Round 21: Austin Chubb, C, Florida Southern

(via FSCMocs.com)

Baseball-Reference
Florida Southern Bio
The Skinny On Sports' Q&A
@austinchubb

Sean's one sentence analysis:
The Nats grabbed another college senior with an intruging talent, this time grabbing a catcher with a lot of pop in his bat.

Other analysis and notes:
Chubb flashed some nice power in his senior season at Florida Southern, leading the team in doubles with 17 and placing second in HR with 8. His plate discipline took a step back (8 BB/27 K this year, 13/12 last year), but it's hard to pass up guys that can man the tools of ignorance and hit with power. He hit .322/.415/.330 in the Florida Collegiate Summer League last year and went 2-2 with a HR and 4 RBI in his professional debut.

Round 20: James Brooks, SS, University of Utah

(via James Roh, Provo (UT) Daily Herald)

Baseball-Reference
Utah Bio
James Brooks tags on the Australian Baseball Digest

Pre-draft rankings:
#10 prospect in Utah by Baseball America (not in top 500)

Sean's one sentence analysis: This Australian isn't your average SS, with nice pop and defense but poor plate discipline.

Other analysis and notes:
Middle infielders with pop are hard to find, so I like this pick, especially in the 20th round. Brooks hit .303/.361/.333 in 10 games for the GCL Nats before moving up to Auburn, where he's only 1/19. At 23 (24 in October), he needs to start hitting (and hitting for power) if he wants to move up the organizational ladder. His 2 BB/14 K ratio so far isn't helping, either, but all of this is in an extremely small sample size period (15 total games), so take it with a grain of salt.

Brooks was the Pac 12 leader in doubles this year with 21 and was 5th in the league with 10 HR. He was second on the Utes in batting average (.304), third in OBP (.363) and first in slugging percentage (.529).

From Bubba Brown, the Utah Daily Chronicle, 4/19/12: “I don’t know,” Brooks said of his power surge. “I was trying to put my finger on it the other day, but honestly I don’t know. I think I might be more selective at what I’m swinging. There isn’t any magical secret that I have.”

Utah's official site had a short 10 question Q&A with Brooks last March.

Round 19: Bryan Lippincott, 1B, Concordia University, St. Paul

(H-W photo/Steve Bohnstedt via the Quincy Herald-Whig )

Baseball-Reference
Concordia Bio

Sean's one sentence analysis:
Lippincott's solid all-around game that excelled against a lower level of competition (NCAA Division II) will be tested in the pros, but I believe he'll be able to hit enough to keep moving in the Nationals system.

Other analysis and notes:
Lippincott led all of DII baseball in batting average (.494) and was second in OBP (.594) and third in slugging percentage (.864) this season. The lefty batting infielder dominated both on the field and in the classroom (4.0 college GPA while majoring in finance) and if baseball doesn't work out for him, he's already got a job lined up as a financial advisor. Lippincott's excellent plate discipline leads me to believe he'll fare well against stronger competition than he faced in college.

From Concordia's draft day press release: "He finished his career as Concordia's all-time leader in hitting with a .428 career average in 161 games played as a four year starter. He also set career marks in runs (170), doubles (63) and triples (12) while finishing second in hits (254), RBI (165), total bases (425) while finsihing in the top-5 in stolen bases (41), slugging percentage (.715), on-base percentage (.497), home runs (28) and walks (69)."

From an interview with D2 Baseball News:
"What do you know about the Nationals organization? BL: I know that it is hands down the best organization in professional baseball. The Nationals are leading the NL East and they are committed to winning at every level within the organization." Love this guy.

Round 18: Dave Fischer, RHP, University of Connecticut

(from UConn's official site)

Baseball-Reference
UConn Bio
@FaveDischer

Sean's one sentence analysis: Fischer has the potential to surpass the low expectations generally given to mid-round senior signs, as he throws 94 MPH and has room to add muscle and as a result more velocity.

