List of Washington Nationals first-round draft picks

The Washington Nationals are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Washington, D.C. Prior to 2005, they were known as the Montreal Expos and based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Nationals play in the National League East division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Expos/Nationals have selected 73 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1968 expansion draft in which the Expos initially filled their roster.

Of the 73 players picked in the first round by Montreal or Washington, 38 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 27 of them were right-handed, while 11 were left-handed. Thirteen outfielders, ten shortstops, five third basemen, four catchers, and three first basemen were also taken. The team has never drafted a player at second base. In all, 40 of the players were drafted from high school, 27 from four-year colleges, and four from junior colleges. Eleven of the players came from high schools, universities, or junior colleges in the state of California, and Florida follows with 10 players. They have also drafted two players from Puerto Rico: Josue Estrada (1993) and Hiram Bocachica (1994).

No pick has been elected to the Hall of Fame. One first-round pick, Bryce Harper (2010), has been named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in his career, earning National League rookie honors in 2012 and National League MVP honors in 2015, both with the Nationals. Harper is the second of the Nationals' two overall #1 selections; the first was Stephen Strasburg in 2009. Condredge Holloway (1971) was drafted as a shortstop, but ended up becoming a quarterback in the Canadian Football League, and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

The Expos/Nationals have made 19 selections in the supplemental round of the draft and six compensatory picks since their entry into the league in 1969. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year. The Expos/Nationals have failed to sign four of their first-round picks: Condredge Holloway (1971), Charles Johnson (1989), John Patterson (1996), and Aaron Crow (2008). The Expos received no compensation for failing to sign Holloway, but received the 40th pick in 1990, the 52nd pick in 1997, and the 10th pick in 2009 for failing to sign Johnson, Patterson, and Crow, respectively.