After drafting high school infielder Brady House in the first round Sunday night, the Washington Nationals added six more position players on Monday afternoon.
Washington has been known to snap up pitchers early in the draft, but this year has been the opposite, taking their first pitcher in the fourth round. Here’s who the Nationals drafted in Monday afternoon:
— Second round, pick 80: Daylen Lile, outfielder, Kentucky’s Trinity High School. Lile, a Louisville signee, was named Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year in Kentucky twice during his high school career. The 6-foot outfielder was the 80th best prospect in the MLB.com pre-draft rankings and No. 62 in the Baseball America pre-draft rankings. He was also named the 2021 Rawlings National High School Player of the Year this season.
“This is a really nice, advanced bat to get here in the second round,” said Jim Callis, MLB.com analyst.
Lile starred on the diamond at Trinity this season, batting .550 with 61 RBIs, 12 triples and 18 home runs. He also only struck out six times in 111 at-bats.
— Third round, pick 82: Branden Boissiere, outfielder, Arizona. Boissiere, a collegiate first baseman, was named to the PAC-12 All-Conference team this season. The Riverside, California, native logged a .369 batting average with 63 RBIs and 38 walks for the Wildcats. Listing Boissiere as an outfielder when they selected him is a signal the Nationals are planning to convert the infielder when he arrives into their minor league system. Boissiere was listed at No. 143 in Baseball America’s pre-draft rankings. He has two years of college eligibility remaining if he doesn’t sign with the Nationals.
— Fourth round, pick 112: Dustin Saenz, pitcher, Texas A&M. Saenz logged 84.1 innings this season for the Aggies with a 4.27 ERA and 104 strikeouts. He recorded three games with 10 or more strikeouts, including 14 against Samford on March 12. The left-handed pitcher was the No. 189th-best prospect in the draft according to MLB.com’s pre-draft rankings. Saenz has one year of eligibility remaining at Texas A&M should he not sign with Washington.
— Fifth round, pick 143: T.J. White, outfielder, South Carolina’s Dorman High School. White, an Indiana signee, was the fourth-best high school outfielder in the country according to Perfect Game.
— Sixth round, pick 173: Michael Kirian, pitcher, Louisville. Kirian logged 69.1 innings pitched in his first season as a starting pitcher, but he finished the year in the bullpen. He recorded a 4.80 ERA and 75 strikeouts for the Cardinals this season. The New Riegel, Ohio, native logged a 1.69 ERA with 42 strikeouts and five saves in 2019 out of the bullpen for Louisville. He has one year of eligibility remaining if he does not sign with the Nationals.
— Seventh round, pick 203: Jacob Young, outfielder, Florida. Young batted .315 this season for the Gators with 41 RBIs and five home runs. The outfielder was named to the 2021 SEC All-Tournament team and the SEC All-Academic team as well. The Ponte Vedra, Florida, native broke the SEC record with a 30-game hitting streak that spanned from June 1, 2019, to March 7, 2021. On the defensive side of the ball, Young was just as impressive, only committing two errors in 125 chances this season. Young has one year of eligibility remaining should he not sign with the Nationals.
— Eighth round, pick 233: Will Frizzell, first baseman, Texas A&M. Frizzell was a stalwart in the Aggies lineup this season, starting all 56 games. He batted .343 with 13 doubles, 19 home runs and 50 RBIs. The Rockwall, Texas, native led Texas A&M in 12 hitting statistics, including home runs, batting average, slugging percentage and walks. Frizzell, a senior, was named to the All-SEC First Team this year and was the team MVP.
— Ninth round, pick 263: Cole Quintanilla, pitcher, Texas. Qunitanilla, a right-handed pitcher, was dominant this season for the Longhorns out of the bullpen, tossing 40 innings with a 1.35 ERA. The Cedar Park, Texas, native logged 42 strikeouts and only allowed seven extra-base hits. His longest outing of the season was 3.1 innings against Mississippi State on June 26, a loss in the College Baseball World Series. Qunitanilla, a redshirt sophomore, has two years of eligibility remaining should he not sign with Washington.
— 10th round, pick 293: Darren Baker, second baseman, California. Baker, the son of former Nationals manager Dusty Baker, hit .327 with 17 RBIs and 28 walks this season at Cal, scoring 40 runs. The All-PAC 12 First-Team selection was drafted by Washington in the 27th round of the 2017 MLB Draft before he went to college. Now, the Nationals seem to be in position to sign him. Baker was a two-time All-PAC-12 Defensive team and also had an on-base streak of 42 games this season that was snapped at the end of April.
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