Nationals select high school shortstop Brady House in first round of MLB draft

Brady House woke up Sunday morning, went to church, then returned to his bedroom. And then he waited. And waited some more.

“It felt like I was sitting in my room for two weeks,” House said. “It was a long day just thinking about things.”

House wasn’t stressed or nervous. He had made up his mind that whatever was to come Sunday night, when the 2021 MLB Draft took place, was meant to be. Still, the 18-year-old shortstop out of Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, Georgia, waited and wondered, pondering which team might call his name.

That team wound up being the Nationals, selecting House with the 11th overall pick to break a recent trend of Washington choosing college pitchers in the first round. House is just the fifth position player chosen with the Nationals’ first pick in the draft since Mike Rizzo became general manager in 2009.

“Every little kid dreams of being in this position, and I’m just blessed I get to play at the next level and I’m happy, for sure,” House said. “I’m definitely excited and stoked.”

House said he plans to sign with the Nationals despite committing to Tennessee in 2018. The assigned slot value for Washington’s first pick is $4,547,500. The slot value indicates the suggested maximum signing bonus for a player chosen in that spot, but a team can go above or below that, depending on how they space out other signing bonuses throughout the draft.

If he signs, House will join an organization with the lowest-ranked farm system in MLB, according to The Athletic’s ratings. The Nationals have two players within MLB.com’s top-100 prospects rankings: right-handers Cade Cavalli (77) and Jackson Rutledge (89).

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound House could transition to third base at the professional level, but he’s adamant he wants to stay at shortstop. He views himself as something similar to the Rockies’ Trevor Story — another big, power-oriented shortstop.

“That’s what I work toward every day is just beating everybody out at short and just proving that I can stay at short because that’s where I feel comfortable,” House said. “That’s where my bread and butter is. I feel like I can stay at short, for sure, if I keep up the work there.”

Still, House said he wants to continue working on his lateral movement at shortstop. House was ranked the No. 8 prospect by MLB.com, and Baseball America analyst Carlos Callazo said on ESPN that “you could make a case that [House] has the best offensive upside in the class.”

House had played on Washington’s Area Code travel team for two years, so he already knew some of the scouts and was in communication with the team leading up to the draft. He has already been to Nationals Park, too, visiting with his family when he was 12 or 13.

“I know it hasn’t been a long time, but I’ve been watching Trea Turner since he started,” House said. “Now that I’m in this organization, and Trea, it’s just crazy. It’s crazy.”

As a senior for Widner-Barrow High School, House hit .549 with 12 doubles and eight home runs. He drove in 20 runs, stole 21 bases and walked 29 times compared to nine strikeouts. He was chosen as a Baseball America preseason Second Team All-American and a First Team All-American by Perfect Game.

House feels Washington will get a player with power, but that’s not all House wants to offer.

“I’d say my strength for sure is being able to hit for power and contact,” House said. “I put some balls out, but at the same time, I’m always out there getting extra-base hits.”

Before choosing House, Rizzo had gone with a pitcher in the first round of each of the previous five drafts: Cavalli (2020), Rutledge (2019), Mason Denaburg (2018), Seth Romero (2017) and Dane Dunning (2016).

The Nationals may have had an interest in a pair of college right-handers — the kind that Rizzo often targets early in the draft. But the Mets picked Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker with the 10th pick, and Miami (Ohio) right-hander Sam Bachman went to the Angels.

That led Washington to House, who said he’s already hearing people compare him to Ryan Zimmerman — the first pick in Nationals history who has gone on to become a two-time All-Star and a World Series champion. No pressure there.

“I’ve gotta live up to that, for sure,” House said. “I’mma go out there and give it my all, and hopefully just work hard and do what I can to help out the organization.”