LSU Superstar Pitcher Lands with Nationals in Recent MLB Mock Draft

The Washington Nationals face a rather difficult choice with their first overall pick in July’s MLB draft.

Many believe the Nats will select prep superstar Ethan Holliday. He’s the son of All-Star Matt Holliday and the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, the latter of which is putting together a fine sophomore campaign.

Baseball bloodlines like that can be hard to ignore. But, in a recent mock draft at MLB.com, the team at that site had the Nationals going in a different direction, a college pitcher who is currently playing in the super regionals in the College World Series.

Why Would Nationals Take LSU Pitcher Kade Anderson?

Anderson is one of the best left-handers in the country. To many draft experts, he’s the top college pitcher in the class. He enters this weekend’s super regionals against West Virginia with a 9-1 record and a 3.28 ERA. That’s a huge step up from last season when he went 4-2 with a 3.99 ERA as a part-time starter.

He has struck out 156 and walked 26 this season. He is second nationally in strikeouts behind Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle and is coming off a seven-inning start in regionals in which he struck out 11, gave up four hits and two walks and didn’t allow a run.

He’s not Paul Skenes, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft after the Tigers won the Men’s College World Series. But, if Anderson does the same for LSU this time around, he could find himself at the top of the draft.

“The lefty is athletic, throws strikes and has a legit four-pitch mix,” per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. “With all of his stuff ticking up in the Regional, it looks like he still has plenty in the tank, checking off the durability box.”

The Nationals have a solid pipeline of position players, but it’s not as rich when it comes to their starting pitching. At the high end, the Nats have No. 1 prospect Travis Sykora and No. 2 prospect Jarlin Susana, per MLB Pipeline. Both are at least a year or more away from helping the franchise.

Depending on Anderson’s make-up and pitch mix, he could go to Double-A Harrisburg right away — assuming Washington doesn’t shut him down this season after a long postseason. Washington hasn’t gone with a pitcher in the first round since 2020.

The Nationals selected shortstop Seaver King with their first-round pick last year. The former Wake Forest. He was just promoted to Harrisburg.

Washington’s 2023 first-round pick, outfielder Dylan Crews out of LSU, made his MLB debut last year and is the Nats’ starting right fielder. He is on the 10-day injured list.

The Nationals went with prep players in back-to-back years before that. In 2022 Washington selected outfielder Elijah Green out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., The 21-year-old’s development has been slow, and he was just sent back to Florida from High-A Wilmington to work on swing.  

In 2021, the Nationals selected shortstop Brady House from Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, Ga., He is at Triple-A Rochester and is seen as Washington’s third baseman of the future.

In 2020 the Nationals selected pitcher Cade Cavalli out of Oklahoma. The right-hander lost nearly two seasons to Tommy John surgery and is currently at Rochester. Washington expects him to join the Majors at some point this season.

The 2025 MLB draft will be held Sunday and Monday, July 13-14, during All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.