Nats Don’t Take a Collegiate Pitcher with 1-1 Pick in the 2025 Draft
In the wake of the multiple mock drafts, which wavered between taking Ethan Holliday and the likes of LSU’s Kade Anderson [insert obligatory mention that Dylan Crews also attended LSU here] or Tennessee’s Liam Doyle, the Washington Nationals instead took 17-y.o. Eli Willits as the #1 pick in the first round of the 2025 Draft.
Willits now holds the unenviable status as the youngest #1 pick in MLB history, so no pressure. To make matters worse, he’s coming into an organization that’s in flux, if not turmoil. And it might not help that the Nats have been recently skewered for their inability to develop hitters.
Four years ago, the Nats took Brady House with its top pick and one could argue that perhaps that it’s paid off. But one could also point to the struggles of T.J. White and Elijah Green and as evidence that after the first round, the Nats are like a blind squirrel in search of a nut.
That’s all I feel qualified to say. The draft has always been a bore to me and I have barely enough time to cover who the Nats already have vs. who they might get. So I’ll sign off here and let you guys discuss among yourselves.
Does Reggie Willits get hired by Nats brass??
lol
This Mississippi State pitcher a far comparison to Sykora ???
Easy question to ask
A blind squirrel with old glasses for driving a car at Indy 500 in 1917
Mississippi State … Reid Cornelius …
Looks like Nats started drafting those that will require overslot money. 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounders, High Schoolers with commitments to SEC schools. Landon Harmon (Miss St commit) “He has some of the easiest velocity in the 2025 class, with tremendous arm speed and a fastball that explodes out of his hand and has already been up to 98 mph. ” Miguel Sime (LSU commit) “is a classic power-armed prep righthander and one of a handful of high schoolers in the 2025 class who has already touched 100 mph”. Coy James (ss) Old Miss commit, “He’s one of the better pure hitters in the 2025 prep class”. Rizzo would stock his 7-10 rounders with Senior college guys and sign them for $2-20k to save up for going overslot on others. Today, started with the 6th round, Boston Smith, a catcher out of Wright St. Last year, Jackson Ross at 9, and Luke Johnson at 10, signed for $2k each; in 2023, picks 6-10 all signed for $20k each.