MLB Draft for 2025

Willits comes from a baseball family, with father Reggie playing in the big leagues before coaching with the Yankees and returning to his alma mater as the associate head coach at Oklahoma -- where Eli's brother, Jaxon, is starring as a sophomore. Willits also is committed to the Sooners but is unlikely to get to Norman because he's a slam-dunk early first-rounder after reclassifying from the 2026 class. He draws some comparisons to Anthony Volpe with better physical tools at the same stage, and he'll likely be the youngest true prospect in the 2025 crop at 17 years, 7 months on Draft Day. A switch-hitter who's more proficient from the left side, Willits is exceedingly polished at the plate for his age. He has outstanding bat-to-ball skills, making consistent line-drive contact while rarely straying from the strike zone. He may never have more than average raw power, but his hitting ability should enable him to tap into most of it and provide 15 homers per season. Willits has the nonstop motor and instincts to get the most out of his physical tools. He plays quicker than his plus speed and earns solid grades for his arm strength and defensive play at shortstop, and scouts won't be shocked if those both become pluses once he's fully developed. There's no reason he shouldn't stay at shortstop but he'd also profile well in center field.

In his first two years at Santa Barbara, Bremner has slid back and forth between starting and relieving, finding success in both roles in 2024 to put up gaudy numbers. He began the year in the rotation but moved to the bullpen when Hudson Barrett got hurt. He was back in the rotation when Matt Ager struggled, helping the Gauchos reach (and host) a Regional. He hasn't taken the step forward this year many anticipated, knocking him from the top of the Draft conversations. Entering the spring, the hope was that Bremner would continue to show the makings of three plus pitches, but it hasn't worked out that way. His fastball is still averaging around 95 mph and touching 98 with good ride, lighting up the radar gun with little effort and with some feeling there's room for growth and more velocity to come in pro ball. His best secondary offering is his easily plus changeup that some scouts hang a 70 grade on. He'll throw it to any hitter in any count, and it stays on the fastball plane for a long time with late, hard fade, missing bats at a 46-percent clip in 2024. One of his bigger issues this spring has been that his 86-88 mph slider with gyro-type shape has backed up -- he's struggled to throw it for strikes -- and he's been more of a two-pitch pitcher. Bremner is still answering questions about durability, as this is his first full season of starting. But he's generally around the strike zone and is capable of missing bats with all three offerings. Even with some of the question marks this spring, he's still firmly in the first-round picture.

Anderson had Tommy John surgery in April 2022 and missed his Louisiana high school senior season the following spring. Louisiana State eased him back into action last year as a midweek starter and weekend reliever, and he was lights out coming out of the bullpen in the postseason. By making a wildly successful transition to the Tigers' conference rotation in 2025 and leading NCAA Division I in strikeouts (145 in 89 innings) through conference tournament play, he established himself as the best sophomore-eligible prospect and could be the first pitcher selected. Anderson's fastball plays much better than its velocity (sitting 92-94 mph, touching 97) because it carries past bats up in the strike zone. He used an upper-70s downer curveball as his main breaking pitch as a freshman but since has switched to a high-spin mid-80s slider that has the makings of a plus offering. He also employs a mid-80s changeup with fade and sink that has become a true weapon as he has used it more often. With a quick arm and athletic delivery, Anderson provides plenty of strikes. There's still projection remaining in his slender 6-foot-2 frame, and his uptick in stuff this spring could make him a No. 2 starter. He also comes with a high floor as a lefty with four effective offerings and pitchability.

Ever since Jackson Holliday went No. 1 overall in the 2022 Draft, he has told people that his younger brother is better than he was at the same stage. Ethan is more physical and powerful than Jackson and much more closely resembles their father, seven-time All-Star Matt. Both brothers scuffled on the showcase circuit entering their Draft years, but while Jackson was considered a second-round talent at that point, Ethan is a leading candidate to get taken No. 1 in July. Holliday may have the most usable left-handed power in the Draft and he generates it with little effort. Still adding to his 6-foot-4 frame, he already has plenty of strength and an easy left-handed swing with plenty of bat speed and leverage. He tried to do too much when he got pitched around on the circuit last summer, leading to some swing-and-miss concerns, but he should develop into at least an average hitter with 35-homer pop and plenty of walks. Holliday moves well for his size and has average speed, though he'll probably lose a step as he continues to mature physically. He has nice actions and solid arm strength at shortstop, but he won't cover enough ground to stay there on a long-term basis. The Oklahoma State recruit projects better as a slugging third baseman and could be a quality defender on the hot corner.

Doyle was Coastal Carolina's most effective starter as a freshman in 2023, then filled the same role at Mississippi last spring. He averaged 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which would have ranked 13th in NCAA Division I (behind four 2023 first-rounders) if he hadn't fallen an inning shy of qualifying. The 2025 Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, he led D-I in strikeout rate (15.4) through conference tournament play after transferring again and headlining the rotation of defending Men's College World Series champion Tennessee, vaulting himself into top-10-pick consideration. Doyle's success centers primarily around his fastball, which sat at 91-94 mph during his sophomore season and now operates in the mid-90s and peaks at 99. It has been the most untouchable heater in college baseball this year, coming out of a high release point and exploding at the top of the zone. His 82-85 mph slider has become a solid offering but he leaves it in the middle of the plate too often, which is also an issue with his upper-80s cutter. While he throws his fastball nearly two-thirds of the time, Doyle has four effective pitches after switching to using an upper-80s splitter as his changeup. Despite his dominance this spring, there are concerns about his ability to succeed as a starter at the next level because he has an unorthodox delivery and constantly throws with maximum intent. He does provide consistent strikes and has held his stuff deep into games and throughout this season.

On the radar for quite some time, Hernandez started making it clear as a junior, when he won National High School Invitational MVP honors after tossing a complete-game shutout to help his Corona High School team win the tournament, that he'd be the top high school arm in the Class of 2025. He cemented it by showing elite stuff at summer showcase events like USA Baseball's 18U National Training Camp and the Area Code Games, then positioned himself as the best overall arm in the class with a strong spring that included another masterpiece at the NHSI. Hernandez has an ideal projectable 6-foot-4 pitcher's frame with the athleticism teams love to see from young power arms. Always on time with an online and loose delivery, Hernandez has big stuff and a feel for all four of his pitches. While he touched triple digits at the Area Code Games, he typically sits in the mid-90s, touching 97-98 mph. His best secondary offering is his changeup, and it's plus right now, thrown with a lot of confidence and missing bats with it thanks to its good action and how it plays off of his fastball plane well. His curve, a true 12-to-6 spike curveball, has the chance to be plus with hard, tight and late action to it, sometimes registering RPMs in the 3,000 range. He started featuring a harder slider more on the showcase circuit. In addition to his pure stuff, Hernandez does a solid job finding the zone, especially considering his age and power stuff. Committed to Vanderbilt, he gets very high marks for his work ethic, showing the ability to make adjustments and corrections to put himself in position to be one of the first pitchers taken in the 2025 Draft.

As a Hawaiian prep standout, Arquette's athleticism -- he also played basketball in high school -- stood out on the summer showcase circuit, and he landed in MLB Pipeline's Top 250. The D-backs took him in Round 18 of the 2022 Draft, but he headed to the University of Washington. After playing sparingly with the Huskies as a freshman, he earned all-Pac 12 honors after finishing with a .959 OPS as a sophomore. Over the summer, the infielder entered the transfer portal, played well in the Cape Cod League and transferred to Oregon State for his junior season, where he has been one of the most consistent college performers. Scouts see the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Arquette as the best college player in the Pacific Northwest this year -- and one of the best college hitters in the country. While minor wrist surgery cut into his fall with his new school, the right-handed hitter showed he has easy raw power to tap into, with more to come, and he's used it in games consistently this spring. He routinely barrels the ball with good bat speed and a fluid swing, giving him the chance to be an above-average hitter with above-average power, and he could hit 20-25 homers annually as a big leaguer. While Arquette is an average runner and played second base at Washington, he showed on the Cape that he should have the chops to play shortstop long-term, with easy actions, soft hands and more than enough arm with carry at every angle across the diamond. College bats with pop at a premium position are always a hot commodity, so Arquette should get plenty of attention in the first round.

The Parker twins are the best high school position prospects in Mississippi. Outfielder Jacob has more raw pop, but infielder JoJo offers a more enticing package with superior hitting ability and athleticism and has played his way into the first round with a strong senior season. Multiple scouts have compared him to a more powerful version of Carter Johnson, an Alabama prep shortstop who signed with the Marlins for a well-over-slot $2.8 million as a second-rounder last July. Parker has a chance to be a plus hitter with average power. He has a sound left-handed swing, manages the strike zone well and employs a gap-to-gap approach. He shows some feel for driving balls in the air and is posting more impressive exit velocities as he continues to gain muscle. While Parker will get the chance to play shortstop at the next level and his solid arm strength, his actions and quickness are just average. That likely will dictate a move to second or third base in the future, though he should provide enough offense to profile at either position. The twins are committed to playing together at Mississippi State if they don't turn pro.

Hall's decision to reclassify for the 2025 Draft last November keeps looking better and better. He has added 15-20 pounds of strength during his third year of high school while improving both offensively and defensively. He won't turn 18 until 11 days after the Draft and should become the first Alabama prep middle infielder to go in the first round since Condredge Holloway went fourth overall in 1971. A twitchy athlete, Hall has at least plus-plus speed and earns top-of-the-scale 80 grades from some evaluators. He's a lock to stay at shortstop with good actions, range to both sides and the ability to make throws from a variety of angles. He's at least a solid defender with arm strength to match, with some scouts projecting him as plus in both categories. Hall's quick right-handed swing looks better in batting practice -- where he focuses on driving the ball from gap to gap -- than it does in games, where it gets longer as he looks to lift and pull pitches for power. The Tennessee recruit is a bit of a free swinger who struggles to recognize secondary pitches. He still has room to add more strength and should become at least an average hitter with 15-homer pop, and perhaps more, if he can moderate his approach.

The 2025 Draft class is deep in southern California and Corona High School has been a regular stop all spring, with three potential early-round picks on the team that won USA Baseball's National High School Invitational last year. Carlson's skills at shortstop that were on display at a variety of summer showcase events, including the Area Code Games and Major League Baseball's High School All-American Game, have continued to show up during his senior year to allow him to float up to the top of the first round. All summer, Carlson impressed with his athleticism and bat speed from the right side of the plate. It's more of a line-drive approach at present with a good swing, but he has the chance to grow into more impact and average or better power, though not all evaluators were sold on his hit tool. There's an up arrow next to his run tool as he's worked to get faster and could be a plus runner in time. Even with all of his offensive upside, his glove might be ahead of his bat, with some scouts putting as high as a 70 on his arm strength and defensive actions at shortstop. At one point, Carlson was thought to be a legitimate two-way player, with a fastball in the mid-90s and feel for spinning a breaking ball. But it will be his five-tool potential at a premium position that will get the Tennessee recruit selected in the top half of the first round, though his age at Draft time (19) might rule out some teams.

Arnold made it clear he’d be a high-end Draft prospect in 2025 after turning in an outstanding sophomore season with Florida State last spring, finishing third among all Division I pitchers in strikeouts, trailing only 2024 first-round picks Chase Burns and Hagen Smith. The Golden Spikes Award semifinalist also finished with a sub-3.00 ERA and an impressive 159/26 K/BB ratio while helping the Seminoles reach the national semifinals of the College World Series. He capped things off with four hitless innings and seven K’s for Team USA in an International Friendship Series against Chinese Taipei over the summer. A left-hander with a rangy body and a loose, whippy arm, Arnold has seen his stuff tick up since leaving Jesuit High School for Tallahassee. Coming from a lower arm slot and flat approach angle, his fastball, which was 88-92 mph in high school, now sits in the 94-95 mph range and touches 97 mph, with a ton of life to miss bats. While his slider can be a little wide at times, the 82-85 mph sweeping breaking ball is a second plus offering that elicited a 41-percent miss rate in 2024. His changeup is his third pitch, and he doesn't need it much, but there's some feel for it. Arnold has shown the ability to fill up the strike zone and limit damage while maintaining his stuff deep into outings. With the funky arm slot, his stuff has drawn some comparisons to Chris Sale's, a reason why his name will be mentioned in conversations at the top of the first round.

In 2024, Dylan Fien was a switch-hitting catcher from Great Oak High School (Temecula, Calif.) who got an over-slot deal in the seventh round from the A's. Now it's his younger brother's turn, and Gavin has the chance to go a lot earlier than his sibling, especially after a summer showcase circuit where many evaluators thought he was the best prep hitter in the class. Fien hit everywhere he went, winning MLB Develops MVP honors at Major League Baseball's High School All-American Game with a pair of hits and RBIs and batting .400 for Team USA in the 18U World Cup qualifier in Panama, though a less productive spring has made some evaluators pause. Fien is a 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter with plenty of bat speed who produced consistent line drives against top competition all summer. While he has an unorthodox setup with high hands, he made it work and was always on time, but this spring he had more trouble finding his rhythm and was often late in pulling the trigger at the dish. He's added strength, and there could be more power to come as he advances. Fien's added physicality has allowed him to run better, though that's never going to be a part of his game. Committed to Texas, he has the chance to profile well at third base with plenty of arm. He could end up at first or in a corner outfield spot in the future, though there are teams that saw enough over the summer to potentially draft his bat in the first round.

