A huge tip of the cap to Steve who uncovered some stories about two of the Nationals first day draft picks that might help explain the Nationals draft philosophy. The first obvious link among all of the players drafted are they are all collegians. These are more experienced and known quantities. We have not seen the toolsy outfielder that former GM Jim Bowden adored.

But digging deeper, there might be more to the philosophy

• First round right-handed pitcher Drew Storen … ESPN has a story on him from early May … “That kid is everything that is right about college baseball,” Georgia coach David Perno said shortly after his Bulldogs faced Storen in last year’s College World Series. “He handles himself the right way, he’s a great student and he throws bullets. Those are the guys you build programs around.”
• Second round second baseman Jeff Kopernus … the Daily Californian described him as the quiet leader of the Bears and lauded him on his consistency and team first attitude
• Third round right-handed pitcher Trevor Holder … was given the Senior CLASS Award for being “the leader of the team both on the field and off as he was the model student athlete, succeeding on the field and in the classroom. He turned down an offer from t pro baseball, and returned to the same role as team leader in 2009.”

It appears that the Nationals selected three players who are smart/team-first guys. Now I know that only goes so far and talent on the field is critical. But given the players with baggage that Bowden brought in on his watch, it appears that Rizzo and the Nationals are attempting to shift the mindset from players with problems to players who can be leaders.

The Nationals started out the draft selecting Stephen Strasburg. It was nice to officially hear that he was the choice. He’s going to be a tough sign who will likely take until the August 17th deadline (changed this year from August 15th).

With their second pick, they went with Stanford RHRP Drew Storen. It was a name we had heard floated around and as the evening wore on I have grown to like the pick more. From what Mike Rizzo said in his first interview after the selections, Storen will be a bullpen option who can realistically make the quick move to the Nats. If he signs early, as expected, Storen could very well be an option in the bullpen by late August. I think his selection has a slot bonus max feel to it.

The second round saw them take UC Berkeley 2B Jason Kobernus. I was on the phone when the selection was made so I did not get a chance to react to the pick. Here is MiLB’s scouting report

Kobernus is not the kind of elite college bat scouts might be looking for, but then again, that doesn’t really exist in this class. He’s got a real chance to be a prototypical No. 2 hitter. He’s a solid second baseman who really turns the double play well. He may not be that premium hitter, but he’s got some solid attributes that should have him off the board fairly early.

Drafting a college second baseman is questionable, but I’m somewhat intrigued by Kobernus. I do wonder how much of a role signability played with this pick.

With their final selection of day one, the Nationals made a choice that I don’t get. They selected U of GA RHSP Trevor Holder. Here is what PGCC’s scouting report, “fastball ranged from 87-93 mph, and he generally threw both his two-seamer and four-seamer for strikes. His slider was in the low- to mid-80s range, but the break was inconsistent. He maintained good arm speed on his change and created the deception desired, but struggled to locate it consistently.”

There is no question in my mind this is a signability pick, plain and simple. There were at least six to eight players selected after him that I would have rather seen chosen.

I am going to withhold final judgment until I see what happens on day two. If the Nationals use a bunch of their picks on guys who slid because of signability questions, the draft’s grade will improve. But if they continue down the cost-savings path, this is draft could become a lost opportunity.

With that in mind, I’ve scanned Baseball America and PGCC’s top 200 & 250 lists (respectively) and here are some names that would be nice to hear the Nationals look at on day two

• Yuba City (CA) HS CA Max Stassi
• South Carolina RHP Sam Dyson
• Zachary (LA) RHP Zack Von Rosenberg
• St. Thomas More (LA) HS RHP Brody Colvin
• Mauldin (SC) HS RHP Madison Younginer
• Forest (FL) HS RHP Keyvius Sampson
• Bishop Gorman (NV) HS Jeff Malm
• Kansas State RHP A.J. Morris
• Arizona RHP Jason Stoffel
• Alabama OF Kent Matthes
• Loyola Marymount OF Angelo Songco
• injured Troup County (GA) HS CA Luke Bailey
• Florida OF Matt Den Dekker
• American Heritage (FL) HS SS Deven Marrero
• Gulliver Prep (FL) HS Stephen Perez

Unfortunately, there are not any real McGeary types among that list.

the Nationals select University of Georgia RHP Trevor Holder (senior)

workhorse type pitcher

from Baseball America

Senior righthander Trevor Holder was a 10th-round pick last season and should go in about the same range this June. He allowed 19 home runs in 92 innings as he failed to harness his improved velocity. Holder’s fastball touched 95 and sat in the 91-94 mph range for much of the spring, but it’s straight as an arrow at that speed, and hitters seemed to be running to the bat rack rather than being intimidated by the velocity. He has more movement when he throws it 88-91 mph, setting up a solid slurvy breaking ball and fringy changeup.

Seems another signability selection to me. I hope they are planning on grabbing some tough signs later in the draft.

