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Reggie Jackson. Justin Verlander. Will Clark. Josh Beckett. These are just a few of the standouts players who began their careers as the No. 2 overall Draft pick.

The Nationals will seek a franchise-impacting selection tonight when they make the second pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. The baseball world will wait to see who the Pirates draft at No. 1 in a class stacked with talent.

• MLB Draft FAQ (Tonight, 7 ET on MLB Network, ESPN)

This group is headlined by LSU teammates outfielder Dylan Crews (Golden Spikes Award winner) and right-hander Paul Skenes (College World Series Most Outstanding Player), along with outfielders Wyatt Langford (Florida), Walker Jenkins (South Brunswick HS, NC) and Max Clark (Franklin Community HS, IN).

Draft details

The 2023 MLB Draft will be held in Seattle as part of All-Star Weekend.

Day 1 (rounds 1-2): Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, MLB Network
Day 2 (rounds 3-10): Monday, 2 p.m. ET, streaming on MLB.com
Day 3 (rounds 11-20): Tuesday, 2 p.m. ET, streaming on MLB.com

Day One picks

The Nationals will make the Nos. 2 and 40 overall picks on Sunday. Of Washington’s $14,502,400 bonus pool, $8,998,500 is for the first round and $2,144,700 for the second round.

Mock draft

In the latest MLB Pipeline Mock Draft, Jonathan Mayo projects Pittsburgh to select Skenes at No. 1 and Washington to select Crews at No. 2:

1. Pirates: Paul Skenes, RHP, Louisiana State (No. 1)

Don’t be surprised if the Pirates are holding calls and Zooms with all five of the top players until the very end. If Crews is indeed no longer the top target, Skenes’ generational talent on the mound makes a lot of sense. Langford and Clark come into play if the determination is made that the separation in talent isn’t that great while the money saved (estimating somewhere between $500,000 and $1.5 million) is something they’ll use later in the Draft. For now, I’m sticking with Skenes, who even if he signed for around, say, $9.1 million, would give the Pirates $600,000 in savings to sprinkle around.

2. Nationals: Dylan Crews, OF, Louisiana State (No. 2)

If Crews goes No. 1, Skenes likely goes No. 2, and it’s pretty clear the reverse is true. If the Pirates don’t take either of the LSU stars, it sounds like the Nats would go with the right-hander and Crews could land at No. 3 or 4.

Scouting grades

OF Crews: Hit: 70 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 65

RHP Skenes: Fastball: 80 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 65

A pick this high

The No. 2 pick will be the Nats’ highest selection since 2010. Washington held the No. 1 picks in 2009 (RHP Stephen Strasburg) and ‘10 (OF Bryce Harper). Since then, the Nationals have only drafted in the Top 10 in 2011 (No. 6, 3B Anthony Rendon) and ‘22 (No. 5, OF Elijah Green).

Nationals recent first overall Draft pick history

2022: No. 5, OF Elijah Green, IMG Academy
2021: No. 11, SS (now 3B) Brady House, Winder-Barrow HS
2020: No. 22, RHP Cade Cavalli, University of Oklahoma
2019: No. 17, RHP Jackson Rutledge, San Jacinto College
2018: No. 27, RHP Mason Denaburg, Merritt Island HS