WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals have built much of their recent success out of talented draft classes for the better part of the past decade. Recently, they have focused on high-risk, high-reward power arms like Lucas Giolito and Erick Fedde with their top picks. But this year, facing a different type of selection outlook, the Nats looked to athletic outfielders.
For the second time in three years, Washington did not have a first-round selection, having forfeited it in exchange for a free agent signing. That free agent was Max Scherzer, certainly a higher value pickup than Rafael Soriano was two years ago. Nevertheless, that decision left the club with its first selection coming with the 58th overall pick.
With that selection, Washington took junior LSU outfielder Andrew Stevenson, a left-handed, defensive-minded center fielder with good speed, which he has shown by stealing 26 bases for the College World Series-bound Tigers. Eleven picks later, the Nationals snagged another potential future center fielder in Blake Perkins from Verrado High School in Arizona.
The club once had a plethora of center field options throughout the system, but that has changed over the past couple years. Michael Taylor has been the most successful, rising to the big leagues as the heir apparent to impending free agent Denard Span. Meanwhile, prospects like Brian Goodwin and Eury Perez haven’t lived up to expectations, the latter now a part of the Braves’ system. The additions of Stevenson and Perkins (should he forego his commitment to Arizona State) shore up that deficiency with a pair of good athletes several years apart in their respective development curves.
There was speculation that the team might take a flyer on Duke pitcher Michael Matuella, once a contender for the top overall pick, who suffered a torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery just two months ago. But neither the Nationals — nor anyone else — made that gamble, at least not yet.
The draft resumes Tuesday, with 38 rounds to go.
