Nats get 'good lucky bounce,' win No. 1 pick in Draft Lottery
Jessica Camerato
@jessicacameratoDALLAS -- The Nationals had a 10.2 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft Lottery, and a 100 percent elated reaction after they actually won it.
The Nats will select first overall for the third time in team history (2005-present) since drafting Stephen Strasburg in 2009 and Bryce Harper in ¡®10. And it occurred 17 months after selecting Dylan Crews with the No. 2 overall pick in '23.
¡°It was incredible; it¡¯s something that¡¯s a good lucky bounce for us,¡± Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said. ¡°We¡¯ll get the player of our choice, we¡¯ll get money added to the player pool, which we can allocate in different ways throughout the Draft.
¡°We¡¯ve got our work cut out for us, but [vice president of amateur scouting] Danny Haas and [senior director of amateur scouting] Brad [Ciolek] and [assistant director and national crosschecker] Reed Dunn, they¡¯ll do a hell of a job finding the right player and employing the right strategy throughout.¡±
Washington had the fourth-best odds at the No. 1 pick after finishing 71-91 for the second season in a row. When Miami, which was tied with Colorado for best odds, landed at No. 7, the suspense inside the Lottery ballroom at the Winter Meetings brewed.
The Rockies were called at the Nats¡¯ projected No. 4 spot, leaving the top pick up for grabs between the Nationals, Angels and Mariners.
No. 3 went to Seattle and No. 2 went to Los Angeles, officially making Washington the recipient of the coveted selection.
¡°I¡¯m still taking it in, really. Still in shock,¡± said Haas. ¡°[I] just didn¡¯t expect it, but it¡¯s very exciting. There are good players in this Draft, and we¡¯re looking forward to it.¡±
While Nationals staff waited anxiously in the background, eyes were on former Nats slugger Matt Adams, who represented the team on stage. Adams had helped Washington win the 2019 World Series, and he added another victorious moment to his r¨¦sum¨¦.
¡°Once you got down 6, 5, 4 with the Nationals still on the board, I kind of had an idea that the odds were pretty good. Then hearing the Angels go No. 2, I was like, ¡®Yes!¡¯¡± Adams said. ¡°Obviously, being there [in 2018], ¡¯19 and being able to bring a world championship back to D.C. was awesome. But even more so with the No. 1 overall pick, being able to grab generational talent and bring them into the organization and have them impact at the big league level very shortly after that is just huge for the fan base.¡±
Seventeen-year-old lefty-hitting shortstop/third baseman Ethan Holliday from Stillwater (Okla.) High School is ranked as the No. 1 Draft prospect by MLB Pipeline. He is the brother of the 2022 No. 1 overall pick, Jackson, and the son of seven-time All-Star, Matt.
¡°We¡¯re going to have good college and high school options,¡± Haas said. ¡°We did not expect to pick [at No. 1] with the odds, but we did expect to have a high pick. Already lots of strategizing, this obviously increases our options, so we¡¯ll try not to mess it up.¡±
The No. 1 selection in the 2025 Draft will join the Nationals¡¯ young core of top prospects. In the past five years, the Nats¡¯ first-round picks have been shortstop Seaver King (No. 10, 2024), Crews (No. 2, ¡®23), outfielder Elijah Green (No. 5, ¡®22), third baseman Brady House (No. 11, ¡®21) and right-hander Cade Cavalli (No. 22, ¡®20).
¡°It¡¯s a chance to add to an already fertile farm system,¡± Rizzo said. ¡°When you look at the young base of players that we have in the big leagues already and the group that¡¯s on the cusp of coming to the big leagues, when you add this type of talent in the organization, it¡¯s really important.¡±
The 2025 MLB Draft will be held July 13-15 during All-Star Week in Atlanta.
¡°It¡¯s great that we have the No. 1 pick in the Draft,¡± Rizzo said. ¡°We can take whoever we want, we get the added bonus pool -- and I never want to do it again.¡±