A draft stunner, but from a predictable source. Plus: All-Star guide

New York Times

15 hours ago

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As expected, the Nationals used the first pick of the draft to take an Oklahoma high school shortstop whose dad played in the big leagues.
Just … not that one.
Instead, they took Eli Willits, whose dad Reggie played for the Angels from 2006-2011. At 17 years, seven months and four days old, Willits became the youngest 1/1 pick since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987.
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But if the first pick was a surprise, buckle in. Because the Angels — baseball's wildcard, but only by the other definition — had the second pick. Available to them: the previously alluded-to Ethan Holliday, LSU southpaw Kade Anderson and every other draft-eligible player not named Eli Willits.
Let's go to the podium …
'With the second pick of the 2025 MLB Draft, the Los Angeles Angels select Tyler Bremner, a right-handed pitcher from UC Santa Barbara.'
No disrespect to Bremner, who had a very good college career. But he was MLB.com's No. 18 draft day prospect. Baseball America had him at 13th. The Athletic's Keith Law had him at No. 16.
Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise. As Sam Blum writes here, the Angels have a history of taking picks they think will sign for below the allotted bonus slot, allowing them to dedicate a bigger portion of their bonus pool to tempt a high schooler to forego college with a later pick.
Given the Angels' track record for fast-tracking prospects to the big leagues, there was one funny quote from Angels scouting director Tim McIlvane. When asked: When might we see Bremner in the big leagues? He quipped: 'Not Friday.'
After the Angels, the big names started coming off the board. Anderson went to the Mariners at No. 3, then Holliday to his dad's old team (the Rockies) at No. 4. Had Holliday slid one more spot, he could have been picked by … his dad's old team (the Cardinals). Instead, St. Louis took fiery left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle of Tennessee.
I, for one, cannot wait to see how the Cardinals' fan base — traditionally a bit fond of the more staid and stoic aspects of baseball history — will embrace Doyle's whole, uh, aura.
Here's evaluations of all 105 picks from Day 1.
From my latest column:
Amid all the commotion over whether Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski warrants a place in the All-Star Game, let's not forget a critical detail: Major League Baseball only awarded Misiorowski a place after other starting pitchers turned down spots.
I get it when Sunday starters are reluctant to throw even an inning in the All-Star Game on one day's rest. The collective bargaining agreement specifies that such pitchers and their clubs can request a restricted usage. But this year, six All-Stars who started Saturday also bailed on the game.
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As Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Sunday, 'We have to do a better job to get the best of the best out there. There's too many All-Stars.' Cora suggested a longer break or playing the game a day later, on Wednesday. Maybe one of those ideas would help. Or maybe a change would only create different problems.
Players sometimes complain the league does not promote them properly. Well, the All-Star Game is a promotional vehicle, the game's top summer showcase, a rare time for baseball to command center stage. And while each player who bowed out can justify his decision by citing a desire to minimize his risk of injury, the collective look borders on embarrassing. At some level, the players need to demonstrate an obligation to their sport, beyond simply showing up for introductions.
Most All-Stars do. And in a game with a history of poor labor relations, perhaps full cooperation from players is a fantasy, even when they're being honored. At the moment, the owners seem to be spending more time on salary-cap prep than taking action on the report the league released last December on pitching injuries.
Labor tension underlies everything in this sport, even if the league and players' union would like to pretend otherwise.
But give the league credit for this much: From a promotional standpoint, Misiorowski was a perfectly logical selection. With apologies to NL pitchers who still might feel snubbed — San Francisco Giants reliever Tyler Rogers, perhaps most notably — they won't grab the casual fan the same way the 'the Miz' can.
I see both sides of the debate. Misiorowski, baseball's latest sensation, will attract viewers, no small consideration for the league and one of my employers, Fox Sports. On the other hand, five starts? How far are we going to lower the bar? Does next year's No. 1 pick get drafted Sunday and play in the game Tuesday, especially if he has a surname suited for social media marketing?
More here.
Believe it or not, the All-Star festivities have already begun. Here's a quick guide to what's happening (or has already happened) and when:
Friday: The HBCU Swingman Classic went to the NL by a score of 7-4. Jason Jones wrote about the importance of the game here.
Saturday: The NL also took the Futures Game, winning 4-2. Keith Law was there, giving us a rundown from a scouting perspective. After that: the celebrity softball game. CC Sabathia won MVP (he hit two home runs).
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Sunday: Yesterday was mostly dedicated to the first round of the draft. We covered that already! Also, while I'm still not entirely clear on the finer points of Home Run Derby X, the Nationals defeated the Phillies in that.
Monday (today!): The Home Run Derby starts at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. Of note: Matt Olson has replaced Ronald Acuña Jr., who has dealt with some back tightness, but should still start the ASG tomorrow. Meanwhile, Dan Hayes has a great story on Byron Buxton — who hit for the cycle Saturday — and how coaching his son helped revive his sparkfor baseball.
Tuesday: The main event! The All-Star Game starts at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox. Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal are the starters (whew!). There have been a few more replacements since we last spoke.
More ASG:
I'm not sure which is more intriguing to me: the Dodgers' seven-game losing streak (they snapped it over the weekend, taking the last two games from the Giants) or the Red Sox winning 10 straight going into the break. Let's talk about Boston.
In spring training, I made no bones about my belief that Boston had a shot to win the AL East. By June 6, the team was 10 1/2 games out of first place. Nine days later, it traded Rafael Devers to the Giants.
I began preparations for a bone-crafting session.
And yet, here we are: The Red Sox are on a 10-game heater, a game up on the Mariners for the second wild-card position and in the mix for the division, trailing the surprising Blue Jays by just three games.
Their final series was against the Rays, whom they trailed by a game and a half on Thursday. Boston is 2 1/2 games up on them now, thanks in part to Garrett Crochet's first career shutout (and first complete game) Saturday.
Jen McCaffrey has more on the players who have been the biggest contributors to this turnaround.
Terry Francona has become the 13th MLB manager to reach 2,000 wins.
Kyle Tucker is a free-agent-to-be. He's making the most of his year with the Cubs, though.
Ronny Mauricio is starting to settle in as a productive — and vocal — big-leaguer with the Mets.
Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel has been in the league for 30 years. His two sons could be next.
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Former Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says he has received offers to work and isn't being blackballed by the league.
Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz tipping pitches to the Yankees in New York's extra-innings win.
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