The 2025 MLB Draft is here. The two-day, 20-round event began Sunday evening at Truist Park in Atlanta, home of the All-Star Game. The Nationals won the draft lottery and held the No. 1 pick for the third time in franchise history. Their first two No. 1 picks were home runs: Stephen Strasburg in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2010. Can’t do much better than that.
Washington used this year’s No. 1 overall pick on Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits, our No. 1 ranked prospect in the draft class. Not surprisingly, the selection earned an “A” grade from us. Here are all the picks made Sunday and here are some winners plus one loser for Day 1 of the 2025 draft.
Winner: The Nationals and Willits
Washington won the draft lottery in December and that gave them access to Willits, a switch-hitting shortstop with a great baseball IQ. His father, Reggie Willits, played six years in the big leagues and is a current college coach. Make the No. 1 pick, and you’re a winner in my book. Also, Willits is a winner too. How can you not be when you are not only the No. 1 selection in the country, but also the youngest No. 1 pick in MLB history? Congrats to Willits and congrats to the Nationals for adding another foundational piece.
Winner: Tyler Bremner
Coming into 2025, UC Santa Barbara righty Tyler Bremner was a candidate to go No. 1 overall. He had an up-and-down spring though, and at one point it appeared he would go toward the back of the first round. That didn’t happen. Bremner was the No. 2 overall pick by the Angels. So, not only was he drafted very high, he also joins a team known for pushing their prospects up the ladder aggressively. Angels draftees Chase Silseth (2021), Zach Neto (2022), and Nolan Schanuel (2023) were the first players from their respective draft classes to reach the big leagues, and Ryan Johnson (2024) was on the Opening Day roster this year. Bremner could be in the rotation two weeks from now! That’s a joke, but maybe it’s not?
The Mariners were the biggest winners on draft lottery day. They moved up from the No. 17 pick all the way to No. 3, which allowed them to select LSU lefty Kade Anderson. Seattle would have had no chance to draft Anderson — none, zero — had they remained at No. 17. Anderson was the top pitching prospect in the draft class and a strong candidate to go No. 1 overall. Also, they’ve already agreed to a deal, so business is wrapped up.
College pitching in Seattle’s wheelhouse and they added a top flight arm to an already strong system. Anderson wins here too. He landed with an organization that should bring out the best in him. If I were a college starter, I know I would be happy to join the team that has Logan Gilbert and George Kirby in its rotation.
Winner: The Rockies‘ social media team
And also the Rockies and their fans, but especially the social media team. Colorado selected Ethan Holliday, Matt’s son and Jackson’s brother, with the No. 4 overall selection. Matt Holliday of course starred for the Rockies from 2004-08 and 2018. The social media folks had the baby pictures queued up:
Adorable. Still has the same haircut too. Jackson (No. 1 in 2022) and Ethan Holliday are the 14th set of brothers selected in the first round and the third set drafted within the top five, joining B.J. (No. 2 in 2022) and Justin Upton (No. 1 in 2005), and Dmitri (No. 4 in 1991) and Delmon Young (No. 1 in 2003).
Winner: Corona High School
Corona High School in Southern California produced righty Seth Hernandez, the No. 6 pick by the Pirates, and shortstop Billy Carlson, the No. 10 pick by the White Sox. They are the eighth set of high school teammates taken in the first round, and the first since Max Fried and Lucas Giolito in 2012. Not only that, but Corona is now the first high school ever to produce two top-10 picks in the same draft. A third Corona player, infielder Brady Ebel, was selected by the Brewers with the No. 32 pick. Corona was just a few picks away from becoming the first high school to produce three first rounders in one year.
Winner: The A’s
Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold could have gone as high as No. 2 overall, and it would not have surprised anyone. The Athletics got him with the No. 11 pick. Arnold has a freaky fastball that had a whiff rate around 50% this spring, not necessarily because he lights up the radar gun but because he has a funky arm angle and checks all the analytical boxes (spin rate, movement, approach angle, etc.). The A’s turned their 2023 (Jacob Wilson) and 2024 (Nick Kurtz) first-round picks into almost instant big leaguers. Arnold has the talent to join those two in Oakland Sacramento within the next 12 months.
Loser: Fans who wanted to see their team’s new prospect
As usual, the MLB Draft was broadcast live and commissioner Rob Manfred walked out to the lectern to announce every first-round pick. This year though, the players were missing. No prospects attended the draft for the first time in 15 years. Instead, players conducted video interviews from home. That is pretty lame. If you’re going to televise the draft, you should have at least a few players in attendance, no? This is the next generation of players. Let fans get eyes on them and see their team’s next great prospect. The MLB Draft is not a great made-for-television event. That is even more true without the players there.
This news was originally published on this post .
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