Though 19-year-old shortstop Luke Dickerson arrived at Low-A ball six weeks after he had originally hoped, he was already seeing the value in appreciating each step of a professional career.

“Of course I wanted to break camp with Fredericksburg, but the decision was made for me to stay in Florida,” Dickerson said of his initial stay at extended spring training in West Palm Beach.

“I think I gained from all those extra reps and continued to improve, and that really helped me get ready for being here.”

The Nationals drafted Dickerson 44th overall last year and signed him for $3.8 million, a bonus record for the second round. He starred in baseball and hockey at Morris Knolls High in Rockaway, N.J.

Through 17 games in the Carolina League he batted .293/.403/.466 with a home run and three stolen bases.

In spring training, fellow infielders such as Seaver King and Randal Diaz—from Wake Forest and Indiana State—helped Dickerson find a good routine that has carried into the minor league season. King is at High-A Wilmington, while Diaz plays in the same FredNats infield.

“I definitely picked up a lot from the other guys who have some extra years on me,” Dickerson said. “They’ve been giving me a ton of help. The travel and the hotels haven’t been too bad. The most important part is having a good routine in the mornings.”

The 5-foot-11, 197-pound Dickerson played hockey at the varsity level for four years, including a senior season in which he had 38 goals and 20 assists as a center for a state champion.

“I was always skating growing up,” Dickerson said. “The ponds and the lakes would freeze, and we always had a great time.”

Dickerson said playing hockey “helped shape the athlete I am now. It’s such a physical sport, but there are some hand-eye similarities with baseball like tipping pucks or focusing with guys in front of the net.”

The righthanded-hitting Dickerson tied the New Jersey high school single-season home run record of 18, previously shared by Mike Trout and former independent leaguer Ashton Bardzell.

CAPITAL GAINS

— Righthander Robert Cranz, a seventh-round pick last year out of Oklahoma State, had a 2.29 ERA with 30 strikeouts and 11 walks in 19.2 innings for Low-A Fredericksburg. He has added a splitter to go with his fastball, slider and curveball. Even with a four-pitch mix, he said he “hasn’t heard anything” about becoming a starter. “I’ve been a back-end reliever, so I don’t want to mess with that,” he said.

Cranz pitched at Wichita State for two years before transferring. “Out of high school was a weird time for me,” he said. “Wichita was one of only a few offers I had, but I developed there a lot, especially mentally, at a time when I really needed it.”

— Righthander Luke Johnson, a 10th-round pick last year from Maryland-Baltimore County, began his pro career with a 0.50 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 18 innings in the Florida Complex League.