I still see Sam Dyson is on the board

Other names HS CAs Max Stassi & Wil Myers (if I didn’t miss their names)

select Jeff Kobernus 2B from UC Berkeley

the comments here seem to have captured some of the details on Kobernus

• 33 Mariners select FL HS CA Steven Baron
• 34 Rockies select Lipscomb LHP Rex Brothers
• 35 D-Backs select CA HS 3B Matt Davidson
• 36 Dodgers select Baylor LHP Aaron Miller
• 37 Jays select Kentucky LHP James Paxton
• 38 White Sox select Indiana CA Josh Phegley
• 39 Brewers select Tenn OF Kentrail Davis
• 40 Angels select CA HS LHP Tyler Skaggs
• 41 D-Backs select SC HS SS Chris Owings
• 42 Angels select Oklahoma RHP Garrett Richards
• 43 Reds select USC RHP Brad Boxberger
• 44 Rangers select St Paul Saints RHP Tanner Scheppers … dammit
• 45 D-Backs select BC LHP Mike Belfiore
• 46 Twins select Indiana LHP Matt Bashore
• 47 Brewers select Kennesaw State RHP Kyle Heckathorn
• 48 Angels select Eastern Illinois LHP Tyler [mised last name]
• 49 Pirates select Dallas Baptist RHP Victor Black

In no particular order, the best guys out there as supplemental first round begins …

• St Paul Saints RHP Tanner Scheppers
• Lipscomb LHP Rex Brothers
• McCallum HS (TX) OF Everett Williams
• Oklahoma State LHP Andrew Oliver
• Maize HS (KS) HS OF Garrett Gould
• Santa Monica HS (CA) LHP Tyler Skaggs
• Kennesaw State RHP Kyle Heckathorn
• Yuba City HS (CA) Max Stassi
• Weseleyan Christian HS (NC) CA  Wil Myers
• Kentucky LHP James Paxton
• Georgia 1B Rich Poythress

• 11 Rockies finally grab the sliding Tyler Matzek … great value at #11 for Colorado
• 12 Royals select Aaron Crow (”local guy”, went to Univ of Missouri comes home) … three spots lower than 2008 … what will he sign for?
• 13 Oakland selects Grant Green … Billy Beane selection if there ever was one
• 14 Rangers go with Matt Purke (Texas HS LHP) … reportedly another tough sign
• 15 Indians choose UNC RHP Alex White, Cleveland fans should be very happy
• 16 D-Backs select Bobby Borchering switch-hitting HS 3B
• 17 D-Backs select OF AJ Pollock from Notre Dame
• 18 Marlins opt for Chad James Oklahoma HS LHP … he’s a dark horse favorite of mine
• 19 Cardinals go with Texas HS RHP Shelby Miller … another rumored tough sign but worth the gamble
• 20 Jays grab Kennesaw State RHP Chad Jenkins … ten spots after his rumored spot with the Nats
• 21 Astros opt for CA HS SS Jiovanni Mier
• 22 Twins select Kyle Gibson Missouri RHP … that stress fracture slides him to 22 … very good gamble by Minnesota; go after him and hope he signs and get good value at 22, else 22A in 2010
• 23 White Sox go with the draft eligible soph LSU OF Jared Mitchell
• 24 Angels select Randall Grichuk (TX HS OF) … do they go Scheppers as a gamble at #25?
• 25 Angels go with another prep HS OF Mike Trout (from NJ) … :: standing ovation for showing up and sitting there to #25::
• 26 Brewers go with Hoosier RHP Eric Arnett
• 27 Mariners use their second pick on Nick Franklin (FL HS SS) … so much for him at #50 for the Nats
• 28 Red Sox go with Reymond Fuentes (PR HS OF) … cousin of Carlos Beltran
• 29 Yankees go with TX HS OF Slade Heathcott … that’s a baseball name
• 30 Rays select FL HS 2B LeVon Washington
• 31 Cubs select Cal OF Brett Jackson
• 32 Rockies finish off the first round with Tim Wheeler Sac St OF

• 2 Mariners select Ackley as an OF … very nice pick
• 3 Padres select Tate … Baseball America holds serve on their projections
• 4 Pirates reportedly tab BC CA Jorge “Tony” Sanchez … reports are money will be re-allocated towards int’l signing (16-year old SS Sano)
• 5 Orioles select California HS RHP Matt Hobgood … a name that climbed the list quickly today
• 6 Giants grab GA HS RHP Zach Wheeler … good value there (and Matzek continues to slide, reportedly based on bonus demands)
• 7 Braves tab Vandy LHP Mike Minor
• 8 Reds opt for Arizona State RHP Mike Leake … BA misses their first one … White could be there
• 9 Tigers go for the hard sign with Missouri HS RHP Jacob Turner

Power still on ::fingers crossed::

and Strasburg is officially #1