Nationals Land Intriguing Pitching Prospect in New MLB Mock Draft

The Washington Nationals ended up with more young pitching to add to their system with the selection of this high school arm.

Jul 12, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; An Washington Nationals hat and glove sit in the dugout during batting practice prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are the envy of baseball in one respect — they have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 MLB draft.

The Nationals, in a way, hold all of baseball hostage. Until Washington makes its first selection, the draft plans for every other team are debatable, because they will be influence by what Washington does.

So, what will the Nationals do? Baseball America tried to figure it out.

The site’s prospect analysts opted to do its own mock draft earlier this week and make selections for the first 40 picks on behalf of those teams that had a pick.

The Nationals’ only pick was the No. 1 overall selection, and the writer selected right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez out of Corona (Calif.) High school.

That’s probably a disappointing selection to some Nationals fans, who are hopeful Washington will take Ethan Holliday, an infielder out of Stillwater, Okla., who is also the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2022.

To Baseball America, there is no clear No. 1 overall pick. Hernandez is believed to have the biggest upside, per his scouting report. He’s thrown 100 mph and has a change-up that can drop down to 70 mph. He also has two quality breaking balls. The site said he had “ace potential.”

The site rates Hernandez as the No. 4 overall prospect, with college pitcher Jamie Arnold at No. 1, followed by Holliday and pitcher Tyler Bremner.

If the Nationals go that way, he will be the first pitcher Washington has taken in the first round since 2020, when it selected Cade Cavalli out of Oklahoma. He’s been recovering from a major injury and the Nats hope that he’ll be able to join the Majors at some point this season.

The last four selections were position players, including this year’s starting right fielder, Dylan Crews, who was selected No. 2 overall out of LSU.

Back in 2021, Brady House was taken out of Winder-Barrow High School in Winder, Ga. He is at Triple-A and close to a call-up. Outfielder Elijah Green was taken No. 5 overall in 2022 out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He is at High-A, along with last year’s first-round pick, Seaver King, out of Wake Forest.

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

Some factors that impact the draft order include the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees receiving a 10-pick penalty on their first picks for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax.