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Washington Nationals News: Nats focus on college pitchers in Day 3 of MLB Draft

By Pablo Roa

Aug 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 12, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Today’s District Daily features a recap of the Washington Nationals’ picks in Day 3 of the Draft and an interesting column about the history of D.C. baseball.

Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes recaps Day 3 of the MLB Draft. As Janes notes, the Nationals relied heavily on college-level pitchers in their final day of draft picks.

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In recent years, the Nationals have often used their early-round picks on pitchers. Some of these included Stephen Strasburg, Drew Storen and Lucas Giolito — just to name a few. This time, however, things were a bit different.

As Janes writes, the Nationals selected only three pitchers in the first 10 rounds. In the final 30 rounds today, the team selected a whopping 17 pitchers.

With today’s picks, the Nationals also wrapped up a fairly college-heavy draft. As Janes writes, 27 of the team’s 41 selections were from four-year institutions, while four more were from junior colleges.

Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s John Kelly writes an interesting column about the history of the name “Washington Nationals” in D.C. baseball.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

Nationals Day 3 draft wrap: College pitchers win the day

(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)

The Nationals continued their emphasis on college players on the third day of the draft and finished with 27 of their 41 selections in this year’s draft coming from four-year schools and four more from junior colleges. After selecting several polished and accomplished college hitters in Rounds 3 through 10 on Day 2, the Nationals continued to pursue more experienced players Saturday. After taking three pitchers in the first 10 rounds, the Nationals added 17 more Saturday, most of them from the big-framed mold the Nationals prefer to build on.

Their 12th round pick Hayden Howard is 6-4 and 190 pounds and held opponents to a .248 batting average in 61 appearances for Texas Tech. Their 14th round pick, Kyle Simonds is 6-4 and 200 pounds and pitched to a 3.75 ERA at Texas Tech. Eighteen of the 20 pitchers the Nationals drafted this year are listed at 6-1 or taller. Read full article here.

Next: Washington Nationals: Roark Continues Dominance Of Phillies

Yes, Washington did have a Nationals team before the Senators

(John Kelly, Washington Post)

After last week’s column on the 1955 Capital Transit strike, Answer Man was bombarded with emails from readers eager to point out that he had made a mistake. How, they asked, could the strike have forced the postponement of a Nationals game when the baseball team back then was called the Senators? Had Answer Man, seemingly so infallible, been wrong?

Well, no. To explain why not, Answer Man will borrow heavily from a column he wrote in 2012 on this selfsame subject. Read full article here.

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