Nationals take high school shortstop with top draft pick; Guardians tab outfielder Jace LaViolette with No. 27 pick in first round

ATLANTA — The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball's amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise. The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player taken No. 1 overall since Ken Griffey Jr. was selected by Seattle in 1987. He's the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees. Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing. "I feel like I have good hitability and I'm going to take that to the next level," Willits said when asked about his strengths. "And I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level. The Guardians selected Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette with the 27th pick in the first round. LaViolette hit .258 with nine doubles and 18 home runs last season, while scoring 56 runs and driving in 61 RBIs. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound lefthander had a career year in 2024, hitting .305 with 16 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs, 87 runs and 78 RBIs. For his career, LaViolette is a .285 hitter with 35 doubles, 5 triples, 68 home runs, 193 runs, 202 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Cleveland then added Tennessee shortstop Dean Curley with the 64th selection. Curley hit .315 with eight doubles, one triple and 14 home runs, while adding 67 runs and 51 RBIs. In the past two seasons, Curley batted .301 with 18 doubles, two triples, 26 home runs, 118 runs and 101 RBIs. Two picks later, the Guardians tabbed Arizona outfielder Aaron Walton. The 6-3, 210-pound Walton hit .320 last season with 22 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 71 runs and 49 RBIs, while stealing 19 bases. With the 70th selection, Cleveland picked Canadian high school senior Will Hynes. The 6-2, 180-pound Hynes comes from Lorne Park Secondary School in Ontario and is a member of the Canadian junior national team and a Wake Forest commit. With their final pick of the draft's first day, the Guardians chose Oklahoma State outfielder Nolan Schubart with the 101st selection. The 6-5, 223-pound Schubart had a statistical down year last season, hitting .299 with nine doubles, 19 home runs, 54 runs and 57 RBIs. In three seasons with the Cowboys, Schubart compiled a .334 average with 39 doubles, one triple, 59 home runs, 164 runs and 199 RBIs. Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said Willits was the team's No. 1 choice because he was viewed as "the best hitter in the draft and best fielder in the draft" while also boasting a rare "makeup and intangibles" for a 17-year-old player. "It made this very easy for us," DeBartolo said. Added Nationals vice-president for amateur scouting Danny Haas: "He makes the routine plays about as easy as anybody you can see, much less a 17-year-old." Willits will likely get a signing bonus below the $11.08 million value assigned to the first overall pick, allowing Washington to redistribute those savings to later selections. The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson. The Colorado Rockies picked shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday. Ethan, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was a candidate to go first overall, just like brother Jackson Holliday with did with Baltimore in 2022. They would have been the first brothers to be drafted with the first overall pick. More highly rated players followed with St. Louis selecting Tennessee left-hander Liam Doyle at No. 5, followed by Pittsburgh's choice of right-hander Seth Hernandez from Corona (California) High School. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was greeted with boos by fans at the draft held at the Roxy Theater at The Battery, adjacent to the Braves' Truist Park two days before MLB's All-Star Game. Manfred noted the Braves chose eventual Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the No. 1 overall pick and said this draft is "a chance for a team to make a franchise-altering selection like the Braves made in 1990."