Here are Nats' Draft picks from Day 2

WASHINGTON -- After making waves on Sunday night, starting with their No. 1 overall selection of high school shortstop Eli Willits to kick off the 2025 MLB Draft, the Nationals turned their attention to Rounds 4-20 and the additional system depth available.

On Day 1, Washington chose a pair of high schoolers -- Willits and right-hander Landon Harmon (No. 80 overall) -- alongside college outfielder Ethan Petry (No. 49 overall). The Nats opened Day 2 by continuing the trend, selecting impressive high school prospects with their first two picks before turning their attention to the college crop -- though another prep arm did sneak through in the 19th round.

“[We’re] very excited,” Nationals assistant director and national crosschecker, amateur scouting Reed Dunn said. “Lot of upside, lot of potential impact in the system. Everybody loves their Draft right after it, but I really really couldn’t be happier with all the work everybody did and how we came together to put this class together.”

More on Nationals' 2025 Draft:

• Nationals make 17-year-old Eli Willits No. 1 overall pick
• Nats round out Day 1 picks with college OF, high school righty
• Nationals Draft Tracker

Here’s a rundown of the Nats’ Day 2 picks:

RHP Miguel Sime Jr. (No. 86 Draft prospect)

• Round 4 (No. 111 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Poly Prep Country Day School (NY)
• Calling Card: Listed at 6-foot-4, Sime’s strength is his 70-grade fastball. He has impressive power, though his command will require some work -- but at just 18 years old, Sime has time to find that finesse around the strike zone. Pitching in the MLB Draft League this summer, Sime turned heads and set the league velocity record with a whopping 100.9 mph fastball. (As a whole, his fastball averaged 97-99 mph.) Sime, the Gatorade High School Player of the Year in New York state and a Perfect Game All-American, was also a participant in the MLB Develops program -- specifically the Breakthrough Series and the Dream Series.
• Quote: "Gerrit Cole is my kind of pitching role model," Sime told MLB.com’s Cole Weintraub. "Not only because he's a Yankee, but because of the way he carries himself. ... He does a great job of slowing the game down and I want to do exactly what he does when he takes control of the game."

SS/3B Coy James (No. 94 Draft prospect)

• Round: 5 (No. 142 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Davie High School (Mocksville, N.C.)
• Calling Card: James impressed in 2023 with the U.S. 18-and-under team, though he has lost some athleticism (but gained strength) over the past year. Regardless, the University of Mississippi commit has good arm strength (55 grade) and decent power (50 grade), still thought of as a 20-home-run type of bat. He was Gatorade’s North Carolina High School Player of the Year after hitting .605 and slugging 1.222 with 15 doubles, four triples and nine home runs in his senior season.
• Quote: “Coy is as advanced as I’ve seen as a hitter in high school ever,” James’ travel coach Jeff Petty told the Davie County Enterprise Record in 2024. “The power is really real, especially with his setup. He doesn’t really have a lot of moving parts in his swing, and how he generates so much power has grabbed a lot of scouts’ attention.”

C Boston Smith

• Round 6 (No. 171 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: Wright State University (Ohio)
• Calling Card: Smith began his college career at Cincinnati in 2022 before transferring to Wright State in ‘23. A catcher and outfielder, Smith hit over .300 in both his junior (.307) and senior (.332) years, including a 1.274 OPS his senior season with 26 homers -- tied for the most in Division 1 baseball. While his power might seem the most enticing aspect of his profile, Smith also boasts speed and patience at the plate, going 16-for-23 in stolen base attempts and working 57 walks. In May, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named him their National Hitter of the Month, after he blasted 16 homers in 17 games.
• Quote: "What an incredible honor for Boston to be named an All-American,” Wright State head coach Alex Sogard said upon Smith’s D1 Baseball Second Team All-American selection. “There is no doubt he was one of the best catchers in the country so it's great to see him get the recognition he earned."

RHP Julian Tonghini

• Round 7 (No. 201 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Arizona
• Calling Card: Tonghini began his college career at Boston College (2022-23) before transferring to Indiana (‘24) and then Arizona (‘25). The 6-foot-4 righty spent this season in the bullpen, appearing in 22 games while allowing 12 earned runs over 25 1/3 innings (4.26 ERA) with 44 strikeouts to 14 walks (a 3.14 K/BB ratio).

