On Sunday evening, following the 1st round selection of Oklahoma prep shortstop Eli Willits, the Washington Nationals had to focus. In what has become a very important draft for the future of the organization, the team continued their strong efforts in the draft process with their 2nd and 3rd round selections.
This year's draft had become a major topic of discussion with its overall importance following the organization's decision to fire GM Mike Rizzo a week before everything took place, and it appears as if the club is moving in a new direction with the way they organize their draft boards.
Nationals select Ethan Petry with 49th overall pick
The second of their 3 Day 1 picks came in the form of Ethan Petry, the #59 player on MLB Pipeline's draft rankings. Petry is an outfielder and first baseman from the University of South Carolina, and brings one very clear tool to the table with his 60-grade power. Defensively, he has almost no chance of sticking in the outfield at the professional level, but that should be no problem for the Nationals, who currently have a severe lack of talent at first base outside of Yohandy Morales in the minors.
A popular comparison for Petry has been Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, who was also a former SEC first baseman who had one clear tool in his bag, which was of course his ability to hit for power. Petry was a 3-year starter for the Gamecocks who hit 54 homers in 168 career college games, and had a lifetime 1.123 OPS while playing in the hardest conference in college baseball. He is a hitter who is patient, with a lifetime 110:165 BB:K ratio, and his lack of defensive ability can easily be hidden by fully moving over to first base.
While he did deal with injuries in his final season in Columbia, which likely led to his decreased power, his numbers in the Cape Cod League last summer, with a .360/.480/.760 slash line to go with a 1.240 OPS and 11 homers in 31 games, suggests that his power is legitimate. The Cape Cod League uses wooden bats, and he was firmly on the radar as a 1st round pick before his junior season. Just a bonus here, but he did once hit a homer off Paul Skenes as a true freshman for the Gamecocks.
If anyone wants to know what Nationals’ 2nd-rounder Ethan Petry can do, here’s him hitting a tank off of the current best pitcher in baseball as a true freshman at South Carolina.
— Bennett Lehmann (@DCBerk) July 14, 2025
He’s got power for days… 💣 #Natitude pic.twitter.com/mXhVvTaUmH
Nationals select prep righty Landon Harmon with 80th pick
With the final pick of the Nationals on Day 1, they went back down the high school route, as they selected righty Landon Harmon out of East Union High School in Mississippi. This was a name that was mentioned by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN to keep an eye on as a potential overslot pick later on in the draft, and he hit the nail right on the head.
Harmon, MLB Pipeline's #48 ranked draft prospect, is most known for his 65-grade fastball, which typically sits anywhere between 93-96 MPH, but has been able to touch even higher than that. The savings from the Willits deal should allow the team to sign Harmon, who is committed to Mississippi State, and set him on a familiar path. Draft analysts on MLB Network mentioned that this pick reminded them of the team selecting Travis Sykora a couple years ago, and the comparison makes a lot of sense.
Sykora was an overslot 3rd round pick, #71 overall, back in 2023, and has since blossomed into one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. Harmon could have similar success, and developing his secondary pitches will be key for the towering 6'5" and 190 pound righty. Immediately, he becomes one of the higher upside arms in the organization, and his development could lead to him and Sykora anchoring the team's rotation for years to come if everything goes according to plan.
What do you think of the Nationals' draft haul from Day 1? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.