RealGM

Today is an extremely important day for the future of the franchise. Team has a lot of picks and a lot of brains weighing in. They need to make this count.

Here are the Nats picks for the first two rounds:

1st round: #6, #31 (supplemental for Soriano), #49 (supplemental for Guillen)

2nd: #67 (Also for Soriano), #70

That's five picks among the first 70 selections. Good luck Nats!!

So long as no one sees fit to stop me I'll give a brief rundown of, at the least, the first couple of rounds worth of Nationals picks today.

My own goals for the draft, or rather those things by which I am judging the team and the quality of their management through the draft, is how aggressive the team is in drafting the best available players, ignoring signability concerns, taking players who expect to receive contracts above the recommended slot allotment. I

They selected Ross Detwiler. 5th best prospect according to Keith Law, third best pitching prospect.

From what I read, good pick. Upside is probably that of a #2 starter. He's a lefty so that helps. low 90s fastball, plus curve and change. Some command issues. Health hasn't been an issue so far. He could move quickly but I'd be surprised to see him before 2009 at the earliest.

Be interested to hear what Wood has to say about him. A seasoned college guy would lead me to believe the stat guys favored this pick, which is fine with me, but I'm not sure what Wood's K/BB ratio looks like.

Here's one profile on him:

*** MLB Draft Profile - Ross Detwiler ***
From The Sports Network

Position: LHP

College: Missouri State

Year: Junior

Height: 6-4

Weight: 175

NOTES: The ace of the Missouri State staff this season, Ross Detwiler is
expected to be plucked within the top 10 of the upcoming draft...Despite being a little underweight Detwiler's fastball has been clocked between 92-95 mph...Detwiler also has a big-dropping curveball and is developing a changeup for the next level...The lanky southpaw was a former star in the Cape Cod League and Team USA last summer, but faltered at times because of poor run support...Detwiler's quick arm could make him the highest-drafted player in school history...Brett Sinkbeil was selected 19th overall in the 2006 Major League Baseball amateur draft on June 7, but his
record is not expected to last long...Detwiler is a quiet, modest type of
guy who earns the respect of his peers and teammates for what he does on
the mound...The simple fact Detwiler is a starting left-handed pitcher has
some scouts drooling of what he can become at the next level...Can be
compared to Philadelphia's Cole Hamels and the Cubs' Sean Marshall...The
product of Wentzville Holt High School, Detwiler was offered a free-agent
deal from the Atlanta Braves in 2003.

Ross Detwiler
Left handed starter to the Nationals by way of the Missouri State University. Detwiler is a solid value pick at six in this draft, and commonly considered the second best college pitching prospect behind Vanderbilt's David Price. Moskos may have been selected before Detwiler, and will likely be a solid pitcher in his own right, Detwiler offers more projectability and, while he is very thin and so invites durability concerns, is really more likely to stick as a starter than Moskos.

He's not a finesse lefty, and generally maintains velocity on his fastball above 90 mph deep into starts and who, by combining general athleticism and a very quick arm can already manage mid nineties velocity at times, something he could, as he adds strength and continues to hone his delivery, manage with consistency. His curve is a solid second pitch and he throws it hard, which gives it a sharp downward break and solid velocity for a breaking pitch. He's tightened it up over the course of his career and with further work it could well be a swing and miss offering. His change is something of a personal project, he's begun to throw it more often and to improve his arm action when he does, and there's not really any concern that it won't serve as an effective third pitch, few starting pitchers can survive with two.

Detwiler does not have impeccable command but doesn't struggle to throw strikes and will likely top out as a front of the rotation starter. He's already an effective pitcher but shows more room for improvement than many college players. Among starting pitchers in the draft this year Detwiler is perhaps just a tier below Price and Porcello, but he is a good pitcher who could become a very good pitcher, a solid pick.

Among other picks Detroit obviously kicked a lot of ass taking Porcello so late in the draft, and might well have an absolutely terrifying rotation by 2009, Colorado takes this year

my friend just messaged me sayin we drafetd Michael Burgess, the H.S. outfielder from Florida. Is this true????

I'm extremely happy with this draft...
Ross Detwiler, Josh Smoker, Michael Burgess, Jack McGeary could be a MONSTER draft if all sign...

From what I've read, the Nats had one of the best drafts if not the best draft this year. Some first rounder players dropped b/c of signability and the Nationals snatched them up. Will be interesting to see how these guys develop.