The Nationals officially signed their first Draft pick in their new front office era.
No. 11 overall pick Chris Hacopian from Potomac, Md., signed his contract at his hometown ballpark on Wednesday. To commemorate the special occasion, Hacopian toured the stadium with his family.
Hacopian, a 21-year-old second baseman out of Texas A&M, became the first player drafted by the Nats since Paul Toboni was named president of baseball operations this past offseason.
“You obviously can't draw it up that way,” Toboni said of Hacopian’s DMV connection on Saturday. “But he’s probably going to be coming in for his physical at some point over the next couple days, and he's taking a 30-minute drive. Just the fact that he feels a connection to the organization, too, I think is a really cool thing.”
Ranked MLB Pipeline’s No. 14 prospect entering the Draft, Hacopian batted .319 with 10 doubles, 11 homers, 34 runs, 41 RBIs and 25 walks this year as a junior. He was named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference for his performance.
Hacopian played his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland, where his father Derek also played before being drafted by Cleveland in 1992.
“He made a really strong impression,” assistant general manager Justin Horowitz said on Draft Day. “He was super honest and very straightforward about what he thinks he’s really good at and what he thinks he can improve upon. And we were the same way with him, challenging and seeing how he would respond. He’s ready to go to work, and that really excites us.”
A Nationals fan who grew up admiring Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, among others, Hacopian played four years at Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Md.) and was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year.
“That’s exactly where I want to be,” Hacopian said on Draft Day.