Washington Nationals win lottery for first No. 1 overall draft pick since teen Bryce Harper in 2010
The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft next summer for the first time since picking 17-year-old Bryce Harper in 2010
DALLAS (AP) — The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft for the first time since selecting a 17-year-old Bryce Harper in 2010.
Washington got the top overall pick in next summer's draft after winning a lottery in a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings on Tuesday, setting up the Nationals to make the first pick for the third time in franchise history. In 2009, they drafted pitcher Stephen Strasburg No. 1.
Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they get to keep the first pick for the draft in July in Atlanta, the site of the All-Star Game.
Washington was ineligible for a top-six pick last year because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery selection in back-to-back years. The Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick in 2023, right after Pittsburgh took his LSU teammate Paul Skenes, the hard-throwing pitcher who was this season's National League Rookie of the Year.
