spring training (e.g. 2016). Now, with the elimination of the NYPL and the shifting of the draft forward a month, it appears this may the new normal. After all, we can’t really look to last year, given the releases that came at the end of May 2020 effectively served the same purpose.

Don’t worry – only one more day to the MiLB All-Star Break (don’t get me started on how those have gone away).

6 Commments

  1. I don’t know how any of them are going to pan out, but for pure fun at the ol’ minor-league ballpark, it’s going to be hard to beat Johnathon Thomas. He stole 62 bases in 53 games, so on paper at least, he looks like the next Billy Burns.

    1. Looked at Thomas’ stats at Texas Southern, and yes, the stolen bases jumped out, as did his hit by pitch numbers: 18 in 53 games! Our next Victor Robles.

      Thomas transferred to TX Southern from Houston, where he struggled (11 for 64 over 3 truncated seasons). Thomas is fireplug at 5-7 (may be shorter) and 171 pounds. Can’t teach speed.

      Grissom’s issue is control. He walked 42 batters in 61 IP. That is awful. He was very highly rated out of HS.

  2. It’s not just the draftee signings that may push some players out of the organization. If they really back up the truck to trade the major-league roster, they may add 10+ minor leaguers in return, particularly if they trade the Big Kahuna.

    Of course with all the high schoolers in the draft crop, not all may sign. They’re not choosing between going pro and a full-ride college scholarship, though. With only 11.7 scholarships per NCAA team, there are very, very full “full rides.”

  3. I’m feeling pretty nervous right now if I’m on the FCL roster and I’m older than 20. And we have a fair few of those guys.

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