2025 MLB Draft Review: San Diego Padres

Full list of draftees

The Padres lacked a second round pick this year after signing Nick Pivetta, but nothing will get between A.J. Preller and scooping up all of the high school prospects he desired. Given the lack of capital, that meant dumping nearly their entire bonus pool into three prep prospects, with third rounder Ryan Wideman ($650K) and fourth rounder Michael Salina ($572K) representing the only college picks to make over $150K in bonus money. When it came to the team's $6.6 million bonus pool (third lowest in the league), in the end it came out to $5.7 million for the three preps and just $1.2 million for the seven college picks in the first ten rounds (where the bonus pool applies), including the bonus pool overage. It goes without saying that this class is a bit of a gamble and could produce anywhere from multiple stars to just about nothing for the Padres. I will add that between Kruz Schoolcraft, Kerrington Cross, Truitt Madonna, Cardell Thibodaux, and Landry Jurecka this class is not short on unique names.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-25: LHP Kruz Schoolcraft, Sunset HS [OR]
Slot value: $3.61 million. Signing bonus: $3.61 million.
My rank: #22. MLB Pipeline: #19. Baseball America: #21.
Like clockwork, the Padres targeted one of the highest upside high school prospects on the board by roping in Kruz Schoolcraft, who beyond having an extremely cool name is also a great prospect. A hulking 6'8", 230 pound two-way player, there are many parallels to a pair of recent first round picks in Jac Caglianone and Bryce Eldridge but the Padres will use Schoolcraft on the mound. He has been a regular on the showcase circuit for a long time and had originally been a member of the class of 2026, but he reclassified to 2025 so that he could graduate with his age group. The Portland native throws a low to mid 90's fastball that reaches 98 with cutting action, overpowering hitters with even more velocity likely in the tank as he matures. His slider shows hard bite and looks above average, while his firm changeup sinks like a rock and gives him a third at least above average pitch. A towering presence on the mound, Schoolcraft works downhill and creates tough angle and plane on the ball, making for an uncomfortable at bat especially for left handed hitters. Everything he throws is hard and mostly moves glove side, so at some point he could benefit from finding a softer touch in some places and perhaps something to tail to the arm side. While he's huge and throws very hard, he's a great athlete for his size and scouts, especially in San Diego, are confident that he can learn to repeat his delivery better and better. For now, the 6'8" lefty can get off line as he throws across his delivery and lose the strike zone, but it is nothing to be overly concerned about and he'll likely iron it out. Additionally, his velocity did dip into the low 90's later in the season, so building up the 18 year old's durability will be a priority as well. He'll be a pitcher-only in pro ball, but Schoolcraft could have also been a top two-rounds pick as a hitter with massive raw power from the left side. He tapped that power regularly in showcase settings and was comfortable facing high end pitching. Though nobody is going to mistake him for a speedster or a defensive whiz, scouts were impressed with his actions around first base and he could have made a solid right fielder as well. His slot value signing bonus will keep him from attending Tennessee.

3-99: OF Ryan Wideman, Western Kentucky
Slot value: $773,100. Signing bonus: $650,000 ($123,100 below slot value).
My rank: #102. MLB Pipeline: #146. Baseball America: #81.
Ryan Wideman is a really fun get for the Padres in the third round, and at more than $100,000 below slot value, it's really nice value. He played two years at Georgia Highlands JC and absolutely blistered Georgia JuCo competition to the tune of a .423/.488/.724 slash line over a 115 game sample, then transferred to Western Kentucky for his junior season. Had he not signed with San Diego, he would have headed back closer to home at Clemson for his senior season. At WKU, he continued to torch opposing pitchers and hit .398/.466/.652, pushing himself here into the top one hundred picks. Wideman is an absolute toolshed. Standing 6'5", he deploys a whippy right handed swing liberally to produce plus raw power and send baseballs out to all fields. It's more of a line drive approach and the power plays down a touch in games because he is extremely aggressive and often chases out of the zone, but when he gets his pitch, the ball can get out in a hurry. He has pretty solid bat to ball despite the long levers, so cleaning up that approach could do wonders for his offensive projection. The Padres likely have 20+ home run upside if they can do so. A plus-plus runner, he has stolen 93 bases over the past two seasons (124 games), though his success rate did drop from an absurd 94% at Georgia Highlands to 79% at WKU as he averaged nearly a stolen base attempt per game. That speed also helps him in center field, where he can make up for fringier jumps and routes to make highlight reel plays and chase balls down in the gaps. Overall, it's a somewhat raw profile for a college player but one that has tons of upside if San Diego can help him add polish.

