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2011 MLB Mock Draft Discusses Nationals' Draft Options The Washington Nationals have made out pretty well in the last two MLB Drafts. They selected Stephen Strasburg with the top overall pick in 2009, and then they selected Bryce Harper with the No. 1 pick in last year's draft. While Strasburg is unfortunately recovering from Tommy John surgery, Harper is tearing it up in his first season of pro ball. At last check, he's hitting .346 with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs at Single-A. This year, the Nats do not have the No. 1 pick. Instead, they'll have to settle for the No. 7 pick. With Monday's first round fast approaching, exactly what the Nats plan on doing is still something of a secret, but ESPN's Jason A. Churchill has a notion. "Pitching is likely to be a heavy target for the club early," writes Churchill, "with a particular focus on college arms who could help within two years." MUST READ: The 50 Greatest Walk-Off Home Runs in Baseball History
Sounds about right. And the good news for the Nats is that there are plenty of talented college arms to be had in this year's draft. The Nats probably won't be able to nab UCLA's Gerrit Cole or Virginia's Danny Hultzen, but pitchers like UCLA's Trevor Bauer, Texas' Taylor Jungmann and Georgia Tech's Jed Bradley are all possibilities. As far as players that can help within two years, the aforementioned pitchers are all juniors, so two years is plenty reasonable. Personally, I think Bradley would be a good fit. He's not going to blow you away with his stuff, but he's a consistent lefty that projects as a true workhorse type. He has a bit of Andy Pettitte in him, which would make him a nice complement to Strasburg. 1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Gerrit Cole, RHP, UCLA 2. Seattle Mariners: Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice 3. Arizona Diamondbacks: Danny Hultzen, LHP, Virginia 4. Baltimore Orioles: Bubba Starling, OF, HS 5. Kansas City Royals: Dylan Bundy, RHP, HS 6. Washington Nationals: Trevor Bauer, RHP, UCLA 7. Arizona Diamondbacks (Comp for Barrett Loux - unsigned): Francisco Lindor, SS, HS 8. Cleveland Indians: Alex Meyer, RHP, Kentucky 9 .Chicago Cubs: Taylor Jungmann, RHP, Texas 10. San Diego Padres (Comp for Karsten Whitson - unsigned): Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt 11. Houston Astros: Archie Bradley, RHP, HS 12. Milwaukee Brewers: George Springer, OF, HS 13. New York Mets: Jed Bradley, LHP, Georgia Tech 14. Florida Marlins: Matt Barnes, RHP, UConn 15. Milwaukee Brewers (Comp for Dylan Covey - unsigned): Javier Baez, SS, HS 16. Los Angeles Dodgers: Taylor Guerrieri, RHP, HS 17. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: Jose Fernandez, RHP, HS 18. Oakland Athletics: Mikie Mahtook, OF, LSU 19. Boston Red Sox (Comp for V. Martinez - DET): Blake Swihart, C, HS 20. Colorado Rockies: Dillon Howard, RHP, HS 21. Toronto Blue Jays: Joshua Bell, OF, HS 22. St. Louis Cardinals: Daniel Norris, LHP, HS 23. Washington Nationals (Comp for Adam Dunn - CWS): Tyler Anderson, LHP, Oregon 24. Tampa Bay Rays (Comp for Carl Crawford - BOS): Kolten Wong, 2B, Hawaii 25. San Diego Padres: Henry Owens, LHP, HS 26. Boston Red Sox (Comp for Adrian Beltre - TEX): Anthony Meo, RHP, Coastal Carolina 27. Cincinnati Reds: Levi Michael, SS, North Carolina 28. Atlanta Braves: Joe Ross, RHP, HS 29. San Francisco Giants: Brian Goodwin, OF, Miami Dade 30. Minnesota Twins: Jackie Bradley, OF, HS 31. Tampa Bay Rays (Comp for R. Soriano - NYY): Brandon Nimmo, OF, HS 32. Tampa Bay Rays: Robert Stephenson, RHP, HS 33. Texas Rangers (Comp for Cliff Lee - PHI): C.J. Cron, 1B, Utah
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