Pre-draft rankings:
Ranked #4 in lower New England region by Baseball America (but not in top 500 draft prospects).

Other analysis and notes:
The senior finally got a grasp of his command in 2012, going 5-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 80 and 1/3 innings for UConn, allowing 27 walks (and in the meantime dropping 1.2 off of his career BB/9) and striking out 68 hitters.

He was drafted by the Angels out of high school (44th round, 2008 draft) and by the Giants after his junior year (30th round, 2011 draft).

Here is a story from 2008 about his experience being drafted out of high school.

Fischer pitched 4 no-hit innings for Auburn in his last start. The linked article gives a little insight to how he approaches pitching and what he throws.

Round 17: Blake Schwartz, RHP, Oklahoma City University

(via Rich Tortorelli/Sooner Athletic Conference)

Baseball-Reference
Oklahoma City University Bio
Minnesota State-Mantako Bio
@bschwartzz

Sean's one sentence analysis: The senior righty used excellent control to subdue opponents during his college career and will need to lean heavily on it to succeed in professional ball.


Other news and notes:
2011 Northwood League Pitcher of the Year
#1 pitcher in the Northwood League (College Summer Ball)

Schwartz transferred from Minnesota State-Mantako to Oklahoma City University for his senior season due to financial reasons. He dominated at both during his college career (and basically everywhere he pitched). In his 4 college years between MS-M and OCU, he went 35-9 with a 3.34 ERA, 8.39 K/9 and 1.88 BB/9.

"Schwartz went 10-2, 2.20 at Division II Minnesota State-Mankato, and his good control of an 88-92 mph fastball should help him dominate NAIA competition." - John Manuel, Baseball America Small College Preview (1/31/2012)

Round 16: Ronald Pena, RHP, Palm Beach State JC

(via College of Charleston's official site)

Baseball-Reference
College of Charleston Bio

Pre-Draft Rankings: #410 in Baseball America's top 500

Sean's one sentence analysis: Pena  has the ability to turn into a right handed power arm but needs to develop his secondary stuff and control his fastball.
Other news and notes:
Pena attended College of Charleston for his freshman year but transferred to Palm Beach State JC for financial reasons. He was planning to head back to CofC until he signed.

Pena has projectible size and still has room to put on some muscle. He hit 95 MPH for the first time during a JC tournament this season. His control doesn't appear to be as awful as Baseball America makes it sound (4.14 BB/9 this season) and according to his coach, it vastly improved as the season progressed.

"The 6-foot-3, 201-pounder touched 94 mph and can sit in the 90-92 range. His curveball and changeup have their moments. His command is below-average and just throwing strikes can be a challenge." - Baseball America

Round 14: Jordan Poole, 1B/OF, Chipola JC (FL)

(via Dustin Kent/Jackson County Floridian)

Baseball-Reference
Ole Miss Bio

Sean's one sentence analysis: Josh Smoker's high school teammate hit .340/.425/.573 this season and has some intriguing power potential from the right side of the plate.

Other analysis and notes: Attended Calhoun HS in Georgia with Nats farmhand LHP Josh Smoker and spent a season at Ole Miss before transferring to Chipola JC, presumably over playing time concerns. Despite only being 20 years old, Poole was sent to Auburn after signing and is hitting .297/.341/.405 in his first 42 PA of pro ball. Strikes out way too much, and will have to cut down on the K's if he wants to move higher in pro ball.

Lydia Senn of the Calhoun Times had an interview with Poole during his senior year of high school in 2010 (full story here)

Chase Parham of Rebel Grove (and Rivals.com) had a nice story about Poole, his break-out end of the 2011 season for Ole Miss, and the role his family plays in his game.

Posting delays

Hi everyone,
I still plan on doing a draft profile for every 2012 Nats draft pick (signed picks first, followed by the ones that got away). The storms in the DC area have thrown off my plans, as my power has been out at home. I will try to get a post done Thursday and get back on track with at least one every weekday.

Thanks for reading!
Sean Hogan