Nationals take high school shortstop Eli Willits, son of ex-MLBer Reggie, with No. 1 pick in draft

ATLANTA (AP) — The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.

The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player ever taken No. 1 overall. He's the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.

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Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing

The draft came one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timing of the moves added more uncertainty to a draft that might be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, including the choice of the No. 1 pick.

One of the top choices for the No. 1 pick was shortstop Ethan Holliday from Stillwater, Oklahoma. Holliday is the son of former Colorado Rockies star Matt Holiday and the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday, the 2022 No. 1 overall pick. Ethan and Jackson Holliday would have become the first set of brothers to be drafted with the first pick in the draft.

Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was greeted with boos by fans at the draft held at the Roxy Theater at The Battery, adjacent to the Braves’ Truist Park two days before MLB's All-Star Game. Manfred noted the Braves chose eventual Hall of Famer Chipper Jones with the No. 1 overall pick and said this draft is “a chance for a team to make a franchise-altering selection like the Braves made in 1990.”

The first three rounds were scheduled for Sunday night, with the remainder of the draft to follow on Monday.

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