2025 MLB Draft Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

Full list of draftees

Pittsburgh planned to play this draft fairly straight up, going a bit under slot in the first round, a bit over in the second, then roughly matching the slot values for the rest of the draft. A wrench was thrown in those plans when second rounder Angel Cervantes turned them down and announced he would follow through on his UCLA commitment, but the Pirates were prepared. Having drafted four high schoolers in rounds 14-20, they re-allocated that extra bonus pool overage money (they did lose $2 million slot value) to give fifth round money to two long term projection plays in McLane Moody and Carter Gwost. Meanwhile, the highlight of this class is still first rounder Seth Hernandez, one of the best high school pitching prospects in recent memory and a potential future co-ace with Paul Skenes down the line. Overall, there are quite a few very interesting profiles in this class and with Pittsburgh's recent development successes, it should be a fun class to follow.
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.

1-6: RHP Seth Hernandez, Corona HS [CA]
Slot value: $7.56 million. Signing bonus: $7.25 million ($308,600 below slot value).
My rank: #1. MLB Pipeline: #3. Baseball America: #2.
I don't think the Pirates could have started off their draft any better than this. While high school right handed pitchers are very risky at the top of the draft, Seth Hernandez is one of the best I have ever seen, arguably the best player in this entire draft class, and came at over a $300,000 discount despite being drafted outside the top five. Hernandez is an extraordinary young arm. His fastball sits comfortably in the mid 90's, regularly topping out in the upper 90's in starts and already touching triple digits. The life on the pitch is average, but at that velocity, it doesn't matter much. Paul Skenes had average life on his 102 MPH heater. His best secondary is a plus-plus changeup with tremendous parachuting action, diving late away from hitters and sending them flailing as they gear up for triple digits. In my book, it may be his best pitch overall. Heading into the season, my primary concern with Hernandez was his feel for spin, but both his breaking balls took a step forward this spring and now profile as above average pitches. The truer curveball is probably the better breaking ball and took the bigger step forward, but his tighter slider gives him a fourth serious weapon. For my money, it is the best four pitch mix in the class at any level. But that's not all with Hernandez – his smooth, athletic delivery enables him to fill up the strike zone with above average command. The Southern California product is a two-way player that has shown very well on the other side of the ball, so while he will certainly be a pitcher-only going forward, it does speak to his athleticism and that is evident on the mound in the way he extends towards the plate with minimal effort. At 6'4", 190 pounds, he has the ideal pitcher's frame and should add significant weight in the coming years, making for the upside of a true ace. To top it all off, the Pirates develop these types of young, ultra athletic projection plays very well, making this a match made in heaven. High school righties always carry risk but Hernandez could form a one-two punch with Skenes in the coming years that will rival any rotation in the league.

2-50: RHP Angel Cervantes, Warren HS [CA]
Slot value: $1.93 million. Signing bonus: did not sign.
My rank: #39. MLB Pipeline: #49. Baseball America: #51.
Sticking in the Southern California high school ranks, the Pirates moved it over just about 32 miles from Corona High School to Warren High School to grab Angel Cervantes. However, they were unable to come to a deal and Cervantes will join the UCLA Bruins while the Pirates will not be able to repurpose the nearly-$2 million in bonus pool space. While he's not as athletic as Seth Hernandez, he matches him in pitchability and the stuff is nothing to sneeze at other. Cervantes' fastball sits in the low 90's and reached as high as 97 this spring, with running action and the ability to sink it when he needs to. He shows a nice sweeping slider that gets nice action across the plate, though it's not always late action, while his curveball has truer 12-6 action that he doesn't always get down enough in the zone. The two can run together at times and get slurvy but it's nice feel for spin overall. Cervantes' changeup, as with Hernandez, is his best pitch, diving late as he pulls the string just before the plate. The 6'3" righty is a great mover on the mound with a loose, athletic delivery that does not require much effort, getting nice extension down the mound as well. He's more loose than explosive and may never approach Hernandez' velocity, but he should add a tick or two to his fastball as he fills out. Cervantes' easy delivery also helps him fill up the zone with above average command, giving him every chance to become a true horse at UCLA.

CBB-73: 3B Murf Gray, Fresno State
Slot value: $1.13 million. Signing bonus: $997,500 ($132,500 below slot value).
My rank: #86. MLB Pipeline: #141. Baseball America: #107.
I find Murf Gray to be a really interesting hitter, and I'm not surprised he went significantly higher than most publications had him ranked. He quickly earned a starting role during his freshman season at Fresno State, then improved each year and especially came on well late in his junior year, homering eleven times in his final eighteen games in 2025. Gray is a big guy listed at 6'4", 230 pounds, but he has always channeled his smooth right handed swing into more of a line drive, free swinging approach. That free swinging approach does limit the power a bit as he tends to swing at everything near the zone, not always finding the best pitch to drive. However, he has gradually gotten better at elevating the ball, improving from 18 extra base hits as a freshman to 29 as a sophomore to 43 as a junior. He gets away with it due to excellent bat to ball ability, holding an extremely impressive 11.1% strikeout rate for his career at Fresno State despite routinely expanding his strike zone. If the Pirates can help him become a bit more selective while continuing to drive the ball in the air a bit more, he has the combination of strength and bat to ball to profile as a 20+ home run, high average type at his ceiling. A strong run through the Cape Cod League last summer (.324/.398/.500) only reinforces that ceiling. Gray's cannon arm helps him profile at third base, but his bigger frame and choppier actions mean he'll need considerable refinement with the glove to stick over there. There is a good shot he moves to first base, which would really put pressure on the bat to come together. It's an interesting boom/bust profile from a college bat.

3-82: C Easton Carmichael, Oklahoma
Slot value: $979,500. Signing bonus: $977,000 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #110. MLB Pipeline: #93. Baseball America: #91.
When I ranked Easton Carmichael #110 on my board, it felt low, and it still feels low. This is a talented ballplayer. A three year starter at Oklahoma, he is a career .336/.387/.558 hitter that has never hit below .300 in a season. Carmichael is loose in the box and whips the barrel through the zone with impressive force, generating average raw power that played a bit below that over his first two seasons in Norman. However, he started elevating the ball better in 2025 and after hitting thirteen home runs in 112 games over his first two seasons combined, he bumped that total to seventeen in 60 games in 2025. The DFW native has always been an aggressive hitter, but he has gotten steadily more selective at the plate and bumped his walk rate from 6.0% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2024 to 9.1% in 2025. He's still aggressive, but now it is more controlled aggression. Carmichael makes up for it a bit with solid bat to ball ability, bringing his strikeout rate to a career-low 15.7% in 2025 and helping him project for a fringe-average or better hit tool in pro ball. A strong run through the Cape Cod League last summer (.299/.372/.496) lends further confidence that he can continue to hit as he moves up the ladder, potentially projecting for 15-20 home runs per season and decent batting averages. Behind the plate, he's a better athlete than most catchers with above average agility, and he has worked hard at Oklahoma to bring his glovework along to match his athleticism. At this point, he seems to have shown enough progress defensively to project to stick as a catcher, which makes the offensive projection much, much more enticing as it has become exceedingly difficult to find catchers who can hit. Carmichael probably projects as a strong backup catcher who could see a few seasons as the primary guy behind the plate in his prime.

