10 more Nats draft pick signings

On Friday, I took a look at the 9 players that Baseball America's Prospect Blog reported that the Nats signed: 5th round 3B Matt Skole, 11th round OF Caleb Ramsey, 22nd round RHP Travis Henke, 23rd round 2B Khayyan Norfork, 27th round LHP Bobby Lucas, Jr., 29th round C Sean Cotten, 33rd round 2B Trey Karlen, 36th round LHP Ben Hawkins and 50th round OF Tony Nix. That same day, Sue Dinem of Nationals Prospects figured out that Auburn unofficially put up their roster on their website, which included 10 draft picks. I would have taken a look at them on Friday, but I spent that evening at the Nats game with my dad as well as Saturday at the US Open, so this is the first chance I've gotten to take a look at the new guys.

The Nationals have updated their draft results page with 10 additional signings since my original post. The Nats have now signed 3 picks from the first 10 rounds, 6 out of the top 20 and either 18 or 19 overall, as the Nationals have not announced Cotten's deal yet. Here is a look at the newest batch of signings:

7th round RHP Brian Dupra, Notre Dame

Dupra signing quickly was no surprise, as he is a senior with little leverage. While a lot of seniors for that reason are seen as safe/signable picks, the Dupra pick was received well throughout the prospect community, especially with John Sickels. He was included in this draft post.

10th round RHP Manny Rodriguez, Barry University
Rodriguez was another favorite of Sickels due to his arm speed and secondary pitches. The righty had 126 K and 35 BB in 112 and 2/3 innings this year, but since it was against Division II competition, there is still some question to what his future looks like. He was included in this draft post.

12th round LHP Blake Monar, Indiana University
Monar bounced back from a shoulder injury in 2010 to throw well in 2011. He doesn't throw particularly hard (usually between 88 and 90, peaks at 92) and his injury still worries some, so he has something to prove in Auburn. He was included in this draft post.

16th round SS, Deion Williams, Redan HS (Georgia)
Williams was given the label "toolsy" which either means he can't hit or he's just really fast and a good hitter. The 16th round is an excellent place to take a risk on a guy like Williams, though, especially given his ML bloodlines (both his father, Dion Williams and grandfather, George Scott, played with the Red Sox organization). Williams is the most unexpected early signing to since he's a high schooler. He was included in this draft post.

21st round LHP Todd Simko, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Peripherals are not encouraging (4.31 BB/9 and 6.38 K/9 this season), but got things done at A&M-CC this season. If he gets moved to the pen, he could be turned into a solid lefty specialist. He was included in this draft post.

25th round C Erick Fernandez, Georgetown University
Fernandez is an exciting pick on many levels; the slick-fielding catcher (actually listed as an infielder on the Nats draft page) hit .325 in college and is a semi-local product (from Florida but played at Georgetown). He was included in this draft post.

28th round RHP Ken Ferrer, Elon University
Like Simko, Ferrer had pedestrian peripheral numbers at Elon (4.98 BB/9 and 7.03 K/9). He did do a good job keeping the ball in the yard, however. He was included in this draft post.

35th round RHP Alex Kreis, Jamestown College
Kreis is another small-college player who dominated the NAIA for the Jamestown (North Dakota) Jimmies. Like Rodriguez, it is refreshing to see guys with good results at smaller schools get a shot. He was included in this draft post.

41st round 3B Bryce Ortega, University of Arizona
This is one of my favorite picks in the draft as long as Ortega plays 2B rather than 3B. Ortega looked like an solid prospect going into the 2010 season but got injured. He bounced back in 2011, hitting .353/.412/.430 with solid speed. If he can continue to get on base, Ortega will be a solid infielder in the Nats organization.

He was included in this draft post.

45th round LHP Richard Mirowski, Oklahoma Baptist University
Yet another small college senior with good peripheral numbers. The one thing Mirowski has that the other small college guys don't is a history of facing players from "big schools," as he dominated the California Collegiate League in 2010. He was included in this draft post.

The Nats still have 6th round RHP Taylor Hill (Vanderbilt), 8th round RHP Greg Holt (North Carolina), 9th round RHP Dixon Anderson (California), 30th round LHP Bryan Harper (South Carolina) and 46th round OF Tyler Thompson (Florida) playing in the College World Series, so those 5 could sign as soon as their teams finish.