Anthony Rendon – What a draft day steal. Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via chron.com
I’ve been out of town the past few days (hence the late coming regular rotation reviews). When, while driving home yesterday afternoon, a friend offered to text me the first 6 picks of the MLB draft I said absolutely.
Here’s a running set of thoughts (paraphrased from text messages).
1. (Pirates select Gerrit Cole): slight surprise here, but apparently Cole was consensus 1-1 pick in most drafts.
2. (Mariners select Danny Hultzen): Can’t believe Mariners skipped Rendon, and also surprised on the Hultzen pick.
3. (Diamondbacks take Trevor Bauer): Damn, I wanted Bauer. Still can’t believe Rendon is falling. O’s like HS guys…
4. (Orioles take Dylan Bundy). hmmmm. If Rendon is there at 6 the Nats have to take him. Surprising draft so far. Where do you play him? Move him to 2b, move Espinosa to short and trade Desmond. Nats looking like they’re on Starling or Meyer now.
5. (Royals take Bubba Starling). Damn. Take Rendon!!! What an amazing opportunity; this is the absolute consensus 1-1 in the 2011 draft for the past couple of years.
6. Nats take Anthony Rendon. Wow!
I still can’t quite believe that Rendon fell to us. I thought for sure he was going #2 or #3 overall.
Then, to get Alex Meyers at #23 when we were reportedly considering him at #6 is an even bigger steal (if he’s worth what the Nats think he’s worth). Bryan Goodwin at #32 seems to represent good value. Here’s Byron Kerr‘s take.
We didn’t have a 2nd rounder (lost to Phillies for Werth), but Nats went very bold with Matt Purke in the 3rd. Scouting pundits love the pick. He’s hurt, but he was also a consensus top 10 pick at one point. Its risky but bold.
For a full list of our picks, here’s the Draft Tracker at mlb.com. Also, do a saved search on #Nats tag in twitter.