The Nationals took two right-handed college pitchers with their first two picks of the draft on Tuesday.
Reid Schaller of Vanderbilt was taken in the third round as the 101st overall pick. Vanderbilt will host Mississippi State in the super regional that begins Friday in Nashville.
“Just a good day overall,” said Kris Kline, the Nationals scouting director.
One of the Nationals scout who saw Schaller was Jeff Zona, who lives in suburban Richmond.
“A hard slider,” Zona said Tuesday. “We were fortunate to get him.”
Jake Irvin, from Oklahoma, was drafted in the fourth round as the 131st overall pick.
After taking pitchers in the first four rounds, the Nationals drafted left-handed hitting outfielder Gage Canning out of Arizona State in the fifth round as the 161st pick overall.
“Gage is going to play in the big leagues,” Kline said.
Andy Karp, a right-handed pitcher from Florida State, was taken in the sixth round.
Another Vandy pitcher, Chandler Day, was chosen by the Nationals in the seventh round.
Washington finished the day by picking catcher Tyler Cropley of the University of Iowa in the eighth round, pitcher Tanner Driskill of Lamar in the ninth round and second baseman Carson Shaddy of Arkansas-Fayetteville in the 10th round.
“He is a really athletic catcher,” Nationals scout Terry Wetzel said of Cropley.
The draft ends Wednesday with rounds 11 to 40.
“There is a lot of velocity (among pitchers) left. There was a lot of above-average arms this year,” Kline said.
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