RHP Riley Maddox

• Round 8 (No. 231 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Mississippi
• Calling Card: Maddox made 16 starts for the Rebels in 2025, with one appearance out of the bullpen. He recorded a 5.56 ERA over 69 2/3 innings with 69 strikeouts and 30 walks -- a sign his command could use some work, though his senior campaign was an improvement from his junior year (6.05 ERA). Maddox’s best performance this season was vs. Vanderbilt on April 26, when he allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings with five strikeouts. It was the first of his two quality starts (May 9 vs. Mississippi State).
• Quote: "He's hung in there," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco told the Mississippi Clarion Ledger in April. "That's the thing that I love. Today you could see the veteran in him."

3B Wyatt Henseler

• Round 9 (No. 261 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Texas A&M
• Calling Card: Henseler spent his college career at the University of Pennsylvania before transferring to Texas A&M for his graduate season. Boasting impressive power and strong hittability, Henseler was named the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year in his senior season at Penn, when he hit a team-high .360 with 22 home runs, setting the single-season Ivy League record for homers. At Texas A&M, Henseler split time between second and third base, starting every game while hitting .319 with 12 homers and a team-high 15 doubles.
• Quote: “He likes to talk and he likes to talk [about] the game,” Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley told MyAggieNation.com in April. “I think it’s just his personality and how he plays and a guy I hope is one of my assistant coaches one day. He’s that type of mindset and player, and he’s always constantly into the game. He does that when I’ve taken him out of the game. It’s just part of his process and he’s locked into every pitch.”

1B Hunter Hines

• Round 10 (No. 291 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: Mississippi State
• Calling Card: Hines completed his time at Mississippi State with 70 home runs over 228 games, a school record. Hines slashed .280/.380/.578 as a senior with 16 home runs and 15 doubles, while recording just one error in the field. The 6-foot-3 first baseman’s power is notable, and he has a chance to be a 20-home run hitter as he hones his skills.
• Quote: “When I finally hit that record-breaking homer at Missouri, it was like a weight lifted off of me,” Hines wrote for hailstate.com. “That’s a hard record to break, and I hope somebody is able to break mine one day, but it’s really cool to know my name will be around here forever and ever.”

OF Jack Moroknek

• Round 11 (No. 321 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/R
• School: Butler
• Calling Card: Moroknek had an impressive junior campaign at Butler this year, earning second-team All-Big East honors while leading Butler’s offense in almost every offensive category (hits, average, bases, RBIs, homers, runs, slugging and OPS). His 18 home runs ranked second in the Big East, while his average (.379), slugging (.715) and hits (81) all ranked third in the league. Boasting impressive power and an ability to consistently get on base, Moroknek agreed to transfer to Texas on June 15.

LHP Ben Moore

• Round 12 (No. 351 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Old Dominion
• Calling Card: Moore reached 97 mph with his fastball last fall, and he drew attention ahead of his junior season -- in which he was expected to join Old Dominion’s rotation. As Moore stretched out, though, his command (and speed) suffered. Per MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, “During his mound session at the Draft Combine, he averaged 93.7 mph with his fastball, throwing it with good sink. He has good feel to spin his low-80s slider and can miss bats with it, though he’s landed it for strikes and got more swing-and-miss with it as a reliever in the past. He’s worked on a low-80s changeup, but it’s clearly behind the other two offerings.”
• Fun fact: Mid-April, a diving barehanded snag from Moore made the SportsCenter Top 10 plays at No. 8.

RHP Tucker Biven

• Round 13 (No. 381 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Louisville
• Calling Card: Biven played with the 2024 USA Collegiate National Team after his sophomore campaign, appearing in one game vs. Chinese Taipei in which he allowed just two hits over 2 2/3 innings out of the ‘pen with five strikeouts. As a junior this year, Biven recorded a 3.71 ERA and 36 K’s over 43 2/3 innings, making five starts and 18 relief appearances with four saves. Biven has a solid fastball-slider combo, but his curveball and changeup will need some improvement if clubs want him to stretch out as a starter.

C Nick Hollifield

• Round 14 (No. 411 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Calling Card: Hit a career-high .266 in his junior campaign this year, with multiple other career highs including hits (50) walks (33) and home runs (five). Hollifield was named to the Buster Posey Award midseason watch list while completing the season with a .995 fielding percentage and 10 caught stealing.

