First-round pick Mason Denaburg agrees to terms with Nats

The Nationals have agreed to terms with their first round selection, right-hander Mason Denaburg, along with their 10th round selection, second baseman Carson Shaddy, and the 15th round selection, left-hander Evan Lee.

Denaburg said he is thrilled to be a member of the Nationals organization.

"It's a dream come true, really," he said. "As a kid, I've always grown up wanting to play professional baseball and today I finally met that goal."

Agent Scott Boras said Denaburg reminds him of another of his Nationals clients in right-hander Erick Fedde. Both are talented multi-sport athletes.

"Erick was a tremendous soccer player," Boras said. "Mason is a really gifted athlete. (He) has the velocity. But the real thing is he has a feel for pitching and he has a very repeatable delivery, very durable, and has been kind of hidden. The baseball markets didn't do a lot of showcases and things, but the scouting industry kind of caught on to him late in his junior year. He has got all the physical tools and a great work ethic to go with his talent attributes."

Boras said this signing with Denaburg did not come close to the deadline because both parties had a reachable financial spot with which they were equally comfortable.

"We had an alignment on that and so it was very smooth transition to what both sides felt was a common value point for Mason," Boras said.

Denaburg did fight through his share of injuries in the spring, specifically to his biceps, but says he is back to full health.

"The last few months were good," Denaburg said. "I got back on the mound after the injury and I pitched in the last three games of the year and then I kind of chilled out for a little bit, but I'm feeling good now."

Denaburg said his philosophy of pitching is to go after the hitter: "I like to attack with my fastball and I guess just put people away with my off-speed stuff. I'm not scared of anybody, so ..."

Denaburg said he got the opportunity to meet with Nats right-hander Max Scherzer during his first visit to Nationals Park today, and that was a thrill in itself.

"I met Max actually downstairs," Denaburg said. "I've always loved watching him pitch, and I always thought that like, not our stuff, but our body and our windup and stuff like that was kind of similar, so it was cool to see him and hear from him."

Denaburg said he will head to West Palm Beach, Fla., next week to work out at the Nationals' spring training complex.