Nationals Farm Authority

• Round 31 (#922): UNLV OF JJ Sferra, college senior (warning: the UNLV link has sound); from BA “Arizona State transfer J.J. Sferra is a slender 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. For a small player with a contact-first approach, he’s not a protypical burner and stole just five bases this year. The senior has a short, flat stroke and should get a chance at the next level as a late-round selection”
• Round 32 (#952): Kyle Morrison, RHP Wagner College, college junior; here’s an article on him; a Dana Brown special from NJ; BA “Wagner’s Kyle Morrison ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Atlantic Collegiate League last summer and had a solid but not spectacular junior season, going 8-2, 4.16 with 55 strikeouts and 22 walks in 67 innings. He was better early than he was down the stretch, but he still has a good chance to go in the top eight to 10 rounds. Morrison’s fastball sits around 90 mph and touches 92-93, and his 79-81 slider can be an average pitch at times. He also has good feel for an 80 mph changeup that rates as a below-average pitch now but flashes average action.”
• Round 33 (#982): Nick De Santiago,TX HS Catcher … committed to Texas Longhorns
• Round 34 (#1012): Shane McCatty, RHP Oakland University, college senior; pitching coach Steve McCatty’s son
• Round 35 (#1042): TX HS CF Jacob Morris; PGCC “Morris is one of the most athletic players in the 2009 high-school class, and a potential 5-tool talent. An Aflac All-American in 2008, he has run the 60 as fast as 6.36 seconds (at the Perfect Game National Showcase last summer) and has 90-plus mph arm strength from the outfield. Both those tools enable him to excel defensively in center field. The big question that scouts have about Morris is his switch-hitting ability. They say he lacks instincts to hit, and his general hit-ability is an issue. His bat speed and power potential from the right side are top-level, however, and the ball often explodes off his bat. But Morris’ bat speed and hitting mechanics from the left side are significantly weaker, and this is where he gets a majority of his at-bats. Morris missed most of the 2008 high-school season after transferring schools in 2007 in a move that was judged to have been for athletic reasons, and it cost him a year of athletic eligibility at Coppell High. In the process, though, it switched his athletic focus from football, where he was a nationally-recognized quarterback, to baseball. He has as good a combination of power and speed as exists in the 2009 high-school class”; he is committed to Arizona State
• Round 36 (#1072): Joshua Miller LHP from Sandra Day O’Connor HS (TX)
• Round 37 (#1102): Joshua Elander, Round Rock HS (TX) CA … their scouts from Texas have had four players selected so far on day 3; he’s committed to TCU … from PGCC “Elander first made his presence known on a national stage as a 14-year-old in 2004, when he won Major League Baseball’s Pitch, Hit and Run competition for his age group at the All-Star Game in Detroit. The tools and athletic ability that enabled him to beat out more than 500,000 competitors to earn such an honor are still very much in evidence as Elander has been clocked in 6.78 seconds in the 60 (modest speed by most standards, but very fast for a catcher) and his fastball at 91 mph. That kind of arm strength has enabled Elander to post steady 1.9-1.95 second pop times on his throws to second. With the 2009 draft looming, Elander has been overlooked in some circles because of the impressive number of high-school catching prospects around the country, but he ranks highly on some team’s lists. Because of his speed, he has spent plenty of time in the outfield as well as behind the plate. His best raw tool is his power potential. Elander takes a very aggressive swing from a busy approach, and can drive balls a long way. In fact, aggressive is the best way to describe Elander’s style of play, and one scout compared him to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, a former long-time catcher, for his approach and overall athleticism. Defensively, Elander is still a bit raw mechanically but his big-league arm strength and athletic ability serve him well shifting and blocking. He has excellent instincts for the game and isn’t afraid to get dirty behind the plate. Elander was also a top high-school football player, as both a wide receiver and defensive back, at Round Rock High, and might have pursued football at the college level had he not elected to cast his lot with baseball. Prior to Elander’s arrival, Round Rock High had been a national baseball power and produced a rash of early-round draft picks under former coach John Langerhans. Elander’s emergence as a significant talent over the last two or three years represents a breakthrough for the rebuilding program, which hasn’t had a player drafted in the post-Langerhans era”
• Round 38 (#1132): Duke LHP Chris Manno, college junior; from BA “Junior lefthander Christopher Manno is the Blue Devils’ best prospect and could go anywhere from the fifth to 10th round. Like Wolcott, he works primarily off his fastball. He’s long and lean with deception and some projection left in his body. Manno at times sits at 83-87 mph, though he often throws harder and was 89-91 mph at times in the Cape last summer, when he went 3-0, 1.93 with 45 strikeouts in 42 innings. His changeup can be plus at times, while his slider is below-average. Manno is young for his draft class and doesn’t turn 21 until November” … sounds like he could be a summer league follow candidate, we’ll need to keep an eye out where he goes
• Round 39 (#1162): Kyle Martin Texas HS RHP … man, their Texas scouts are on fire; 6′7″ 185 RHP committed to Texas A&M
