The Washington Nationals selected collegiate outfielder Ethan Petry out of the University of South Carolina in the second round with the No. 49 overall pick in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo; Vice President, Amateur Scouting Danny Haas; Senior Director, Amateur Scouting Brad Ciolek; and Assistant Director and National Crosschecker, Amateur Scouting Reed Dunn made the joint announcement. Petry, 21, hit .321 with 10 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 34 RBI, 26 walks and 30 runs scored in 44 games for the Gamecocks in 2025. He posted a .437 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage while leading the team in home runs and ranking second in RBI and walks. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-handed power hitter was named a consensus All-American, an All-Southeastern Conference First-Team selection and the Perfect Game National Freshman of the Year in 2023 after he hit .379 with a South Carolina freshman record 23 home runs and 75 RBI. Petry added 21 more home runs his sophomore season in 2024, hitting .306 with eight doubles, a triple, 53 RBI, 51 walks and 57 runs scored. He was named to the All-NCAA Raleigh Regional after he was 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles. A native of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., he attended Cypress Creek High School. A two-way prep player, he hit .402 with 80 runs scored, 29 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 80 RBI with a 1.211 OPS in his high school career. He was named the Sunshine Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2022 after he was 5-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 60 strikeouts on the mound in addition to his accomplishments at the plate. Petry was ranked the No. 31 overall player in the 2022 class by Perfect Game and played in the High School All-American Game at Coors Field in Denver.

The Orioles didn’t stray from their preference for college bats in the first round of the 2025 draft. Only their season can be described as unpredictable. With the 19th overall pick tonight, the Orioles selected Auburn catcher Ike Irish. Irish, a 21-year-old left-handed hitter and Michigan-native, homered six times in his last eight games. He slash

The Washington Nationals selected prep shortstop Eli Willits out of Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) High School with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Sunday. Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo; Vice President, Amateur Scouting Danny Haas; Senior Director, Amateur Scouting Brad Ciolek; and Assistant Director and Nation

In the end, the Nationals went with the other talented shortstop from Oklahoma whose father played in the big leagues. The Nats selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick in tonight’s Major League Baseball Draft, a choice that may have surprised some but became increasingly possible over the last week both because of the 17-year-old’s all-around skil

The Orioles couldn’t conclude the unofficial first half of their season until downing a few more shots of misfortune. Another player went on the injured list. The start was delayed 1 hour and 38 minutes due to rain. And a former teammate homered three times as part of a five-hit, six-RBI day. It kept getting incrementally worse for the Orioles, who

MILWAUKEE – If the Nationals were going to head into the All-Star break on a positive note, they had an uphill climb to battle. Already having struggled this weekend against Brewers pitching, facing right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was selected for the upcoming All-Star Game but will not pitch in it, may have proved to be the Nats’ toughest challen

Tonight, the Orioles have a whopping four picks in the top 37 of the MLB Draft.  Baltimore will select at No. 19, numbers 30 and 31 as compensation for losing Corbin Burnes and Anthony Santander in free agency, and at No. 37, which they acquired in a trade that sent Bryan Baker to the Tampa Bay Rays.  Years ago, the O’s farm system was seen as the

The Orioles are ending the first half of the season today with Coby Mayo staying on the bench and the club sticking to its reasoning that winning games is the priority. Mayo has started twice in the last 11 games and is 0-for-6 this month. “I’ve talked to him a few times about it, just trying to communicate with him as good as I can, but a lot of i

MILWAUKEE – The Nationals made a small roster move ahead of their first-half finale against the Brewers. They recalled right-hander Andry Lara from Double-A Harrisburg to take the open roster spot left by Shinnosuke Ogasawara, who was optioned to Triple-A Rochester last night. “Very happy. Very happy to be back here,” Lara said of coming back to a

The Orioles tweaked their bullpen again this morning, recalling left-hander Grant Wolfram from Triple-A Norfolk and designating right-hander Corbin Martin for assignment. The 40-man roster remains full. Wolfram tossed two scoreless innings as the 27th man in Thursday’s doubleheader and earned his first major league win. He joins Gregory Soto as lef