4-113: SS Gustavo Melendez, La Merced HS [PR]
Slot value: $674,300. Signing bonus: $671,800 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #143. MLB Pipeline: #140. Baseball America: #123.
Gustavo Melendez gives the Pirates a fun profile here in the fourth round, signing away from a Wake Forest commitment for slot value. Listed at just 5'8", 160 pounds, he's not exactly the biggest guy on the field but he gets it done much like another undersized Pirates infielder, Nick Gonzales. Melendez has a surprisingly explosive left handed swing to produce respectable power despite his smaller size. While he'll probably never be a 20 home run threat, he should be able to flirt with double digits on an annual basis as he continues to hit the weight room. He shines, though, with the hit tool. He takes good at bats and has consistently competed with older talent, deftly maneuvering at bats against pitchers one, two years his senior. The bat to ball is above average here as well, as he keeps that big left handed swing under control and delivers the barrel on time and on plane to drive the ball around the field consistently. He only gets in trouble when he lets the swing get too big. On the other side, he's an average runner that moves well on the dirt, showcasing smooth actions, strong instincts, and the twitch needed to make all the plays at shortstop. His arm is closer to average and he could be pushed off shortstop by a more explosive defender, in which case he could fit as an above average second baseman. Whether Melendez ends up playing every day will likely depend on how much power he can develop, which the Pirates are bullish on given his extreme youth. The Puerto Rican product spent the entire 2025 summer at just 17 years old, making him a full year younger than most of the 2025 high school class and more than fifteen months younger than Pirates first rounder and fellow high schooler Seth Hernandez. He could still grow a bit and turn into a 10-12 home run threat with high on-base percentages and strong infield defense if he reaches his ceiling.

5-144: C Adonys Guzman, Arizona
Slot value: $499,000. Signing bonus: $496,500 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #314.
Adonys Guzman probably didn't receive enough love from the major public boards. Given the near-infinite number of players available to research, you always end up stopping at some point just before the draft and Adonys Guzman was on the short list of the next players I would have gotten to. A top prospect out of high school in Connecticut, he started off at Boston College but played sparingly as a freshman. He transferred across the country to Arizona, where he struggled to hit for impact as a sophomore before finally breaking out with a big junior year in 2025, placing himself back on the prospect map. Always a very disciplined hitter, Guzman started elevating the ball better in 2025 without sacrificing contact, and the results were excellent. He now shows a good chance at average power from a tight, uppercut right handed swing that channels his strength much better than the more off-balance stroke he had often unleashed over his first two seasons. While the bat to ball is fringe-average, his disciplined approach helps keep the swing and miss down and he ran a very reasonable 11.8% strikeout rate. Pittsburgh sees the old Adonys Guzman that hit just .130/.197/.185 in 18 Cape Cod League games as a thing of the past and now believes he can become a solid 15 home run hitter with decent, walk-driven on-base percentages. That bat will play given his glove. Guzman has always stood out for a cannon right arm that effectively shut down the running game against the Wildcats' defense, while his strong glovework makes him a no-doubt catcher at the next level. While that glove was previously going to need to carry him up the ladder, the steps forward with his bat could make him a very well-rounded backstop at the next level. While it still may not be enough to play every day, the New York native profiles as a solid backup with a great glove and some thump in the stick.

9-263: 1B Jared Jones, Louisiana State
Slot value: $206,100. Signing bonus: $203,600 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #148. MLB Pipeline: #101. Baseball America: #205.
Evidently one Jared Jones isn't enough for Pittsburgh. While Jared K. Jones is finishing up his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Jared R. Jones will join the organization as the team's ninth round pick. This Jones was widely known for his prodigious raw power as an Atlanta-area high schooler, but made it to campus at LSU where he became a one-man wrecking crew for the Tigers. In three seasons in Baton Rouge, he joined some of the biggest mashers in college baseball like Dylan Crews and Tommy White and slashed .311/.431/.665 with 64 home runs in 189 games. While he was initially scouted as a bat-first catcher in high school, he has given up the gear but otherwise remains largely the same prospect. Listed at 6'4", 245 pounds, he flicks the barrel through the zone with shocking ease to create plus-plus power and tap every bit of it in games. In fact, his 50 home runs are the most in college baseball over the past two seasons. The ball jumps off his bat to all fields, and he can get out in front of or under a baseball and still send it out to any part of the park. That power is available in the ninth round, of course, because it comes with a ton of swing and miss. He ran abysmal contact rates early in his college career, improved those significantly to start the 2025 season, but fell back to swinging and missing as the season went on and at the end we're left with a guy who will probably strike out 30% of the time in pro ball. Pro pitchers who trust their stuff will attack him in the zone, while those that don't can still get him to chase. Jones will need to shore up his in-zone contact against high-octane stuff and cut his chase rate, but so long as he can continue doing immense damage on contact, he can be a Mark Reynolds type with the bat. He'll need to hit because now that he's no longer catching, his glove is severely limited. He's as well below average athlete that will be confined to first base at best, with a chance he ends up as a full time DH. He turned 22 shortly after the draft, making him older than most college juniors.

13-383: RHP Dylan Mathiesen, Liberty
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Pittsburgh picked up a hometown kid here in the thirteenth round. Dylan Mathiesen grew up in Coraopolis, a Pittsburgh suburb northwest of downtown, and attended Montour High School in nearby McKees Rocks. He began his college career locally at California University of Pennsylvania, then transferred to Liberty as a sophomore where he began as a reliever in 2024 and joined the rotation in 2025. Mathiesen comes from a low three quarters slot and saw a significant velocity bump after working at Tread Athletics, jumping from the mid to upper 80's to touching 95 with Liberty. He adds in a sharp sweeping slider as his primary secondary, then rounds out the arsenal with a curveball and a changeup. With fringy command, he probably fits back in the bullpen in pro ball, where he can lean on the fastball/slider combination and get outs with his deceptive slot.

15-443: RHP McLane Moody, Northside Senior HS [AR]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $460,600 ($310,600 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #354.
With some of the unused money from what would have been Angel Cervantes' over slot bonus, Pittsburgh poured fifth round money onto fifteenth rounder McLane Moody, turning him away from an in-state Arkansas commitment and instead bringing him to Steel City. Moody is a towering 6'7" righty with massive projection on his rail-thin frame. He already sits in the low 90's and touches 96 at peak, coming in with huge riding life from a sky high release point. He snaps a solid curveball in the mid 70's with nice depth and finish, though he'll need to add a bit of power to the pitch for it to be effective against pro hitters. The command can come and go, as Moody is still growing into his body and learning to come fully around his plant leg and can get too closed off at times, causing him to miss arm side. This can be especially true with the breaking ball. As he fills out his big frame and starts to repeat his delivery a bit better, he should grow into more consistent command while adding a tick of power to his arsenal. Developing additional secondary offerings will be another point of emphasis, but Pittsburgh is presently all in on the towering righty with projection to dream on and a fastball already reaching 96.

