The Washington Nationals were victorious on Wednesday night against their NL East rival New York Mets, setting up an important opportunity for the young ballclub to take the series in the finale on Thursday. Brad Lord continued his impressive rookie season by earning his 4th victory, and the team got just enough offense to fight off a rally from the Mets during the middle innings.
But while the big league club was taking care of business in Nationals Park, some of the most important news from the day within the organization came from the lower levels of the farm. The news was broken by Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post that the No. 1 prospect in the Nationals organization, and the first overall pick of last month's draft in Eli Willits is slated for his professional debut.
As Nusbaum reported, Willits is headed from the team's Florida Complex League in West Palm Beach up to Fredericksburg, where we are likely to see him get his feet wet in professional baseball for the first time since being taken last month. This is a huge opportunity for the 17-year-old Willits to create some very positive momentum heading into 2026, as many wondered if we would even get to see him play minor league baseball at all in his draft year.
Heading to Fredericksburg, he will have an opportunity to play with several other young Nationals prospects and former high draft picks like Luke Dickerson, Ethan Petry, and even touted international prospects like Angel Feliz and Cristhian Vaquero. The bottom line is that for all fans who have been excited to see what the kid can do, we will have a great opportunity to see that first hand.
Willits is still going to be one of the youngest players at the level, as he won't even be 18-years-old until December of this year, so it is completely reasonable to temper expectations for him. At the very least, what you want to see is some flashes of his long-term potential, whether it be his touted hit tool, elite speed, or slick glove in the field. It would be unfair to expect him to be an absolute star right away, as he will be seeing a major increase in competition for the first time in his entire life.
However, whether or not he is extremely successful this season, this is a huge step for the development of Willits, and he is now ready to fully begin his journey to the major leagues within the Washington Nationals organization.
What are you most excited to see from Eli Willits? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.