Recapping potential Nationals No. 1 pick targets' first weekend of college baseball

Late last week and into this past weekend, baseball officially made its return at the collegiate level, with top programs and players kicking off their 2025 seasons. Many of the top draft prospects in the sport made their 2025 debuts this weekend, and since the Nationals hold the keys to the draft with the #1 overall pick, who will they take?

Of course, we have no idea at this time, and there is no shortage of top tier talent for the Nationals to choose from. With that being said, given that high school baseball has not started and we can't yet check in on Ethan Holliday box scores, let's check out how the top NCAA draft prospects fared this weekend.

Jamie Arnold - LHP - Florida State University

6.0 IP (W), 1 H, 8 K, 0 BB against James Madison University

Jamie Arnold, a lefty that many people have dubbed to be the top pitching prospect in this year's draft, is an early candidate for the Nationals with the 1st pick, and showed why in his first start of the year. He diced up James Madison, earning his first win of the year in a 6-0 shutout victory over the Dukes. Arnold will be a name to keep an eye on, and the 20-year-old lefty should be in for a dominant season. The belief around Arnold is that he is at worst a #2 starter at the big league level, and could easily fly through the minor leagues to be the ace that the Nationals need as they enter their next window of contention.

Jace LaViolette - OF - Texas A&M University

3/10 - 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4:3 BB:K ratio against Elon University

Jace LaViolette, likely the best hitter in the country, is another guy who has been mocked to the Nationals a bunch already, and his power upside is truly tremendous. He boasts a 65 grade power tool, and showed that off with 3 blasts in Texas A&M's opening series against Elon. It will be interesting to keep an eye on his strikeouts, as he definitely has a swing-and-miss aspect to his game that has raised some concern. He should be another guy for Nationals fans to definitely monitor throughout the year to see how he continues to progress, as the idea of completing the outfield of the future of James Wood, Dylan Crews, and LaViolette could be too good to pass on with the 1st pick.

Tyler Bremner - RHP - UCSB

3.0 IP (ND), 0 H, 2 K, 0 BB against Campbell University

Tyler Bremner, a righty from UCSB, is another guy who could rise into #1 pick discussion due to his electric stuff. He has a consistent fastball that sits around 95, and some great offspeed stuff that he uses to offset his heater. He was removed from his start against Campbell due to some tightness from the cold weather, and it hopefully should be a non-issue for him moving forward. Bremner is a guy who could challenge Arnold for the opportunity to be the 1st pitcher off the board.

Aiva Arquette - INF - Oregon State University

5/10 - 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3:0 BB:K ratio in the College Baseball Classic

Aiva Arquette is an infielder from Oregon State University who could be a solid option for the Nationals should they decide to go under-slot with the 1st pick. He is a guy who is very well-rounded, and despite not having one true standout skill, should be a guy who has a pretty high floor at the professional level.

Brendan Summerhill - OF - University of Arizona

3/11 - 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3:2 BB:K ratio in the Shriners Children's College Showdown

Brendan Summerhill from Arizona is another guy who is very well-rounded, and despite not having one true standout skill himself, should stand out as a guy that can get to the majors quickly due to a lack of deficiencies in his game. He presents another solid under-slot option for the Nationals as well, and hit his 1st homer of the year this weekend in the Shriners Children's College Showdown.

Cam Cannarella - OF - Clemson University

4/12 - 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1:4 BB:K ratio in the Shriners Children's College Showdown

Cam Cannarella is another guy who has been lightly discussed as an under-slot option for the Nationals, and he brings a different skillset than some of the other guys I wrote about. He reminds me a little bit of Jacob Young but with better power, as his best traits are his defensive abilities and speed which should make him a decent big leaguer at the worst. Obviously, with the #1 pick you might want a guy with better upside than that, but Cannarella could play his way into the discussion if he can display some better power potential this season.

Which college baseball star are you most excited to keep up with this season? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.

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