Kilen displayed some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the 2022 high school class but slid to the Red Sox in the 13th round because he was set on attending Louisville. He spent two years with the Cardinals, boosting his OPS from .659 as a freshman second baseman to .952 as a sophomore shortstop before deciding to transfer to Tennessee. He slid back over to second this spring while establishing himself as one of the best hitters in the Southeastern Conference. With outstanding hand-eye coordination, a quick left-handed swing and feel for the barrel, Kilen continues to excel as a contact hitter. He tends to swing too often and chase breaking pitches, sometimes putting pitches in play without much authority and rarely drawing walks. He has shown more power with the Volunteers but may not have more than average raw pop, and while his hitting ability should enable him to get to most of it, he has yet to prove he can drive balls in the air with wood bats. Kilen's skills stand out more than his tools, with his speed and arm strength both grading as average. He has good actions and instincts but the game speeds up on him and his arm is a bit stretched at shortstop. He's a solid defender at second base and could develop in a similar fashion to fellow Wisconsin prep product Gavin Lux.

Mill Creek HS (Hoschton, Ga.) has promoted Paul Pierce from assistant to head coach, and his son will be his best player in his first season. Daniel fits the classic coach's son profile as a scrappy grinder who provides constant energy and gets the most out of his tools. He's not short on physical ability, either, and could fit in the first rounds. Pierce has a mature approach at the plate and focuses on making contact to all fields with his quick right-handed stroke. He has a history of producing against quality pitching in high school and on the showcase circuit, controlling the strike zone and not trying to swing for the fences. He has average raw power and should develop into a 12-15 homer threat as he continues to add muscle. Pierce has plus speed and the instincts to make the most of his quickness on the bases and in the field. The Georgia recruit has nice actions at shortstop, range to both sides and solid arm strength. Scouts love his makeup and note that he keeps getting stronger, faster and rising up Draft boards.

Scouts have followed the Witherspoon twins since high school, with the Diamondbacks trying to sign Malachi to an over-slot bonus as a 12th-rounder in 2022. Though they have similar stuff, Kyson since has surpassed him as a prospect after performing significantly better in their time at Northwest Florida State JC and Oklahoma. He has much more of a starter look and should be the first college right-hander drafted in 2025. Witherspoon has swing-and-miss stuff, starting with a mid-90s fastball that peaks at 99 mph and stands out more for its power than its modest life. His mid-80s slider can touch 91 mph while featuring both horizontal action and depth, and he'll turn it into an upper-80s cutter that he uses just as often. He's showing more consistency with his low-80s downer curveball, while his upper-80s changeup is a work in progress that gets too firm but will show interesting fade at times. Witherspoon uses a compact arm action to generate quality stuff with little effort. His athleticism and mechanics have translated into improved control and command this spring, and better location has made it easier for him to get hitters to chase outside of the strike zone. He has all of the ingredients to become a frontline starter.

Houston wasn't a high-profile recruit but won Wake Forest's shortstop role as a freshman in 2023 and helped the Demon Deacons finish third at the Men's College World Series. A Cape Cod League All-Star last summer, he has developed into arguably the best defensive shortstop in the Draft. He overhauled his offensive approach in fall practice and hit for more power during his junior season. Houston earns solid-to-plus grades for his quickness and arm strength, and some evaluators will go even higher than that on his ability to play shortstop. He has smooth actions and plenty of range to both sides and should be a high-quality defender at the big league level. Should he not hit enough to merit an everyday role, he has the tools to play almost anywhere on the diamond as a utilityman. In his first two college seasons, the righty-swinging Houston had a contact-over-impact mentality and projected as an average hitter with below-average power. Now that he has added muscle and sold out for power, he may find 12-15 homers per season while providing less in the way of batting average. His speed plays better in the field than it does on the bases.

Seaver King landed in the first round after transferring from a small school to Wake Forest a year ago, and Conrad could be on the same path. He slashed .389/.467/.704 with nine homers and a NCAA Division I-leading 13 triples (including a record four in one game) at Marist last spring, then finished second in the Cape Cod League in batting (.385) and OPS (.919). He continued to rake this spring until injuring his throwing shoulder diving for a ball in March and having season-ending surgery a month later. Conrad makes repeated contact with a simple left-handed swing and gap-to-gap approach. He's an aggressive hitter who chases all types of pitches out of the zone, yet his uncanny hand-eye coordination helps him compensate. A physical 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he has the strength and solid bat speed to provide at least average power, though there are some concerns that he doesn't drive balls in the air to his pull side very often. Conrad is a threat to steal and will flash some plus run times, but his speed plays more as solid. Though he spent most of his sophomore season at first base, he covers plenty of ground on the outfield corners and is capable in center field. He has average arm strength and probably fits best in right field.

A slightly bigger and lefty-swinging version of Jett Williams, a Texas prep shortstop who went 14th overall to the Mets in 2022, Cunningham is a better pure hitter at the same stage and perhaps the best in the 2025 prep class. He led Team USA with a .417 average at an 18-and-under World Cup qualifier in Panama last August. Cunningham has exceptional barrel control and rarely swings and misses. He has a mature approach, covers the entire strike zone and utilizes the whole field. Though he's not physical, his bat speed and ability to repeatedly barrel balls should enable him to get to 15-20 homers per season. Cunningham has plus speed and plays with a lot of energy on the bases and in the field. He has displayed good actions and solid-to-plus arm strength in the past but has seemed less twitchy at shortstop this spring, and many scouts believe he'll wind up moving to second base. He'll be 19 on Draft Day and eligible as a sophomore in 2027 if he attends Texas.

Irish was part of a St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) club that won three straight championships in his three full seasons in 2019, '21 and '22. Those teams featured two players who received seven-figure bonuses (Brock Porter out of high school, Alex Mooney after two years at Duke) and two college stars in Irish and Oklahoma State slugger Nolan Schubart. Irish looked like the best bet to produce at the plate among this year's college catchers and while scouts still believe in his bat, he has spent more time in right field this spring after fracturing his scapula when hit by a pitch in March. Irish's biggest proponents see him as a solid hitter with 20-homer power, while some evaluators worry that his left-handed pop won't play as well with wood bats. He controls the strike zone well but chases pitches more than he should, resulting in too much ground-ball contact. He handles southpaws well and easily puts the bat on the ball, so he just needs to be more selective to reach his offensive ceiling.Though he has below-average speed, Irish runs better than most potential catchers and will steal an occasional base. He's improving as a defender and has the hands to become an average receiver and framer, though a long release undermines his plus arm strength a bit. Auburn only caught him in about half its games in 2024 when he was healthy and it's unclear how much he wants to stay behind the plate. There's a growing sentiment that he'd be better off maximizing his offense by playing right field, and he moves and throws well enough to handle the position.

After setting a Duke freshman record with 11 homers in 2023, Fischer transferred to Mississippi and led the Rebels with 20 blasts last spring. He changed schools again, moving to defending College World Series champion Tennessee and pacing his new team in homers. He's similar to former Volunteers third baseman Billy Amick, who transferred from Clemson for 2024 and went to the Twins in the second round. Fischer's signature tool is his plus power that works to all fields, the product of a left-handed swing with bat speed and loft, strength in his 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame and a slugging mindset. He showed that he can launch balls in the air with wood bats last summer in the Cape Cod League. He has been even more productive as a junior after toning down his approach and chasing pitches a lot less, though he continues to struggle handling sliders. Fischer could have helped his cause further by upgrading his defense at third base, but he has barely played there this spring. He has solid arm strength but below-average speed and range at the hot corner, so Tennessee has deployed him mostly at first base, where he's a decent defender. He played some second base on the Cape but lacks the quickness for the position.

There have been nine high school hitters to be drafted in the first round and signed out of the state of Washington in the history of the Draft, the best of which came in 2019 in the form of Corbin Carroll. Long known for his bat, Neyens' increase in power has helped him make the jump to a top-level prospect, one who was extremely busy on the summer showcase circuit, playing in events including MLB's High School All-American Game and the Area Code Games, though questions about his hit tool has dampened some enthusiasm. Neyens has long been seen by area scouts as a potentially elite hitter from the left side of the plate with an outstanding approach. He made some adjustments to his setup and swing, adding leverage and starting to show off at least plus raw power and the ability to not only get to it, but to do so to all fields. There was some concern about the increase in his swing-and-miss rate as the summer progressed, though some scouts who know him well think he was gassed after playing what one evaluator estimated was well over 100 games during the summer. Those concerns resurfaced with some lackluster showings at the plate this spring at times. While he's not a runner, the 6-foot-4 Neyens is athletic with a solid chance to stick at third despite his size. The Oregon State recruit's arm certainly plays from the hot corner, showing the ability to fire fastballs up to 95 mph from the mound, leading to comparisons as a left-handed-hitting version of Austin Riley.

In 2024, Ty Southisene came out of Basic High School in Nevada and landed in the fourth round of the Draft, where the Cubs went over slot to sign him for $1 million. Now it's younger brother Tate's turn. He has the chance to go even earlier after a terrific summer showcase circuit performance with the opportunity to become the earliest Basic product to get drafted, eclipsing right-hander Andrew Church, a second-round pick (No. 48 overall) of the Mets back in 2013. While still not the tallest guy in the world, Southisene is a bigger, more physical version of his 5-foot-9 brother with the chance to have more offensive impact. Like Ty, he has outstanding bat control and makes a ton of contact from the right side of the plate. He's very aggressive, exhibiting bat speed and strength, and the control he has is surprising given how big of a swing he generally takes. He might not be quite as good of a pure hitter as Ty, but he easily has more power.The physicality has shown up beyond the batter's box. Southisene is a plus runner and his strength and athleticism make him a more natural shortstop than his older brother, with solid actions and enough arm. Some scouts like him in center field as much, if not more. He's committed to Southern Cal for college, where he could play with Ty's twin brother Tee if the Draft doesn't work out.

A native of Iowa, Gamble used to go to Florida in the summer with his family so he and his brother Beau could attend tennis -- and then baseball -- camps at IMG Academy. IMG's director of baseball recognized his talent and invited him to come year-round for high school, where he's been for all four years. Over that time, Gamble has gotten stronger and his game has advanced as well, showing off very good skills against premium competition at various summer showcase events like the Area Code Games and USA Baseball's 18U National Team Camp. Gamble is a left-handed hitter who has a smooth and repeatable swing with a knack for finding the barrel, controlling the zone and doing damage to all fields. As he's gaining strength, he's showing more raw power and should continue to leverage the ball and get to more extra-base authority as he moves along. He had quality at-bats all summer to raise his profile. An above-average runner, Gamble saw a lot of time in center field over the summer and looked good there, with some evaluators leaning towards favoring him in the outfield, where his athleticism and arm strength play well. Some don't want to give up on him on the dirt, though, thinking he could be an above-average defender at second base and/or be given a shot at shortstop. The Vanderbilt recruit plays with a little edge to his game and reminds some of the Phillies' Bryson Stott.

Every Draft class has its share of high school pop-up prospects, and Yost might be one of the most interesting ones in 2025. The Florida prepster is a late bloomer who didn't do much on the summer showcase circuit and wasn't considered much of a prospect at all until recently. Added physicality in the fall has led to better results in his senior year at Sickles High School in Tampa, leading to teams showing a lot more interest in the early rounds. A left-handed hitter, Yost has always had a very good feel to hit, with elite contact skills. He has a simple swing and knows the strike zone really well, giving confidence he’ll continue to make sound swing decisions and put the ball in play. What is more in question is his impact. He has gotten stronger, but any thoughts about future pop at the plate is a much deeper projection. Yost has plus speed and uses his excellent baseball IQ to maximize it on the basepaths and defensively. He plays shortstop without flash, but gets good reads, his hands work well and he has enough arm to stick there. His commitment to Florida, where he'd get to play with his older brother Hayden, might be a tough obstacle, but Yost wasn't really thought to be the kind of guy who could go in the top two rounds until this spring.

Schoolcraft was originally slated to be part of the Class of 2026, but he reclassified back in December 2023 to join this crop. A legitimate two-way standout as a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman, most teams likely prefer him on the hill after he excelled at events like the Area Code Games over the summer. He has the chance to be the next in the line of Oregon prep arms to go in the first round, following first-rounders Mick Abel in 2020 and Noble Meyer in '23, overcoming a rough start to the spring when his stuff was down to look much more like one of the top arms in the class as the season wore on. The 6-foot-8 Schoolcraft is a towering presence on the mound and in the batter's box. As a pitcher, he's up to 97 mph with his fastball, with the only knock against it a relative lack of spin and carry, so right now it can play a little straight. He has a tight, traditional two-plane slider, thrown in the low-80s that has carry and teeth, and some believe his feel for spin with that pitch should allow him to add more to his heater. He has a very good feel for his changeup, which he sells with excellent arm speed. Despite his size and long limbs, he does an excellent job of maintaining his delivery and landing all of his offerings for strikes. At the plate, Schoolcraft has the chance to perhaps be an above-average hitter with better than average power in the future. The Tennessee recruit obviously offers a big target at first base, but he's athletic around the bag and is a dynamic defender. The bat could be draftable on its own, but it's pretty clear that he is being considered in the first round because of his arm.