4-130: RHP Michael Salina, St. Bonaventure
Slot value: $571,500. Signing bonus: $571,500.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #210. Baseball America: #294.
Back in the college ranks, the Padres are chasing upside yet again in the flamethrowing Michael Salina. He began his career at George Mason, where he got some work out of the bullpen as a freshman, then transferred back closer to home at St. Bonaventure and joined the Bonnies' rotation to moderate success. He came out firing in 2025 including back to back dominant starts against Morehead State and Middle Tennessee State, but wound up hurt after four starts and ultimately had Tommy John surgery from which he is currently recovering. Salina's fastball sits in the low to mid 90's, reaching the upper 90's in starts but he has been clocked as high as 102 in short stints. He shows an inconsistent slider that can get too firm at times, but his best ones look like above average breaks with late bite. He also shows a similarly inconsistent changeup, though it can get good fade. Unlike many fireballers, Salina stays around the zone pretty well and owns a very reasonably 8.7% walk rate over his two years in Olean. The Rochester-area product also has an athletic delivery that creates good extension and really makes the fastball jump on hitters regardless of its velocity, making for a very difficult at bat. If he can get more consistent with his secondary stuff, hold his command together as he has already done so far, and most importantly get healthy, he has real mid-rotation starting pitcher upside. If any of those falter, the fallback is as a fireballing upper 90's reliever that lives mostly off his fastball and deploys his slider to keep hitters off balance. He won't pitch in 2025 but should be back mid-2026.

5-160: C Ty Harvey, Inspiration HS [FL]
Slot value: $426,600. Signing bonus: $1.5 million ($1.07 million above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #153. Baseball America: #234.
The Padres didn't have a second round pick, but that didn't stop them from giving Ty Harvey second round money (roughly the #61 overall pick value) to sign away from a Florida State commitment. While prep catchers, especially those that hit right handed, have been among the riskiest demographics in the draft, the Padres are convicted that they have found one here that will buck the trend. Harvey possesses plus raw power from the right side, already giving him a leg up at a position desperate for offense. His crouched stance and tight, level right handed swing help him make more contact and use the whole field, though they do cause his power to play down a little bit in games so the Padres will want to unlock that a little bit more. He's a big showcase performer that draws varying views from scouts on whether his approach will play at the next level, but those highest on him have seen him use the whole field effectively and take professional at bats against top pitching. Behind the plate, he's a smooth framer with an athletic 6'2", though his arm strength is closer to average. The Florida native should stick behind the plate, and if it all clicks he could provide 25-30 home runs annually. It's really, really hard to find catchers who can hit, and Harvey may be one of them.

10-310: SS Justin DeCriscio, North Carolina State
Slot value: $187,600. Signing bonus: $15,000 ($172,600 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
For their fifth and final money-saving senior sign, the Padres took their first Californian in Justin DeCriscio. He grew up in Orange and attended powerhouse Orange Lutheran, then actually began his career at the University of San Diego. He hit over .300 for the Toreros in both his sophomore and junior seasons, then transferred across the country to NC State for his senior year in 2025. Listed at just 5'10", 160 pounds, DeCriscio is a glove-first guy who projects as a utility infielder at best. He can really pick it at shortstop with smooth glovework and plenty of arm, giving him the opportunity to play anywhere on the infield if needed. At the plate, it's a contact-oriented approach that led to just a 9.5% strikeout rate for the Wolfpack, representing an above average hit tool. There isn't much power to speak of, though he can ambush pitchers who come in on him and turn on the ball for home runs to the pull side. He probably tops out around 5-10 a year and at 22 years old, he may not get too much stronger. He should move quickly as a high contact shortstop that could be a bench option for a few years.

