MLB Draft: Washington Nationals select the powerful Ethan Petry

The Washington Nationals took a home run hitter with their second round pick in Ethan Petry

Everyone was very curious about what the Nationals would do in the second round, especially after taking Eli Willits. Well now we have our answer. The Washington Nationals have selected Ethan Petry out of South Carolina.

The 6’4 235 pounder is a pure slugger in every sense of the word. He is likely to be a first baseman as a pro and has some hit tool concerns, but he can mash. Petry was one of the best freshman in America a couple years ago, but his stock fell a bit after an up and down sophomore year and an injury plagued junior campaign. However, with 54 career college homers, the power is undeniable.

In that magical freshman year, Petry hit .376 for the Gamecocks with 23 home runs. One of those homers came off of Paul Skenes and it was a no doubter.

Petry also performed very well in the Cape Cod league, proving he can mash with wood bats as well. Some scouts compare him to Pete Alonso, but with not as much bat speed. However, he will have some things to iron out.

Petry does not provide any defensive or base running value, so he will have to mash. Offensively, there are concerns about his chase heavy profile and some swing and miss problems.

However, if he gets to that 30-35 homer upside, those warts will be acceptable. After selecting Willits at one, I figured the Nationals would pick another high upside prepster, but instead they took a college bat. MLB Network mentioned that the Nats were connected to Slater De Brun, who went 37th to the O’s.

It will be interesting to see how they use all of these savings down the board. Their third round pick will be very telling. I think they are going to take a swing on a high schooler and go with a big over slot deal. Welcome to DC Ethan!