After Wood became Arkansas' closer as a freshman in 2023 and then continued to log high-leverage relief innings as a sophomore, scouts looked forward to him joining the rotation this spring. He came down with a shoulder impingement after his second start and missed two months before coming back for the stretch run. Though his command was sporadic, his combination of stuff and strikes could still land him in the top two rounds. Wood has one of the best fastballs in the Draft, sitting at 94-96 mph and reaching 98. Its combination of velocity and carry, along with his low release height and flat approach angle, produce elite rates of chases, as well as overall and in-zone swing and misses. He relies heavily on his heater and a power 82-85 mph curveball that shows flashes of becoming a plus pitch. Wood's upper-80s slider isn't nearly as effective as his curve and he barely uses a changeup with similar velocity and decent fade. After battling the strike zone as a freshman, he has carried a five percent walk rate the last two seasons. He has the ingredients to succeed as a starter, though he has also had shoulder issues in high school and will have to prove he can handle the workload.

Few high schoolers in the 2022 class could match LaViolette's combination of physicality and athleticism, but swing-and-miss concerns left teams hesitant to buy him out of his Texas A&M commitment. A down junior season ended his chances to become the first four-year college outfielder to go No. 1 overall since Darin Erstad in 1995, but he's still one of the best college position players available. He set a school freshman record with 21 homers in 2023 before going deep 29 times and leading Texas A&M to the Men's College World Series Finals last year. Possessing as much raw power as anyone in the Draft, LaViolette is built to crush balls with a quick left-handed stroke, the strength and leverage in his impressive 6-foot-6 frame and a focus on launching pitches to his pull side. He also makes quality swing decisions and established an Aggies record with 64 walks in 68 games last spring. The lone flaw in his offensive game does scare some teams, however, because he frequently swings and misses within the strike zone, even on fastballs. Remarkably athletic for his size, LaViolette posts solid run times out of the batter's box and is even quicker once he gets going. He played the outfield corners as a freshman before moving to center field last spring, with most evaluators projecting him to spend the bulk of his big league career in right. His power and solid arm strength fit the right-field profile to a tee.

Voit pulled double duty in his first two seasons at Michigan, serving as a third baseman and reliever as a freshman and then as a first baseman/right fielder and weekend starter last spring. After injuring his elbow that April and having internal brace surgery in July, he has focused on hitting and moved to second base in 2025. One of the best all-around hitters in the Big Ten Conference, he has some similarities to former Wolverines two-way star Jake Cronenworth. Now that he's a full-time hitter, Voit has significantly improved his approach, making better swing decisions and barreling balls more regularly. His right-handed stroke can get rotational at times and he can get pull-happy, but he also hits the ball hard and has feel for launching balls in the air. His power plays from the left-field line to right-center and could produce 15-20 homers per season. Voit's plus speed makes him a basestealing threat and gives him range at second base. Scouts have been pleasantly surprised with how quickly he has become a reliable defender at the keystone. He has a stronger arm than most at the position and featured a low-90s fastball with a low-80s slider when he pitched in the past.

One of the more polished high school bats available, Kilby has a track record of producing against quality competition on the showcase circuit. There are questions about his long-term defensive home, but his hitting ability could land him as high as the second round if he's signable away from a Clemson commitment. Kilby has a quick and relatively compact left-handed stroke and a mature approach. He doesn't stray from the strike zone too often and makes consistent contact while looking to drive the ball from gap to gap. He has plenty of room to add strength to his projectable 6-foot-2 frame and should grow into at least average power. Though Kilby has plus straight-line speed, he plays as more of an average runner. Bothered by shoulder issues early in his high school career, he has a funky arm action and can't make all the throws necessary from shortstop. He'll get a look at second base and also could wind up in left field, though he still may provide enough offense to profile at the less challenging position.

A year after Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith went fifth overall in the 2024 Draft, the Razorbacks have another potential first-round southpaw. Root spent his first two college seasons at East Carolina before transferring and succeeding Smith as the Hogs' Friday-night ace. He has an effective four-pitch mix rather than overpowering stuff but it gives him one of the higher floors among college starters. Root employs his fastball only about a third of the time, operating at 91-94 mph and reaching 97 with sink that creates ground-ball contact. His most effective offering is an 83-85 mph changeup with fade, and his low-80s curveball gives him a second plus pitch. His mid-80s cutter/slider is a solid fourth option, and he uses all three of his secondaries at a roughly equal amount. Root has an unorthodox delivery with a high leg kick and a deep arm swing that produces a three-quarters arm slot that helps him stay on top of his pitches. He throws consistent strikes but catches the heart of the plate more than he should. He's a safe bet to become a No. 4 starter.

The son of High Point coach Joey Hammond, Josh is a two-way player reminiscent of fellow North Carolina prep product Nolan McLean, who went on to play both ways at Oklahoma State before signing with the Mets as a third-rounder in 2023. The consensus was that Hammond was better on the mound and he focused mainly on pitching with the U.S. 18-and-under team last summer, but he wants to play every day and has hit his way into first-round consideration as a senior. Some scouts thought he was the most impressive hitter at the Prep Baseball Report All-American Game in September after he won MVP honors at the 2023 event. Hammond has at least plus raw power that plays to all fields and hits the ball exceptionally hard from the right side of the plate. His bat speed and strength should translate into 20-25 homers per season, perhaps more if he learns to lift balls in the air more consistently. While his pop stands out more than his pure hitting ability, he's making better swing decisions as he begins to leave pitching behind. Hammond had a thicker lower half when he pitched more often, but he has trimmed up his 6-foot-1 frame a bit and is now an average runner. The Wake Forest recruit won't play shortstop at the next level, but he has enough agility and plenty of arm strength to handle third base. When at his best on the mound, he showcases a plus fastball and slider along with a solid changeup, topping out at 96 mph.

Kentucky's top 2022 prep prospect as a power-hitting third baseman, Forbes went undrafted because of his strong commitment to Louisville. The Cardinals used him more as a DH/outfielder as a freshman before shifting gears in 2024, when an errant pitch broke his left hand in his lone plate appearance, sidelining him for a month. After working just 38 1/3 innings on the mound in his first two college seasons, he took off as a full-time pitcher in 2025 and was headed toward the upper half of the first round until coming down with a flexor strain in April. Forbes has explosive carry on his high-spin fastball, which averaged 94 mph last spring, ticked up with Team USA and in the Cape Cod League and now sits at 94-96 with a peak of 100. He also has added more power to his slider, which now runs from 81-85 mph and can be a plus pitch at its best, and he'll occasionally turn it into an upper-80s cutter. He hasn't had much time to refine an upper-80s changeup that features plenty of fade when it's on but also can get too firm. As Forbes concentrates all of his energy on pitching, the hope is that he'll be able to improve the consistency of his slider and the reliability of his changeup. He also needs to smooth out a delivery that includes some effort and prove he can provide enough strikes to make it as a starter. If he can, he could fit in the front half of a big league rotation.

Bodine quickly established his hitting bona fides as a Coastal Carolina freshman in 2023, ranking fifth in the Sun Belt Conference with a .367 average before batting .384 in the Cape Cod League (which would have edged future No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana for the title if he hadn't fallen just short of qualifying). His numbers weren't quite as strong last spring, though he carried a tiny 8 percent strikeout rate in both seasons. A team that believes he can develop more power and refine his defense behind the plate could be tempted to pop him in the first round. A switch-hitter who's equally proficient from both sides of the plate, Bodine has some of the best contact skills in the Draft. He has tremendous feel for the barrel and doesn't try to do too much, focusing on controlling the strike zone and drilling line drives from gap to gap. He rarely launches balls in the air and has displayed little pop with wood bats on the Cape, though optimistic clubs hope he'll be able to make adjustments to his flat swing and get to 15 or more homers per year. Bodine's lack of athleticism and agility limits him a bit behind the plate, though his instincts help. He frames well but still needs to clean up his receiving and blocking, which are average. His fringy arm strength plays up thanks to his quick release, helping him erase 41 percent of basestealers as a sophomore.

Aloy went from unheralded Hawaiian recruit to Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year at Sacramento State in 2022, then transferred to Arkansas. His OPS dropped from 1.089 to .841 while facing tougher competition, but he did lead the Razorbacks with 14 homers and then finished third in the Cape Cod League with eight in just 21 games. He has improved offensively and defensively this spring, winning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors and likely playing his way into the first round. Aloy's power is notable for a legitimate middle infielder as he has plus raw juice that plays to all fields but mostly to his pull side. His combination of bat speed and strength produces impressive exit velocities, and he's doing a better job of letting his pop come naturally as a junior. His right-handed swing can get too uphill and he still chases too much, leaving him vulnerable to breaking pitches and leading to strikeouts and weak contact at times. With smooth actions, reliable hands and solid arm strength, Aloy has answered questions about his ability to stay at shortstop at the next level. Despite fringy speed, he gets to plenty of balls at shorts and can make plays from the hole. If he had to move, he would profile well as an offensive second baseman and also could fit at third base.

Ebel grew up around the game, with his father, Dino, serving as the Dodgers' third-base coach. His experience working with big leaguers for a long time was clearly on display throughout the summer showcase circuit at events like the Area Code Games and Major League Baseball's High School All-American Game. He also helped Corona High School win the 2024 National High School Invitational last spring and looked like he might join Seth Hernandez and Billy Carlson as Corona teammates who could go in the first round, but a tough spring at the plate has hurt his Draft stock. Over the summer, Ebel showed he could do a lot of things well, albeit without wow tools, along with some physical projection that could enable his skills to play up. It's clear he's been around professional hitters, with a smooth left-handed swing and an advanced approach at the plate. He found the barrel consistently and performed well against high-level stuff over the summer, but concerns about bat speed and impact have carried over to his senior year. There could very well be more power to come as he fills out his 6-foot-3 frame, but he was hitting too many balls on the ground this spring. Ebel doesn't run well and many see a move to third in his future, where he was already playing this spring in deference to Carlson, which would put a little more pressure on the power side of his offensive profile. He does have a plus arm that is impressively accurate and would play from anywhere. His baseball IQ could allow everything to play up and is a big reason why many still see the LSU recruit hearing his name called early on in the Draft.

Scouts first identified Marcus Phillips when he was a South Dakota high schooler, but injuries and inconsistent strikes limited his opportunities to pitch as a senior as well as during his freshman season at Iowa Western CC. He showcased a live, if erratic, arm as a reliever on Tennessee's 2024 Men's College World Series championship club, then seized the Volunteers' No. 2 starter role this spring. Few college pitchers in this class can match his velocity and physicality. Phillips can blow hitters away with a fastball that sits at 96-98 mph and touches 100, compensating for lackluster shape with deceptively low release height and plenty of carry and extension. His slider parks in the mid-80s and reaches 90 mph with more depth than sweep. He doesn't use his low-90s changeup very often, but it features so much fade that is creates more chases and empty swings than his heater and slide piece. At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, Phillips has a build reminiscent of Kumar Rocker's and is more athletic than the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 Draft. He's a former two-way player who flashed solid power and speed as an outfielder at Iowa Western. He gets down the mound well and has improved his control as a junior, though he doesn't have the smoothest arm action and may never have more than fringy command.

High school catching can be a high-risk demographic in the Draft, and finding a good backstop from the New York high school ranks can be even tougher. It's not completely unheard of, and there are scouts who saw Oliveto, especially during his standout performance at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., last fall and think that he could be one of the few, following in the footsteps of current Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe and Marlins prospect Joe Mack. Those who like Oliveto, especially those who saw him in Jupiter, see a future backstop who checks off the big left-handed-hitting catcher box. He's shown that he can find the barrel with a solid left-handed swing geared toward power. It's at least above-average raw power that some think he'll get to in the future, especially if he can become an average hitter. Others aren't as sold on the pure hit tool, though he turned around good competition at WWBA. Whether Oliveto can stick behind the plate remains to be seen. He has average receiving skills and moves decently for his size, but he'll have work to do on the pro side in handling premium pitching. There's hope his arm can be average in time, but he'll have to clean that up as well. He's committed to Yale and was generating some earlier-round interest as the Draft approached.

Stevenson could have signed for top-five-rounds money as a North Carolina high schooler in 2023. He opted instead to stay local and play for the Tar Heels, and now he enters 2025 as the best all-around catcher and top college sophomore in the Draft. He claimed North Carolina's starting job as a freshman, slammed 14 homers last spring and played with the U.S. collegiate national team during the summer. A physical left-handed hitter, Stevenson has a propensity for hitting balls hard and launching them in the air. His power plays from left-center to the right-field foul pole and could translate into 25 homers per season. He has a reasonably disciplined approach but struggles to make contact against breaking balls and changeups. While Stevenson is a well-below-average runner, he has significantly improved his conditioning since high school. He has really cleaned up his receiving and become a solid defender behind the plate. His arm stands out both for pure strength and the accuracy of his throws.

