Former MLB Executive Predicts What Nationals Will Do With Top Draft Pick

The Washington Nationals have one of the more impressive stables of young talent in the Major Leagues.

Their Major League roster is starting to bear fruit of their rebuild, which has been underway since they won the World Series in 2019. Since taking home the championship, the team has finished under .500 every season with their most victories being 71.

They are hopeful that will change in the near future with a talented crop of youngsters making up the new foundation and core of the roster.

In the lineup, they have All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., left fielder James Wood and right fielder Dylan Crews.

On the mound, MacKenzie Gore has emerged as the team’s ace. Mitchell Parker has been excellent to start 2025 and Jake Irvin has been a reliable starter since making his debut in 2023.

In the farm system, there is even more talent working its way through the minor leagues that will be helping the Nationals in the near future.

Third baseman Brady House, outfielders Robert Hassell III and Daylen Lile and shortstop Seaver are the next in line. On the mound, the team has Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana and Alex Clemmey.

In June, Washington will have the opportunity to add another potential future star to the mix after winning the MLB draft lottery and getting the first pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

This is a position the franchise has been in twice previously. In back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010, the team selected starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg and outfielder Bryce Harper.

Both of those drafts, there were clear-cut answers as to who should be the No. 1 pick. Strasburg and Harper were head and shoulders above their peers, viewed as can't-miss generational prospects.

This year, however, there doesn't seem to be a clear-cut top choice.

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required), there are three or four prospects that are in contention for the top pick. He did offer a prediction on who he believes will get chosen first.

“I would guess it’ll be shortstop Ethan Holliday — I’d give him a slight edge over left-hander Jamie Arnold — but that is only a guess,” the former MLB executive wrote.

Holliday is the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles former top prospect Jackson Holliday and the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday.

He certainly possesses the kind of pedigree teams like to see from a draft pick and carries immense upside. Holliday could be the next face of he franchise should the Nationals select him.