Nationals' Caleb Lomavita: Could be Nats' catcher of future

The Nationals have selected Lomavita with the 39th overall pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft.

Lomavita had an excellent showing with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League in back-to-back summers, hitting .316 as an underclassman in 2022 and slashing .329/.374/.494 with three home runs and a 17.3 percent strikeout rate last summer. He has always had an aggressive approach, and that was apparent this spring for Cal, as he had a 16.7 percent strikeout rate and a 4.7 percent walk rate while hitting .322 with 15 home runs in 55 games. Lomavita is a good athlete for a catcher and stole 12 bases on 16 tries as a junior. He is still working on his defense behind the plate and could handle third base or a corner-outfield spot if his defense never catches up to his offense. As things stand, he is more appealing in batting-average leagues than OBP leagues.