Shocking No. 1 overall pick in 2025 MLB Draft has unexpected Yankees bloodlines

For the majority of the 2024-2025 MLB Draft cycle, most believed the Washington Nationals' stretch pick/son of a former player at 1-1 would be Ethan Holliday, if anything. Yankees fans are intimately familiar with his game, even if they've never watched him operate.

After all, Matt Holliday was a standout in the first half of the 2017 season for a young Yankees team that required his veteran leadership. As he burned out down the stretch, he still served as a de facto coach. Holliday's older son Jackson was the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Draft, and though he has yet to consistently catch fire at the MLB level, he nearly represented the division-rival Baltimore Orioles in the 2025 All-Star Game (shoutout to Gleyber Torres).

And yet ... sometimes, even the surprise picks get coopted by additional surprises. With all eyes on the Washington Nationals' first overall selection - just one week after the firing of GM Mike Rizzo - the Nats went with the son of a former Yankee. It wasn't Ethan Holliday.

Eli Willits, also an amateur shortstop and son of former Yankees first base coach Reggie - of course! - was the selection instead. The elder Willits, once upon a time a scrappy outfielder with the Angels, served on the Yankees' coaching staff from 2018 to 2021.

Washington Nationals select Eli Willits, son of ex-Yankees first base coach, with stunning No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft

Instead of Holliday leaping to the top spot, he'll follow in his dad's footsteps and rejuvenate the Colorado Rockies - at least in the realm of local interest.

Willits? The instincts at short are clear. The athleticism comes naturally. The hit tool has impressed. The power? Not so much, but ... he's still just 17 years old, and doesn't turn 18 until December. There's plenty to dream on, and there's nothing a little chaos can't fix with so much discord in DC.

Stay tuned for additional insights on the Yankees' forthcoming picks; New York doesn't select until Pick No. 39, and was penalized for going past the luxury tax, even though they lost Juan Soto.