Washington Nationals Pull Shocker With First Overall Pick In MLB Draft
Ethan Holliday slips in MLB Draft, as high schooler Eli Willits goes No. 1 overall
The 2025 Major League Baseball Draft kicked off on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, and it started with a shocker.
While most prospect evaluators and scouts did not have an overwhelming favorite for the first overall pick, it was widely believed that shortstop Ethan Holliday was the Washington Nationals' targeted player. Holliday is the son of former MLB star Matt Holliday, and the younger brother of star Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday.
Hard to have better bloodlines than that. Yet with the first overall pick, the Nats went in an entirely different direction, choosing shortstop Eli Willits out of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma. Willits is just 17 years old, one of the youngest players in the draft, and won't turn 18 until December.
Some evaluators had him ranked as high as fifth on the overall board, while others had him around eighth. Regardless, he's nowhere close to the majors for a team that has plenty of talent to build around now. Willits' ability to make quality contact at such a young age has evaluators excited about his potential for growth as he ages.
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As for Holliday, he slipped down to fourth, selected by the Colorado Rockies, where his Dad played most of his career.
Fort Cobb-Broxton's Eli Willits talks with Stillwater's Ethan Holliday during the high school baseball game between Fort Cobb-Broxton and Stillwater at Edmond Santa Fe High School in Edmond, Okla., Friday, April, 18, 2025.
MLB Draft Has Plenty Of Early Surprises
It wasn't just the Nationals making the surprising choice with Willits; the second pick belonged to the Los Angeles Angels, who took Tyler Bremner from UC Santa Barbara. Second overall for a player ranked in the 16-20 range by most prospect evaluators. That's the Angels organization in a nutshell.
Another surprise came with Liam Doyle falling all the way to the St. Louis Cardinals with the fifth overall pick. Doyle was widely viewed as a top-2 player in the draft, with significantly higher status than Bremner after an outstanding season with the Tennessee Volunteers.
Arguably the top two players, Holliday and Doyle, both fell to fourth and fifth, respectively.
For Rockies fans, getting Holliday with the fourth pick has to be the one bright spot in a historically bad season. Beyond the family connection to a beloved former Rockie, Holliday has immense upside thanks to explosive power projections. Though he does have some swing concerns, especially against the higher-quality pitching he'll face as he goes up the minors.
But the Rockies, despite playing in Denver, have struggled to find quality offensive players. Holliday has a chance to be that, and a lot more. It's something for a team that needs any glimmer of hope it can get.