Quick was Alabama's top high school baseball prospect in 2022, as well as a four-star offensive lineman who drew interest from college football programs, but he was determined to pitch for the Crimson Tide. After a successful freshman season in Alabama's bullpen, he blew out his elbow in his first college start in 2024 and had Tommy John surgery. He returned quicker than normal, making it back for the start of the 2025 season and staying healthy other than missing a late-March start with a bad blister. Quick has the power stuff to go in the first round, beginning with a heavy sinker that sits at 96-97 mph and tops out at 99, and the 6-foot-6, 255-pounder holds his velocity throughout his starts. His mid-80s slider can be a wipeout offering with two-plane depth, and he can turn it into a cutter that climbs as high as 95 mph. He also flashes a solid upper-80s changeup with fade and sink. Though Quick's fastball and slider grade as plus-plus at their best and he can back them up with a quality changeup, he doesn't miss nearly as many bats as his pure stuff indicates he should. His pitches move so much that they can be difficult to harness, leaving him with decent control but spotty command. He has logged fewer innings than most third-year college pitchers and the hope is that he'll approach his frontline-starter ceiling as he gains more experience and polish.

Does size no longer matter, at least not as much, in evaluating Draft talent? Last year, 5-foot-9 Slade Caldwell went at the end of the first round to the D-backs. And in 2019, Arizona also took the 5-foot-10 Corbin Carroll, who went on to win the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Award. Like Carroll, de Brun is an undersized outfielder from the Pacific Northwest who has the chance to go early in the Draft after performing very well at Perfect Game National and World Series and was on USA Baseball's 18U team before breaking his thumb in World Cup Qualifying play. First jumping on the radar as an underclassman at the WWBA in Jupiter in 2023, de Brun's profile took a step forward with his performances on the summer showcase circuit. He has very impressive bat-to-ball skills with an advanced eye at the plate, understanding that his job is to put the ball in play and get on base, then using his well-above-average speed on the basepaths. Power may never be a huge part of his game, but while some evaluators worried about impact, de Brun showed up this spring with added strength and more ability to drive the ball from the left side of the plate, displaying more physicality than Carroll at this stage. De Brun's speed is also a huge asset in the outfield. He has plus range and is an excellent defender who can play center field for a long time. Teams will want to be convinced the Vanderbilt recruit can impact the ball enough in the spring, but those who believe in him as a future table-setter will consider de Brun in the same area as Caldwell and Carroll.

Davalan moved from Montreal to Florida for his high school senior season in 2023, attracting some scouting attention but not enough to divert him from attending Florida Gulf Coast. After transferring to Arkansas this spring, he has become one of the most productive hitters in the Southeastern Conference as a sophomore. He's giving off some Drew Gilbert vibes, though he won't quite go in the first round like Gilbert did in 2022 after starring at Tennessee. A leadoff hitter with a sweet left-handed stroke, Davalan has a quality approach and rarely chases or swings-and-misses. He focuses on hitting the ball from gap to gap and has surprising strength for someone who stands at just 5-foot-9. He's driving the ball better after dropping a leg kick in favor of a toe tap, showing power to both his pull side and the opposite field, and he should produce 15-20 homers per season. Davalan has solid-to-plus speed, plays with a lot of energy and can steal an occasional base. He divided his time at Florida Gulf Coast between second base and right field, played center in the Cape Cod League and has spent most of this spring in left. His quickness gives him range to go with fringy-to-average arm strength, and he'll be able to enhance his value as a pro if he can play up the middle at second or in center.

The University of Arizona has had a hitter taken in the first round in three of the last five Drafts, with Chase Davis repped the school in the 2023 first round, Daniel Susac in 2022 and Austin Wells in 2020, but the Wildcats were shut out in 2024. Summerhill has the chance to get the program back into the opening round after he earned all Pac-12 honors and led the team in average, on-base percentage and extra base hits as a sophomore in 2024, then turned in an All-Star performance in the Cape Cod League, though a broken hand cost him over a month and then he pulled a hamstring in his second game back to force him to the sidelines again. Considered by many to be the best player in the four corners region when healthy, Summerhill is a strong and athletic left-handed hitter who has the chance to be a dynamic player on both sides of the ball. He's shown a very good approach at the plate, walking nearly as often as he struck out in 2024 and limiting the swing-and-miss that some area scouts saw from him during his time in the Chicago high school ranks. Still, he'll have to work on his tendency to chase at the next level. He's just starting to tap into his raw power and it's showing up right now mostly to his pull side. Summerhill spent the fall playing right field for the Wildcats. He has the arm and run production potential to profile there, but while he's seen time at all three outfield spots, he might have more value in center field, where he played exclusively on the Cape. That would put a little less pressure on the power to come, but regardless of where he is on the grass, he has the chance to be an everyday outfielder at the next level with a Jake McCarthy-like profile.

Cannarella didn't draw much scouting attention as a physically underdeveloped South Carolina high school middle infielder, but he made an immediate impact as a center fielder at Clemson. He won Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2023 and continued to catalyze the Tigers last spring despite playing through a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder that required surgery in July. He could become the highest drafted position player in school history, eclipsing 13th overall picks Billy Spiers (1987) and Tyler Colvin (2006). Cannarella possesses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the Draft, making line-drive contact to all fields from the left side of the plate, and it's almost impossible to get a fastball or slider by him. He does venture out of the strike zone too often and gets himself out on suboptimal groundball contact more than he should. He has some bat speed but lacks physicality, so there's some question if he'll have more than modest pull power and max out at 12-15 homers per season. After using his plus speed to steal 24 bases as a freshman, Cannarella went just 0-for-2 swiping bags last year while avoiding putting stress on his shoulder by sliding. He's a no-doubt center fielder who covers plenty of ground with his quickness and efficient routes. His arm graded as below average before his injury, and he recorded just one outfield assist in 107 games during his first two seasons.

Fauske could be the best high school catching prospect in the Draft, but teams aren't convinced that he wants to play behind the plate and he hasn't much this spring. After helping Nazareth Academy (La Grange Park) win Illinois state 3-A titles as a freshman and sophomore, he spent most of his junior season at DH and much of the showcase circuit in the outfield. He could become a slightly smaller and less athletic version of Jayson Werth, a 1997 first-round pick as an Illinois high school catcher who became an All-Star outfielder. With a smooth left-handed stroke and a disciplined approach, Fauske has a history of hitting against both high school and showcase competition. He rarely chases pitches or swings and misses, though he can get too passive at times. He works the ball from gap to gap and should develop 20-homer power as he gets stronger and turns on more pitches. Fauske's average to solid speed would make him quicker than most catchers but ordinary for a center fielder, so he'll probably wind up on a corner if he's an outfielder. The Louisiana State recruit has reliable hands along with average arm strength and a quick transfer, which should allow him to get the job done behind the plate if he puts in the time to refine his receiving and blocking. His bat will remain intriguing even if he winds up in left or right field.

As a Mississippi high schooler, Middleton didn't attract much scouting or recruiting attention as a 6-foot right-hander that sat in the upper 80s. He has boosted his stuff and stock significantly in three years at Southern Mississippi and continues to rise after making a successful transition from the bullpen to the rotation this spring. He could become the highest-drafted pitcher in school history, surpassing Brandon Parker (55th overall to the Mariners in 1997). Middleton works with a versatile 93-95 mph fastball that tops out at 97, showing the ability to run and sink it toward the knees or carry it up at the letters. He gets plenty of swings and misses in the zone, elicits lots of chases and makes it nearly impossible to lift his heater in the air. His slider is even harder to hit, combining upper-80s velocity with two-plane depth, and he'll morph it into a cutter at times. Middleton will also flash a plus 86-88 mph changeup that tumbles and fades and gets in-zone misses and chases like his other offerings. He has an athletic delivery, moves down the mound well and has cut his walk rate in half compared to last season. His lack of physicality is the only real knock against him as a long-term starter, though his improved strikes and stuff are stronger points in his favor.

Compton was a two-way player in the Arizona high school ranks, but stopped his work as a left-handed pitcher when he needed Tommy John surgery after his prep career. He redshirted his first year at Arizona State, but returned as a hitter-only in 2024 following a strong showing with the bat in the Northwoods League the previous summer. He was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned freshman all-American honors from Baseball America (first team) and D1 Baseball (second team), then raised his profile even more with a .903 OPS in the Cape Cod League last summer. Strong and thick, Compton can really impact the baseball from the left side of the plate, reminding some of former Sun Devils standout Kole Calhoun. In his first season with ASU, he showed the ability to drive the ball to all fields, with most of his over-the-fence pop showing up more to his pull side. His swing-and-miss and tendency to chase, especially against softer stuff, was a bit of a concern. He tightened that up on the Cape, cutting his strikeout rate and drawing more walks, making him a much more dangerous hitter overall. Compton is going to have to hit because his other tools grade out as fringe average. He's not a runner and while he's an acceptable defender in the outfield, he's likely limited to left field because he doesn’t have the kind of arm most teams like to see from their right fielder. If his offensive game continues on an upward trajectory, he still is the kind of college performer who'll go in the early rounds.

Shores was one of the biggest and hardest-throwing members of the 2022 high school class, standing 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds and pushing his fastball up to 98 mph. He priced himself out of the Draft and headed to Louisiana State, where he made an immediate impression as a midweek starter and weekend reliever before blowing out his elbow and having Tommy John surgery in April 2023. After missing the Tigers' run to a College World Series championship and sitting out 2024, he has regained his velocity but has struggled to find consistency on the mound this spring. Shores can hit 101 mph and works at 94-98 with his fastball, but his heater is featuring less armside run and overpowering hitters less than it did in the past. While his mid-80s slider has good depth and has been his most reliable pitch in 2025, he doesn't always land it for strikes or get many chases with it. He actually trusted his fading upper-80s changeup more than his slider as a freshman, though it has been getting hammered this year. More athletic than most players his size, Shores should be able to keep his long limbs in sync and repeat his low-three-quarters delivery as he gains more experience. To this point, he has succeeded by relying more on chases than precise location, and his pitches haven't tempted hitters to stray as much this spring. He has first-round arm talent but must learn to harness it.

Though Taylor was the best offensive prospect in Ohio's 2022 high school class, his game wasn't well-rounded enough to try to draft him away from an Indiana commitment. He earned All-Big Ten Conference first-team honors in each of his three seasons and set the school career home run record with 54. He made a brief appearance with the U.S. collegiate national team last summer before continuing to perform well with wood bats in the Cape Cod League.Taylor shows the potential to become a plus hitter in terms of both average and power while controlling the strike zone. A left-handed hitter with plenty of bat speed and strength, he hits the ball extremely hard and generates power to all fields. He likes to swing the bat but has cut down on his chases this spring, makes consistent contact and has no problems handling breaking pitches. The majority of Taylor's value will come from his offensive production. His speed, arm strength and defensive instincts all grade as fringy. Indiana may try him in center field this spring but he's definitely a left fielder in pro ball.

Petry interested scouts as both a slugger and a pitcher during his Florida high school days but has focused on hitting since turning down pro overtures and arriving at South Carolina. He set a Gamecocks freshman record with 23 homers in 2023 and went deep 21 times more as a sophomore before annihilating the Cape Cod League. He led the Cape in homers (11 in 31 games), on-base percentage (.480), slugging (.760) and OPS (1.240) while winning MVP honors from the league and top prospect accolades from scouts. A sprained left shoulder joint limited him to 10 homers as a junior and just one game after April. Petry generates plus-plus raw power with massive strength and leverage from his 6-foot-4, 235-pound frame and an uphill right-handed stroke, and he's capable of homering to any part of any ballpark. The caveat is that he chases pitches excessively, swinging and missing inside and outside of the zone, though he will take walks when opponents pitch around him. He struggled with pitches at the top of and above the strike zone last spring but made adjustments and hammered them with wood bats on the Cape. With his power-over-hit profile and lack of athleticism, Petry draws comparisons to Pete Alonso (with less bat speed) on the high end and Seth Beer (with less plate discipline) on the low end. He's a well-below-average runner with extremely limited range in right field, though he does have solid arm strength and was clocked up to 96 mph off the mound as a prepster. He has played a serviceable first base at South Carolina and likely will move there full-time once he turns pro.

Infielder Rick Burleson is the best player to come out of Earl Warren High School in California, spending parts of 13 years in the big leagues. The school has had just two pitchers make the big leagues -- Taylor Tankersley, who went on to Alabama for college first, and Brian Bruney. Warren hasn't had a player taken in the top two rounds since 2013, but Cervantes has the chance to break that schneid, especially after standing out at the Area Code Games, where he tossed three perfect innings and struck out eight with no walks. Cervantes has an intriguing combination of repertoire and feel for pitching, with projection pointing to more in the tank as he matures. He has a chance to have three or four at least above-average offerings. His fastball is typically in the 90-93 mph range, but it's a four-seamer with excellent carry and ride with good spin up in the zone. His best pitch is a 'bugs bunny' changeup with tremendous depth that gets a ton of swing-and-miss. His breaking stuff -- and he has distinct shape for a separate curve and slider -- is a little behind, but he routinely registers very high spin rates on them. He needs to get more consistent feel for his breaking stuff in the strike zone, but given that he commands his other offerings very well, there's confidence that should come in time. It's not the wow fastball teams often look for, but organizations who like how advanced he is on the mound and think there's more velocity to come will consider the UCLA recruit in the early rounds in July, and there were teams that listed him as among the best arms on the West coast as the Draft approached.

