Major League Baseball’s marathon of a draft is this week, and with their first of many picks, the Nationals selected Lucas Giolito a 17-year-old they hope will develop into yet another exciting pitching prospect.

Thing is, Giolito, who hails from Los Angeles, might not join the Nationals’ organization right away, the Post reports. In an interview with Nationals beat writer Adam Kilgore, Giolito says he’s seriously considering attending the University of California, Los Angeles, to which he is already committed.

That might be the best for all parties involved, though. Giolito, the 16th pick overall, is coming back from an elbow injury, the Post reports. He’s been treated by the same doctors who performed Tommy John surgery on Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann, although Giolito tells the Post that in his case, surgery will not be necessary.

Still, he appears enticed by the opportunity to play for the UCLA Bruins rather than jump into professional baseball right away, he tells Kilgore:

“Obviously, I picked UCLA for a reason,” Giolito said. It’s one of the best baseball programs in all of college baseball. UCLA is still a really big option for me. We’ll see how everything plays out.”

But Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo usually gets his draft picks. Chances are more likely that Giolito will wind up signing a rookie deal with the Nats, all but ensuring future seasons of Nationals fans eagerly anticipating the debut of a young pitcher with lightning-fast stuff. Giolito compares himself to the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander. And to Strasburg, too.