Washington Nationals: Top 10 first-round picks of all-time
By Blake Finney
The Washington Nationals have had some notable first-round picks since moving to DC. So we recap their best first rounders in the MLB Draft since 2005.
Scouts around Major League Baseball work so hard to ensure that their teams are fully prepared for the MLB Draft. The Washington Nationals are no different, and ever since they moved back to D.C. they’ve had some impressive ones.
From the very first pick as the Washington Nationals, in Ryan Zimmerman, it’s been a crucial way for them to build the foundation of the roster. And from there they’ve generally had more success than failure.
It does help when after a pair of 100 loss seasons, the next year they had the number one overall pick. And in that time, they had two stud players who were generally considered sure-things when drafted.
Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper will forever go down in history with the Nationals. But where do they rank in terms of the all-time best first round picks by the Nats?
Although not all of the players below have established themselves in the major leagues yet, there’s plenty of talent among them.
We’ve ranked the players on their value to the organization, as opposed to their career in general. So you may see players who appeared in very few games for the Nationals but may have been highly regarded enough to secure a star player in a trade. Therefore contributing to the Nats without making an appearance.
So let’s dive right into it and starting with the tenth best first round pick in Nationals history. And it’s one whose last name already has a history with the team.