There are high school arms who can really light up radar guns but are very much more throwers than pitchers. Then there are those who have a really good feel for pitching, even if there are prep hurlers with better pure stuff. Watson, who threw well for his Trinity Christian Academy team as a junior at last year's National High School Invitational, falls more into the latter category, though improved stuff to go along with his pitchability had an up arrow next to his name throughout the summer showcase circuit, and he didn't hurt himself with another strong NHSI start this spring. Because of his feel for pitching, the 6-foot-5 Watson has a pretty high floor and it's not difficult to imagine a higher ceiling as he adds strength to that frame. He's typically in the low-90s with his fastball, but has been up to 95 mph with more consistent velocity to come. He throws his heater with good sink, getting a lot of ground-ball outs, and complements it with a pair of very effective secondary offerings which flash above-average. He made the switch from curve to slider and can miss bats with his 78-82 mph breaker. He has feel for his mid-80s split changeup, though he doesn't throw it often. Watson's stuff all plays up because he can really command all three offerings in the zone, repeating his delivery well despite his size. He's committed to Virginia, which can be a tough tie to break, but his projection and pitchability could intrigue teams to lure him away from that commitment in the first couple of rounds.

Russell had a spectacular freshman season as a reliever at Tennessee in 2023, posting an 0.89 ERA, .095 average-against and a 47/7 K/BB ratio in 30 1/3 innings. Expected to join the Volunteers' weekend rotation as a sophomore, he left his second start with shoulder soreness, felt pain in his forearm when he returned a month later and had internal brace surgery to repair his elbow last June. If completely healthy, he'd go in the top half of the first round, but Tennessee has brought him back slowly this spring. Russell has a unicorn fastball that could grade as a true 80 offering if he adds more velocity. It sits at 92-94 mph and tops out at 98 with the best heater metrics in the Draft thanks to an exceptionally low release point, wide angle, significant armside run and carry up in the zone. He can get swings-and-misses inside and outside of the strike zone with his fastball, and on the rare occasions when hitters make contact, they almost never drive it in the air. A low-80s slider with plenty of horizontal action gives Russell a plus second pitch, though he has yet to show much feel for his mid-80s changeup with sink. He has pounded the zone and dominated when healthy but his durability is a huge question mark, as he also dealt with soreness as a freshman. He has the upside of frontline starter and the stuff to close games if he can't handle a rotation workload.

Aliso Niguel High School in California has produced one big leaguer, catcher Blake Sabol, who went on to Southern Cal for college before starting his pro career, and hasn't had a player drafted since 2019. Flemming, who came to the school from Ganesha High in time for his senior year, has the chance to break that dry spell as he's been rushing up Draft boards with a strong spring.Tall and thin, Flemming is a 6-foot-3 projectable shortstop with a chance to hit from the left side of the plate. He employs a simple setup at the dish with good mechanics and a solid approach and could be an above-average hitter at the next level. There's raw power in there for him to tap into as he learns to add some loft, with some thinking it could be average pop in the future if he can add strength to his lean frame. Flemming has plenty of arm to stick at shortstop, having shown the ability to fire fastballs in the low 90s off the mound. An average runner who might be a tick better when underway, Flemming has good hands and instincts, though not everyone is convinced he can stick at short long term. A move to third might put more pressure on his bat, but the first obstacle might be his commitment to Vanderbilt when considering him on Day 2 of the Draft.

The nephew of Dmitri and Delmon, Young was initially slated to be a part of the 2026 Draft class but reclassified to join this year's crop. Young's physicality and ceiling were on display all summer at events like MLB's High School All-American Game and USA Baseball's 18U team in World Cup qualifying. The 6-foot-6 Young has a ton of projection, obvious baseball bloodlines and some loud tools. He has huge raw power that some evaluators put top-of-the-scale grades on. He has bat speed and some feel to hit, but there are some swing-and-miss concerns and trouble recognizing spin that cropped up over the summer, leading some to worry a bit about how much he'll tap into that raw pop consistently. Young moves well for his size and his athleticism shows up defensively. He actually doesn't look terrible at shortstop, his position in high school, though he's likely to move to third if he's going to stay on the dirt. Some think he might be best suited in right field, where a plus arm that can fire 95-mph fastballs off the mound profiles well. Committed to LSU, Young could provide a team with a Jayson Werth-type of toolbox if he can to a more consistent hit tool, with scouts who laud his work ethic believing he can do just that.

While Houston HS (Germantown, Tenn.) produced top-two-rounds pitchers in the 2002-03 Drafts in Matt Cain and Stu Pomeranz, the Mustangs never had a hitter in that same class until Mitchell. He has one of the more disciplined approaches in the 2025 prep crop and should be able to play up the middle at the next level. That should be enough to land him in Cain/Pomeranz territory and lure him away from a commitment to Georgia Tech. Mitchell has a quick left-handed stroke, rarely chases pitches out of the strike zone and makes consistent contact. He has advanced feel for the barrel and a willingness to use the entire field. His hitting ability, bat speed and projectable strength should enable him to grow into average power once he's fully developed. Though Mitchell is a good athlete with solid-to-plus speed, he probably won't stay at shortstop. His arm and range are merely average, making him better suited for the right side of the infield. He doesn't have the smoothest hands, which could make center field a more viable option than second base.

Listed at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Kepley received no NCAA Division I scholarship offers because of his small stature. He quickly claimed a starting job as a walk-on at Liberty in 2023 and broke out last season, when he led Conference USA with 53 walks and 25 steals before earning All-Star accolades in the Cape Cod League. After transferring to North Carolina, he has had a somewhat disappointing junior season while hitting the ball with little authority. Kepley is an on-base machine who executes quality swing decisions from the left side of the plate. He excels at putting the bat on the ball, especially within the strike zone, and rarely chases pitches. His lack of physicality and flat swing lead to worries about how much impact he'll make at the plate, though he does have some sneaky bat speed and strength that could give him some modest pull power. Kepley plays with constant energy and looks to make things happen on the bases with his plus speed. He also will make highlight plays in center field, where his quickness and fine instincts give him plenty of range. His arm is below average but playable in center.

Hailing from the small hamlet of Thiells, New York, Becker heads about half an hour south across the state border to attend high school at Don Bosco Prep, which to date, has produced one big leaguer: Angels right-hander Caden Dana. It's where his older brother, Eric, now a sophomore at the University of Virginia, went and both learned from their father, Jeff, a Duke player who spent two summers in Cleveland's Minor League system. Nick has the chance to be better than either of them. With an athletic and projectable frame, Becker has some now tools he displayed at summer showcase events like the Area Code Games to go along with strength gains to dream on as he adds to his 6-foot-4 frame. The right-handed-hitting infielder already has good bat-to-ball skills and excellent hitting instincts, finding the barrel consistently and showing the ability to make adjustments in the box. It's easy to expect at least average power in the future as he gets stronger and learns to leverage his swing more, something he's sure to do without sacrificing his hit tool. Already possessing solid speed, Becker could eventually be a plus runner as he physically matures. That will only help his solid defensive foundation get better. He has plenty of arm and good actions which point to a long-term future at shortstop. His combination of intangibles, makeup and tools should make him very intriguing to teams in the top few rounds, though his commitment to follow his brother to Virginia could be a high hurdle to clear.

Dzierwa immediately became Michigan State's No. 1 starter as a freshman, beating archrival Michigan in his college debut in 2023 -- he hasn't relinquished that role since. He entered the transfer portal last summer and was deluged with offers before committing to Vanderbilt, only to decide to return to the Spartans three weeks later. An improved fastball and changeup have him poised to go in the second or third round, which would make him the highest-drafted Michigan State pitcher since No. 2 overall pick Mark Mulder in 1998. Added strength helped Dzierwa gain 2 mph with his fastball, which now sits at 90-93 mph and maxes out at 95, missing a lot of bats because of his command and the wide angle he creates with his 6-foot-8 frame and low three-quarters arm slot. His ability to sell his low-80s changeup with depth and locate it also helps his heater play better than its velocity. His mechanics don't make it easy to stay on top of a spin option, however, and his upper-70s slider and mid-80s cutter are nothing more than get-me-over pitches. Dzierwa's size and arm angle help him hide the ball well and create deception without compromising his ability to throw strikes. The Big Ten Conference Pitcher of the Year, he can pinpoint his entire arsenal wherever he wants, pounding the strike zone and also working the edges well. He offers a high floor as a near-certain starter and could fit in the middle of a rotation if he can find a reliable breaking pitch.

Though he was a lefty with some of the best pitchability in Texas' 2022 high school class, Thompson lacked the physicality and present stuff to prod teams to try to buy him away from his Vanderbilt commitment. Three years later, he's still 6 feet tall and still doesn't light up radar guns, but he's one of the better southpaws in the college crop. He's serving as the Commodores' Friday-night starter in 2025 and could land in the top two or three rounds. Though Thompson's fastball camps at 90-93 mph and tops out at 95, it ranks near the top of college baseball in terms of getting strikes, chases and swings and misses both inside and outside of the strike zone. His heater features significant induced vertical break, and he also can command it to both sides of the plate. His second-best offering is a 77-81 mph sweeping slider that he uses primarily against lefties and can back-foot versus righties. Thompson also can miss bats with his mid-70s curveball and low-80s changeup with mild fade but has more difficulty landing them for strikes. He has little effort in his delivery and repeats it well, so he could develop above-average control. He comes with a high floor as a No. 4 starter and might be better than that if his fastball continues to thrive at the next level.

Lodise began his college career at the University of North Florida and was the Ospreys' starting shortstop right out of the gate, finishing with a .976 OPS and earning First Team All-Atlantic Sun honors as well as Collegiate Baseball freshman All-American honors as a result. He entered the transfer portal after UNF's coach resigned and has spent the last two years as Florida State's shortstop. He had a fair sophomore season, production-wise, but after swinging the bat well in the Cape Cod League last summer, the Seminoles' captain has turned in one of the best offensive seasons in all of Division I baseball. More of a third baseman and pitcher in high school, Lodise has developed into a solid middle infielder prospect with some juice from the right side of the plate. He's showing the ability to make a lot of impact, and added strength to his frame has helped him find more power with the ability to hit the ball out to all fields. Even with his incredible production, there are some holes in his swing, and he's shown a tendency to chase, especially on breaking stuff, and while he improved from last year, there are still concerns with his strikeout rate. More quick than fast, Lodise is an average runner who has shown improved defense as a shortstop in college. He'll sometimes struggle with the routine play, something that can be improved with more reps and instructions, but he's very good on the move and throwing from different angles, giving him a good chance to stick at the premium position. Even with some of the question marks, the production from a shortstop in the ACC like this will always help a player float up boards.

Tulane used Lombardi as a center fielder, first baseman and closer this spring to the frustration of scouts, who wanted to see more of him in extended outings on the mound. He averaged 15.6 strikeouts per nine innings as a junior but went more than two innings just twice in 22 regular-season appearances. He fanned 11 in a seven-inning start at the American Athletic Conference tournament in late May, which may boost him into the top three rounds. Lombardi has been unhittable this spring, with both his fastball and curveball generating some of the best in-zone swing-and-miss rates in NCAA Division I. His heater deals at 93-95 mph and reaches 97 with tremendous carry, as well as some armside run. His high three-quarters arm slot helps him stay on top of his 78-81 mph curve, which features so much sharp break that he struggles to land it in the zone and it doesn't draw many chases. Lombardi also has some feel for an 82-85 mph changeup with some depth, so he has enough pitches to start. After battling the strike zone during his first two college seasons, he has improved his control as a junior and has the athleticism and delivery to continue to get better once he becomes a full-time pitcher. He has played all four infield spots and center field for the Green Wave, showing a good approach at the plate as well as some right-handed power, but his future is definitely on the mound.

While his twin brother, Kyson, will likely be the first college right-hander drafted in July, Witherspoon was a higher-rated prospect in high school and turned down an over-slot offer from the Diamondbacks as a 12th-rounder in 2022. The siblings have similar arsenals, but Kyson harnesses his much better and has outperformed Malachi at Northwest Florida State JC and Oklahoma. The latter could still go as early as the third round to a team that believes it can add polish to his overpowering stuff. Though Witherspoon parks at 95-97 mph and peaks at 99 with his fastball, it lacks life and gets pounded because he doesn't locate it well. His most effective pitch is a low-80s curveball with depth, though scouts believe his tighter slider in the upper 80s will be his best option in the long run. He can throw a decent upper-80s changeup with fade but doesn't have much faith in it. Witherspoon adds deception to his power stuff with his low three-quarters arm slot, flat approach angle and quality extension. But working exclusively out of the stretch still leaves him with fringy control and below-average command because he doesn't repeat his mechanics. He'll probably get the opportunity to start at the next level, but he'll need to remake his fastball shape and may be a reliever in the long run.

Wes Obermueller pitched five seasons in the Majors after the Royals took him in the second round of the 1999 Draft out of Iowa, and his son could go in the same range after a strong season for the Hawkeyes. A Draft-eligible sophomore a year ago, Cade turned down the Rangers as a 19th-rounder. He has been a favorite of scouts dating back to his high school days and they're happy to see him increase his velocity and his strike-throwing as a junior. Obermueller works from a low arm slot that produces outstanding metrics on his fastball and slider. He sits at 91-94 mph and can reach 98 with his heater, showing the ability to create carry, run or sink from an unusually flat approach angle. He imparts huge horizontal break, as well as good depth, on a low-80s slider that eats up lefties and righties. Obermueller has yet to show much feel for a sinking mid-80s changeup that he barely uses, though he'll flash a solid one on occasion. The biggest question about his ability to remain a starter is his lack of physicality at 6 feet and 170 pounds, though he's helping his cause by cutting his walk rate nearly in half from his sophomore to junior year. He'll get a chance to prove himself in the rotation in pro ball, though if he immediately headed to the bullpen he could surface in the Majors by the end of 2026.

