By the way, the Washington Nationals have the 17th spot in the 2019 Draft. It could have been the 16th if the Diamondbacks won 1 more game because the Nats had the better head-to- head record as they tied wih an identical 82-80 record this season. This is the highest the Nationals have picked in 7-years when they chose 16th overall in the 1st round and took Lucas Giolito.
Notable 17th overall picks in the past have included some Hall-of-Fame level players and several All-Stars like Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Gary Matthews, Charles Nagy, A.J. Pollock, Jeromy Burnitz, Cal Eldred, Brian McRae, and possibly the greatest catcher in Washington Nationals history. Adley Rutschman of Oregon State and Shea Langeliers of Baylor are the top 2 college catchers projected in the 2019 MLB draft. There will be a lot of baseball played between now and the draft. Last year Joey Bart was chosen with pick #2 by the Giants and Bart was the top catcher chosen. The Yankees used their #23 pick to draft the second catcher in last year’s draft to take Anthony Seigler who was rated the 46th best player.
Here is the 2019 Draft Order:
1. Orioles (47-115)
2. Royals (58-104)
3. White Sox (62-100)
4. Marlins (63-98)
5. Tigers (64-98)
6. Padres (66-96)
7. Reds (67-95)
8. Rangers (67-95)
9. Braves (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Carter Stewart)
10. Giants (73-89)
11. Blue Jays (73-89)
12. Mets (77-85)
13. Twins (78-84)
14. Phillies (80-82)
15. Angels (80-82)
16. D-backs (82-80)
17. Nationals (82-80)
18. Pirates (82-79)
19. Cardinals (88-74)
20. Mariners (89-73)
21. Braves (90-72)
22. Rays (90-72)
23. Rockies (91-72)
24. Indians (91-71)
25. Dodgers (92-71)
26. Diamondbacks (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Matt McLain)
27. Cubs (95-68)
28. Brewers (96-67)
29. Athletics (97-65)
30. Yankees (100-62)
31. Dodgers (compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder J.T. Ginn)
32. Astros (103-59)
33. Red Sox (108-54)
Here is a history of Nationals/Expos 1st round picks over the years:
| SEASON | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL/HOMETOWN | PICK | |
| 2018 | Mason Denaburg | RHP | Merritt Island HS (Merritt Island, FL) | 27 | |
| 2017 | Seth Romero | LHP | University of Houston (Houston, TX) | 25 | |
| 2016 | Dane Dunning | RHP | Florida | 29 | |
| 2016 | Carter Kieboom | 3B | Walton High School (Marietta, Georgia) | 28 | |
| 2014 | Erick Fedde | RHP | UNLV | 18 | |
| 2013 | N/A | N/A | |||
| 2012 | Lucas Giolito | RHP | Harvard-Westlake H.S., Studio City, Calif. | 16 | |
| 2011 | Alex Meyer | RHP | Kentucky | 23 | |
| 2011 | Anthony Rendon | 3B | Rice | 6 | |
| 2010 | Bryce Harper | C | College of Southern Nevada | 1 | |
| 2009 | Drew Storen | RHP | Stanford | 10 | |
| 2009 | Stephen Strasburg | RHP | San Diego State | 1 | |
| 2008 | Aaron Crow | RHP | Univ. of Missouri | 9 | |
| 2007 | Ross Detwiler | LHP | Missouri State | 6 | |
| 2006 | Colton Willems | RHP | John Carroll HS (Fort Pierce, Fla.) | 22 | |
| 2006 | Chris Marrero | OF | Monsignor Edward Pace HS (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) | 15 | |
| 2005 | Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | Virginia | 4 | |
| 2004 | Bill Bray | LHP | William and Mary | 13 | |
| 2003 | Chad Cordero | RHP | California State U. | 20 | |
| 2002 | Clint Everts | RHP | Houston, TX | 5 | |
| 2001 | Josh Karp | RHP | UCLA | 6 | |
| 2000 | Justin Wayne | RHP | Honolulu, HI | 5 | |
| 1999 | Josh Girdley | LHP | Jasper, Texas | 6 | |
| 1998 | Josh McKinley | SS | Dowingtown, PA | 11 | |
| 1997 | Donnie Bridges | RHP | Hattiesburg, MS | 23 | |
| 1996 | John Patterson | RHP | Orange, TX | 5 |
What certainly stands out are all of the swing & misses from the Expos days with all the Top-10 picks they had especially from 1997-2002. John Patterson and Chad Cordero were the only names on the Expos list that made any impact for the Washington Nationals.
What also could be significant is forfeited draft picks if the Nationals sign free agents who have been given Qualified Offers. The Nationals for instance could forfeit their 2nd Round pick of 2019 if they signed a player like Patrick Corbin who almost certainly would be QO’d.