11-340: C Truitt Madonna, Ballard HS [WA]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $654,000 ($504,00 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Not satisfied with one powerful right handed hitting prep catcher, the Padres grabbed a second by taking half a million from their bonus pool to lure Truitt Madonna away from a UCLA commitment. That bonus represents fourth round money, roughly the slot value for the #116 pick, and was the third largest bonus the Padres gave out this year. He stands out for potentially plus power from an extremely physical 6'3" frame, with a swing more geared to tap it than Ty Harvey. The swing can get a bit grooved and he has struggled with swing and miss against top competition in the past, but a strong run through the MLB Draft League in the weeks leading up to the draft (.279/.360/.512, 2 HR, 26% K in 12 games) gave San Diego the conviction that he could work through it. As was said with Harvey, any offense from a catcher is a bonus and Madonna has serious power upside. Behind the plate, the Seattle native is a better athlete than most catchers, especially at his size, and should take well to pro instruction. Again, right handed hitting prep catchers are an extremely risky demographic and it is unlikely that both Harvey and Madonna work out, but between the two of them, San Diego could get one thumper behind the plate in several years.

14-430: RHP Clay Edmondson, UNC Asheville
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Whether he reaches the majors or not, this is a fun one. Clay Edmondson pitched one season at Guilford Tech JC near his hometown in North Carolina, then transferred to UNC Asheville and jumped right into the rotation in 2023. After missing most of 2024 with injuries, he returned for a masterful 2025 in which he was named Big South Pitcher of the Year with a 2.20 ERA and an 87/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.2 innings. After the season, he committed to Tennessee as leverage but he signed here for the late-draft standard of $150,000. Edmondson comes from a low sidearm slot, so low that you could even call it submarine if you wanted to be generous. His low 90's fastball comes with a ton of run and sink to the point where it mimics some pitchers' changeups, falling away from left handed hitters or diving in on righties. His slider sweeps in the opposite direction with short, deceptive break, playing extremely well off the fastball. The changeup is a tertiary pitch that he doesn't use as much. The 6'2" righty is on the skinnier side and when you pair that with the low sidearm delivery, he likely profiles as a reliever even with his solid command. In shorter stints, he could see a tick more power on the stuff and potentially miss bats in bunches while giving hitters fits by hitting spots with two pitches diving in opposite directions. Though he's a senior, he only turned 22 in June and is on the younger side for a senior sign.

19-580: SS Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $50,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Jonathan Vastine has been known to scouts for a long time now. A highly regarded prep prospect at Bartow High School in Central Florida, he was my #208 prospect in the 2021 draft class but chose to attend Vanderbilt instead. After serving in a reserve role as a freshman, he became the Commodores' starting shortstop as a sophomore and never looked back. Popping back up on my 2024 board, he improved six spots to #202 but again chose to return to school. Having not taken much of step forward since joining the everyday lineup two years ago, he ultimately fell to the nineteenth round in 2025 and he'll head to the Padres' system. Vastine is a glove-first prospect with the actions, arm, and instincts to play shortstop in the big leagues even if he's not an explosive mover. That helps him profile as a utility infielder who can more than hold his own at virtually any position but catcher, first base (he's only 5'11") or center field on a big league roster. He showed well in the Cape Cod League back in 2023 (.323/.420/.430) but ultimately his offensive production has been more good than great in Nashville. There's some whip to his left handed swing that gives him fringy power when he turns on the ball, enough to keep pitchers honest in pro ball. Long lauded as a professional hitter, he finished his four year Vanderbilt career with an elevated 27.2% strikeout rate that never came down, expanding the zone a bit more often than hoped and often coming up empty. He has long showed the ability to play to his competition and that bodes well considering said competition will get better in pro ball, and the Padres think his high baseball IQ will carry him to a reserve role on a big league bench. He'll be 23 in October.

