Should Nationals Draft One of These Projected Fast Risers No. 1 Overall?

For months, the expectation has been the Washington Nationals will select Ethan Holliday with the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft.

It's not hard to understand why.

Holliday is the son of former big league star Matt Holliday and the younger brother of previous consensus top prospect in the sport Jackson Holliday.

Ethan has become an elite young player in his own right, dominating the prep circuit in Stillwater, Okla. that has him on the precipice of joining his older brother as a No. 1 selection in the draft.

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But do the Nationals need another position player who requires time to develop?

That's the question general manager Mike Rizzo and his front office have to figure out, especially because many of their former top prospects have reached the Major League level at the same time and have started the clock on contention with this group.

Perhaps that makes them lean towards taking Holliday, giving them a potential superstar to add to this group on the backend that extends their window.

Or maybe Washington is thinking about drafting someone who could fly through their minor league pipeline and quickly join their current crop in The Show.

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If they are leaning towards the latter option, then they should consider drafting someone out of this group: Liam Doyle, Kade Anderson, Jamie Arnold, Gage Wood, Chase Shores, Ike Irish or Riley Quick.

Those seven names were highlighted by Keith Law of The Athletic (subscription required) as prospects in this year's draft class who could reach the Majors the fastest.

Now, not all of those players should be taken as the No. 1 overall pick, but the trio of Anderson, Arnold and Doyle have recently been mocked to be selected at least in the top five.

What stands out is that all three of those players are pitchers.

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Anderson burst onto the national scene in the College World Series with LSU, finishing the 2025 season as the Division I leader in strikeouts after helping the Tigers win the national championship.

Law believes the left-hander has "the most complete arsenal of any pitcher in the draft class" and thinks he might debut at the Double-A level immediately upon getting selected by his professional team, something that would give the Nationals another elite arm on the cusp of reaching the Majors.

Arnold has drawn comparison to Chris Sale based on his mechanics, but selecting him could be a risk based on the little amount of innings (84 2/3) he threw for Florida State this year.

Doyle has a real chance of being taken No. 1 overall by Washington.

If that does happen, then there's a chance Nationals fans see him on the big stage sooner rather than later because of his elite fastball.

Travis Sykora, their current top prospect, also has an elite fastball, but since he was picked out of high school instead of developing in college, it has taken him time to climb up the affiliate levels.

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That won't be the case for Doyle after pitching three years in college with Coastal Carolina, Ole Miss and most recently Tennessee, with Law predicting the left-hander is going to be on a rapid ascension to The Show when he's selected.

"A team could take him in July and either try to call him up as a reliever in September if they're contending, given the way the fastball played when he was starting, or more likely (and maybe more responsibly) put him on the same path that [Chase] Burns or Paul Skenes took, eyeing a June-ish callup next year," he wrote.

If the Nationals select him with their top pick, then the latter strategy will likely be used.

It will be interesting to see how Rizzo and his baseball operations team approach this draft since they have a chance to land a potential difference maker.

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