The Washington Nationals looked like they were on a course to take a college pitcher with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
But seemingly at the last minute, the Nats pivoted. They made a franchise-altering decision, but it wasn’t to Ethan Holliday.
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At 1.1, the Nationals drafted Eli Willits, a high school shortstop out of Oklahoma. At 17 years old, he’s the youngest player ever chosen first overall.
Late mock drafts had LSU’s Kade Anderson as the Nationals’ most likely selection. The college lefty was viewed as a talented, safe pick.
The Nats decided they didn’t want safe. They wanted best.
Many had Holliday, the son of Matt Holliday (Rockies legend) and brother Jackson Holliday (Orioles rising star), as the No. 1 player on the board.
“Ethan Holliday would’ve been the best pick,” MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds said on the broadcast.
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Instead, they went Willits.
He’s the son of Reggie Willits, who was a six-year MLB outfielder with the Angels.
He’s viewed as having above-average tools across the board.
Willits will stick at shortstop, and he’s quite a safe choice. He seems like he’ll make it and be a good MLB ballplayer, for sure.
“You can dream on him becoming Francisco Lindor,” MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd said on the broadcast. “… We can argue about the ceiling all day, but has a really good floor.”
From now on, he’ll be compared to Holliday. The two high school shortstops from Oklahoma might end up as the two best players in this class.
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Is Willits the better one? Time will tell.
MORE MLB DRAFT:
- Mark McGwire’s son is available in the 2025 MLB Draft
- Giants former MVP has a talented, draftable son
- Will Manny Ramirez Jr. get drafted?
- Cubs manager could get Chicago to choose his kid