The top ten unsigned college prospects returning to school for 2025

It took me longer than usual to get all my draft reviews done, but with those out of the way, it's time to take a look at the best prospects to eschew pro ball for now. We'll start with the college prospects, and first let's look at the five from last year's list to go unsigned. Of the five, only one had a truly successful season, as #2 Lebarron Johnson (Texas) pitched his way to a fifth round selection by the Rockies. #1 Tanner Witt (Texas) couldn't stay healthy and #4 Christian Little (LSU) stalled, so both signed for slightly above-slot bonuses on day three to the Mets and Mariners, respectively. Meanwhile, #3 Terry Busse (Georgia Tech) and #5 Joseph Gonzalez (Auburn) struggled mightily and went undrafted again.

This year's class of returners is much more robust, likely due to the continued growth of NIL opportunities that give college draftees added leverage. Last year, just five college players on my draft list went unsigned, while this year that number jumped to thirteen. There were a number of themes among those players, chiefly among them big time power combined with hit tool questions. 6/13 fall into that category, while unsurprisingly, youth and eligibility played a big factor. Each of the first six and eight of the top nine have multiple years of eligibility remaining, while six of the top seven will play the entire coming college season at age-21. After Texas took the top two players on last year's list, LSU was the only school to put two on this year's list, and I was surprised to see only one player hit the transfer portal (unsurprisingly to LSU).

1. LHP Ryan Prager, Texas A&M (my rank: #69)
Drafted – 3rd round (pick #81), Los Angeles Angels
This was a surprise. After missing 2023 with Tommy John surgery, Ryan Prager returned in 2024 as one of the best pitchers in the SEC and shot up draft boards due to his feel for pitching and sneaky stuff. Amid the controversy of head coach Jim Schlossnagle's abrupt exit to rival Texas, the Angels drafted Prager in the third round in what seemed like a straightforward sign. Despite the double whammy of being a college arm drafted in the top one hundred picks (usually a guarantee to sign) as well as not having the same head coach to come back to, he still declined Los Angeles and returned to College Station to pitch for new Aggie head coach Michael Earley. That's a massive win and will go a long way to ensuring a smooth transition in College Station. Prager himself is a bit of an old school pitcher. His fastball parks around 90 and tops out at 94, showing massive riding life negated a bit by an ultra high, over the top release point. The pitch shows some cutting action, too, and it got great results in 2024. His slider gets late drop and performed admirably, looking like an above average breaker, while his straight changeup gives him a third at least average pitch. Everything plays up for Prager because he works effectively in the zone with plus command and high pitching IQ, mixing and matching his stuff effectively to keep hitters off it. The 6'3" lefty also brings some deception in his delivery with a deep arm plunge that helps hide the ball from view, rocking back over into his over the top delivery. Already a high pitchability arm, Prager will return to school with yet another year of polish in his age-22 season and will look to frustrate SEC hitters again. He'll be a few months shy of his 23rd birthday when the 2025 draft rolls around, but he'll still have leverage as a redshirt junior and even if the signing bonus is lower, the Dallas native figures to make plenty of money through NIL.