Curley stood out with his physicality and tools as a California high schooler, but not enough for pro teams to lure him away from his Tennessee commitment. The only freshman to earn a spot in the Volunteers' stacked 2024 lineup, he homered three times in the NCAA tournament and went 6-for-12 in the College World Series finals to help win the program's first national championship. He's one off the best sophomore-eligible talents in this year's Draft, though inconsistency on both sides of the ball may have derailed his chances of going in the first round. More physical than most shortstops at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, Curley has solid-to-plus raw power and lets it come naturally. He understands the strike zone and works from gap to gap with a quick, controlled right-handed stroke. But he has gotten overly selective at times this spring and hasn't done as much damage against non-fastballs as he did as a freshman. Curley possesses average speed and shows good instincts on the bases. Though he doesn't have typical shortstop quickness, he compensates with good positioning and a finely tuned internal clock, and he possesses one of the strongest infield arms in college baseball. His defensive consistency and throwing accuracy have declined this year, prompting Tennessee to move him around the infield, and his future defensive home is now more uncertain.

The Leiter family has done more to produce big league arms than some Division I college programs, and Cam Leiter is the latest with a chance to get there. He's the nephew of Al and Mark (so, cousins with Mark Jr.) and his dad Kurt pitched at Oklahoma State and spent parts of four seasons in the Minors. Cam started his college career at Central Florida, and after an uneven freshman season, he transferred to Florida State, where he showed off his power stuff, and command issues, but only for seven starts because of a shoulder issue that has kept him from the mound all spring. When he's healthy, Leiter has a lot to offer a future Major League team. He's a big, physical 6-foot-5 right-hander with huge stuff. He has the chance to have four legitimate pitches, starting with an explosive fastball that he cranks up to 98 mph and averaged 95 mph last year, throwing it with excellent extension. His upper-80s slider is a true out pitch with huge spin and tilt. He can land his slower, 80-mph curve for strikes and has some feel for a changeup as well. The two main question marks surrounding Leiter are his ability to find the strike zone, with a 6.2 BB/9 rate over two years, and his health, which lead to some reliever risk concerns. It seems unclear what his prognosis is, with some talk of him pitching in the Cape Cod League for the first time this year ahead of the Draft. If he can return to the mound and show off that power stuff, he could still go in the top few rounds.

A product of the Tennessee high school scene, Walton spent his first two seasons of college ball playing for Samford University in Alabama. He entered the transfer portal and headed west to Arizona for more exposure. The move has paid off and Walton has been able to display his physicality and tools against better competition to move him up Draft boards, though his performance lagged a bit in conference play. A big, strong right-handed hitter, Walton has a bit of a linebacker-type build that's a little Mike Trout-ish at 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds. When Walton arrived in Tucson in the fall, his hit tool was a bit behind the others and he's still power over pure bat, showing some swing-and-miss. But he made some adjustments heading into the spring and has struck out less with the Wildcats than he did with Samford while drawing more walks. He's incorporated a leg kick to help him get to the inside fastball and has gotten more power to his pull side. Walton runs well and showed this fall he can play a solid center field, moving Brendan Summerhill to right, with a decent arm to boot. It's an intriguing profile with strength and athleticism, and a team that thinks it can tease a little more consistency at the plate from Walton will take him on Day 2 of the Draft, perhaps seeing a Harrison Bader-type career in the future.

Quinn cracked Mississippi's weekend rotation as a freshman in 2023 but battled blister and oblique issues as a sophomore, posting a combined 7.35 ERA in his two seasons with the Rebels. He has found more success after transferring to Georgia, serving as a swingman and improving over the course of the season. A team that believes it can help him build on that progress could take him as early as the third or fourth round. Quinn's mid-90s fastball peaks at 98 mph with armside run, and he can blow it past hitters up in the zone or throw it with downhill plane toward the knees to induce ground balls. His mid-80s slider features downer break and is his main putaway pitch. He has trouble landing his upper-70s curveball with even more depth and almost never uses a changeup. The Bulldogs have helped Quinn settle down his delivery somewhat, though he still operates exclusively from the stretch and has merely fringy control. His 6-foot-6 frame and high three-quarters arm slot create a higher than usual release point. To succeed as a starter in pro ball, he'll need to continue to refine his strike-throwing and develop an offspeed pitch.

If Hynes wanted to find some high school pitchers to follow in their footsteps, he doesn't have to look too far back to find some fellow Ontario natives. Just a year ago, the A's took Josiah Romeo in the sixth round, and Mets 2022 seventh-rounder Jonah Tong has become one of their better pitching prospects. With strong performances for the Canadian Premier Team against professional teams in Arizona in March and then with the Junior National Team in Florida in April, Hynes has put himself into mid-Day 2 conversations. Scraping 6-foot-2 and turning 18 just days before the Draft, Hynes offers an interesting combination of projection and feel for pitching. He's up to 94-95 mph with his fastball, a heater that has a mix of run and sink to it, helping it play up. His high-spin slider will register 2,700 rpm and elicits good swing-and-miss. His changeup is a bit behind the other two, but there's some feel for the offspeed offering, even though he doesn't throw it much. Hynes has shown a penchant for throwing strikes and pitched well against the Giants and Guardians in Arizona, then held his own against the Blue Jays and Yankees in Florida, albeit in shorter stints. There's some upside here, with perhaps more velocity to come as he physically matures, something teams will be sure to consider when deciding if they can sign him away from his Wake Forest commitment.

Lamkin was Texas' best high school southpaw in 2022, when he threw a seven-inning, 21-strikeout no-hitter and drew some Kris Bubic comparisons, but he was unsignable away from his Texas A&M commitment. He became an immediate contributor for the Aggies and dominated in his first two outing at the 2024 College World Series before running out of gas in a championship-game loss to Tennessee. Slightly improved stuff and better control have made him one of the best college pitchability lefty options in this year's Draft. Lamkin works with a 91-93 mph fastball that tops out at 95, deceiving hitters thanks to his funky arm action and the extension that he creates. His best offering is a solid low-80s slider with more depth than horizontal action. His low-80s changeup doesn't have much life and isn't particularly effective against right-handers, whom he keeps in check by running his heater in on their hands. While Lamkin doesn't have the smoothest mechanics, they help him hide the ball well. His strike throwing has improved throughout his time in College Station, though his control stands out more than his command. His floor also is more notable than his ceiling, as he's a safe bet to become a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Franklin walked 21 percent of the hitters in he faced in two seasons at Kennesaw State and continued to do so as an all-star last summer in the Cape Cod League. He has pounded the zone with power stuff this year after transferring to Tennessee, though he has a somewhat limited Draft ceiling as a two-pitch reliever. He still lacks consistency, showing the ability to overwhelm hitters but also getting hit surprisingly hard at times. Franklin ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in overall and in-zone swing-and-miss rate with his fastball, no real surprise considering it operates at 94-98 mph and reaches 102 with huge carry and some armside run. He also throws one of the hardest cutters in college baseball, averaging 90 mph with a peak of 93, though it doesn't miss nearly as many bats as his heater. He focuses on his main two pitches, rarely showing a slider or changeup that both sit in the upper 80s. The Volunteers have helped Franklin tone down the effort in his delivery, enabling him to slice his walk rate by 75 percent this year from his sophomore season. But his command still leaves much to be desired, because he leaves way too many pitches over the fat part of the plate, and his cutter is especially vulnerable when he does. If he can come up with a solid second offering, he might be a closer.

Fresno State has not had a player taken in the top three rounds since right-hander Ryan Jensen was a first-rounder in 2019. A hitter hasn't gone that early since Taylor Ward in the first round back in 2015, and of course, its greatest player -- the 6-foot-7 Aaron Judge -- went in 2013. Gray doesn't have Judge's profile, but he was the 2023 Mountain West Conference freshman of the year. He then hit 10 homers with a .504 slugging percentage as a sophomore before opening eyes with one of the best offensive performances (.329/.367/.500) in the Cape Cod League last summer, though he hasn't carried that over to consistent production in 2025. While Gray isn’t as big of a prospect as Judge in any measurement, as a 6-foot-4 right-handed hitter, he's not that far off size-wise. Gray can put his extra-large frame to good use, showing big raw power to all fields, though his over-the-fence pop has come mostly to his pull side. He's going to need some swing modifications at the next level and while he doesn't swing and miss too much, he does need to cut down on his tendency to chase and make better overall swing decisions. Gray has plenty of arm for third base, but a lack of foot speed with a fair first step at best might make it tough for him to stick at the hot corner. A team interested in his bat's power potential could send him out there or see whether he's athletic enough to man an outfield corner to make good use of that arm, but he could end up at first base down the road.

Belyeu and Jared Thomas were the two best hit-over-power prep outfielders in the Lone Star State three years ago, intriguing scouts but not making enough present impact to get lured away from their commitments to Texas. Both blossomed in Austin. The Rockies grabbed Thomas in the second round of the 2024 Draft, and Belyeu is now bidding to become the Longhorns' first first-round hitter since Drew Stubbs in 2006. He went from not playing much as a freshman in 2023 to earning Big 12 Conference player of the year accolades last spring, then got off to a strong start this year before requiring surgery on his left thumb when he fractured it diving for a ball in March. One of the best all-around offensive players in the college crop, Belyeu hits for average and power while controlling the strike zone and making consistent hard contact. He has a quick left-handed swing geared for line drives, showing the ability to pull pitches for home runs or backspin them out of the park to the opposite field. His ability to put the bat on the ball cuts into his walk totals a bit and he struggled against non-fastballs last summer with the U.S. collegiate national team and in the Cape Cod League after crushing them during the spring. Belyeu is a good athlete with average-to-solid speed but doesn't stand out with his instincts on the bases or in the outfield. He's inconsistent with his reads and routes, which precludes him from playing center field. His arm is both strong and accurate, so he fits nicely in right.

Moss grew up in California, but headed across the country to attend IMG Academy in eighth grade. He was a constant presence on the summer showcase circuit, appearing at the East Coast Pro Showcase and the Area Code Games, among others. He was robbed of an extra-base hit at MLB's High School All-American Game by IMG teammate Sean Gamble, but he showed enough prowess at the plate to be considered one of the top players in Florida for the 2025 Draft. Moss's hit tool is what stands out more than anything else. He routinely finds the barrel with an outstanding left-handed swing. He has plus bat speed and has shown he can use the entire field, with a fearless approach and the ability to turn around all pitching. He's more hit over power right now, showcasing more bat-to-ball skills than the ability to drive it. There is raw power for him to tap into, especially to the pull side, but he’s still learning to leverage the ball consistently. Primarily a center fielder in high school, he's shown good instincts and takes good jumps, reads and routes. There's some question whether he'll stay there long term as he's an average runner, and a lack of speed could push him to a corner. That would put a bit more pressure on the LSU recruit's bat to provide more thump, but his feel for hitting will certainly create interest in the early rounds.

The University of Virginia has consistently produced solid hitters who end up in the big leagues, most recently Jake McCarthy and Zack Gelof, and in 2024, Griff O'Ferrall and Ethan Anderson went in the top two rounds. The 2025 class has another pair of Cavaliers who could go in the same range in Henry Ford and Godbout, an infielder coming off a sophomore season that saw him finish with an OPS of 1.117 and earn second-team All-American honors from Baseball America. In many ways, Godbout is the prototypical Virginia hitter, a solid all-around baseball player with tools that play up thanks to a high baseball IQ. He makes consistent hard contact from the right side of the plate and doesn't chase or swing-and-miss much (14 percent miss rate in 2024). He could end up with better than average power when all is said and done, with most of it coming right now to his pull side. Godbout appeared to have added some strength this fall, but looked a little stiffer as a result. He's a fringy runner and that might be trending in the wrong direction with that added bulk. There was some hope Godbout would get time at shortstop this coming season; not that he'd be able to play there long-term but so scouts could see how athletic he could be, and he did play a few games at the premium position during his brief Cape Cod League stint. But he's played second base almost exclusively and that added physicality has hampered his range at the keystone, making it unclear where he might profile best defensively long term.

It has been a great spring for the Lodise cousins, with Alex (Florida State) and Kyle (Georgia Tech) tearing up the Atlantic Coast Conference and hitting their way into the top two or three rounds. The latter wasn't scouted or recruited much as a Georgia high schooler before spending his first two college seasons at NCAA Division II Augusta, where he slashed .349/.450/.584 with 23 homers and 44 steals. He has posted similar numbers against better pitching as a junior. A steady right-handed hitter, Lodise has a reasonably disciplined approach and uses the entire field. He hits the ball surprisingly hard for a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder, showing the ability to catch up to high-end velocity and homering over the batter's eye at Clemson in March. He did struggle with wood bats in the Cape Cod League last summer, so he may top out at 15 homers annually in pro ball. Lodise has solid speed and the instincts to make good use of it on the bases. His baseball IQ also helps him make plays at shortstop, though his average range and arm strength make him better suited for second base at the next level. He might profile best as an offensive-minded utility infielder who also should be capable of handling outfield duty if needed.

