Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)

It's day two of the draft, and the Nationals have much more to consider than they did last night when they waited around for their one and only pick (No. 22), which they used on Oklahoma right-hander Cade Cavalli.

Tonight, the Nats will make five selections, one apiece in rounds two through five, plus a compensatory pick after the second round they received for losing Anthony Rendon to free agency. Yep, that's a big one.

The whole thing begins at 5 p.m. with the start of the second round. The Nationals' second-round pick (No. 55 overall) should come a few minutes before 6 p.m. The compensatory pick (No. 71) should come around 6:40 p.m. All the other picks (No. 94, No. 123, No. 153) will follow, with about 1 hour, 20 minutes between selections.

I'll be updating this post all evening with each draft pick and some quotes from the players we get on conference call. And Byron Kerr will have a full roundup at the end of the night with vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline's take on each of the picks.

Second round (No. 55) - Cole Henry, RHP, LSU
Henry is a big, hard-throwing, college pitcher with a bit of injury history. If you're surprised the Nationals drafted him, you clearly haven't been paying attention over the years. The 6-foot-4 right-hander was only a sophomore this season and made only four starts, so he doesn't have as long of a track record as many other college pitchers in this year's draft. Because he's a sophomore, he could elect not to sign and return to LSU next year. But the Nats have shown they'll pay over slot value for draft picks they really like. And they wouldn't have drafted him tonight if they didn't think they had a good chance to sign him.

Update: Henry, speaking to reporters on a video conference call, said he expects to sign with the Nationals. "It's been a whirlwind of emotion right now," he said. "But I think my plan is to sign."

Henry said after dealing with arm injuries last year, he worked on changing his mechanics to shorten his throwing motion and he's been healthy ever since. He also said he's long been an admirer of Stephen Strasburg and actually saw him make one of his first career starts as a rookie in Atlanta in 2010. Henry was 11 years old at the time. Oh, my.

As a starter at LSU, Henry is experienced pitching in highly competitive environments. And though Friday nights in the SEC won't compare to any night in the National League East, it's still a good sign of his ability to pitch in pressure situations. "I was really blessed to be able to play there and compete in one of the best conferences in the nation," he said. "Obviously it's a big deal to be the guy for LSU and Louisiana. That's kind of their professional baseball team. There's no professional baseball team in Louisiana. So that's everybody's biggest baseball team, and they're there in full force every single time we play. It's pressure-filled, and it's awesome."

Compensation pick (No. 71) - Sammy Infante, SS, Monsignor Edward Pace HS (Fla.)
No matter how his career pans out, Infante will always be known as the player the Nationals received as compensation for losing Anthony Rendon to free agency. They'll hope he develops into a big league shortstop, though there does appear to be some question about whether he'll outgrow that position. Infante is committed to play at the University of Miami, so the Nats might have to offer him at least slot value to convince him to sign and begin his professional career now.

Update: Infante said even though it was his dream to play for Miami, he feels he's ready to turn pro and expects to sign with the Nationals. The young man doesn't appear to be lacking in confidence. "I think they got a great steal," he said, with no hint of sarcasm. "I'm ready. I'm healthy, and I'm ready to go. So that's why I'm signing with the Nats."

Also, if the name of Infante's high school rings a bell, you may remember another alum who went on to wear a Nationals uniform: Gio Gonzalez.

Third round (No. 94) - Holden Powell, RHP, UCLA
Powell is a reliever, one of the best in college. And as a closer for a power program like UCLA, he's advanced. Which means he's a prime candidate to be fast-tracked to the majors. Obviously, the lack of a minor league season in 2020 is going to hurt. But if Powell can pick up where he left off in 2021, he might be someone we see pitching out of the bullpen at Nationals Park sooner rather than later.

Update: Powell said he came to UCLA as a starter, but with the program loaded with a deep rotation, he quickly converted to the bullpen and enjoyed immediate success. He said his stuff (four-seam fastball, slider) helps, but he really believes success as a closer is more about mentality than anything. He said he can get pretty amped up when he's on the mound, but he's trying to find the right balance so as not to lose control.

"It's an attack-first mentality," he said. "It's oftentimes a team-first mentality, really. You've got to do whatever you can do to get those last three outs to get the win. The stuff does matter. It's just sometimes as a closer you've got to go out there and get it any way you can."

Powell also recognizes this could pave the way for a quicker path to the major leagues. "It's definitely something I've thought about," he said. "Coming into UCLA, I don't think I really thought about that at the moment. But as I got later into my sophomore year, junior year, I think that started to come more into my mind: This could be the pathway to the big leagues at a quicker rate."

Fourth round (No. 123) - Brady Lindsly, C, Oklahoma
How often does a team take batterymates in the same draft, let alone within the first four rounds? Lindsly caught first-round pick Cade Cavalli at Oklahoma, so obviously he's familiar with this year's top draft choice. Described by Jim Callis on MLB Network as a "catch-and-throw guy," Lindsly isn't known for his offensive prowess. But after four years catching in a major college program, he's got experience. This could be a case of a guy the Nats typically would've drafted a couple rounds later, and as such they might be able to sign him for below-slot value and use the savings to increase their offer to one of their higher picks.

Update: Lindsly was, in his own words, "shocked" to be drafted tonight. He fully expected to go undrafted and sign as a free agent with somebody in the coming days. When he got the call from the Nats tonight, he said it was "a dream come true." One other important point he made during his teleconference with reporters: Though he's good friends with Cavalli and spoke highly of him, he actually didn't catch him that much at Oklahoma. His catching counterpart was usually behind the plate when Cavalli pitched. So this doesn't appear to be a case of the Nats drafting him solely because of his familiarity with their first-round pick.

Fifth round (No. 153) - Mitchell Parker, LHP, San Jacinto Junior College (Texas)
With their final selection of this year's shortened draft, the Nationals took another pitcher, and another pitcher from San Jac. You'll recall last year's first-round pick, Jackson Rutledge, pitched there. Vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline said he saw Parker pitch in 2019 while scouting Rutledge and came away impressed. Kline described the lefty as having a "funky" delivery that produces some effective stuff but might require some tweaks.

Overall, Kline was thrilled with this year's draft class. Obviously, these weren't normal circumstances, but he said these are probably the same players they would've taken even if this was a normal year. Time will now tell whether any of the six players develop into stars, big league regulars, fringe players or fail to reach the majors.