Can you raise him like Harper? Washington Cuts General Manager Anthony Wolfie's Teenage Version of 17-Year-Old High School Shortstop Draft Unexpected First Draft

Jul 14, 2025

Ellie Wilitz is interviewed by MLB.com shortly after receiving the Washington Nationals' first overall pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft on the 14th (Korea time). Photo =MLB.com Capture

When the Washington club called Eli Wilitz the first overall pick in the first round, his appearance is appearing on the screen. ImagesYonhap News

A 17-year-old high school student received the top pick in the major league draft.

The main character is Ellie Willitz, a shortstop at Fort Cobb-Brockston High School in Oklahoma. Elitz was drafted by the Washington Nationals as the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the Major League Draft held on the 14th (Korea time).

Wilich was born in December 2007, and as of today, he is 17 years and 216 days old.

Mike Divatolo, interim Washington general manager, "Ellie is the player at the top of our draft list. One of the most appealing things about being young is how scouts and analysts felt the same way, and rated him as the best hitter in the draft. He has a sincere training posture and is also an infielder with all intangible strengths.

Washington, which replaced general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez on the 7th, exercised the most important draft of the year in a week. Divatolo joined the Washington club in 2012 and worked as a deputy head of the team, but he was appointed as the chief executive of a temporary job this time.

It is the first time in 15 years that Washington has exercised its first overall pick since it picked Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies) in the 2010 draft. But Willitz is unexpected. He is fifth in MLB Pipeline's draft prospect ranking, and many experts predict that infielder Ethan Holiday (Stillwater High School, Oklahoma), who is ranked first in the ranking, will be chosen by Washington.

"In the process of working on the draft, I would say he was the player we wanted the most," Divatolo said. He has been thoroughly observed and analyzed. I'm glad we picked him the way we wanted him to."

엘리 윌리츠. Photo = Washington Nationals club official X account

MLB.com says 'Wilitz is a switch hitter and hits better from left-handed. He is said to have excellent pioneering skills and power compared to his young age. In addition, he has a very good ability to hit the ball and has shown the ability to hit line drives consistently. He has pure power, but if he goes to the Major League, he can hit about 15 home runs. 'He has quick feet, strong shoulders, and he has qualities that he can get better if he grows up physically. He will grow as a shortstop now, but he may move to the outfield later. Scouts see him as a teen version of Yankees shortstop Anthony Wolfie, and they think he can improve more than that.'

Willitz batted .473 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs, 56 runs, 27 walks, 47 steals, a on-base percentage of .602, a slugging percentage of .912 and an OPS of 1.514 in 128 at-bats last season, and struck out only four times. As the records show, he has both power and mobility.

Willitz's father was Reggie Willitz, a major leaguer who played as an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels from 2006 to 2011. He recorded a batting average of 0.258, 58 RBIs, 40 steals, and an OPS of 0.658 in 414 games.

Shortly after receiving Washington's nomination, Willitz said in a MLB.com interview that `The dream of every young player is to get the No. 1 overall draft pick. I also set that dream as my goal since I was young. Don't people say it's the best draft pick. Going to number 1 means there's no one up there. I thank God for making me in this position."

He then said, `I want to be recognized as a player who works harder than other players. In the end, he's a great person off the field and he wants to be a good teammate as well."

Willitz was recorded as the third youngest player in major league draft history based on the first overall pick. Team Foley in 1968 (17 years 180 days) and Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987 (193 days 17 years) received the first overall pick in the first round at a younger age than Willitz. However, he is only 23 days apart from Griffey Jr.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.