• Round 40 (#1192): NC HS RHP Joseph Hughes … committed to East Carolina … here is an article with a photo of him pitching
• The Angels just selected Muhammad Ali’s kid
• Round 41 (#1222): CF Dane Opel, Edwardsville HS (IL) … he’s committed to Missouri and here is another article that mentions him
• Round 42 (#1252): UNC Wilmington RHP Daniel Cropper, a college junior
• Round 43 (#1282): Cohl Walla RHP Lake Travis HS (TX) … another Longhorn recruit … PGCC “Walla was the top wide receiver for the 2007 Texas 6-A state champion football team … [b]ut quit football before his senior season to concentrate on baseball, where his athletic ability is readily apparent. He plays center field for his high-school team, and also pitches on occasion-and it’s possible he could be a two-way player at Texas if he elects to attend college. Walla is very slender at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, but he has much more strength and leverage than his build indicates. He has impressive bat speed and a smooth, extended finish out front that makes it easy to project his power in the future. Defensively, Walla projects as a right fielder with a strong throwing arm. As a pitcher, he is consistently in the mid- to high-80s, and has even touched 91-92 mph. The rest of his arsenal includes a cut fastball and changeup. Walla hit .369-4-27 as a junior at Lake Travis High. Despite his prowess as a wide receiver, Walla has only average speed (6.93 seconds in the 60)” and BA, “Walla earned all-state honors at wide receiver as Lake Travis won the Texas 4-A state football title in the fall of 2007, catching 68 passes for 1,072 yards and 13 touchdowns. He hasn’t played football since, skipping his senior season on the gridiron to focus on baseball. That decision should prove to be wise, though questionable signability could drop him out of the early rounds this June and make him more of a prime draft prospect for 2012. Walla is an extremely athletic 6-foot-4, 170-pounder with the room to add plenty of muscle. He’s wiry strong and shows raw power with an easy righthanded swing, but he hasn’t hit as well as a senior as he did as a junior. Walla has above-average speed and plays a solid center field. He even offers arm strength, as he has shown an 88-91 mph fastball and flashed a hammer curveball on the mound. He’s more of a thrower than a pitcher, however, and scouts prefer him as a position player. Walla verbally committed to Texas Christian before changing his mind and opting for Texas. He may not be signable outside of the first two rounds, but his talent fits more in the fourth- to sixth-round area for now”
• Round 44 (#1312): Hoby Milner LHP Pascal HS (TX); another Longhorn recruit … from PGCC, “Milner is a painfully-thin southpaw, but his small frame and slender build mask a quality athlete who could probably be a Division-I outfielder if he wasn’t a top-level pitcher. He has a very polished and athletic delivery, with a high three-quarters release point and a very consistent downward angle to his pitches. Milner isn’t a power pitcher as he topped out at 88 mph at the two major events he pitched at last summer, but he maintains his velocity at 87-88 mph and uses his fastball in a pro-style manner. Any pitcher with his build, easy arm circle and clean release out front is going to be considered very projectable, although Milner might be the type of athlete who is always going to be thin. Milner’s best pitch is a sharp, 74-mph curveball with tight downer break that can be especially effective given Milner’s downhill plane to his pitches. He also throws an occasional changeup that should develop into more of a weapon at the next level. Milner’s polish and intelligence on the mound should enable him to enjoy immediate successful at the next level, whether at Texas or the professional level. He finished his junior season at 6-1, 0.77 with 97 strikeouts”
• Round 45 (#1342): Michael Ratterree, SS Memorial HS (TX), not a Longhorn recruit, he’s committed to Rice
• Round 46 (#1372): Seth Greene, VA HS RHP and son of former major leaguer Tommy Greene
• Round 47 (#1402): 2B Darius Rudolph, Snead St CC, teammate of 24th rd pick Dustin Crane (RHP)
• Round 48 (#1432): Zachary Dygert, CA Ball State, college junior; from BA “Catcher Zach Dygert doesn’t have an outstanding tool but has a lot of decent ones and plays the game hard. He’s a sturdy 6-foot-3, 215-pounder with average arm strength that would play better if he shortened his release. He has some righthanded power but not an especially quick bat”
• Round 49 (#1462): Jose Sermo, OF out of a Puerto Rican HS
• Round 50 (#1492): Alvin Hines, OF Pellam HS (AL) … football scholarship to Samford

FIN

Here is what a quick Google search turned up on the Nats draft picks

• 3rd rounder Trevor Holder was “completely shocked“
• 6th rounder Michael Taylor commented “It’s surreal — I wasn’t expecting this at all a year ago. I’m almost positive I’ll sign [instead of enrolling at North Florida].”
• 9th rounder Taylor Jordan makes it sound like he has already signed, “Jordan said the Nationals told him he will be headed to the Vermont Lake Monsters of the short-season Class A New York Penn League. They begin their season June 19.”
• 10th rounder Paul Applebee’s coach assumes Applebee will sign
• 14th rounder Naoya Washiya is from the “snowy Japanese island of Hokkaido“
• 27th rounder Brandon King had this to say, “It’s going to have to be life-changing money to make me lose a chance to go to school and get an education and give up the whole college experience,” King said. “I hope to make a decision soon.”
• 28th rounder Matt Swynenberg had this to say, “If the money is right, I want to be a pro baseball player … I have the urge to go now.”