As we wrote about last week, the Washington Nationals will have the #1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. While us Nationals fans have seen this before, with the club having back to back #1 overall picks in 2009 and 2010 that saw the franchise select two players that would alter the course of the organization forever in Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, they might have the chance to do the same in 2025.
Now, at this time, there is no prospect that is really receiving any sort of hype to the level that either Strasburg or Harper received back in their draft years, and nobody that could be considered "generational" like the two of them. However, as we have seen in recent seasons for the MLB Draft, guys like Paul Skenes in 2023 or Chase Burns in 2024 can come out of nowhere and bolster their stock significantly enough to make them no-brainer high draft picks by the time their final season at their current level wraps up.
We ran a poll last week following the news of the Nationals landing the top pick, and we asked fans over on X to vote on the poll with regard to who they wanted with the #1 overall pick, and needless to say there was a pretty clear winner based on the early returns. Out of 678 total votes, the winner of the poll was Stillwater High School infielder Ethan Holliday, the brother of Baltimore Orioles' infielder Jackson Holliday, and son of former MLB All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday. He garnered 551 votes, good enough for 81% of the total vote by the fanbase.
In second, but certainly still a fantastic option himself was Texas A&M outfielder Jace LaViolette, who racked up 14% of the vote by Nats fans with 97. If the Nationals choose to go the college bat route, it appears as if he would be the pick at this point. Of course, a ton can change over the course of a season, as last year at this time, LSU infielder Tommy White was projected as a Top 10 pick, yet he ended up falling to the 2nd round.
And finally, there were 30 fans, or 5% of voters who would seemingly prefer that the team goes another route outside of the main two in Holliday and LaViolette. Some of the names that have been looked at as potential dark horse names to sneak into the #1 overall conversation have included lefty Jamie Arnold from Florida State University, outfielder Brendan Summerhill from the University of Arizona, or prep righty Seth Hernandez from Corona, California. Perhaps the fans who chose the alternative option may have been pulling for one of these names, but it's tough to tell.
Who’s the pick?
— District on Deck (@DistrictOnDeck) December 10, 2024
It's early, but who do you want the Nationals to select with the 1st overall pick? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.