17-503: OF Carter Gwost, Little Falls HS [MN]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($347,500 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Carter Gwost, like McLane Moody, was expected to reach campus, but Angel Cervantes' non-signing meant there was still fifth round money available to pry him away from a Nebraska commitment. Gwost is as off-the-radar as it gets, with very little video and information available on him outside of his own Twitter account. Hailing from the small, frozen town of Little Falls, Minnesota nearly one hundred miles northeast of the Twin Cities, he has demolished central Minnesota pitching and the Pirates believe he is only scratching the surface. He has begun packing strength onto his ultra projectable 6'3" frame, helping him generate above average power that could continue to grow into plus in time. It's hard to measure the hit tool given the competition he's faced, but he has shown everything with the bat that the Pirates want to see and the team loves the progress he has made. With a long development road ahead and some good coaching, the Pirates may have snuck a middle of the order masher in at the back of the draft if it all breaks right.

2025 MLB Draft Review: Miami Marlins

Full list of draftees

The Marlins are not usually a team to go college bat early, with Aiva Arquette representing just the sixth time in franchise history dating back to 1992 that they've taken one with their first pick. If you take the past 29 drafts, he's only the fourth, and the last three (Colin Moran, JJ Bleday, Jacob Berry) have not quite met expectations. Despite this, Miami started off the draft with six straight college bats and overall did not draft a single high school player, relatively out of character for them. I really like this class they put together, especially if they're right about ninth rounder Kaiden Wilson that he hasn't yet scratched the surface of his potential. Miami focused on power early, with five of their initial six college bats showing above average or better raw exit velocities and second rounder Brandon Compton in particular showing some of the best raw power in the entire class. There is a uniquely Florida feel to this class as well, as six of Miami's picks hail from the Sunshine State (including five in a row from rounds 3-7, three Florida State Seminoles, and two former Stoneman Douglas Eagles).
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.

1-7: SS Aiva Arquette, Oregon State
Slot value: $7.15 million. Signing bonus: $7.15 million.
My rank: #5. MLB Pipeline: #6. Baseball America: #5.
It is hard not to love this pick for the Marlins, who acquired for themselves arguably the best all-around college position player in the entire draft. Aiva Arquette represents an excellent choice if they're going to break their college bat dry spell. He was a highly regarded prep who had interest in the top few rounds, but made it to campus at Washington where he turned in a star 2024 season. When head coach Jason Kelly split for College Station to become the new pitching coach at Texas A&M, Arquette headed south to Oregon State and exploded for a huge 2025, slashing .354/.461/.654 with 19 home runs while managing OSU's grueling travel-heavy schedule. Listed at 6'5", 220 pounds, he is an imposing presence in the box but brings with him the strong athleticism and feel for the game of a much smaller player. There is plus power in the tank that he has gotten to in games, coming from a leveraged right handed swing that gets the ball up in the air with authority. He doesn't have to sell out for home runs and could still hit 25-30 annually at peak, if not more. The swing has gotten a bit swoopy at times, but it looked more consistent in 2025 and his excellent hand-eye coordination and feel for the barrel help him meet the ball on time even when he doesn't get long through the zone. He has also improved his approach from relatively aggressive to more average, helping him consistently find better pitches to hit and enabling that power to come forth. Arquette performed well last summer in the elite Cape Cod League as well, hitting .291/.357/.437 and impressing scouts by improving throughout the summer. In all, this is a big league bat that will hit in the middle of the order. While the hit tool is closer to average than plus, it's still plenty enough to get to his prodigious power. On the other side of the ball, Arquette impressed scouts with the progress he has made at shortstop, now looking like he can stick at the position long term despite his size. The Honolulu native has impressive body control, improving glovework, and the plus arm to become an average big league shortstop. He is an average runner that may be forced to third base if he slows down at all, but for now that doesn't appear to be an issue. An everyday shortstop that can flirt with 30 home run totals and get on base at a reasonable clip is a cornerstone player, and Miami thinks they've gotten that in Arquette.

CBA-43: OF Cam Cannarella, Clemson
Slot value: $2.28 million. Signing bonus: $2.28 million.
My rank: #31. MLB Pipeline: #36. Baseball America: #27.
This is a really exciting pick outside the top 40. Cam Cannarella burst onto the scene as a Clemson freshman in 2023, hitting .388 with 24 stolen bases and earning first team freshman All-American honors from numerous outlets. A shoulder injury as a sophomore in 2024 slowed him somewhat, though he did set a career high with eleven home runs, then entered his junior season as a potential top ten overall pick. A slump to start the season dashed those hopes a bit, but he finished red hot on a 22 game hitting streak that included a trio of four hit games and a separate trio of three hit games. While Clemson ultimately did not survive their home regional, it was not Cannarella's fault as he went 8-14 (.571 AVG) with a pair of home runs against a red hot USC Upstate, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The South Carolina native is much smaller than his first round counterpart at a listed 6', 185 pounds, his skinny frame not lending itselt to much power. He's more of a slasher anyways so he's not looking to tap his below average power much, but he is an excellent contact hitter who rarely expands the zone and forces pitchers to come to him. With an accurate barrel that helps him get to balls all over the zone while adjusting effectively to offspeed stuff, he is well equipped to handle major league pitching and still make the most out of pitches he gets fooled on. On-base percentage will be his strength (he finished three years at Clemson with an excellent .453 OBP across 178 games), and he'll have to really turn on the ball to get it over the fence with wood. Additionally, Cannarella is a plus runner with excellent instincts in the outfield, helping him catch everything in his zip code while making some incredible plays up against the wall, though he doesn't have much of an arm. He's a sparkplug with infectious energy on both sides of the ball, inspiring his teammates to rally behind him as he plays as hard as anybody. The profile reminds me a lot of Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick, though Cannarella has the benefit of being a few inches taller.

2-46: OF Brandon Compton, Arizona State
Slot value: $2.13 million. Signing bonus: $2 million ($128,800 below slot value).
My rank: #45. MLB Pipeline: #47. Baseball America: #41.
Brandon Compton is another very exciting pick, albeit with the polar opposite profile to Cam Cannarella. He did not play as a true freshman, then burst onto the scene by hitting .354/.427/.661 with 14 home runs as a redshirt freshman in 2024. Expectations were high as he pushed himself into the first round conversation for 2025, but the stat line (.271/.379/.486, 9 HR) couldn't quite live up to what he did in 2024. However, the under the hood numbers were excellent and represented a far better player than the stat line showed, and teams were still lining up to grab him in the second round. He has some of the most impressive raw power in the class, recording 90th percentile exit velocities around 110 MPH and putting on one of the most jaw-dropping MLB Draft Combine batting practices in the event's history. It's a gorgeous, compact left handed swing combined with tons of strength from a sturdy 6'1", 225 pound frame that sends the ball rocketing off the bat in the air with authority. He cut his strikeout rate from 25.5% as a freshman to 21.1% as a sophomore, still high but more palatable. There will always be swing and miss in Compton's game, though a strong run through the Cape Cod League (.331/.414/.489, just 16.6% strikeout rate) lends hope that it shouldn't be a dealbreaker in pro ball. Pressure will be on his surface numbers to bounce back in pro ball though because his defensive tools are all fringy at best, leaving left field as the most likely landing place. He won't provide much value on that side of the ball. That said, if he can just made contact at a reasonable rate, the power is so impressive that he could threaten for 30+ home run seasons annually at peak.