2. SS Jalin Flores, Texas (my rank: #103)
Undrafted
Not only did Texas pry Jim Schlossnagle away from Texas A&M, they'll also unexpectedly bring back star shortstop Jalin Flores. After bringing back #1 Tanner Witt and #2 Lebarron Johnson from my draft list a year ago, Texas has three of the four top-2 returners over the past two seasons. It must be the barbecue. Flores was a very well-known prospect in the 2022 draft out of the San Antonio high school ranks, clocking in at #82 on my draft board and the #4 high school position player prospect to reach campus. He was overmatched as a freshman in 2023, struggling in a part-time role, but jumped into the lineup every day in 2024 and put up a massive season to regain most of his lost draft stock. At a listed 6'2", 210 pounds, this is a big league body with long limbs and room to add additional strength to his already physical frame. He uses his strength well in the box, effortlessly tapping his average raw power in games and making good contact against all pitch types when he stays within the zone. It's a really natural operation, one which should serve him well as he fills out and improves his approach. The latter, though, is very pressing and likely led to teams not meeting his bonus demands. Flores is an extreme free-swinger at the plate, often looking like he lacks a plan as he chases more than a third of the time and struck out (20.1%) nearly three times as often as he walked (7.6%). I'm personally a believer in his natural hitting ability and I think if the new Schlossnagle regime can get him executing a plan in the box, he has a chance to jump into the top two rounds in 2025. Interestingly, his defensive profile is the opposite in some ways. While he's not flashy and doesn't run well, his excellent body control and strong feel for the dirt has kept him at shortstop thus far, and he has a shot to continue there in pro ball. Even if he's pushed to third base by a more explosive defender, he could be well above average there with a strong arm to boot.

3. SS Anthony Silva, Texas Christian (my rank: #117)
Undrafted
Jalin Flores and Anthony Silva have seen their careers parallel each other to an eerie degree. Born just two weeks apart in July 2003, they attended rival high schools just four miles apart in the San Antonio suburbs and ranked as the #6 and #4 position player prospects to reach campus from the high school Class of 2022, respectively (ranking #89 and #82). While Flores struggled as a freshman at Texas, Silva was excellent for TCU and pushed his way into the fringes of the first round conversation entering 2024. However, as Flores exploded, Silva moved in the opposite direction with a tough sophomore season, and both sophomore-eligible prospects wound up near each other yet again ranking #103 and #117 on my board, respectively. Both priced themselves out of the draft, and they'll both return to their respective schools in the Lone Star State as they rank #2 and #3 on this list. Silva, like I mentioned, was a star for the Horned Frogs in 2023, slashing .330/.416/.471 with just a 12.5% strikeout rate, but dropped to just .268/.369/.384 in 2024 with an 18.6% strikeout rate. Local evaluators noted that he looked stiffer than before. Still, Silva's track record between high school and his big freshman season is plenty enough to remain interested. At his best, he's a very disciplined hitter that makes plenty of contact, adjusting to balls all over the zone to use the whole field effectively with a line drive bat. Listed with almost the exact same measurables as Flores (6'2", 200 pounds), he also has room to grow into more strength but to this point he has not, with fringy exit velocities pointing to 5-10 home runs per season if things don't change. But with high contact rates and potential strength gains, he could easily elevate that projection in 2025. Silva's real selling point, though, is his glove. As a freshman, he glided around the dirt with smooth actions and plenty of arm strength to project as above average at the position, to the point where he really wouldn't have to hit much to provide value at the major league level. He didn't look quite as flashy in 2024, though, and if he continues on that trend he'll be forced to second or third base. Back in Fort Worth, he'll look to return to his freshman self and push back into the top couple of rounds.

4. OF Chris Stanfield, Auburn -> Louisiana State (my rank: #120)
Undrafted
With the way NIL money gets doled out nowadays, Chris Stanfield might have gotten something better than a day two draft selection – an opportunity to transfer to LSU. Stanfield is no stranger to the draft, having ranked #182 on my 2022 board out of high school in Tallahassee, spurning teams at the time so he could attend Auburn. He jumped into the starting lineup as a freshman and has performed admirably over the past two seasons, though he never put up the big numbers he hoped for and will now head west to Baton Rouge. Still, he improved his ranking (on my board at least) by 62 slots up to #120 this year and brings a very interesting skillset to the table. He was just barely eligible this year, turning 21 in July only four days before the cutoff, so he'll still be roughly age-appropriate next year. Still projectable at 6'2", it's a skinny frame that should add more power as he matures and continues to add lean strength. For now, it's a line drive approach from a simple right handed swing that beyond strength gains, could easily add pop if he just looked to turn on the ball more. For now, the exit velocities are fringy and haven't translated to much game power. He's a patient hitter at the plate, making plenty of contact when he swings but sometimes getting overly passive and getting into trouble in deep counts. Another season in college, now under the tutelage of Jay Johnson at LSU, should help him learn to leverage the ball better for more power while controlling his at bats a bit better. Stanfield is also a plus runner who will compete for the center field job in Baton Rouge, and he could continue to stick up the middle in pro ball. That takes some pressure off his bat as well, though he may not need it if he brings everything together. It's a profile that could explode this year.

