MLB Draft live updates and grades: Nationals shock the world at No. 1

All-Star Weekend is officially here, but before we get to the Home Run Derby and the Midsummer Classic itself, we've got some very important business to attend to. It's time to kick off the 2025 MLB Draft, and things have already started with a bang.

This year's draft got underway in Atlanta at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, with the Washington Nationals holding the No. 1 overall pick — and everyone wondering whether they'll take LSU ace Kade Anderson or high-school phenom Jackson Holliday. But it turns out we were all way off, as the Nats swerved and took prep shortstop Eli Willits instead.

All 30 teams will be looking to add impact talent that could change their trajectory for years to come, and while this class might not be quite as top-heavy as we've come to expect, it's as wide open as any the league has seen in recent memory. Who will be taken No. 1? What will the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals do in the top five? And who will your team add to its organization? Follow along all night long for live updates, as well as instant grades and analysis on all the best, worst and most surprising picks.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Full 2025 MLB Draft order and tracking every Day 1 pick with instant grades

First round

Nationals shock everyone by taking Eli Willits at No. 1

Well, it didn't take long for our first stunner of the night. Conventional wisdom suggested that Ethan Holliday was the best overall talent in this draft, but that Washington might opt for LSU ace Kade Anderson due to his proximity to the Majors. Instead, they did neither, taking Oklahoma prep shortstop Eli Willits.

There is plenty to like here. Willits was bandied about as a potential 1.1 candidate earlier this spring, and it's not hard to see why: A switch-hitter with contact skills and command of the strike zone well beyond his years, he’s as good a bet to hit as any teenager could be, and his hustle, grit and instincts at short should all help him excel as a pro. There isn’t much power in his profile, but he has just about everything else you could want.

Still, it's hard not to wonder about what Washington left on the table here.

Angels repeat their same old mistakes with RHP Tyler Bremner

Los Angeles leaving talent on the table in order to take a college arm who won't cost much and should move through the system pretty quickly? Now we've seen everything. Bremner is an extremely Angels pick, and not necessarily in a good way: He ranked No. 18 on MLB Pipeline's pre-draft big board, and very few people saw this pick coming.

There is some stuff to like here. Bremner's fastball-changeup combination is excellent, and he pitched very well for UC-Santa Barbara in his first full year as a starter this past season. But that's also part of the problem: It was his first full year as a starter after bouncing back and forth from the bullpen, and there's no guarantee he'll stick in an MLB rotation as questions swirl around his durability and his lack of a reliable third pitch. It’s fair to wonder whether this team should be prioritizing paying up for the best talent available, but hey, at least Arte Moreno saved some money.

Mariners keep the pitching machine humming with LHP Kade Anderson

Speaking of teams sticking to script: Seattle has become a pitching factory in recent years, and they’ve got one heck of a toy to play with in Anderson, who just about every scout had as the best arm available in this year’s draft. A lefty who tore up the SEC this year and showed out at the College World Series, Anderson is something close to the total package, with a fastball that boasts great shape and the potential for three different above-average secondary pitches. Add in solid command as well, and you've got one heck of a foundation, one this organization should know exactly what to do with.

Rockies get their wish as Ethan Holliday falls to No. 4

This is the dream scenario for Colorado, which gets quite possibly the most talented player in the draft at No. 4 – and of course, the fact that he’s the son of a franchise legend can’t hurt an organization that desperately needs a PR win right now. Holliday is something like a hybrid of his dad, seven-time MLB All-Star Matt, and his brother, current Orioles infielder (and former No. 1 pick himself) Jackson. He’s bigger than the latter, 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds already with light-tower power, but he’s a better athlete than the former, with most scouts pegging him as a third baseman in the Majors. This is as sweet a lefty swing as you’re liable to find, one optimized for pull-side power, and if his approach at the plate holds strong, something like 35 homers and a bundle of walks is very much in play.

Cardinals rotation of the future takes shape after Liam Doyle pick

St. Louis is a team at a crossroads right now, and nowhere is that more clear than the team's starting rotation, with veterans like Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas and Erick Fedde combined with promising youngsters like Matthew Libatore and Michael McGreevey (plus prospects like Quinn Matthews, Tink Hence and Tekoah Roby waiting in the wings).

Now you can add Doyle to that latter list, a flame-throwing lefty from Tennessee with a bear of a fastball that can get up into the triple digits. He pounds the zone, and his splitter, slider and cutter all might get to at least above-average in time. There’s real reliever risk here thanks to his limited repertoire – he was extremely fastball-heavy with the Vols – and max-effort delivery, but the talent is real, and the Cardinals need to keep adding to their pitching depth in preparation for a changing of the guard.

Prospect Promotion Incentive picks

Compensation picks

Competitive Balance Round A

First round continued (CBT penalties)

Competitive Balance Round A continued

Second round

Competitive Balance Round B

Compensation picks

Competitive Balance Round B continued

Compensation pick

Third round

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