Shortstop Eli Willits and right-handed pitcher Miguel Sime Jr. have been selected to represent the Washington Nationals organization in the 2026 All-Star Futures game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Sunday, July 12. Major League Baseball made the announcement Wednesday on MLB Network. The 27th All-Star Futures Game features the top Minor League prospects as a part of All-Star Sunday.
Willits, 18, is Washington’s top prospect and the No. 3 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. He is the only player in all of Minor League Baseball with at least 10 home runs, 35 stolen bases and 65 runs scored this season. Willits ranks seventh in the Minor Leagues with 67 runs scored, while his 37 stolen bases are good for eighth.
In just his first full professional season, Willits leads Washington’s system in runs scored (67), stolen bases (37), OPS (.940) doubles (T1st, 17) and ranks in on-base percentage (2nd, .418), walks (2nd, 54), extra-base hits (2nd, 32), slugging percentage (4th, .522), batting average (4th, .287) and hits (4th, 72). In 63 games between Single-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington, Willits has hit .287 with 17 doubles, three triples, 12 homers, 50 RBI, 54 walks, 37 stolen bases and 67 runs scored. He capped his time in Fredericksburg with a 15-game hitting streak from May 13 to June 7 prior to being promoted to Wilmington.
The first overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School in Oklahoma, Willits is tied for the South Atlantic League lead with six home runs and leads the league with 19 runs scored since June 10. He ranks third with a 1.040 OPS and third with a .621 slugging percentage (min. 60 PA) over this stretch.
Sime Jr., 19, leads all of Minor League Baseball with 16.69 strikeouts per 9.0 innings this season (min. 40.0 IP). He has fanned 81 batters – second-most in Washington’s system – in just 43.2 innings pitched between Single-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington. Sime Jr. has pitched to a 3.71 ERA, .164 opponents’ average and has allowed just two home runs in 14 starts between the two stops.
Washington’s fourth-round pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Poly Prep High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sime is Washington’s No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America, and its No’ 17 prospect, per MLBPipeline.com.