1B Jacob Walsh

• Round 15 (No. 441 overall)
• Bats/throws: L/L
• School: Oregon
• Calling Card: Over his four years at Oregon, Walsh set the school’s all-time home run record with 59 long balls, as well as the all-time RBI leader (191). But beyond just power, Walsh is a solid fielder with skills on and off the field, closing out his senior year with a .332/.435/.651 slash line with 19 home runs and 17 doubles. Walsh participated in MLB Develops’ Breakthrough Series in high school. After his senior campaign, he was a finalist for the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award as well as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, and first-team All-Big Ten.
• Quote: “I had another opportunity last year to go [in the Draft], but I kind of bet on myself again,” Walsh told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince at the Draft Combine. “I knew I could do more. I wasn't finished yet at Oregon, and I wanted to go back for my fourth year, and I had a great year, and we won a bunch of games and I had a ton of fun. I knew I had more to do.”

LHP Levi Huesman

• Round 16 (No. 471 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/L
• School: Vanderbilt
• Calling Card: Huesman excelled out of Vanderbilt’s bullpen in his junior season, logging a 2.91 ERA over 18 relief appearances (16 innings) this year while striking out 20 batters and allowing just four walks (5.0 K/BB ratio). Huesman is easily coached and clearly has developed a strong command of the strike zone, showing drastic growth from his 13 K’s to 10 walks (1.3 K/BB ratio) in his sophomore season.
• Quote: “Levi has a special arm and throws special stuff,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said per the Vanderbilt baseball website. “He started to gain more confidence as the season progressed last year. It will simply be getting on the mound and getting more repetitions. Levi is a very good athlete who enjoys the craft of pitching.”

3B Bryce Molinaro

• Round 17 (No. 501 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Penn State
• Calling Card: In his redshirt sophomore season in 2025, Molinaro ranked fifth in the Big Ten with three triples while slashing .267/.373/.502 with 13 home runs and 61 RBIs (second most for Penn State and eighth most in the Big Ten). He has solid gap-to-gap power and a smooth swing to go with his strength.
• Quote: “It would mean the world,” Molinaro told the Standard Speaker in May regarding the potential to be drafted. “It’s the thing I’ve been doing since I was a kid and it’s been what I’ve been working for. It’s always been a dream of mine and that’s what I’m trying to work for. Hearing my name get called in a few months would definitely be a huge stepping stone, a huge thing to cross off the bucket list. It’d be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for sure.”

RHP Owen Puk

• Round 18 (No. 531 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/L
• School: Florida International University
• Calling Card: Owen, the younger brother of D-backs reliever A.J. Puk, blazed his own path in baseball. As a redshirt junior in 2025, Owen Puk made 12 starts and one relief appearance while working a 4.91 ERA -- a far cry from the 9.69 ERA he logged in ‘24. Puk struck out 51 over 40 1/3 innings while walking 23 batters, an improvement over the 28 K’s to 23 walks he recorded in ‘24. Puk joined West Virginia via the transfer portal this summer, so it’s a strong possibility he elects to remain in college ball and continue his growth there. His fastball hovers between 93-97 mph while topping out at 99 mph.

RHP Mason Pike

• Round 19 (No. 561 overall)
• Bats/throws: S/L
• School: Puyallup High School (Washington)
• Calling Card: Pike’s arm earned a 60-grade ranking as a shortstop, spending time both in the field and on the mound in high school. A switch-hitter, Pike has some strength and raw power, though his timing at the plate can waver. On the mound, he reached 96-97 mph during summer showcase appearances. MLB Pipeline’s scouting profile describes Pike as more of a “thrower than a pitcher,” which is something the 18-year-old will have time to work through.

1B Juan Cruz

• Round 20 (No. 591 overall)
• Bats/throws: R/R
• School: Alabama State University
• Calling Card: Cruz earned Southwest Athletic Conference Co-Hitter of the Year honors after an impressive junior season this year, in which he hit .416 with 21 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs while ranking third in the conference with 66 RBIs. He led the conference in doubles, hits and hits per game while ranking in the top five in multiple additional offensive categories including runs scored (third, 58) and home runs (fifth).