Major League Baseball

Nationals introduce top 3 draft picks

Published Aug. 24, 2011 2:12 a.m. ET

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The Washington Nationals' top 2011 draft pick is nearly anonymous compared with the team's high-profile signings the past two years.

Third baseman Anthony Rendon, the sixth overall pick, was hampered by a shoulder injury this season at Rice. Even though he says he's now 100 percent, he doesn't expect to get the attention or the pressure heaped on Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, or Bryce Harper, the No. 1 selection last year.

''I think I'm different than those two guys,'' Rendon said. ''I'm not a pitcher, and I'm not a 17-year-old phenom.''

The Nationals introduced their top three draft picks - Rendon, right-handed pitcher Alex Meyer (23rd pick overall) and outfielder Brian Goodwin (34th) - in a news conference before Washington's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night. The players were in Washington on the same day a magnitude-5.8 earthquake hit the city, which added something extra to the occasion.

''It's an exciting time right now,'' Rendon said. ''We got shaken up with the earthquake, so we're going to remember this for a long time.''

All three players were represented by agent Scott Boras and signed deals in the final minutes before the Aug. 15 midnight deadline. As they addressed the media, the players wore Nationals jerseys and caps.

''It's been a dream for all of us since we were growing up,'' Goodwin said. ''We're just excited.''

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