5. LHP Cade Obermueller, Iowa (my rank: #150)
Drafted – 19th round (pick #585), Texas Rangers
Cade Obermueller joined the names above him as a highly regarded freshman reaching campus, the #7 pitcher to do so from the high school Class of 2022 after ranking #124 on my 2022 board, and he wasn't quite ready to leave his hometown Hawkeyes after two seasons. After spending his freshman season in the bullpen, he shined in the Cape Cod League that summer (1.83 ERA, 35/11 K/BB in 19.2 IP) and jumped into Iowa's ultra talented weekend rotation alongside Brody Brecht (Rockies, CBA round) and Marcus Morgan (Phillies, 9th round). Head coach Rick Heller thought he was going to have to completely rebuild his rotation in 2025, so bringing back Obermueller is a happy surprise and a massive win. Back at school, the Iowa City native will look to prove to teams that he can stick in the rotation long term, rather than move back to the bullpen as many project. The fastball sits in the low 90's and reaches 97 in short stints with sinking and running action, while his sweeping slider dives across the plate and looks to be a plus pitch. Those two pitches right there, from an ultra low lefty sidearm slot no less, will be Obermueller's ticket to the big leagues in some capacity. However, he hasn't thrown his changeup much and his below average command regularly puts him behind in the count, so hitters are less willing to chase his quality stuff. Throw in that he's just 5'11", 160 pounds, and it's a pretty straightforward two pitch sidearm relief profile. Back on campus, Obermueller will have three boxes to check: bulk up, bring the changeup along, and throw more strikes. If he can do maybe two of those three things, someone will take a shot on him as a starter and the move to return to school will pay off. If not, it's a pretty nasty relief profile as is.

6. OF Harrison Didawick, Virginia (my rank: #152)
Undrafted
Harrison Didawick broke into the UVA lineup as a freshman but didn't hit much, then exploded in 2024 as his home run total jumped from 4 to 23 and his OPS jumped from .794 to 1.056. Still, concerns about his swing and miss tendencies kept teams from matching his high bonus demands, and he'll return to Charlottesville for his junior season, where he'll turn 22 shortly before the 2025 draft. Didawick stands out for his power, specifically his game power. Using a short left handed stroke, he has a quick trigger and ambushes pitches over the plate to send them out with great consistency, his 23 home runs last year tying Jake Gelof's (now with the Dodgers) one year old single season UVA home run record. The pure raw power is definitely closer to above average than plus, but the loft in his left handed swing and his natural ability to elevate the ball help him tap all of it. The hit tool, though, is a concern. He struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances in 2024 and came up empty on more than 30% of his swings, pointing to below average bat to ball ability. He's reasonably patient and walked in 14% of his plate appearances, a nice number, but pro pitching will attack him in the zone and it's not clear how consistently he'll be able to handle it at the upper levels and in MLB. With fringy to average defensive tools that will keep him in an outfield corner long term, potentially even left field, the pressure will be on his bat and for him to make much more consistent contact. He'll look to do just that at UVA in 2025, where he'll still be 21 through the College World Series (actually set to turn 22 the day after the championship).

