Draft night is always a weird mix of hope and pure, unadulterated chaos. You’ve got these teenagers and college kids in suits that probably cost more than their first cars, waiting for a phone call that changes everything. But the major league draft 2025 was a bit different. It wasn't just another year of swapping names for slots. It felt like a shift. If you weren't paying close attention to the draft lottery or the way the "bloodline" players were falling, you probably missed the real story.
People expected the usual suspects to dominate. They didn't.
Honestly, the biggest shock wasn't even the players themselves, but how the Washington Nationals played the system. They landed that No. 1 overall pick during the lottery in Dallas, their first time picking at the very top since they grabbed a kid named Bryce Harper back in 2010. You might have heard of him. But while everyone was penciling in the "obvious" choice for months, the actual board looked a lot messier once the clock started ticking in Atlanta.
Why the No. 1 Pick Wasn't a Slam Dunk
For about two years, if you asked any scout who was going first in the major league draft 2025, they’d say Ethan Holliday. It’s a great story. His brother Jackson went 1-1 to the Orioles. His dad Matt was an absolute monster for the Rockies and Cardinals. The kid is 6-foot-4, left-handed, and hits the ball like it owes him money.
But then reality happened.
Eli Willits, a shortstop out of Fort Cobb-Broxton High in Oklahoma, started puting up numbers that made scouts rethink their entire lives. He’s got this twitchy, "plus-plus" hit tool that just doesn't come around often in prep players. The Nationals saw a guy who could stay at shortstop and hit for average, whereas Holliday—as great as he is—looks more like a future third baseman as he fills out that massive frame.
When the Nats took Willits at No. 1, it sent a ripple through the first round. The Rockies, picking at No. 4, basically sprinted to the podium to grab Holliday. It was a "homecoming" of sorts, considering his dad's history in Denver, but it wasn't the coronation everyone expected.
The Pitching Pivot
Usually, teams are terrified of high school pitchers. They’re "volatitile." They’re "injury risks."
Whatever.
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The 2025 class had some arms that forced teams to ignore the old spreadsheets. Tyler Bremner from UC Santa Barbara went No. 2 to the Angels, proving that the "college arm with a logic-defying changeup" is still the safest bet in the draft. But look at Seth Hernandez. The kid from Corona High went No. 6 to the Pirates. Pittsburgh is basically becoming a factory for elite young pitching at this point, and Hernandez—with a fastball that touches the high 90s and a curveball that snaps like a twig—fits right in.
Then you have Kade Anderson. He was the "stuff" guy for LSU. The Mariners grabbed him at No. 3. Seattle has a type, and that type is "left-handed and nasty." Anderson fits the bill. It’s sort of wild how the top of the draft was split almost perfectly between these polished college arms and high-upside prep shortstops.
What happened to the "Sure Things"?
If you follow college ball, you know Jace LaViolette. He was supposed to be a top-five lock. At 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, he looks like he was built in a lab to hit home runs for Texas A&M. And he did—21 as a freshman, 29 as a sophomore.
But his 2025 season was... complicated.
The power was there, but the swing-and-miss stuff became a red flag. He struck out in about 25% of his plate appearances. In the modern game, that's okay if you're hitting 40 bombs in the bigs, but for a college kid? It makes scouts nervous. He slid all the way to No. 27, where the Cleveland Guardians snatched him up.
That might be the steal of the decade. Cleveland is famously good at fixing contact issues. If they can get LaViolette to just touch the ball more often, his raw power is going to be terrifying in the AL Central.
The Most Intriguing Picks of the First Round
It wasn't just about the top five. The major league draft 2025 had some real depth in the middle of the first round that most casual fans ignored.
- Billy Carlson (No. 10, White Sox): Another Corona High kid. The White Sox are in a full rebuild, and taking a shortstop who is widely considered the best defensive player in the class is a "floor" pick that they desperately needed.
- Aiva Arquette (No. 7, Marlins): A massive human being for a shortstop. There were rumors he’d move to the outfield, but the Marlins seem convinced he can stick in the dirt.
- Ike Irish (No. 19, Orioles): The Orioles just keep drafting hitters. Irish is a catcher/outfielder from Auburn who does one thing: hit. His "hit tool" is a 60 on the 20-80 scale, which is elite for a guy who might stay behind the plate.
The Lottery Reality Check
Let’s talk about the White Sox for a second. They had a historically bad 2024 season. Like, "don't look at the record if you have a weak stomach" bad. Under the old rules, they would have had the No. 1 pick locked in.
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But the new lottery system is brutal.
Because they are a "large market" team that participated in the lottery recently, they actually weren't eligible for a top pick this year. They were capped. It’s a move by the league to stop teams from tanking year after year, but it’s gotta hurt seeing the Nationals—who had much better odds—jump up and grab the prize while the Sox were stuck picking at 10.
The Athletics were in the same boat. They picked No. 11. It's a tough pill to swallow when you're trying to rebuild a roster from scratch.
Scouting the "Bloodlines"
Baseball is becoming a family business. It’s kinda crazy.
We already mentioned Ethan Holliday, but the major league draft 2025 was littered with names you recognize. Eli Willits’ dad, Reggie, played in the bigs and is now a coach. There were sets of twins, like the Witherspoons and the Parkers, where one brother went in the first round and the other had to wait.
Scouts love these guys because they grew up in clubhouses. They don’t get "the shakes" when they walk into a pro stadium. They know the grind. They know how to handle the media. That "makeup" score is usually through the roof.
Making Sense of the Slot Values
Money always complicates things.
In the major league draft 2025, the slot value for the No. 1 pick was north of $10 million. When a team like the Nationals takes Willits, they might be doing it not just because they like the player, but because they can sign him for slightly "underslot."
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This is basically the "Astros Strategy." You save $1 million on your first pick so you can go overpay a high school pitcher in the 3rd round who was planning on going to college. It’s a game of poker played with scouting reports and bank accounts.
The Marlins did this with Cam Cannarella. He was a Clemson star who fell to No. 43 (Competitive Balance Round A). He probably had a first-round talent grade, but since he fell, Miami had to make sure they had the "pool money" to keep him from going back to school for his senior year.
How to Track These Guys Moving Forward
If you want to actually see if these picks were "good," don't look at the stats this year. These kids are mostly going to the Florida Complex League or the Arizona Complex League. They’re getting used to wooden bats and bus rides.
Keep an eye on the "High-A" rosters in 2026. That’s where the separation happens.
If Eli Willits is hitting .280 in High-A by next June, the Nationals look like geniuses. If Ethan Holliday is striking out 35% of the time in Low-A Fresno, the "move him to third base" talk is going to get very loud, very fast.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the Mid-Season Top 100: Around June 2026, MLB Pipeline and Baseball America will release their updated lists. See how many 2025 draftees jumped into the top 50.
- Follow the "Under-Slot" Signings: Look up which players from rounds 3-5 signed for more than their slot value. Those are usually the "hidden gems" the front office worked hardest to get.
- Watch the College World Series: A lot of the 2026 top prospects are currently sophomores. Start familiarizing yourself with names like Seth Hernandez’s younger peers now so you aren't surprised next summer.
The draft is a long game. Most of these guys won't see a big league field until 2028 or 2029. But the foundations of the next great rosters were built in those two days in July.