Earlier this week, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline released his first official mock draft of 2025, and of course, as we all know after the MLB Draft Lottery in December, the Washington Nationals hold the keys to the draft.
Recently, a rumor circulated that the Nationals are zeroing in on 4 players that they might select with the #1 overall pick, and after Callis' prediction in his mock, us fans might want to prepare for the ultimate hype train that is Ethan Holliday to be the first pick. This should not come as a major surprise, as he was a candidate to go #1 shortly after it was revealed that the Nationals would be selecting first.
However, we know that the team is doing their due diligence on a handful of prospects, but my gut all along has said that the pick will be Holliday. While I have said previously that Florida State lefty Jamie Arnold would be the pick if I was in charge, I have never really closed off the idea that the pick could instead be the shortstop out of Stillwater High School.
Holliday is the younger brother of current Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday, who went #1 overall in his draft year back in 2022. While Jackson has struggled at the big league level, he was a very highly-anticipated prospect who flew through the minor leagues en route to his debut in the show last year, in just his age 20 season.
Callis also noted that he believes that the selection could come down to Ethan Holliday and Corona High School righty Seth Hernandez, who has been projected by some outlets like Baseball America to be the first pick when the draft comes around in July. With this year's college class not having any real standout talent like Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, or last year's #1 pick, Travis Bazzana at the top of the draft, it would make a ton of sense for the Nationals to swing big on a high-upside high school player that they can develop in their own way.
Both Holliday and Hernandez represent massive risk, as no high school righty has ever been selected with the first overall pick. Of course, there are concerns with Holliday as well, who has some legitimate swing-and-miss concerns that might not be best addressed in the Nationals organization, although the talent and raw power potential might be too potent to pass on.
Obviously, draft coverage will only continue to ramp up as postseason baseball wraps up at both the college and high school levels, and there is a very real chance that the hype and anticipation that Holliday will go #1 might continue to grow exponentially.
Do you want Ethan Holliday to be the pick at #1? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.