The 2025 MLB Draft featured surprises that came early and often. The earliest one might've been the biggest of the night, and it saw the Washington Nationals take Eli Willits with the No. 1 overall pick. Willits projects to be a really good player, and was projected to go somewhere in the top five by most outlets. But for much of the pre-draft process, it felt as if the No. 1 overall pick was going to be either Ethan Holliday or Kade Anderson.
Nationals media members are doing their best to try and justify the Willits selection, and are going as far as putting Holliday down to make Willits look better.
Why does @granthpaulsen like the Eli Willits pick over Ethan Holliday and/or Kade Anderson? pic.twitter.com/2zOsnRNVdn
— 106.7 The Fan (@1067theFan) July 15, 2025
"This was the guy I wanted them to take," Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan said. "I didn't think they would, because there were two pretty famous, like celebrity players available that were a lot easier to take, and frankly, two guys that were safer, right? ... [Holliday] is the first family of baseball at this point, and the guy who has got the most power upside in class. But there is some question about him which doesn't get brought up a lot."
Paulsen says he wanted the Nationals to take Willits but felt as if they'd take either Holliday or Anderson because they were "celebrity players" who were "a lot easier to take." My rebuttal to that would be that MLB teams don't care about "celebrity players," especially at No. 1 overall. They're going for the player they believe will be the right pick. An argument can easily be made that Holliday and Anderson would've both been better options than Willits, given their respective ceilings, and the fact that Paulsen went as far as to list Holliday's biggest faults as a player to try and justify the Willits pick sort of proves that.
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Nationals media is attempting to turn on Ethan Holliday in order to justify Eli Willits pick
"He's got some swing and miss, and there are concerns about handling velocity which he didn't do a great job with on the showcase circuit. There's definitely a chance he ends up being really, really good, there's no doubt about that. But he's not going to stay at shortstop, he's huge, he's at best going to be a third baseman. I actually think there's a better chance he plays in the corner outfield."
He's right, Holliday does have some swing and miss in his game. Does that mean he won't be able to improve as he matures? Can he not succeed even with some swing and miss? I mean, James Wood is a superstar who has a 30.4 percent whiff rate and a 27.6 percent strikeout rate, both of which are well below the league average. Paulsen's other criticism is that Holliday won't stick at shortstop. This also might be true, but is that really a reason to pass on him at No. 1 overall when his offensive ceiling, even with whiff concerns, is as high as it is?
"So when you're drafting players, as you guys know, the more value is up the middle," Paulsen went on. "Premium defenders, right? If you can play short, even if you're not quite as good offensively, if you can play center, that's way more valuable to a team. It's very rare. Most guys can't play those two positions. Eli Willits, the youngest player in the draft class, is absolutely going to stay at shortstop."
That's true in a vacuum, but that's assuming Willits can be as close to as good a hitter as Holliday. The Nationals have an elite defensive center fielder, Jacob Young, on their roster already, but it's tough to commit to him long-term knowing he hasn't been able to hit big-league pitching. Oh yeah, and about Willits staying at shortstop: Does that mean CJ Abrams will be leaving?
Holliday has his flaws, but there are reasons most analysts had him as the most talented prospect in the class that have nothing to do with his father or brother. Anderson was considered one of the top pitching prospects in the class even before his College World Series dominance. Overlooking these things as a way to cope with the Willits pick is strange.
To be clear, I think Willits was a fine pick, and I am a proponent of the organization going with its gut and taking who they believe they should take. The Nationals will presumably save some money with this pick as well. Still, it would've been nice to hear why Paulsen loved Willits for reasons about Willits being good, more than guys they passed on having flaws.