The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with 18 players selected in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft: third baseman Matt Skole (fifth round), right-handed pitcher Brian Dupra (7th round), right-handed pitcher Manny Rodriguez (10th round), outfielder Caleb Ramsey (11th round), left-handed pitcher Blake Monar (12th round), shortstop Deion Williams (16th round), left-handed pitcher Todd Simko (21st round), right-handed pitcher Travis Henke (22nd round), second baseman Khayyan Norfork (23rd round), catcher Erick Fernandez (25th round), outfielder Shawn Pleffner (26th round), left-handed pitcher Bobby Lucas (27th round), right-handed pitcher Kenneth Ferrer (28th round), second baseman Trey Karlen (33rd round), right-handed pitcher Alex Kreis (35th round), left-handed pitcher Ben Hawkins (36th round), third baseman Bryce Ortega (41st round) and right-handed pitcher Ritchie Mirowski (45th round). Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement.
Skole, the Nationals' fifth-round selection out of Georgia Tech, batted .348 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 58 RBI and 44 walks in 61 games last season. The 21-year-old left-handed batter posted .445 on-base and .545 slugging percentages en route to Second-Team All-ACC honors. During his three-season collegiate career with the Yellow Jackets, Skole batted .329 with 47 home runs and 179 RBI.