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.