3-78: OF Max Williams, Florida State
Slot value: $1.04 million. Signing bonus: $897,500 ($146,200 below slot value).
My rank: #70. MLB Pipeline: #81. Baseball America: #92.
The first of many Floridians in this class for the Marlins, Max Williams' hometown is variously listed as Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona) or Fleming Island (south of Jacksonville) and he attended Clay High School in Green Cove Springs (also south of Jacksonville). Williams began his career at Alabama, hitting well in a part-time role before transferring back home to Florida State and putting up two excellent seasons. He has a bit of an awkward setup at the plate, using a spread out stance and a choppy swing that gashes at the ball more than anything else. It works, though, as his twitchy athleticism and innate strength helps him blast the ball in the air with authority, showing plus power in games that helped him crush 33 home runs over 119 games in two seasons in Tallahassee. In fact, the ball jumps off his bat so spectacularly (similar to Brandon Compton) that mechanical tweaks could help him unlock 30 homer power in the big leagues. Williams is very aggressive at the plate, limiting his walks, but he fights his way through at bats and works pitchers better than most ultra-aggressive hitters. He also shows very solid bat to ball to make up for the tendency to chase out of the zone, keeping the strikeout rates reasonable (and dropping from 21.6% in 2024 to 16.1% in 2025). In the outfield, his above average speed gives him a shot to play center field if he can refine his reads and routes a little bit, but if Cam Cannarella hits enough to claim that spot, his above average arm will help him profile very well in either corner outfield spot. To top it off, Williams is very young for a college junior, not turning 21 until a month after the draft and clocking in nearly a full year younger than other college bats the Marlins took to start this draft.

4-108: SS Drew Faurot, Florida State
Slot value: $708,300. Signing bonus: $531,225 ($177,075 below slot value).
My rank: #147. MLB Pipeline: #158. Baseball America: #248.
Two picks, two North Florida natives who transferred into Florida State. Drew Faurot was a well-known prep prospect who pushed himself up draft boards with a strong spring at Florida State University High School in Tallahassee, but spurned offers to head to UCF. After blasting fifteen home runs as a true freshman, he transferred back to his hometown to play for FSU. While his numbers took a step back as a sophomore, he re-established himself as a junior in 2025 to push back into roughly the same draft range where he had been in high school. Faurot has huge bat speed that gives him above average raw power and helped him hit sixteen home runs in 2025, producing strong batted ball data. He does a great job getting his arms extended to produce that power, though in turn the swing can get long and he can swing and miss in the zone a bit. With a moderately aggressive approach, there are some strikeout questions, though his 18.3% K rate in 2025 represented a career-best and he showed well against strong pitching on the Cape last summer (.263/.342/.414). A switch hitter that performs better from the right side, there are some who would like to see him focus just on that side of the plate. Faurot has a solid glove and can handle any position on the infield, though he's just a little bit stretched at shortstop and figures to profile at second base in the long run. This could become a utility infield profile with the thump to club 15-20 home runs annually if he gets enough at bats to get there, or if the hit tool translates then he could find himself as an every day second baseman.

5-139: 1B Chris Arroyo, Virginia
Slot value: $523,900. Signing bonus: $521,400 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #134. MLB Pipeline: #193. Baseball America: #110.
Chris Arroyo brings the Marlins a third straight Floridian. Born and initially raised in Puerto Rico, he attended high school at powerhouse Stoneman Douglas in the South Florida suburb of Coral Springs alongside seventh rounder Jake Clemente. Beginning his college career at Florida with Clemente, he pitched a little but ultimately spent most of the season on the bench. Transferring to Pasco Hernando State, he exploded as one of the best JuCo hitters in the country while also showing well on the mound, earning a two-way opportunity at UVA. He made it onto the mound for 12.2 innings in Charlottesville, but ultimately shined with the bat where he served as the team's regular first baseman. Miami will be drafting him as a hitter only. Arroyo shows sneaky plus raw power, though it plays closer to above average with a more linear swing geared for all fields line drive contact. While he's an aggressive hitter, he still controls the zone well by fighting off tough pitches and battling deep into counts, ultimately leading to a low 13.8% strikeout rate in 2025. It's the kind of offensive profile that could improve dramatically in pro ball, especially as he focuses on hitting only. Additionally, like Max Williams he is extremely young for the class and didn't turn 21 until September, making him more than a year younger than Cam Cannarella. That gives Miami more time to fine tune the approach. Defensively limited to first base now that he's no longer pitching, the pressure will be on his bat and especially the power to start showing up more frequently. This is an interesting profile that gives the Marlins a lot to work with and could become a potential 20+ home run bat annually.

6-168: LHP Joey Volini, Florida State
Slot value: $397,000. Signing bonus: $297,750 ($99,250 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #216. Baseball America: #303.
Continuing to roll with the Floridians, Miami picked up a third Florida State Seminole transfer in four picks. Joey Volini grew up in Tampa and played at powerhouse Jesuit High School alongside future Seminole and A's #11 overall pick Jamie Arnold, then began his career locally at USF where he showed well in sporadic action. Joining Drew Faurot in transferring to Florida State in 2025, Volini started off the season with a bang by dominating virtually every opponent early in the season. By the end of March, he was 7-0 with a 1.25 ERA and a 63/9 strikeout to walk ratio across 43.1 innings. After getting roughed up by Wake Forest in April, his numbers came back to earth a little bit over his next several starts, but the prospect was established. Volini does not throw particularly hard, sitting around 90 and only really topping out around 93 at peak, but he makes up for it with the rest of the profile. He can really spin a breaking ball, showing excellent finish on his deep curveball while tightening it up for a solid slider as well, while his deceptive changeup gives him a fourth big league pitch. Volini trusts all four pitches and can throw them in any count, also showing the ability to command everything to both sides of the plate. His strong feel for pitching helps him keep hitters off balance, while his huge frame (6'4", 245 pounds) gives the indication that he'll be durable going forward. With above average command, an approach that keeps pitch counts down, and that big frame, he has a very good shot to become a back-end starter. In order to do that, he'll need to find another tick or two on the fastball so 89 over the plate doesn't get crushed. As a senior sign, he'll turn 23 in December but has the profile to move quickly.

