The Washington Nationals selected Oklahoma high school shortstop Eli Willits on Sunday night with the No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft in a selection seen by some as a surprise.

The 17-year-old Willits is the youngest player taken No. 1 overall since Ken Griffey Jr. with Seattle in 1987. He’s the son of ex-big leaguer Reggie Willits, who played six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels and also coached with the New York Yankees.

The Willits pick kicked off a record total of 17 shortstops out of 32 first-round picks. According to Baseball America, the previous record total of shortstops taken among the top 30 picks was 10 in 2021 and 2023.

Willits, from Fort Cobb-Broxton High School, is a switch-hitter who is expected to develop a power swing.

“I feel like I have good hitability and I’m going to take that to the next level,” Willits said when asked about his strengths. “And I feel like my power is up and coming, but I needed to get into an organization like the Nationals that can help develop that and take that to the next level.

The draft came one week after the Nationals fired longtime general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. The timing of the moves added more uncertainty to a draft that might be one of the most unpredictable in recent years, including the choice of the No. 1 pick.

Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo said Willits was the team’s No. 1 choice because he was viewed as “the best hitter in the draft and best fielder in the draft” while also boasting a rare “makeup and intangibles” for a 17-year-old player.

“It made this very easy for us,” DeBartolo said.

The Los Angeles Angels added another surprise with the No. 2 pick by selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner. Seattle followed by taking LSU lefty Kade Anderson.

The Colorado Rockies picked Oklahoma prep shortstop Ethan Holliday at No. 4, landing the son of longtime Rockies star Matt Holliday.

Matthews strong in rehab start for Saints

Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews made his first rehab start on Sunday for the St. Paul Saints after recovering from a right shoulder strain. He pitched four scoreless innings with one hit allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts, but St. Paul lost 8-2 to the Iowa Cubs in the final game before the break.

The Saints would get runs on solo homers for Payton Eeles and Noah Cardenas. But José Ureña (0-2) relieved Matthews and surrendered four runs in two innings. Kody Funderburk allowed a run in two innings and Jarret Whorff gave up three runs in an inning of work.

Soccer

Chelsea beats PSG for Club World Cup title

Cole Palmer scored twice and fed João Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 on Sunday in the final of the first expanded Club World Cup.

Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes, then sent a through pass that enabled João Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43d for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.

A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.

A heavy favorite who had outscored opponents 16-1, PSG had been looking to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.

NFL

Browns rookie RB Judkins arrested

Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins was arrested Saturday night in Florida on a charge of battery and domestic violence.

According Broward County arrest records, Judkins was jailed overnight and was awaiting his first court appearance. The charge is described in the arrest report as “touch or strike/battery/domestic violence.”

The charge is a misdemeanor. The records do not indicate if Judkins has an attorney.

A Browns spokesman said the team is aware of the incident and gathering more information.

The 21-year-old Judkins was the 36th overall pick in the April draft after rushing for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns at Ohio State last season.

College football

Michigan’s sign-stealer says he knew most signals

Former Michigan football staff member Connor Stalions, whose actions triggered an NCAA investigation into sign-stealing, says he knew almost every signal opponents used in seven games over two seasons.

Stalions shared those details Saturday on social media, responding to TCU coach Sonny Dykes telling On3 that his team changed some signs in advance of its win over the Wolverines in the 2022 College Football semifinals.

Stalions bristled at the latest attempt to suggest Michigan won or lost games because of his sign-stealing role with the team.

“There were 7 games in my time at Michigan where I knew almost every signal the whole game: 2021 MSU, 2022 MSU, 2022 PSU, 2022 OSU, 2022 TCU, 2021 Georgia, and 2021 Wisconsin,” Stalions wrote in his post. “We lost 3 of those games because we didn’t tackle well, and Georgia was historically good. We won the four other games because we dominated the line of scrimmage & tackled well. Blocking, ball security, tackling, run fits & coverage tools.

“That’s football. This is not rocket science.”

Briefly

Golf >> American Talor Gooch won LIV Golf Andalucia on Sunday for his second LIV Golf title in three visits to Valderrama and fourth overall on the Saudi-funded tour.

GOLF >> William Mouw overcame a seven-stroke deficit Sunday to win the ISCO Championship for his first PGA Tour title.

Tennis >> Veronika Kudermetova secured her first Grand Slam title by teaming up with Elise Mertens to win the women’s doubles final at Wimbledon on Sunday, rallying to beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court.

MLB >> Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is slated to make a rehab start in the Arizona Complex League on Tuesday. Bieber is coming back from Tommy John surgery in April 2024.

— From news reports