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The Washington Nationals have selected Eli Willits as the No.1 pick in the ongoing MLB Draft on Sunday, July 13th. Willits is a graduate from Fort Cobb-Baxton High School in Oklahoma. Not just this, he even became the third youngest in the MLB history to have been drafted.
Washington Nationals select Eli Willits as No.1 pick in MLB Draft
The 17-year-old is ranked behind Ken Griffey Jr. (17 years, 193 days), who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1987 and Tim Foli (17 years, 180 days), who was drafted by the New York Mets in 1968.
Eli Willits hails from a baseball family as his father, Reggie Willis played for six season in the big league with the Los Angeles Angels in the late 2000s. He initially started his coaching career in high school, following his move to New York Yankees in 2015. He then picked up the job of first base coach in 2018, a position he held till 2021.
Since then, Reggie has been working with the University of Oklahoma coaching team. His son, Jaxon, Eli's elder brother, is a sophomore player on the baseball team. Like Jaxon, Eli has been going to the same university but after his first round pick, he is unlikely to join.
Eli Willits is a 6-foot-1 shortstop. He has an above average arm and run bases well. He is a contact hitter and has the ability to hit line drives. Willits will be looking to develop his game further and evolve into a complete hitter.
Last season in the high school, he hit .473 with 14 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 34 RBIs, 27 walks and 47 stolen bases to his name. With his heroic performances, he led the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association Class B state title for the sixth consecutive season.
Every kid’s dream is to be the No. 1 overall pick, Willits said after getting picked. That’s just something I set my standards to. It’s what people say [about] the best pick in the Draft. If you go No. 1 overall, no one can go above you. I’m just grateful and thankful for God to put me in this situation.
The reason behind why Nationals picked Eli Willits
The Washington Nationals recently underwent a complete haul in the front office as they decided to part ways with general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Roberts. Mike DeBartolo, assistant general manager since 2012, has been appointed as the interim general manager.
After selecting Eli Willits as the No.1 pick in the MLB Draft, DeBartolo spoke about Willits all round ability which made the franchise seriously consider him.
Eli was the top guy on our board, DeBartolo said. It's one of those nice things where the scouts and the analysts see things exactly the same way and saw him as the best hitter in the Draft, the best fielder in the Draft with just great makeup, great work ethic and all the intangibles.
Eli was ranked as the fifth best prospect by MLB Pipeline heading into the draft. He was picked ahead of the favorites Kade Anderson and Ethan Holliday, who were picked third and fourth by the Mariners and Colorado Rockies.
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