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[ed. note - “This is the fourth in a series looking at the Nationals’ 2020 draft class. You can check out the other stories HERE, HERE, and HERE.”]
WASHINGTON – Samuel Infante, who turned 19 in June, was selected in the second round as a compensation pick and was the 71st player chosen overall.
He is a right-handed hitter and played shortstop at Monsignor Edward Pace High in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Tommy Shields, a Fairfax native and co-field director in player development, was able to see Infante up close at Instructional League in Florida.
“Sammy has a nice frame to grow into and swings the bat well,” according to Shields.
“Nice actions in the field. A valuable experience in instructs because he learned how much he didn’t know and how much he has to work on in the future.”
“A great kid, very appreciative and hard working. He’s going to be a good one. His swing reminds me of Howie (Kendrick) a little bit.”
Major League players who have attended Pace, according to Baseball Reference, include former Nationals’ pitcher Gio Gonzalez and first baseman/left fielder Chris Marrero, a first-round pick out of Edward Pace by the Nationals in 2006.
Gonzalez played for Washington from 2012-18 while Marrero played with the Nationals in 2011 and 2013 and with the Giants in 2017.
Other Major Leaguers from Edward Pace are Alex Fernandez, who pitched in the majors from 1990 to 2000 with the White Sox and Marlins and won 107 games; Adrian Cardenas, who played for the Cubs in 2012; pitcher Danny Rios, who was with the Yankees and Royals in the 1990s; and pitcher Derek Rodriguez, who has played for the Giants since 2018 and is the son of former Nationals’ catcher Pudge Rodriguez.
Infante was one of the youngest infielders during Instructional League with the Nationals in Florida during the month of October.
Other infielders at instructs who were also new to the organization were three non-drafted free agents from 2020: Jake Boone (Princeton), Quade Tomlin (Virginia high school) and Gio Diaz, who played in college at St. Mary’s of California.
Diaz hit .396 in 12 games this past season before the college schedule was called off.
Next: Cole Henry, pitcher, second round, LSU