The 2025 Draft should still be seven months away however it’s additionally within the information. MLB Pipeline launched its preliminary Draft Prime 100 late final week and MLB staged the Draft Lottery on Tuesday night on the Winter Conferences.
Now that we all know that the Nationals personal the No. 1 general decide, we won’t resist projecting the complete first spherical. Sure, we all know it is loopy early. However we’ll level out that once we did a full mock draft final December, we someway nailed 4 first-rounders (Charlie Condon to the Rockies at No. 3, Konnor Griffin to the Pirates at No. 9, P.J. Morlando to the Marlins at No. 16, Cam Caminiti to the Braves at No. 24).
The energy of the 2025 Draft class is clearly highschool infielders, as evidenced by Ethan Holliday at No. 1, 4 in our prime 9 choices and 9 among the many 27 first-rounders. Bats dominate our forecast with 11 from the faculty ranks and 10 from the excessive colleges, together with three faculty arms and three prep pitchers.
1. Nationals: Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater (Okla.) HS (No. 1)Probably the most well-known participant on this Draft, Holliday bodily resembles his father (seven-time All-Star Matt), could have even higher energy and can attempt to be part of his older brother (Jackson) as a No. 1 general decide.
2. Angels: Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M (No. 2)His mixture of physicality (6-foot-6, 230 kilos), athleticism and traditional right-field instruments make LaViolette a robust candidate to go 1-1.
3. Mariners: Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 4)Bremner has the most effective changeup within the Draft, to not point out a high quality fastball and slider and command, so the Gauchos might produce the primary faculty pitcher taken for the second time in 11 Drafts (Dillon Tate, 2015).
4. Rockies: Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State (No. 3)As a lefty with extra observe document of beginning success and a greater breaking ball, Arnold might edge out Bremner to turn out to be the primary pitcher chosen.
5. Cardinals: Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona (No. 10)Summerhill sports activities one of many sweetest left-handed strokes on this Draft and will become a middle fielder with 5 strong or higher instruments.
6. Pirates: Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson HS, San Antonio (No. 6)A barely greater and lefty-swinging model of Jett Williams, a Texas prep shortstop who went 14th general in 2022, Cunningham is a greater pure hitter on the identical stage and maybe the most effective on this prep class.
7. Marlins: Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS (No. 5)Hernandez is fascinating without any consideration fielder with well-above-average uncooked energy and arm energy — and extra fascinating as a projectable righty who can attain 98 mph together with his fastball and spin a wipeout curveball.
8. Blue Jays: Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS (No. 8)Regardless of some struggles through the summer time, Neyens has the substances to turn out to be an All-Star third baseman with enormous left-handed energy and a robust arm.
9. Reds: Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS, Fort Cobb, Okla. (No. 11)Reclassified from the 2026 Draft, Willits is the youngest legit prospect on this Draft (he turned 17 on Monday), has massive league bloodlines (father Reggie) and is a refined switch-hitter who retains getting higher in all phases of the sport.
10. White Sox: Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP/1B, Sundown HS, Beaverton, Ore. (No. 9)The White Sox landed the most effective lefty pitching prospect in baseball (Noah Schultz) after they took a towering prep southpaw within the first spherical in 2022, and Schoolcraft has lots of similarities — in addition to an intriguing bat.
11. Athletics: Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson (No. 15)Few gamers on this crop can match Cannarella’s mixture of bat-to-ball expertise and center-field protection.
12. Rangers: Aiva Arquette, 2B, Oregon State (No. 7)Probably the most outstanding switch within the Draft, Arquette moved from Washington to Oregon State and engenders some comps to D.J. LeMahieu however with extra pop.
13. Giants: Max Belyeu, OF, Texas (No. 14)Do not be stunned if Belyeu climbs increased than this within the spring as a result of he might be the most effective all-around hitter within the faculty class.
14. Rays: Billy Carlson, SS/RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS (No. 12)Although Carlson flashes a mid-90s fastball and a plus curveball, he is extra engaging as a shortstop who might wind up with 5 solid-or-better instruments.
15. Pink Sox: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest (No. 16)Arguably the most effective defensive shortstop out there, Houston has gotten stronger and overhauled his offensive method, which might end in elevated energy.
16. Twins: Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina (No. 13)The most effective all-around catcher and prime faculty sophomore within the Draft, Stevenson stands out most together with his energy and arm energy.
17. Cubs: Ike Irish, C, Auburn (No. 18)Irish presents extra offensive upside than Stevenson however comes with extra defensive questions.
18. Diamondbacks: Gavin Fien, 3B, Nice Oak HS, Temecula, Calif. (No. 27)Fien has an extended observe document of hitting towards high quality pitching and a few evaluators consider he is the most effective highschool bat within the Draft.
19. Orioles: Tre Phelps, OF/3B, Georgia (No. 19)A yr after Charlie Condon went No. 3 general, the Bulldogs as soon as once more have a participant who jumps out together with his mixture of contact and exit velocities in Phelps.
20. Brewers: Brady Ebel, SS, Corona (Calif.) HS (No. 25)The son of Dodgers third-base coach Dino has enviable bat-to-ball expertise and an extremely correct arm. This may give Corona three first-rounders in the identical first spherical, one thing no highschool has ever completed.
21. Astros: Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana (No. 20)The most effective prospect produced by the Hoosiers since Kyle Schwarber went No. 4 general in 2014, Taylor has an analogous profile.
22. Braves: Cameron Appenzeller, LHP, Glenwood HS, Chatham, Unwell. (No. 22)Appenzeller hails from the identical highschool as Reid Detmers and possesses the next ceiling on the identical stage of their careers.
23. Royals: Sean Gamble, SS/OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. (No. 17)Whereas Gamble’s defensive house could also be unsure, he has an opportunity for strong instruments throughout the board.
24. Tigers: Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest (No. 23)The breakout participant of the summer time, Conrad completed second within the Cape Cod League in batting (.385) and OPS (.919) and transferred from Marist to Wake Forest.
25. Padres: Quentin Younger, 3B/OF, Oaks Christian HS, Westlake Village, Calif. (No. 37)The nephew of former first-rounders Delmon and Dmitri Younger, Quentin reclassified from 2026, and at age 17, nonetheless has uncooked energy to rival anybody’s on this Draft.
26. Phillies: Slater de Brun, OF, Summit HS, Bend, Ore. (No. 33)De Brun earns some Corbin Carroll comps as a smaller prep outfielder from the Pacific Northwest who can affect the sport in a number of methods.
27. Guardians: Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma (No. 26)Witherspoon’s energy fastball/slider combo and the dearth of slam-dunk faculty starters might enable him to rocket up Draft boards if he has an enormous spring.
The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers can have their first choices moved again 10 spots as a result of they exceeded the $237 million aggressive stability tax threshold in 2024 by greater than $40 million. We do not need anybody to really feel overlooked through the vacation season, so let’s guess at these picks too…
38. Mets: Nick Dumesnil, OF, California Baptist (No. 35)The most effective place prospect in Cal Baptist historical past, Dumesnil is a attainable 20-20 heart fielder who led the Cape in doubles (12) and steals (27).
39. Yankees: Chase Shores, RHP, Louisiana State (No. 38)Shores is extraordinarily bodily (6-foot-8, 245 kilos) and throws extraordinarily onerous, however he missed all of final season following Tommy John surgical procedure in April 2023.
40. Dodgers: Aaron Watson, RHP, Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Fla. (No. 34)Watson affords a number of the finest pitchability within the prep class in addition to three choices that needs to be at the least strong as soon as he is totally developed.
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