7. OF Zack Stewart, Missouri State (my rank: #166)
Undrafted
The first mid-major prospect on this list, Zack Stewart not only spurned the draft but he'll actually return to Missouri State in the MVC, something becoming less and less common nowadays with power programs ravaging mid-major rosters through the transfer portal. Stewart, like Harrison Didawick, is a big time left handed power hitter and nearly matched his UVA counterpart with 22 home runs this year, but he generates that power very differently. While Didawick's power comes from his ability to loft the ball with authority, Stewart's comes from pure ferociousness. He has borderline-elite top-end exit velocities, regularly popping up over 110 MPH with electric bat speed and tremendous torque generated by his 6'2", 220 pound frame. When MVC pitchers leave the ball over the plate, he can pummel it out of any stadium to any field at any point. It's the kind of power that will certainly play with wood bats once he does move on to pro ball. Also like Didawick, swing and miss is a big problem. He also struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances in 2024 and ran swing and miss rates around 30%, just like Didawick, but in this case he was doing so against an MVC schedule as opposed to UVA's strong ACC schedule. Given the strength of the pitching he was facing, that's a big concern, and his struggles in the Cape Cod League last summer didn't help (.154/.233/.205, 34.9% K rate in eleven games). Stewart will return to Springfield hoping to cut down that strikeout rate, something he should be able to do without sacrificing power given how naturally he can rip the bat through the zone. The profile reminds me a bit of former Florida State slugger Elijah Cabell, a seventeenth round pick out of Florida State in 2021 who hit .160 over three years in the Cardinals system. Stewart does have the benefit of being left handed, and he's a year younger for his class than Cabell was with a chance to shore things up in his redshirt junior season in 2025. Again like Didawick, Stewart has fringy defensive tools and will wind up in an outfield corner.

8. SS Colby Shelton, Florida (my rank: #172)
Drafted – 20th round (pick #590), Washington Nationals
Colby Shelton, a South Carolina native who attended high school in the Tampa area, started his career at Alabama and earned Freshman All-American honors with a massive 2023 for the Crimson Tide. Coaching turbulence in Tuscaloosa led him to the transfer portal, where he was one of the most sought-after targets in the country and landed in Gainesville. Florida thought they'd only get him for one year, but while he started all 66 games at shortstop and blasted twenty home runs, swing and miss concerns kept teams from meeting his bonus demands and he'll return for his junior season. Though he'll be a true junior, he'll be the age of a college senior and will play the whole 2025 season at age-22. Shelton has average raw power, but he taps all of it in games with natural loft in his left handed swing. Though he's performed for two years against SEC schedules, blasting 45 home runs in 125 games, the approach is raw and hasn't always played up during those weekend SEC series. He's an aggressive hitter that regularly expands the zone, with below average bat to ball ability that led to a very high 26.4% strikeout rate in 2024 (up from 24.6% in 2023). That makes his overall offensive profile much closer to Harrison Didawick than Zack Stewart, though he's six-plus months older than those two and has lower top-end exit velocities. Shelton has played exclusively shortstop at Florida, though his slower feet and solid arm will likely push him to third base in pro ball, where he played at Alabama and at times on the Cape.

9. 1B Jared Jones, Louisiana State (my rank: #197)
Undrafted
Jared Jones was another famous prep to reach campus from the 2022 class, heading to Baton Rouge as a catcher. While the presence of better gloves like Hayden Travinski, Alex Milazzo, and Brady Neal meant that he never put the gear on in game action, he has carved out a name for himself as one of the premier power hitters in college baseball. After crushing fourteen home runs as a freshman in 2023, he doubled that total to 28 in 2024, tied for the seventh highest total in Division I (and third highest among underclassmen). Listed at 6'4", 255 pounds, it's not surprising to hear that Jones has a thunderous right handed bat that can drive balls out to all fields with ease (he did this as a freshman). Very few players had better top-end exit velocities than Zack Stewart, but one of them was Jones who showed 70 grade raw power. Already with 42 home runs under his belt in two seasons at LSU, he'll look to break 60 or even 70+ next year. Now while he continues the power theme, he also continues the swing and miss theme on this list. It might be a 30 grade hit tool as he whiffed on nearly 40% of his swings, an abysmal number, and struck out over a quarter of the time this year (and more than 30% of the time in SEC play and 35% on the Cape). The Atlanta-area native can get overwhelmed with premium stuff and lacks the barrel accuracy to make up for it. Now that he's moved off catcher and exclusively plays first base, where his heavy feet and below average speed fit best, there's much more pressure on his bat to play. Fortunately, he has so much power that he can send the ball out even when he gets fooled, and indeed 70 of his 118 hits for LSU over his career have gone for extra bases. He'll still be 21 on draft day next year and will look to spend 2025 cutting down the swing and miss to a stomache-ble number.

