Ethan Petry News: Taken by Nationals

The Nationals have selected Petry with the 49th overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft.

It's rare for a college draftee's highest registered OPS to have happened with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League, but such is the case with Petry, who slashed .360/.480/.760 with 11 home runs and a 20.8 percent strikeout rate in 31 games on the Cape last summer. He may have surpassed those rates his junior year for South Carolina, but a sprained left shoulder limited his power output (10 HR, .590 SLG in 44 games) until he was eventually shut down. Petry was also working on a new approach this spring, as he was swinging more and striking out less (25.3 K% in 2024, 17.4 K% in 2025), and that likely contributed to his decreased power output after he hit 44 homers his first two seasons, albeit with strikeout rates in the 20s. It should come as no surprise that a player with Petry's offensive resume and 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame isn't going to add value defensively. He has a good arm but very limited range in right field, so it will likely be a combination of first base and designated hitter for the righty-hitting, righty-throwing Petry. He has plus-plus raw power, and his 2024 Cape Cod League MVP award points to his offensive potential, but Petry will have to mash at every level of the minors to have a chance to play every day in the majors.