After playing his high school ball at powerhouse Mater Dei (Calif.), Hedges stayed local for college, heading to Southern Cal. He worked his way into the lineup regularly as a freshman, hitting over .300 while playing a lot of first base. He was less productive as a sophomore but has stepped it up a notch this season as a junior, not only as the best hitter in the Trojans' lineup but stepping in as the team's closer as well. Hedges has a very good feel for the game, and while he doesn't necessarily have any wow tools, he maximizes what he has thanks to outstanding makeup. It's a line-drive approach from the right side of the plate, and he routinely finds the barrel, enabling him to post elite-level numbers in batting average and wOBA. He can drive the ball, and while he has reached double figures in home runs this year, he profiles more as a guy with some extra-base doubles pop than huge over-the-fence thump in the future. An average runner, Hedges has the chance to be a very solid defender with good instincts at the hot corner. He also has a plus arm, one that sits 93 mph with a fastball as a reliever to go along with a slider and a changeup. Teams taking him on Day 2 will be interested in the bat and the hopes of teasing a bit more power out of him so he can profile at third, but that arm strength on the mound is a nice fallback.

Williams started his college career at Alabama, but after getting 25 at-bats, he decided to return to his home state and transferred to Florida State, where both his brother and sister attended. He homered in his first at-bat as a Seminole, one of 14 he hit in his first season in Tallahassee, finishing with a .583 slugging percentage. It's been more of the same as a junior, with even more consistent power production to help him rise up Draft boards. A left-handed-hitting and throwing outfielder, Williams has shown the ability to do damage at the plate. He has a combination of strength and bat speed that points to plenty of future power as he moves to the pro game. He does it with an unusual spread out setup with little to no stride and when he's on time, the ball jumps off his bat, with a ton of over-the-fence juice to his pull side. He can be a bit streaky, prone to starting his swing too quickly and being out in front, and he'll need to cut down on his chase while improving his swing decisions at the next level. More of a solid-to-average runner than a burner, Williams has done a nice job of patrolling center field for the Seminoles this year, with some scouts thinking he has a chance to potentially stick there, especially if he can improve his routes. If he has to move to a corner, he has the power potential and above-average arm strength to profile well in right field.

Johnson City HS, located in a tiny Texas town of 2,000 an hour west of Austin, never has produced a professional baseball player nor a single pick in the first 60 Drafts. That should change in July with Slawinski, whose combination of projectability and polish makes him one of the top prep left-handers available. He's easily the best pitching prospect in the Lone Star State and projects to go in the first two rounds. Slawinski currently deals at 90-93 mph and touches 95 with a fastball that plays better than its velocity thanks to its riding action and the quality extension he creates. He uses two different breaking balls, with his upper-70s slider flashing two-plane depth and showing the potential to become a plus offering with more consistency than his mid-70s curveball. He also exhibits nice feel for a low-80s changeup with significant fade. A four-sport athlete (baseball, football, basketball, track), Slawinski gets down the mound exceptionally well with advanced control for a high schooler. The Texas A&M recruit is also a talented left-handed hitter with plus speed, though his future unquestionably lies on the mound. Once he fills out his 6-foot-3 frame and benefits from the coaching and technology available in pro ball, he could have three plus pitches.

Mississippi has produced just one prep pitcher selected in the top two rounds since the turn of the century: unsigned Dodgers first-rounder J.T. Ginn in 2018. The Magnolia State may have another in Harmon, who combines velocity and projectability better than most high school arms in the 2025 Draft. He can run his fastball to 99 mph with ease and can add a lot more strength to his slender 6-foot-5 frame. Harmon sits at 93-96 mph with his fastball, delivering it on a flat approach angle with carry and arm-side run. He'll manipulate the shape of his solid slider, varying it from a low-80s sweeper to a harder, tighter version to an upper-80s cutter. He hasn't had much need or shown much feel for his low-80s changeup. For a tall teenager, Harmon does a nice job of keeping his delivery in sync and pounding the strike zone, though he'll sometimes rush his mechanics with runners on base. The Mississippi State commit moves well and uses his size to create extension that allows his pitches to get on hitters quickly. He generates premium velocity with athleticism and arm speed rather than effort and could be a frontline starter with continued development of his secondary pitches.

Cook may have the biggest dichotomy between tools and track record of any position player in the Draft. Recruited as a two-way player by Southern Mississippi, he focused on pitching and reached 96 mph with his fastball, but his inability to throw strikes led to him redshirting in 2023 and working just two innings last year. Converted to a center fielder this spring, he batted .350 with a 7 percent strikeout rate and displayed some of the best speed and outfield range in college baseball. Cook didn't look like a hitter who hadn't faced live pitching in an official game for two years, using a disciplined approach to consistently put the ball in play to all fields. He has a slappy left-handed stroke and generates a lot of his contact on the ground and to the left side, which yields infield hits but not much power. He has some strength in his 6-foot-1 frame but will have to rework his swing path to do damage at the next level. A legitimate top-of-the-scale runner, Cook can get from home to first in less than 3.8 seconds and turned in the best 30-yard dash (3.51 seconds) and long jump (10 feet, 8.25 inches) of all players who participated in athletic testing at the Draft Combine. He has yet to develop any basestealing acumen, swiping just three bags in eight attempts this spring. His quickness plays much better in center, where he covers both gaps with ease and has a stronger arm than most at the position.

Carmichael is the third member of his family to play at Oklahoma, following father Darby and brother Braden. Easton caught his sibling at times during his freshman season in 2023, spent much of last year as a DH and has reasserted himself behind the plate this spring. One of the better options in a thin Draft class of catchers, he earned All-Star Game MVP honors in the Cape Cod League last summer and has helped himself by improving defensively as a junior. Carmichael doesn't stand out in any particular area but has the potential for average tools across the board. A right-handed hitter, he has a disciplined approach and makes consistent contact while focusing on using the middle of the field. His pull power could translate into 15-20 homers per season if he learns to drive the ball in the air more regularly. Faster than most catchers, Carmichael can flash solid run times from home to first and will steal an occasional base. He moves well behind the plate and has upgraded his receiving this year while handling a talented Sooners pitching staff. He also has increased his arm strength though he still struggles to combat the running game.

Morris intrigued scouts with his power arm and bat as a Mississippi prepster, though his 2022 senior season ended prematurely when he punctured his liver in an outfield collision. He battled his control and command for most of his first two college seasons at Mississippi before finding more success this spring. While the Rebels have used him almost exclusively as a reliever, a pro team may try him as a starter. Morris' best pitch is a low-90s cutter that dives at the plate, and hitters can't lay off it or make much contact against it. He also throws a solid upper-80s slider with similar shape, and while it's less devastating than his cutter, he does a better job of landing it for strikes. Raising his arm slot helped him add 4 mph to his fastball as a junior, and he now deals at 95-97 mph with a peak of 99. The downside is that Morris' heater has more downhill plane than life and doesn't miss bats in the strike zone, so he'll have to improve its shape at the next level. To survive in a rotation, he'll also need to develop some sort of changeup and continue to refine his inconsistent strike throwing. His 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame is built to handle the increased workload if he becomes a starter.

A Padres eighth-round pick out of Middle Tennessee State in 1998, Jeremy Owens was a speedster who played 10 seasons in the Minors and another eight in the independent Atlantic League. His son Josh has similar tools but more offensive upside. He won two games on the mound and also played some left field for the U.S. national team that earned a gold medal at the 18-and-under World Cup qualifier in Panama last August. Owens presently is a hit-over-power guy but should have more pop as he fills out his projectable 6-foot-3 frame. He'll flash the ability to drive balls in the air with his left-handed stroke and should do so more frequently as he gets stronger. For now, he focuses on making contact with a calm setup and a slight crouch at the plate. Owens features plus-plus speed and uses it to get on base and create havoc when he does. Though the Georgia Southern recruit has good actions and a strong arm at shortstop, he might have more defensive impact at the next level as a center fielder with plenty of range. He can run his fastball up to 92 mph on the mound but has a relieverish delivery and more upside as a position player.

Former All-Star reliever Tony Watson is the only player ever drafted out of Dallas Center-Grimes (Iowa) HS (but didn't sign before attending the University of Nebraska), though Gray should join him in July. He offers some of the best high school power in the 2025 class, as well as a tantalizing combination of physicality and athleticism -- and the possibility of catching. A club that believes he can stay behind the plate could pop him as early as the second round, something that hasn't happened to an Iowa prep hitter since Kellen Sweeney in 2010. A switch-hitter, Gray has a smoother swing as a lefty but crushes balls from both sides. He led Iowa's summer high school league with 14 homers as a junior and produced the highest exit velocity (109 mph) and best maximum (87 mph) and average (83 mph) bat speeds at the Super 60 Showcase in February. While he wasn't a showcase circuit regular and hasn't faced a lot of top competition, he displays some feel to hit and scouts believe he's more than just a masher at the plate. Gray has surprising speed for a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, clocking plus times in the 60-yard dash and playing as an average runner. The Oregon recruit is raw as a receiver and has average arm strength, though he needs to clean up his footwork and release. If he can't hack it as a catcher, he has the power and athleticism to profile on an outfield corner.

Eyanson served UC San Diego as a solid starter for two seasons before electing to transfer to LSU. He showed top-two-rounds potential last summer by working with a 93-97 mph fastball and a hammer curveball while with the U.S. collegiate national team and in the Cape Cod League. His stuff hasn't been quite as sharp this spring, but a solid year as the Tigers' Saturday starter and a strong finish have allowed him to maintain his Draft stock. Eyanson's slider has become his best pitch during his first season in Baton Rouge, parking at 82-85 mph and eliciting empty swings in and out of the strike zone thanks to its tremendous depth. His upper-70s curveball has been solid but hasn't enticed hitters to chase nearly as much as his slide piece has. His fastball has operated at 92-94 mph and topped out at 98, though its lack of life can make it vulnerable if he doesn't locate it well. Though Eyanson's low-80s changeup can miss bats with its fade and sink, he struggles to throw it for strikes. He's a good athlete with decent control but will nibble around the plate too much at times. He has a ceiling of a No. 3 starter if he can improve his fastball shape but also could wind up as a reliever who relies heavily on his breaking pitches.

Ellwanger's fastball shot into the mid-90s midway through his Texas high school senior season in 2023 and made him a top-three-rounds prospect, but his signability dropped him to the Nationals in the 19th round and sent him to Dallas Baptist. He touched 99 mph in his college debut last February, then missed most of March and April with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow before performing well in the Cape Cod League during the summer. He's one of the most intriguing sophomores in the 2025 college crop but has labored to throw strikes this spring. When Ellwanger is dialed in, he can sit in the mid-90s with his fastball and blow it by batters in the zone with ample carry and armside run, though he has fought his control and command of the pitch throughout 2025. His low-80s curveball has good shape and has been his most reliable offering, while his mid-80s slider has been crushed so much that he has begun toying with a low-90s cutter. He barely uses his mid-80s changeup but it will dive at the plate at times. After working just 30 2/3 innings between Dallas Baptist and the Cape in 2024, Ellwanger needs innings to hone his craft and prove he can do more than just overpower hitters with his heater. He's athletic but will have to polish and repeat his three-quarters delivery to develop average control and command. He still has projection remaining in his 6-foot-4 frame, so his arsenal could become even more powerful.

Hailing from the same Notre Dame High School program in Southern California that produced Hunter Greene and Giancarlo Stanton, Gurevitch stayed in the Golden State to attend the University of San Diego. He's been a presence in the Toreros' lineup for three years, showing improvement each season to the point where he's been one of the better college performers on the west coast as the 2025 season continues, really catching fire when the West Coast Conference schedule got going. Gurevitch has the chance to be a very good hitter at the next level. He has a handsy swing from the left side of the plate that is capable of making extremely loud contact, and he's registering very high exit velocities this spring. He absolutely crushes fastballs, but he has a tendency to be a bit over-aggressive and chase pitches -- especially breaking stuff -- out of the zone, though some evaluators think that can be toned down. It's mostly hard line drives to all fields, but there's some belief there's more power to come given how hard his contact has been. Strong and compact, Gurevitch has played some third base this year, but most feel like he's destined to be a first baseman. He gets very high marks for his toughness, leadership and overall makeup, which might give teams more confidence he'll maximize his tools.

Reid pitched just 19 1/3 innings in two seasons at Oklahoma State, prompting his decision to transfer to Abilene Christian. He became the Wildcats' Friday starter this spring and set the program's NCAA Division I record with 112 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. After allowing one run in his final three starts, including seven shutout innings with 12 whiffs against Utah Valley in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, he should become Abilene Christian's highest Draft pick since 1969 third-rounder Bill Gilbreth -- the lone big leaguer in school history. Reid does a nice job of moving his running fastball around the strike zone, working at 91-94 mph and reaching 96 with the ability to get carry at the letters or sink at the knees. He throws his best pitch, an 82-84 mph changeup with fade and sink, nearly as much as his heater and will double and triple up on it, even against right-handers. He led all NCAA Division I pitchers with 66 strikeouts via the cambio. He doesn't have nearly as much trust in a slurvy low-80s breaking ball that rarely fools hitters. With a strong 6-foot-3 frame and an athletic delivery that he repeats well, Reid provides consistent strikes. His fastball can catch too much of the plate at times, so he needs to command his heater to set up his changeup and find success. He'll probably need to come up with a better breaker to remain in the rotation at the next level.