7-198: RHP Jake Clemente, Florida
Slot value: $309,400. Signing bonus: $500,000 ($190,600 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #189. Baseball America: #204.
The final in our run of five straight Floridians, Jake Clemente snuck up draft boards and has a chance to outplay many of his pre-draft projections. A native of Coral Springs, Clemente was teammates with fifth rounder Chris Arroyo at Stoneman Douglas High School and the two were part of the same incoming freshman class at Florida prior to the 2023 season. Clemente missed the entire season with shoulder problems, then when Arroyo transferred out, he took a regular role in the bullpen in 2024. While his transition to the rotation in 2025 was short-lived, he thrived upon becoming the Gators' closer and from April onwards held a 1.45 ERA and a 35.4% strikeout rate across 31 innings. Clemente is a power arm, sitting in the mid 90's as a starter and touching as high as 99 in relief with sink to generate ground ball contact down and miss bats up. The velocity is the primary draw, as his mid to upper 80's power slider can lack finish at times and his firm changeup is a tertiary pitch. He added a curveball in 2025 that seems to have better finish and might be his better breaking ball going forward. The 6'3" righty is plenty physical enough to start with an athletic delivery and strong frame, but fringy command coming from very long arm action as well as a lack of a putaway secondary might make a transition to the rotation difficult. Given that Miami gave him fifth round money to sign here in the seventh round, they may have some hopes of trying him in the rotation once again once they have a chance to stretch him out in spring training. Regardless, the floor here is that of a power reliever who can approach triple digits out of the bullpen, and if they can sharpen one of the secondaries, that's a big league reliever.

9-258: LHP Kaiden Wilson, Texas A&M
Slot value: $209,600. Signing bonus: $697,500 ($487,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
This one is a pure projection play for Miami. Kaiden Wilson has very little track record and went unranked on most major public draft boards, but signed for fourth round money here in the ninth round. Wilson has just 33.1 innings under his belt with an ugly 6.21 ERA, having never started a game nor completed three innings in a single outing for the Aggies, but Miami believes in the upside. His fastball sits in the mid 90's and plays up with riding and cutting action from a high slot, making for a relatively unique fastball shape that has proven very difficult to square up. He has a sharp mid 80's slider with tight sweep to miss bats, while his changeup is a tertiary pitch at this point. Wilson has struggled with command and his stuff can play down when he falls behind in the count and/or leaves the ball over the plate, precluding Texas A&M from stretching him out as a starter. Given the hefty investment, I'd expect the Marlins to do just that in spring training in 2026, looking to fine tune the command a bit and bring along his changeup. The 6'2" lefty is plenty physical and looks durable enough to handle the move so long as the command and secondaries come along. It's very interesting stuff from the left side that will absolutely play against major league hitters so long as he can get himself up to the Show.

15-438: 3B Josh Hogue, North Carolina State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.

My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
NC State infielders out of Florida have a pretty good track record, with two famous examples including Trea Turner (Lake Worth) and Tommy White (St. Pete Beach). Josh Hogue, a native of North Palm Beach who played his high school ball at Palm Beach Gardens High School, is hoping to be the next, though he's not technically an infielder yet. Hogue initially played at Santa Fe JC in Gainesville, then transferred to NC State where he hit .314 as a sophomore then nearly tripled his home run output while hitting .321 as a junior in 2025. Hogue is a very solid all around hitter, showing above average bat to ball ability and a keen eye to pick up offspeed stuff out of the hand. There's some pop in the bat too, as he can let loose when he gets a pitch he likes and drive it in the air to the pull side. He jumped from ten extra base hits and a .450 slugging percentage in 2024 to 29 extra base hits and a .562 slugging percentage in 2025, showing the ability more and more often to turn on the ball without sacrificing contact. Hogue played exclusively outfield in Raleigh and did the same during his brief pro debut with Low A Jupiter (ironically less than a fifteen minute drive from his high school), where he would be limited to a corner spot, but Miami did draft him as a third baseman and could give him a shot on the dirt next year. Overall, Hogue profiles as a bench option who can swing it a bit from the left side.

2025 MLB Draft Review: Toronto Blue Jays

Full list of draftees

While there is Trey Yesavage in this class that can make an immediate impact on the Blue Jays in 2026, they did a great job of drawing a wide variety of talents in to the system. Despite losing their second round pick due to the Anthony Santander signing, Toronto moved money around by shaving about 9% off of first rounder JoJo Parker's bonus and using that money to float a second round talent down to the twelfth round in Blaine Bullard. With their two highest-paid draftees being high school hitters (and three of their top four), the Blue Jays are banking on upside and could bring in a few future stars here. While position players dominated the higher paid draftees (overall five of top six bonuses), pitchers made up the bulk of the mid to smaller bonus draftees as Toronto opted for depth on that front after hitting a home run on Yesavage.
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.

1-8: SS JoJo Parker, Purvis HS [MS]
Slot value: $6.81 million. Signing bonus: $6.2 million ($613,600 below slot value).
My rank: #10. MLB Pipeline: #9. Baseball America: #10.
A year after landing World Series starting pitcher Trey Yesavage with their first round pick, the Blue Jays went the opposite route with a high school bat in JoJo Parker to start things off in 2025. Previously committed to Mississippi State, #8 pick Parker will instead head north of the border for a slightly below slot bonus that is just under the allotment for the #10 pick. From Eli Willits to Ethan Holliday to Steele Hall to Billy Carlson to Daniel Pierce, there were many interesting prep bats available at the top of the draft, yet perhaps none is as complete a hitter as Parker. To say he can swing it would be an understatement. Listed at 6'2", 200 pounds, he already looks like a big leaguer with a thick, strong frame that generates easy bat speed from the left side. His power has ticked up over time and now appears above average, with a chance to get to plus if he can elevate the ball a bit more and continue to tack on strength. Many Mississippi prep bats, especially those from rural areas such as Purvis (about fourteen miles south of Hattiesburg), have been derided as raw from a hit tool perspective. Not Parker. He was excellent against high caliber showcase opponents last summer, showing little drop-off in moving from Southern Mississippi competition to the best in the country. Indeed, he still came back and won the Mississippi Gatorade State Player of the Year award this past spring, demolishing everything in sight and looking every bit of a plus hitter. There are some scouts that even put a 70 grade on Parker's ability to work counts, use the whole field, and get on base. Ultimately, this is a mature hitter beyond his years with burgeoning thump who could hit in the middle of the lineup in Toronto in short order. That's 25+ home runs annually with high on-base percentages if he reaches his peak. Meanwhile, he is a fringy runner who can lumber a bit in the infield, making shortstop a stretch long term. He has just enough arm to play a solid third base, which seems like his most likely destination to me, or he could slide over and become an offense-oriented second baseman. Either way, the bat will carry him to the big leagues and the fact that he can stick on the infield at all is just a big cherry on top. His twin brother, Jacob, was a nineteenth round pick of the Diamondbacks this year and ranked #138 on my board, but he'll make it to campus rather than join the Snakes.

