Washington Nationals select LHP Nick Raquet with 103rd pick in 3rd Round of 2017 MLB Draft

With the 103rd overall pick in the 3rd Round of the 2017 MLB Draft, the Washington Nationals selected left-handed pitcher Nick Raquet out of the College of William and Mary (VA).

Raquet was the third pitcher in a row for the Nationals after they chose left-hander Seth Romero at No. 25 in the first round and right-hander Wil Crowe at No. 65 with their second round pick last night.

Raquet put up a 4.66 ERA, 45 walks and 95 Ks in 77 ¹⁄₃ IP with William and Mary in 2017.

After the top two selections on Day 1 of the Draft, Rizzo reiterated what he said in the lead-up to this year’s draft class being pitching heavy.

“We thought this year it was a pitching-strong season,” he explained, though he noted that, “... as we usually do, we take the best available at the time.”

On Friday afternoon, Rizzo said, “we see pitching as the surplus in the draft, and it’s a deep draft this year.”

He also talked about left-handers in particular, saying that he saw the draft class as having, “... quality left-handed pitching prospects, which would be something that would be attractive to a lot of teams.”

The Nationals have selected two left-handers with their top three picks.

The 103rd overall pick has a pick value of $522,300. It’s going to be 29 pitches until the Nationals next selection, so settle in for a long afternoon...

We’ll stick with the next few picks...

Jonathan Mayo on Nick Raquet on MLB.com:

“He’s a lefty with a lot of arm strength, probably a bullpen profile all the way, in fact I’m almost certain of it, but up to 95-96 mph with his fastball, can spin the breaking ball pretty well, command has always been an issue, it’s below average to maybe even well-below average at times, so if you can get him to find the strike zone a little bit more, maybe you’ve got a left-handed set-up man when all is settled and done, especially if he can throw strikes.”