A two-way standout in high school who graduated from Cardinal Newman in West Palm Beach, Florida, Hugus headed to Cincinnati for college ball. As a freshman, he served as a reliever and played the left side of the infield, then was a relief pitcher only as a sophomore. Despite less than inspiring numbers, Miami offered him a spot when he entered the portal shortly before he pitched very well out of the bullpen in the Cape Cod League. Given a chance to start in his first year with the Hurricanes, he's run with it, beginning the season as the Saturday starter but taking over Friday nights in March. While Hugus may not blow anyone away with pure stuff, he has the chance to have a legitimate four-pitch mix as a starting pitcher at the next level. He typically sits around 92-93 mph with his fastball, topping out at 95-96 mph at times, but hitters don't square it up. Right now, his mid-80s slider is his go-to pitch, and the Hurricanes call it a lot. He added a slower mid-70s curve on the Cape, and while it may seem like more of a get-me-over kind of pitch, some scouts think it actually has a better chance to become an out pitch than the slider. He does have a mid-80s changeup, but he doesn't use it often. Hugus struggled with command at Cincinnati but has done a much better job finding the strike zone as a starter with Miami. A decent athlete, he should be able to repeat his delivery and be a solid strike-thrower in the future. He reminds some in the area of former Hurricanes starter Gage Ziehl, who was taken in the fourth round of last year's Draft by the Yankees.

Curley spent his first two college seasons at Virginia Commonwealth, then turned down the Pirates as a 16th-rounder last July in order to transfer to Georgia. He opened his junior year as the Bulldogs' closer, worked his way into their rotation by late March and took over as their No. 1 starter three weeks later. He has added 3 mph to his fastball this spring and led NCAA Division I in opponents' average against (.158) through conference tournament play. Curley not only deals at 94-97 mph and reaches 100 with his fastball, but he also produces high spin rates and difficult carry, and has maintained his velocity through longer outings. He also has shown the ability to miss bats with three different breaking balls, the best of which is a mid-80s slider with impressive depth. It elicits more chases than an upper-80s cutter and a low-80s curveball that serves as a change of pace against lefties. Though he'll get a chance to prove himself as a starter in pro ball, Curley projects more as a power reliever at the next level. He lacks size and pitches with considerable effort which results in fringy control. His fastball does lack life, so he needs to work in the mid-90s and up in the zone to keep it off barrels.

Austin's athleticism and versatility might have landed him in the top five rounds as a Georgia high schooler, but he withdrew from the 2022 Draft to fulfill his Vanderbilt commitment. He started at second base as a freshman and at first base as a sophomore, when he saw action at all four infield positions as well as left and center field. He hasn't put up huge offensive numbers in three college seasons but had a strong 2024 summer with the U.S. collegiate national team and in the Cape Cod League. Austin has a lot going on with his right-handed swing and employs a big leg kick, but his hand-eye coordination and sense of timing allow him to make repeated contact to all fields. He almost puts the bat on the ball too easily, producing too much ground-ball contact and cutting into his walk totals. He lacks power and rarely drives the ball in the air to his pull side, so he may not offer more than 10-12 homers per season. With plus speed and a high baseball IQ, Austin is a proficient basestealer. He covers ground and has good defensive instincts, though his fringy if accurate arm limits his effectiveness on the left side of the infield. He fits best at second base or center field, and he manned the latter position capably this spring. Scouts love his makeup.

One of the largest pitching prospects in the college crop at 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, Morrison intrigued scouts by pushing his fastball to 95 mph as a Coastal Carolina freshman in 2023. He missed all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery but rebounded to win Sun Belt Conference pitcher of the year accolades as a redshirt sophomore. He ranked third in Division I in wins (11) and fourth in ERA (1.90) entering NCAA tournament play. Morrison generates elite strike and chase rates with a fastball that ranges from 91-95 mph and plays better than its velocity because he can carry it at the top of the strike zone or create steep downhill plane with his unusually high release point. He has trouble landing his mid-70s curveball and mid-80s slider in the zone, though the depth on both creates chases and keeps them off barrels. His low-80s changeup has some fade but he leaves it over the heart of the plate too often. While he has an upright delivery that isn't particularly smooth, Morrison creates plenty of extension and provides consistent strikes. He'll turn 22 two months after the Draft but has less experience and more room for growth than most pitchers his age. If a team can help him improve his pitches even a half-grade, he could become a mid-rotation starter.

Frey led Rosepine (La.) HS to back-to-back state 2-A championships in 2021 and 2022, then added a College World Series title as a Louisiana State freshman in 2023. He played sparingly in his first two years with the Tigers, making just 11 starts and collecting just 76 at-bats, then missed summer ball last year because he required surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. After he finally asserted himself as a regular until midway through this season, he became the most productive bat in LSU's lineup. One of the more imposing hitters in college baseball at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, Frey is built to hit for power. He's strong and has a quick right-handed stroke to go with an affinity to driving the ball in the air, a combination that allows him to hit balls out of any part of the park. While he lacks a long track record, he's a patient hitter who has had success this year against both lefties and righties and all types of pitches. The fact that Frey has spent the majority of his college career as a DH belies his athleticism. A former catcher and dual-threat quarterback in high school, he has solid speed and arm strength to match. He should be able to play right field in pro ball and could merit a look in center.

There's only been one player to make it to the big leagues out of Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif.: Robert Stephenson, a Reds first-rounder in 2011, who saw eight seasons at the highest level. Millar isn't expected to rise into the opening round like his predecessors did, but the Alhambra product did have a big up arrow next to his name as he progressed during his senior season of high school. Over the summer at events like the Area Code Games, Millar was throwing his fastball in the 92 mph range more often than not. This spring, he’s seen a big spike in his velocity, and he's been up to 97 mph consistently every start, throwing his heater with 20 inches of inverted vertical break. His changeup has been a quality second offering, and while there's been some question about the quality of spin and bite on his slider, he moves it well from side-to-side; some think there's an above-average breaker in there eventually as well. Millar has shown some strike-throwing ability at times, but his arm isn't always on time in his delivery, leading to an erratic release and inconsistent control. But the Arizona recruit went from being a kind of vanilla high school right-hander to one of the hottest prep arms in the west.

Hailing from renowned California high school Huntington Beach, Jacobs began his college career close to home at UCLA. After getting just five innings on the mound as a freshman in 2023, he transferred to Arizona State and began his sophomore season pitching out of the Sun Devils bullpen, then eventually evolved into becoming their Friday night starter. He resumed that role in 2025 after a summer in which he made a few solid appearances in the Cape Cod League and for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team. When he's clicking like he was at the end of 2024, Jacobs looks every bit like a prototypical college lefty with a starting pitcher's repertoire and solid feel for what he's doing on the mound. None of his individual offerings jump off the page, but he misses bats with all three of his pitches. It starts with a fastball that typically sits in the 92-94 mph range, touching 95-96 at times. It was not missing as many bats as it did in 2024, when it had decent life up in the zone to go along with solid deception. He has a traditional slider he throws in the 78-83 mph range and his low-80s changeup features good fade. Jacobs has struggled with his command at times during his college career, but he repeats his delivery well and is competitive in and around the zone, so there's some confidence he'll get to more consistent strikes as he advances. His ceiling might be a little limited because of the lack of a true out pitch, but he's the kind of back-end starter who has the chance to land in the top three rounds.

The son of former Clemson basketball center Tom Wideman, Ryan was born in Spain while his father was playing professionally overseas. He went undrafted despite slashing .423/.488/.724 in two seasons at Georgia Highlands JC and posted nearly as gaudy numbers this spring at Western Kentucky. The Conference USA Player of the Year, he became the first NCAA Division I player with 35 extra-base hits and 45 steals in the same season since Chris Burke (Tennessee) and Andy Cannizaro (Tulane) in 2001. One of the toolsiest and more physical college players in the Draft, Wideman is a 6-foot-5, 204-pounder with plus raw power and plus-plus speed. His reads and routes could use some polish in center field, but his quickness still allows him to chase down balls from gap to gap. He has average arm strength and is capable of playing all three outfield spots. All that said, there's concern about Wideman's ability to handle pro pitching because his chase rates and ground-ball percentage rank among the worst in D-I. He doesn't strike out excessively, but he struggles against velocity, rarely walks and makes a lot of suboptimal contact. A right-handed hitter with a big leg kick, he does a nice job of using the middle of the field but will have to get much more selective at the next level.

A two-way player as a Georgetown freshman in 2023, Bowker became a full-time pitcher last spring and earned Cape Cod League all-star honors during the summer. After transferring to Vanderbilt, he has become a solid No. 2 starter for the Commodores thanks to one of the more unhittable fastballs in the Draft. It's his lone better than average offering but could propel him into the top four or five rounds. Bowker usually operates at 90-95 mph with his fastball, but it's not velocity that makes it special. He uses a drop-and-drive delivery and a low arm slot, producing unusually high spin from an unusually low release height, which makes his heater appear to be rising more than most. He pounds the zone with his fastball and also gets chases with it, and it's almost impossible to deal with when he throws it at the letters.Bowker doesn't land his other pitches for strikes consistently, though he can entice batters to chase his sweeping low-80s slider. His cutter and sinking changeup both arrive in the mid-80s but can get pounded if he doesn't locate them well. Because he has just one weapon that can miss bats, he'll nibble around the strike zone with his other offerings.

Schubart played for a St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) juggernaut that captured three straight titles in his three full seasons and included two players who signed for seven-figure bonuses (Brock Porter out of high school, Alex Mooney following two years at Duke) and another who could be a first-round pick in 2025 (Auburn outfielder/catcher Ike Irish). He fell two hits shy of winning the Big 12 Conference triple crown last spring, batting .370 with 23 homers and 68 RBI in 49 games. He continued to rake during the summer, slashing .341/.565/.773 between brief stints with the U.S. collegiate national team and in the Cape Cod League. While Schubart is pretty much a one-tool guy, prodigious left-handed power is always in demand, and he owns plus-plus raw pop thanks to his combination of bat speed, massive strength and a stroke designed to launch balls in the air. He can drive the ball out of any part of any ballpark and will take walks when pitchers refuse to challenge him. He comes with concerns about how he'll handle pro pitching, however, because he strikes out at a high rate and struggles even with in-zone contact. Schubart has to hit because he offers little value outside of the batter's box. He's a well-below-average runner with range to match on the outfield corners and a below-average arm. He'll almost certainly shift to first base at the next level and could wind up at DH.

After four years at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Florida, Jimenez headed just a little bit south to start his college career at Miami. After a freshman year of sporadic playing time and production, he entered the transfer portal and headed north to the Orlando area to play at Central Florida. It's proven to be a good move as the Draft-eligible sophomore has had a very productive season for the Knights, earning All-Big 12 second team honors and being added to the Brooks Wallace Player of the Year watch list, awarded to the best college shortstop each season. A strong right-handed hitter, Jimenez offers an intriguing collection of tools at a premium position. His swing works particularly well on pitches middle-in, and he'll show off at least above-average raw power to his pull side, getting to it consistently in games this year. He can go the other way at times, but without as much impact. He absolutely crushes fastballs but struggles with softer stuff, as he has a tendency to chase breaking balls out of the zone. Jimenez's standout defensive tool is his easily plus arm that works from anywhere on the infield. He has decent actions and a chance to stick at shortstop with an overall improved defensive game, though he can get a little too flashy at times. There isn’t a ton of track record with him, but teams that like the power potential from a middle infielder could buy in, with a move to second or third always a possibility.

Like his father, five-time All-Star Jeff Kent, Kaeden is an offensive-minded infielder who's best suited for second base. He was a postseason hero as Texas A&M finished runner-up at the 2024 College World Series, hitting a grand slam in the super regionals and going 10-for-24 (.417) in Omaha. Scouts who like him project him as an average hitter with similar pop who controls the strike zone well and has a high baseball IQ.

Ohio's best prospect, Vidourek showed off his combination of plus raw power and speed by hitting 14 homers and 39 steals (in 40 attempts) in 52 games this spring. He also made an impression at the Draft Combine, hitting the second-longest ball (424 feet) and producing the second-highest exit velocity (113.4 mph) during the second day of on-field workouts. A right fielder, he does get pull happy and struck out at a 27 percent clip this year.

Snead pushed his fastball to 97 mph as a Wisconsin high schooler but battled the strike zone, so he went undrafted in 2022 and headed to Wichita State. He transferred to Tennessee in 2024 and led the national champions with six saves, earning one in the penultimate game of the College World Series finals and a hold in the clincher. He has remained in the bullpen as a junior but could get a chance to start in pro ball. Snead owns one of the hottest fastballs in college baseball, usually dealing at 95-97 mph with the capability of reaching 101. His heater is more powerful than lively, featuring more sink than carry, so it can get whacked when he doesn't locate it well. His low-90s cutter has similar issues, and he has had more success retiring hitters this season with a much improved low-80s curveball. Unusual for a pitcher who has worked primarily in relief, Snead has five offerings in his arsenal, though his mid-80s slider has regressed this spring and he doesn't have much trust in his low-90s changeup with mild fade. He uses a slingy delivery with a low three-quarters slot that doesn't prevent him from providing strikes but may limit him to no better than average command. If he can't develop the finesse to make it as a starter, he could be a late-inning reliever, especially if he can improve the movement profile on his fastball.