Nationals Take HS Star Willits No. 1 in MLB Draft, Eye Potential Savings

ATLANTA — The remaking of the Nationals has taken another critical step, as has MLB’s push to get its top prospects to the majors as quickly as possible. 

Washington selected Oklahoma high schooler Eli Willits with the first pick in the 2025 draft Sunday night. By selecting the 17-year-old, switch-hitting shortstop, the Nationals stunned many experts who predicted the team would choose LSU pitcher Kade Anderson, who led the Tigers last month to their second College World Series title in three years and was the event’s Most Outstanding Player. Anderson went No. 3 to the Mariners.

The Nationals’ selection arrived just a week after Mark Lerner, the club’s managing principal owner, fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, in a bid to reverse what has been more than half a decade of losing in the nation’s capital.

Since the leadership shift, the Nationals carried on with their draft preparation, overseen by assistant GM Mike DeBartolo, ultimately shocking much of the baseball world. DeBartolo said Willits was “the guy we wanted all along.”

The No. 1 pick this year carries a record slot value of $11.08 million. It’s not yet certain how close to that number the signing bonus for Willits will be, but it’s expected that the Nationals will be well below this figure and save significant funds. 

Path to Stardom

Being so young, and not turning 18 until December, Willits will have a more uphill climb to mirror the rapid pathway of Pittsburgh star Paul Skenes, the draft’s top pick two years ago. Since Skenes went from LSU to Pittsburgh, he has burst into superstardom, won last year’s National League Rookie of the Year award, and was named Saturday as the starting pitcher for the NL in the All-Star Game for the second-straight year. 

That run of success by Skenes, and national prominence burnished by his relationship with girlfriend Livvy Dunne, gives Willits, the son of former MLB player Reggie Willits, a lot to match. MLB, however, continues to promote a shorter development pathway to the big leagues for prospects and put more marketing effort and editorial emphasis on the MLB Network and MLB.com for minor leaguers. 

To that end, five first-round selections from last year’s draft have already reached the majors, including the Royals’ Jac Caglianone, as well as the Angels’ second-round pick from 2024, pitcher Ryan Johnson. 

A notable exception to that has been Travis Bazzana, last year’s No. 1 overall pick to Cleveland. The second baseman has reached the Class AA Akron (Ohio) Aeros, but has battled an oblique strain since May, and is out of action until at least later this month. 

Willits, meanwhile, is the youngest player to be the No. 1 pick in the MLB draft since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987.

Draft Matters

MLB held the draft at the Coca-Cola Roxy, a key part of The Battery mixed-use development that surrounds the Braves’ Truist Park, the host venue for this year’s All-Star Game. The event, of course, still doesn’t match the stature seen for the NFL and NBA drafts. As MLB has held its draft in conjunction with the All-Star Game since 2021, though, it’s also continued to give the event a heightened sense of place.

The settling for this year’s event included a lively crowd filling the 3,600-person concert venue, even if the numbers were still far below the 600,000 that showed up in Green Bay for the 2025 NFL Draft. 

The festive vibe continued to show a marked departure from the cramped set of tables and much more limited setup at MLB Network studios in Secaucus, N.J., where the MLB draft was held from 2009–20. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, however, was initially greeted with hearty fan boos, as is also the case with other league commissioners at their respective drafts. 

The 2025 MLB draft had no player selections in attendance for the first time in 15 years, due to a complex mix of reasons. The Rockies selected Ethan Holliday at No. 4. Holliday is the brother of Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday and the son of former MLB star Matt Holliday, who played the first five seasons of his career in Colorado.