Standouts from day one of the MLB Draft
The 2025 MLB Draft kicked off on Sunday night with the first three rounds in Atlanta, and a few things stood out as interesting story lines.
The Nationals shocked the baseball world by taking Eli Willits first overall
While Eli Willits was one of the top players in this draft class, he was still a long shot as the first overall pick. The field seemingly narrowed down to Kade Anderson and Ethan Holliday in the final days, with Anderson emerging as the favorite. With the recent regime change in DC, the Nationals direction here was still unknown and Willits was given about a 10% chance to land here. However, it was in fact Willits as Rob Manfred announced the first overall pick. Willits offers some of the highest upside in the class as he was the youngest player selected on day one. It’s one of the higher floors as well, as he has an advanced feel to hit from both sides of the plate with above-average speed and tools to stick at shortstop. He checks every box, the only question mark on the profile moving forward is how he adjusts to pro pitching at such a young age. The Nationals are likely cutting a nice deal with Willits here, which was another deciding factor with this pick.
Tyler Bremner lands at second overall to the Angels
As if the first overall pick wasn’t enough of a surprise, the Angels really shocked the industry by taking the sixth ranked pitcher (according to my board) with the second overall pick. This pick will obviously provide the Angels with the quite the discount, but was still a head-scratcher for plenty of draft analysts. Bremner came into the cycle as one of the top three pitchers in the class, but slipped due to a slow start to his junior year at UC Santa Barbara and the emergence of guys like Kade Anderson and Liam Doyle. If the Angels move Bremner at the same speed as their last three first rounders, Bremner will be in the big leagues by this time next year at the very latest. I’m not sure Bremner is refined enough for that kind of push yet as he’s mainly a two-pitch pitcher with unproven feel for spin for the most part. I’ve tried not to put too much thought into this pick as each of their last three profiles they’ve taken in the first round have come out the other side in one piece, but then again, they haven’t picked this high in a while. It’s certainly a high-risk move, but it could make them look really smart if Bremner ends up being an ace.
The Athletics are early winners in this draft
The Athletics only had two selections on day one, but arguably are getting the best value out of any day one picks. Another big surprise early on was the fact that Jamie Arnold, the left-handed pitcher out of FSU, fell all the way to 11th overall to the Athletics. Arnold was a pitcher with legitimate first overall consideration for at least the first half of the cycle, and while the profile backed up a slight bit throughout the season, I still felt like this was a lock to land within the top five. Between Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz, the Athletics have arguably had the most successful first round picks in each of the last two drafts, and Arnold could join the list. In a similar manner to the college hitters the Athletics have developed, Arnold has a healthy combination of both a high floor and ceiling. This is a pitcher that can be an effective option in either the bullpen or rotation as early as opening day in 2026.
They went on to land Devin Taylor, the power-hitting outfielder out of Indiana, with the 48th pick. In my eyes, Devin Taylor was a Nick Kurtz-lite. I mocked him as high as 11th overall to the Athletics earlier in the cycle, and there was even some steam between him and the Reds as the ninth overall pick. In a similar fashion to Arnold, Taylor is a prospect that can fly through the system thanks to his high floor and ceiling. If they can sign both prospects at least at slot-value, this becomes an even bigger win for the A’s.
These are just a few headlines that stood out on day one, some more in-depth breakdowns of the draft will be headed you way in the coming days!