10. SS Jonathan Vastine, Vanderbilt (my rank: #202)
Undrafted
Jonathan Vastine continues the theme of former highly regarded prep prospects on this list, though he's not quite the power hitter of many names above him. He played sparingly as a Vanderbilt freshman in 2022 before taking the reins as the Dores' starting shortstop in 2023, which he has held down with solid results over the past two seasons sandwiched around a strong run through the Cape Cod League in 2023 (.323/.420/.430). Undersized at 5'11", 165 pounds, he whips the bat around pretty explosively for his size and can turn on the ball for average power to his pull side, though it's probably fringy overall. Throughout his career he has employed an approach of controlled aggression at the plate, which helped him hit well against elite pitching on the Cape as well as avoid a dip in his numbers in SEC play vs non-conference play in 2024. However, that approach unraveled at times this year and he surprised some evaluators by swinging and missing at more than a 30% clip, causing his strikeout rate to balloon over 25%. Even with his defensive value, he'll have to bring that number way down given his unremarkable power. Vastine is a strong shortstop with impressive instincts, range, and arm strength, even if he's not the most explosive defender on the dirt. That will enable him to be above average at second base, shortstop, or third base in pro ball, taking pressure off his bat as he eventually works his way up as a utility infielder. The underlying metrics on Vastine were not good in 2024 and teams noticed that, so back in Nashville he'll look to tighten things up and find a way to make more contact with a more sustainable approach at the plate. I still like the way the Florida native moves on both sides of the ball and he could be a nice senior sign next year if he makes the necessary adjustments.

Bonus: RHP Jaxon Jelkin, Houston -> ? (my rank: #134)
Drafted – 9th round (pick #263), New York Mets
Jaxon Jelkin went unsigned and would technically rank #5 on this list. There's not much information out there about his current situation, but I have a good general idea of the basics and I'll do my best to lay them out. Jelkin has bounced around a lot, beginning his career as a seldom-used reliever at Nebraska in 2022 but getting dismissed from the team two months into the season. He transferred to South Mountain JC in Phoenix for 2023 where the Dodgers drafted him in the fourteenth round, then headed to Houston in 2024. He looked sharp in seven starts for the Cougars, including a thirteen strikeout performance against BYU in March, but went down with Tommy John surgery and won't get back on the mound until mid-2025 at the earliest. The Mets drafted him in the ninth round regardless, but disputes over his medicals led to the team rescinding its offer. It's not clear what his next steps will be – he's not on Houston's 2025 roster, nor any other school's, and indications seem to be that he intends to sign as a free agent which hasn't happened yet. While everything else is a question mark, nobody doubts the arm talent. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97 at peak, though it shows more running than riding life. He throws two breaking balls, led by an above average slider with sweep in addition to a solid two-plane curveball that he has leaned more and more on, and together he throws the breaking balls more than his fastball. His changeup shows excellent fade and got strong results for him in 2024, projecting as a potential above average pitch. The 6'5" righty is extremely projectable and brings great athleticism on the mound, with both his command and stuff trending in the right direction throughout his college career. If he can get healthy and build up his durability, he has legitimate MLB starting pitcher upside, and if he can find more movement on his fastball, he could be a true impact starter with four above average pitches. But questions about his makeup and medical situation may be what's keeping teams away.

Others

#213 OF Kendall Diggs, Arkansas
#215 1B Hunter Hines, Mississippi State