3-81: OF Jake Cook, Southern Mississippi
Slot value: $993,900. Signing bonus: $922,500 ($71,400 below slot value).
My rank: #89. MLB Pipeline: #106. Baseball America: #211.
Blue Jays scouting director Mark Tramuta must have enjoyed his trips to Southern Mississippi because after taking Purvis High School shortstop JoJo Parker in the first round, he turned around and took Southern Miss outfielder Jake Cook with his second pick just fourteen miles to the north. Cook is a very, very different prospect, but a fascinating one nonetheless. Originally recruited as a two-way player, he sat on the bench as a freshman in 2023 then saw his first game action in 2024, but only made three relief appearances and allowed at least three runs in each. Switching to hitting full time in 2025, he picked up a bat for the first time since high school and the results were phenomenal, earning second team all-Sun Belt honors despite the layoff in reps. Cook stands out first and foremost for some of the best athleticism the draft as seen in recent years. At the MLB Draft Combine back in June, his 30 yard dash time (3.51s) tied the Combine's all time record while his 10'8" long jump set the record. With that elite speed and athleticism, combined with his lean 6'3", 185 pound frame, he seems like the kind of guy who could slot right in as a pro wide receiver. Secondarily, his next best tool is bat to ball, as he runs some of the best contact rates in the country with a flat left handed swing that can adjust to about anywhere in the zone. The power is well below average for now, possibly as low as a 30 grade, as his modest exit velocities get no help from that flat swing that is geared to knock line drives from gap to gap. While his elite speed has yet to translate into any baserunning success, it does serve him extremely well in center field where he has a chance to compete for Gold Gloves with excellent instincts and an arm that can run fastballs up to 96 on the mound. It's a really fun profile for the Blue Jays to tinker with. On one hand, the power is far, far away from being a game changer. On the other, projection remains on his lean 6'3" frame. He has the bat to ball to make it work, and even if he sacrificed some contact to start getting the ball up in the air a little more, he'll never have to worry about striking out too much. Combine those factors with the fact that you simply cannot teach the athleticism he has, and this profile could develop in any number of directions. Let's just wait back and enjoy the ride.

4-112: RHP Micah Bucknam, Dallas Baptist
Slot value: $680,00. Signing bonus: $678,300 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #131. Baseball America: #323.
In the fourth round, the Blue Jays picked up the first of two consecutive Canadians in their draft class. Born in New Zealand, he grew up in Abbotsford, a mid-size city about forty miles southeast of Vancouver. He went to Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and drew Toronto's attention, but he turned down the Blue Jays in the 16th round and headed to LSU. He flashed big stuff for the Tigers but struggled to break through their deep bullpen, then transferred to Dallas Baptist for the 2025 season where he took off as the club's Friday night starter. Bucknam throws his fastball in the low to mid 90's, touching 97 at peak, but the pitch plays down because of a generic movement profile. Instead, he stands out most for his secondary pitches. The slider comes in with upper 80's power and tight, late bite to miss a ton of bats, while his truer curveball slows hitters down and proves equally difficult to square up. There is also a changeup in the mix, fading firmly to the glove side at best, though it is less consistent than his other pitches. Bucknam's control is ahead of his command and while he pounds the zone aggressively (a respectable 9.1% walk rate in 2025), he doesn't hit his spots so well and with a straight fastball, that can get him in trouble. The 6'1" righty is well built, appears durable, and repeats his clean delivery well, and with the four pitch mix he should have what it takes to stick in the rotation. The Blue Jays would like to find a way to pull more movement out of his fastball, which already has the velocity to be an effective big league pitch. If they can, there is suddenly mid-rotation upside here as a guy who can really spin the ball and fill up the strike zone. If not, those breaking balls in short stints will give hitters fits.

5-143: 3B Tim Piasentin, Foothills Composite HS [AB]
Slot value: $503,800. Signing bonus: $747,500 ($243,700 above slot value).
My rank: #145. MLB Pipeline: #160. Baseball America: #108.
Two picks, two kids from British Columbia for the Blue Jays. Tim Piasentin, who signed for late third round money here in the fifth round rather than attend Miami, grew up in the eastern Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam but attended powerhouse Foothills Composite High School a province over in Okotoks, about twenty miles south of Calgary. There, he caught scouts' attention with a 6'3", 200 pound, big league-ready body and power to match. His left handed swing is geared to clobber baseballs in the air, while his strength plays for potentially plus raw power. One of Canada's more famous prep prospects for a while now, he has been seen frequently against higher level international competition and has performed well, leading to confidence that his power will translate against pro pitching even if there are some questions about his ability to hit quality offspeed stuff. There is a chance he grows into 25-30 home runs annually with decent on-base percentages to hit near the middle of the Blue Jays' lineup. Defensively, Toronto will work him hard to keep him at third base. He moves well for his size and has a cannon right arm, giving him something to go off to start. He'll need to maintain his conditioning and agility in order to stick, and if he slows down at all as he matures physically, he may have to move to first base. That would put more pressure on the hit tool, as plus power is harder to come by at the hot corner than it is at first base. Toronto likely believes in the hit tool, the defense, or both and sees him as an every day power hitter for their future lineups.

6-172: SS Eric Snow, Auburn
Slot value: $383,600. Signing bonus: $381,100 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #462.
Eric Snow did not rank highly on big public boards, but this is a nice find for Toronto. Snow rode a big spring at Mary Parsons High School in central Georgia to significant late movement up draft boards, but ultimately decided to head to USF to further that momentum. He hit well as a freshman and seemed to position himself well for a standout college career, but took a step backwards as a sophomore and saw his OPS drop 264 points from .944 to .680. Transferring to Auburn for his junior season, he bounced back in a big way with his OPS rising back to .896 despite the Tigers' tough SEC schedule. Snow is the shortest player in this Blue Jays draft class at just 5'8", but he punches above his weight. He is an excellent contact hitter that controls the strike zone well, showing plus bat to ball skills that helped him strike out just 10.2% of the time in 2025. He uses the whole field effectively with a simple, direct right handed swing and should have no trouble jumping from the SEC to pro ball, a year after jumping from the AAC to the SEC. While he'll always be contact over power, Snow has a little thump in his bat and projects for fringy raw power, enough to comfortably project for 10-15 home runs per season at the big league level. Combine that with potentially high batting averages from an infielder and you have a sneaky every day big leaguer. While he may not be able to stick at shortstop, he has seen time all over the infield and likely projects as an average defensive second baseman.

9-262: RHP Karson Ligon, Mississippi State
Slot value: $206,900. Signing bonus: $125,000 ($81,900 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Karson Ligon didn't ranked on many public boards, but he's a real arm that could contribute in Toronto soon. Ligon began his career as well-regarded freshman at Miami, where he spent two seasons in the rotation to solid results. He transferred to Mississippi State for his junior season, spent most of the season in the bullpen, then found his way back into the starting rotation in 2025 where he made fifteen starts. After four seasons at two power programs, he has 56 appearances (42 starts) under his belt and has thrown over 200 collegiate innings. It's a really solid four pitch imx. Ligon sits in the low 90's with his fastball and reaches the mid 90's at peak, albeit with average movement. His best pitch is a hard downer slider in the upper 80's that dives under bats late, while his true curveball looks to be another above average pitch with hammer action. The Florida native misses bats with his changeup as well, diving to the arm side late to round out the arsenal. Ligon's command is probably more on the fringy side, but he has a clean delivery and with pro coaching could reach average command in time. He has a durable frame at 6'1", 210 pounds and has reached both double digit starts and 50+ innings in three of his four college seasons, so if he can hold the command together just enough, he could be a #4 or #5 MLB starter. It's not necessarily the kind of profile that explodes in the bullpen, but he spins the ball well enough that he could be very effective in that role as well.

