Nationals take 10 players on final day of 2022 draft

The Washington Nationals selected 10 players on the third day of Major League Baseball’s 2022 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Scouting Operations Kris Kline and Director of Scouting Operations Eddie Longosz made the joint announcement.

The Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Luke Young from Midland College (TX) in the 11^th round. Young went 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 110 strikeouts in 79.2 innings in 2022. His 110 strikeouts this season were ranked 15^th in NJCAA Division I. In two seasons at Midland, Young struck out 163 hitters in 127.0 innings.

In the 12^th round, Washington selected outfielder Nick Peoples out of Northview High School (CA). A switch-hitter, Peoples batted .333 with 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 21 RBI, 21 walks and 13 stolen bases.

With their 13^th-round pick, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Marquis Grissom Jr. from Georgia Tech. Grissom went 4-5 with a 5.75 ERA in 18 games, 14 starts in 2022. He struck out 57 in 61.0 innings. Grissom is the son of former Major League outfielder Marquis Grissom who played in 17 Major Leagues seasons and won a World Series in 1995.

Washington selected shortstop Cortland Lawson from the University of Tennessee in the 14^th round. Lawson hit .269 with nine doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 45 RBI in 65 games for the Volunteers in 2022. A Potomac Falls, Va. native, he attended Dominion High School as a senior after three years at Paul IV Catholic.

In the 15^th round, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Kyle Luckham from Arizona State University. In 15 starts for the Sun Devils in 2022, he was 7-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. Before ASU, Luckham played three seasons at California State, Fullerton.

With their 16^th-round pick, the Nationals selected shortstop Everett Cooper from Pro5 Baseball Academy (NC). The Owings Mills, Md. native hit .319 with seven doubles, a triple, five home runs, 26 RBI, 23 walks, 14 stolen bases and 33 runs scored during his senior season. Cooper is ranked as the top shortstop and third overall player in the state of Maryland by Perfect Game.

Washington selected first baseman Blake Klassen from the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 17^th round. Klassen was First-Team All-Big West as a sophomore after he led the league in slugging percentage (.733) and OPS (1.169). He also ranked third in the conference in batting average (.367) and home runs (8).

In the 18^th round, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Brad Lord from the University of South Florida. During his redshirt junior season, Lord was 3-7 with a 5.25 ERA and struck out 60 in 61.2 innings.

In the 19^th round, the Nationals selected outfielder Jonathan Thomas from Texas Southern University. Thomas led the nation with 62 stolen bases in 2022. He finished the year batting .345 with 16 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 42 RBI.

The Nationals concluded Day 3 by selecting shortstop JeanPierre Ortiz from IMG Academy (FL). Ortiz hit .222 with two doubles, two triples, a home run, nine RBI, five stolen bases, 19 walks and 19 runs scored in 2022. 

Over the three days of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, the Nationals selected 20 players: six right-handed pitchers, one left-handed pitcher, one catcher, seven infielders and five outfielders. Of Washington’s 20 selections, 13 came from four-year universities, one from junior college and six from the high school ranks.

RD             PICK         PLAYER                     POS          B/T           HT             WT            DOB                  SCHOOL                                      SCOUT

1                 5                Elijah Green               OF             R/R           6-3            225           12/3/03     IMG Academy (FL)                             Alex Morales

2                45              Jake Bennett             LHP           L/L            6-6            234            12/2/00                  University of Oklahoma             Cody Staab

3                84              Trey Lipscomb           3B              R/R           6-1             200           6/14/00                  University of Tennessee             Brian Cleary

4                111              Brenner Cox              OF             L/R            6-3            195            5/11/04     Rock Hill HS (TX)                                  Cody Staab

5                142            Jared McKenzie         OF             L/L            6-0            180            5/16/01     Baylor University                  Cody Staab

6                171              Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva    SS              R/R           6-4            215            5/15/03    Notre Dame Catholic SS (ON)              Scott Ramsay

7                201            Riley Cornelio            RHP          R/R           6-3            195            6/6/00     Texas Christian University  Cody Staab

8                231             Chance Huff               RHP          R/R           6-4            220           4/19/00    Georgia Tech                            Tommy Jackson

9                261            Maxwell Romero Jr. C                R/R           6-1             218            4/29/01                  University of Miami                    Alex Morales

10              291            Murphy Stehly           3B              R/R           5-10          205           9/27/98                  University of Texas                     Kevin Ham

11                321             Luke Young               RHP          R/R           6-3            170            10/31/01    Midland College (TX)               Cody Staab

12               351             Nick Peoples              OF             S/R            6-5            205           7/24/04                  Northview HS (CA)                     Bob Hamelin

13               381             Marquis Grissom Jr.  RHP          R/R           6-2            202           7/19/01     Georgia Tech                            Tommy Jackson

14               411             Cortland Lawson       SS              R/R           6-2            200           5/12/00                  University of Tennessee             Brian Cleary

15               441            Kyle Luckham            RHP          R/R           6-3            205           10/1/99     Arizona State University        Mitch Sokol

16               471             Everett Cooper         SS              R/R           6-1             184            7/31/03     Pro5 Baseball Academy (NC)            Bobby Myrick

17               501            Blake Klassen            1B              L/L            6-2            205           9/26/00   UC Santa Barbara                             Ben Diggins

18               531             Brad Lord                   RHP          R/R           6-3            210            2/14/00                  University of South Florida       Alex Morales

19               561            Jonathan Thomas     OF             R/R           5-7            175             3/1/00      Texas Southern University Kevin Ham

20             591            JeanPierre Ortiz        SS              R/R           6-0            185            2/18/04    IMG Academy (FL)                             Alex Morales