The Nationals have taken high school shortstop Eli Willits as the first overall selection of the 2025 draft. The 17-year-old Willits (a product of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma) is the youngest first overall pick in draft history. Washington had the first pick for the third time in franchise history, and Willits will have a tough act to follow since the Nats’ previous two 1-1 selections were Stephen Strasburg in 2009, and Bryce Harper in 2010.
There wasn’t a clear consensus among draft pundits this year, so several potential names were floated for the Nationals in the top spot. Another unexpected wrinkle emerged just a week ago when the Nats fired longtime president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo (as well as manager Dave Martinez), and assistant GM Mike DeBartolo was suddenly in charge of the front office after being elevated to the interim general manager position. DeBartolo told MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman and other reporters that Willits was “the guy we wanted all along,” so it doesn’t appear that the sudden management change impacted the Nationals’ plans.
It is certainly possible that the pick was made with an eye towards the Nats’ overall draft pool, as Willits could be more apt to sign for less than the $11,075,900 slot price for the first overall selection. A below-slot deal for Willits would free up space within Washington’s overall bonus pool ($16,597,800) for the Nationals to spread that money around on other selections, perhaps to entice some future picks later in the draft to sign rather than pursue college ball.
While Willits was a slight surprise at 1-1, the shortstop (the son of former Angels outfielder Reggie Willits) was still a highly-regarded prospect. Baseball America and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each rated Willits as the third-best member of this year’s draft class, Fangraphs and MLB Pipeline each ranked him fifth, and The Athletic’s Keith Law had Willits eighth in his rankings.
Evaluators feel Willits has a pretty high floor as a solid all-around talent, with his excellent speed standing out as perhaps his top tool. Willits is viewed as having the defensive potential to stick at shortstop, and he has a plus throwing arm and good range for the position. A switch-hitter, Willits is already a strong contact hitter with a good approach at the plate. Perhaps the largest question is how much power Willits will be able to generate against Major League pitching, but McDaniel and BA believe he can reach the 15-homer range.
Willits doesn’t have the hype or superstar ceiling of Strasburg or Harper, yet the 17-year-old now fills a similar role as one of the faces of a new era of Nationals baseball. The Nats haven’t had a winning season since capturing the 2019 World Series, and the firings of Rizzo and Martinez indicate how ownership isn’t pleased with the state of what has become a fairly lengthy rebuild. Washington had the sixth-worst record (71-91) in baseball in 2024 but held the fourth-best odds heading into last December’s draft lottery, as the White Sox and A’s were both ineligible to draft within the top six.
Wow!
This class must really suck
Worthy of # 1. One of 3 or 5 at worst best players in draft
Son of Reggie Willits. Hopefully Eli turns out to be a better hitter than his dad
I wonder if that was Rizzo’s plan?
Big shocker. Hopefully it works out.
Sounds like he has the tools, but does he have the brains? He told mlb-tv that he thinks God is responsible for his being the first pick.
What a strange caricature of Christianity pervades the popular discourse in our troubled country. We say the most un-thoughtful things to one another about faith and belief. It is as though the Enlightenment never happened.
Alan..this isn’t the forum but imo you totally missed the point of his statement..stop reading so much into it its ok if this kid wants to thank god..petty sure God doesn’t mind
Odd comment. Surely if God exists He should 100% be given the honor no? Judging by your swipe, you believe that this kid is not intelligent by doing so?
He seems to think being Christian or believing in God gives him a free pass. Nothing wrong with believing in God, but thinking that it gives you an advantage over others is not the way to go.
Thank you for saying this. Sure, God blessed him, but He sure didn’t bless those little girls drowned in the Texas floods. Some people have all the luck, huh?
Sports Betting even got heaven nowadays. The DraftKing of Kings.
“Ignorant Son-of-a-b”
Name checks out…
I always feel like I’d be annoyed if I was on the coaching/training staff for one of these guys, only to hear them thank some magic ghost man for his success instead.
“Have the brains..What a strange caricature”…Yes, let’s use the words of a 17 year old High school kid to attack and demean the beliefs, culture and beliefs of others.
Because not respecting or tolerating the beliefs of others is so “progressive” or “enlightened” as the case may be.
Alan, it seems like you just couldn’t wait to type that comment out and post it. Sounds like your issues run a lot deeper than his comments. Good luck with that.
Another brainwashed idiot here to spread the cult of the state. The reason our country is troubled is because people like you don’t realize that humble kids like this are good.
Hey Patriot how can you perceive this kid being “humble” when he is virtually bragging about God choosing him out from all the others to uniquely bless him?? Don’t you think that requires quite a big head and sense of entitlement, given all the tragedies going on in this world?? It’s actually people like you who have your values all mixed up.
Just take the L bro
The enlightenment you say? That time when the Catholic Church paid Italian intelligentsia to make cool stuff for them? Is that the enlightenment you refer to?
Also, out of anything you could critique Willits on, you chose… his faith? Dude I’m an atheist and that’s cringe as hell
It is literally addictive to think that a higher power chose you to be great in a sport. It’s a dopamine hit every time. God chose me!
17 seems kind of young to me, but if they feel he’s ready, then so be it!
for what it’s worth, Lindor and Correa were both 17 when they were drafted
I like that one summer morning the Angels decided they would only draft college players who are MLB-ready from here on out.
I thought the A’s got a gift that Arnold dropped to them. Just an old catcher’s opinion.
A mediocre pick for a mediocre team in a mediocre sport – in the NBA, NFL and NHL the first overall pick often is thought to have a chance to be an all star or even a hall of famer and in the MLB they are hopeful he will develop into a replacement level player – I would rather have a pitcher who can throw 100 mph or a hitter who can hit home runs – if he was an on base machine maybe makes sense but the damning with faint praise evaluation said: “Though he has some raw power, he likely would top out at 15 homers a year in the bigs. As a member of the 18U Team USA squad in 2024, Willits produced a .345 on-base percentage with four RBIs in eight games played.” Maybe some one on the Nationals should learn how WAR is calculated
Maybe you should learn how different the MLB draft is and how prospect development is different compared to the other league’s drafts.
WAR calculations? For a 17-year-old?
Derek Jeter says hi.
I think they should have gone with Anderson but at least they didn’t draft holliday. I hope they get something with the other picks.
You must know that 8 games are not a good sample size.
The NBA is a joke
With this mindset, please, we beg you, do not get into casino gambling
Every draft pick has a WAR of 0
I’m old enough to remember reading 2007 trade rumors between the Marlins and Angels for Miguel Cabrera… the top prospect being shopped to the Marlins was Reggie Willits… Eli’s dad….. I read those rumors here on MLB TR lol
Eli was just being formed at the time.
Nats will likely relocate before he arrives.
Interesting picking a glove first SS with the 1-1 pick. Don’t think that has ever been done in my memory. Willits may hit for average, but he will never hit for power. As all the reports say, he will top out in the 10-15 range. So not a 5 or 6 WAR peak as a player. If he works out you are looking at 3-4 WAR peak. Other than saving a lot of money, I don’t understand this pick any more than I do the Angels pick.
These kids thank God before thanking their parents, without whom, they wouldn’t even get a chance to be in this position. What a joke; a whole generation of brain-washed, narcisistic, entitled who has their priorities on the wrong thing.