11-322: LHP Jared Spencer, Texas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $165,000 ($15,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: #114. MLB Pipeline: #113. Baseball America: #115.
This is incredible value for the Blue Jays in the eleventh round, barely above slot value, though it may say something about his medical outlook. Jared Spencer began his career at Indiana State, where he pitched in a variety of roles over three seasons and made 59 appearances. Transferring to Texas for his senior year, he came out of the gate red hot with gems against Louisville, Washington, and Santa Clara. After more pedestrian starts in his first three SEC outings, he dominated Georgia and threw very well against Kentucky to vault himself into the top two rounds conversation. Unfortunately, he went down with a shoulder injury in April and had season-ending surgery, clouding the draft status of a pitcher who turned 22 on draft day. When healthy, Spencer has some of the best left handed stuff in the class. The fastball sits in the mid 90's and touches 98 with run, quite a few ticks higher than he sat at Indiana State. His slider is his best pitch with plus, late bite diving under bats, while his changeup has stepped forward in Austin as well and now looks average. The 6'3" lefty has an athletic, projectable frame, though his uptempo delivery impacts his command which is presently just fringy. With a potent three pitch mix, big frame, and strong track record, he should still have the profile to be a solid mid-rotation starter even with the fringy command, but the shoulder injury really clouds things. Shoulders are notoriously unpredictable, much more so than elbows, and judging by how far Spencer fell in the draft, I'd be a bit concerned about the current prognosis. If there are any lingering effects from the shoulder injury when he hopefully returns in 2026, there is a good chance he falls to the bullpen given his command. In that role, many have compared him to Josh Hader, a comparison certainly helped by his long brown hair.

12-352: OF Blaine Bullard, Klein Cain HS [TX]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $1.2 million ($1.05 million against bonus pool).
My rank: #90. MLB Pipeline: #120. Baseball America: #151.
The Blue Jays' second biggest bonus of the draft came not in the second round, not in the third round, but in the twelfth round, where Blaine Bullard signed away from a Texas A&M commitment for roughly the value of the #70 pick. He ranked right next to Jays' third rounder Jake Cook on my pre-draft board at #89 and #90, and the way he's trending he has a chance to outplay that ranking. Bullard was a helium guy who rocketed up draft boards with a very strong spring at Klein Cain High School in the Houston suburbs, catching the eyes of regional scouts and eventually national scouting directors. Listed at 6'2", 180 pounds, he has an athletic frame to dream on still with plenty of room to add good weight. He's a switch hitter with a pair of quick swings that can ambush baseballs and turn velocity around effortlessly, leading to a potential above average hit tool. It's a line drive bat for now, but given his frame it's not hard to see him tacking on significant strength and becoming an average or better power hitter in addition to a strong contact bat. The swing can get steep at times, especially from the right side, but that should iron out with pro coaching. Throw in his plus speed and twitchy athleticism and it is really an exciting profile. Toronto's player development will have a lot to work with and if they get it right, could turn Bullard into a 20-20 center fielder who can hit for heathy batting averages too. The combination of floor and ceiling here is pretty hard to find outside of the top couple of rounds, part of why I had him ranked well above many other outlets.

2025 MLB Draft Review: Cincinnati Reds

Full list of draftees

The Reds played their bonus pool fairly straightforward, taking a cut on first rounder Steele Hall before going a bit over slot on second rounder Aaron Watson, then more or less sticking close to slot value the rest of the way. They did leave their final three draft picks unsigned, all high-upside preps who were to serve as contingencies in case something went wrong with the early draftees. It's a draft class that emphasizes athleticism and explosiveness for position players, then looked more towards pitchability and durability on the pitching side.
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.

1-9: SS Steele Hall, Hewitt-Trussville HS [AL]
Slot value: $6.51 million. Signing bonus: $5.75 million ($763,800 below slot value).
My rank: #15. MLB Pipeline: #12. Baseball America: #15.
The Reds have never been afraid to go prep bat in the early rounds, and lately that has meant athletes like Tyson Lewis, Sammy Stafura, and Jay Allen. That trend continues with Steele Hall in 2025, who has picked up comparisons to Phillies shortstop Trea Turner and Dodgers 2024 first rounder Kellon Lindsey. Not such a buzzy name entering his senior season at Hewitt-Trussville High School in the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama, he exploded out of the gate during his senior spring and kept it up all season, rocketing deep into the first round conversation and ultimately landing in the top ten. Picking at #9, the Reds got Hall for roughly the slot value of the #12 pick and diverted him from a Tennessee commitment, instead bringing him a little farther up I-75. Hall is an explosive athlete that stands out first for his plus-plus speed, placing him among the quickest players in the entire draft. While he's not huge at a listed 6', 180 pounds, he has steadily tacked on additional strength and projects to become an impact hitter as well at this point. His quick right handed swing helps him drive the ball on a line from gap to gap, while his speed turns singles into doubles into triples. As he fills out, he should flirt with home run totals in the teens and could top out at 15-20 per season at peak. There is solid bat to ball here as well that should give him plenty of opportunity to use that speed, though his swing can get choppy at times and the Reds will look to get him more consistent in that regard. Hall can be aggressive at the plate too, something pro pitchers will look to exploit. Working in his favor is age, as a July birthday made him old for the 2026 draft class but his decision to reclassify for 2025 put him on the younger side, only turning 18 just after the draft. That extra development time gives the Reds plenty to work with as they mold him into a Turner or CJ Abrams-like player in the long run. Beyond the bat, Hall is an excellent defender at shortstop with buttery smooth actions and plenty of arm strength to stick on the left side of the infield. On a team led by a toolsy young core with many former high school stars, Hall will fit right in, though it will take a few years.

2-51: RHP Aaron Watson, Trinity Christian HS [FL]
Slot value: $1.89 million. Signing bonus: $2.75 million ($858,800 above slot value).
My rank: #47. MLB Pipeline: #45. Baseball America: #64.
Using all of their savings from first rounder Steele Hall and more, the Reds gave Aaron Watson roughly the slot value for the #35 pick here at pick #51 to pry him away from a Florida commitment. Watson, who shares a name with one of my all time favorite country singers (you should really check him out), really grew on me as a prospect in 2025 despite my being lower on him early on. Big and physical at 6'5", 205 pounds, he has a broad frame capable of carrying plenty more weight and really looks the part of a durable starting pitcher. He sits in the low 90's and touches 96 at peak, not overwhelming velocity for a righty making top-40 money, and comes in with running and sinking action that will create more ground balls than whiffs at the next level. He throws a tight slider and can manipulate the shape to get the look he wants, working from two-plane to more vertical action. The changeup turns over nicely as well, giving him three big league pitches right now. Already, Watson repeats his simple, smooth delivery extremely well, helping him pour it in the strike zone and control the count much better than most of his teenage counterparts. While the strong command is par for the course for the Jacksonville native, the stuff looked a tick more explosive this spring and helped me feel more confident labeling him a potential mid-rotation starting pitcher rather than a likely back-end guy. Watson's combination of size, projection, repeatable mechanics, and command brings much less risk than most high school pitchers, overcoming what is otherwise not the flashiest profile in the bunch. Expect him to pitch in Cincinnati for a long time and eat up a lot of innings.

