Eli Willits News: Goes No. 1 overall

The Nationals have selected Willits with the first overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

The son of Reggie Willits, who hit zero home runs with 40 steals in 414 games in the majors from 2006-11 with the Angels, Eli is a prep shortstop from Oklahoma who is the youngest true prospect in this year's class, as he won't turn 18 until December. The switch-hitting Willits is a plus runner and has a chance to develop a plus hit tool. He's a better hitter from the left side and the most notable question, particularly for his fantasy prospects, is how much power he'll tap into in the coming years. He's the type of player who might be a 10-homer hitter in a pitcher's park and a 15-20 homer hitter in a bandbox, so the landing spot matters. He'll be young for the complex league this year and young for Single-A (or High-A) next year, so he'll be graded on more of a curve early on, which could also result in him being a massive riser if he exceeds expectations. A fair median outcome would be an everyday shortstop who bats leadoff and is a strong contributor in average/OBP, runs and steals.