3-83: RHP Mason Morris, Mississippi
Slot value: $964,800. Signing bonus: $897,500 ($67,300 below slot value).
My rank: #108. MLB Pipeline: #117. Baseball America: #99.
The first collegian drafted by Cincinnati this year, Mason Morris brings an established track record and a big arm. He didn't pitch much as a freshman at Ole Miss back in 2023, then struggled to a 6.99 ERA as a more oft-used sophomore reliever in 2024. Returning to the Rebel bullpen in 2025, he took a big step forward and put up a career-best 3.29 ERA alongside a sharp 34.1% strikeout rate, establishing himself as one of the best relief prospects in the country and one that many think can transition to starting. His big fastball sits in the mid 90's and touches 99 in short stints, avoiding barrels with heavy cutting action that really plays when he cuts off the velocity a tick down to the low 90's. His hard, upper 80's slider is a power downer pitch that misses bats, and all together hitters are geared up for high velocity moving away from righties and boring in on lefties. Listed at 6'4", 225 pounds, he is big and physical like the above Aaron Watson if a bit more physically developed, and while his in-zone command itself is fringy, he has pounded the zone in 2025 and shows average control. Combined with the ability to manipulate his fastball into a cutter and his cutter into a slider, Morris' frame and arm strength point to a potential future in the rotation. In fact, he averaged nearly three innings per relief appearance out of the Ole Miss bullpen in 2025 and threw as many as five against Tennessee in April (and absolutely dominated, striking out 8/18 batters faced). In order to start in pro baseball, he'll need to find a changeup so that not everything is going in one direction, though that's something the Reds likely feel is very doable. If the Tupelo native can continue attacking the strike zone in addition to adding that changeup, he does have a chance to make things happen in the rotation. If not, he is no stranger to getting big outs late in games and his power right arm can flirt with triple digits with that dastardly cutter in his pocket.

4-114: OF Mason Neville, Oregon
Slot value: $667,700. Signing bonus: $697,500 ($29,800 above slot value).
My rank: #43. MLB Pipeline: #35. Baseball America: #59.
This one is a surprise, to say the least. Not just that Mason Neville – who appeared throughout the 30's in many mid-season mock drafts – lasted into the fourth round, but that the Reds barely had to go over slot to get him there. Neville had been a highly touted prospect out of the Las Vegas high school ranks in 2022 and arrived on Arkansas' campus with plenty of fanfare, but barely played as a freshman and transferred to Oregon after just one season. He clubbed sixteen home runs in his first season in green and yellow then exploded for 26 in 2025, tying Wright State's Boston Smith (now a National) for the NCAA Division I lead. The home run barrage catapulted him into the fringe of the first round conversation, though he did go a little cold at the end of the season and went homer-less in his final seven games despite never doing that more than four games in a row throughout the season. Neville, unsurprisingly, has huge power. He taps his plus raw power extremely consistently in games with a clean, leveraged left handed swing that finds him creating his best contact at optimal angles. That kind of optimized swing helps guys with fringy raw power play up for surprisingly average juice, but when someone with Neville's plus power does it, it means potential 30-homer seasons in the big leagues. While he has struggled with contact throughout his college career, he stepped forward in that regard in 2025 and now looks to have fringy contact skills. He's an extremely patient hitter that walked in 18.9% of his plate appearances in 2025, though the pure bat to ball remains a bit behind and teams were likely worried about pro pitchers attacking him with quality stuff in the zone going forward. Meanwhile, he is also a strong defender out in the grass, covering plenty of ground with above average speed and even better instincts in center field. With a strong arm to boot, he has every chance to stick in center or become a plus defender in right field. He profiles as a potential middle of the order bat who can support low batting averages by drawing his share of walks and crushing 25+ home runs annually at peak. The contact is a concern, though, and his career will likely only go as far as his in-zone contact takes him.

5-145: OF Eli Pitts, North Atlanta HS [GA]
Slot value: $493,900. Signing bonus: $572,500 ($78,600 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #209.
Eli Pitts brings the Reds a lot of upside for what is effectively only a slight over slot bonus here in the fifth round. Atlanta is always one of the top places to find amateur talent and Pitts is yet another example of that, leading the city as one of the ATL's better prospects for years now. Previously committed to South Carolina, he flipped late to South Florida but it's all moot now that he's heading north to Cincinnati. I love Pitts' operation in the box, exploding through the zone with a combination of bat speed and tremendous leverage in his right handed swing that should help him get to above average or better power down the line. He's still fairly skinny at a listed 6'1", 185 pounds, and added weight will go a long way to creating a real impact hitter. His approach and pure bat to ball are a bit behind, but especially as he gets stronger his power will come so naturally and with such ease that he can ease up a little bit to find the barrel more often. Pitts is also a plus runner with a shot to play center field, making his power look even more enticing just as with Mason Neville above. How far he goes will depend on the development of his hit tool, but if it clicks he could be the next exciting young star in Cincinnati.

8-234: LHP Kyle McCoy, Maryland
Slot value: $235,200. Signing bonus: $232,700 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #197. Baseball America: #214.
For the eighth round, Kyle McCoy brings the Reds a nice combination of performance and projection. McCoy was basically a born a Big Ten starting pitcher, arriving on Maryland's campus in the fall of 2022 practically ready to step right into the role. He made a dozen starts as a true freshman in 2023 and looked poised and confident doing so, even if the results were so-so. He missed the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery, then returned with a vengeance in 2025 by cutting his ERA by two and a half runs and significantly improving both his strikeout and walk rates across fourteen starts. The stuff is not overwhelming, beginning with a low 90's fastball that peaks around 95 with average movement. He can manipulate the shape on his slider depending on the situation and gets good finish on the pitch, while his changeup works well off his fastball to keep hitters off balance. While the stuff is average, everything plays up because he really, really knows how to deploy it. The New Jersey native works all of his pitches in and out effectively, helping him both keep the walks down (impressive 5.7% walk rate in 2025) and put each pitch in its best position to succeed. That said, he ran just a 19.4% strikeout rate in 2025 and relied much more heavily on weak contact than on the K's, leading to questions over how he will perform against more advanced bats. Fortunately, the 6'6" lefty is as projectable as they come at 21 years old. If the Reds can tick his fastball closer to the mid 90's and bring one of his secondaries forward a tick, he has the feel for pitching to become a #4 or #5 starter. Additionally, McCoy has some drop in his delivery combined with a low three quarters slot to make for a slightly tougher at bat. Cincinnati will work to fill him out a bit more and get him to their big league rotation quickly.

9-264: OF Kien Vu, Arizona State
Slot value: $205,500. Signing bonus: $172,500 ($32,000 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #273.
In scooping up Kien Vu, the Reds picked up one of the best performers on the West Coast. Over the past two seasons at Arizona State, he has hit a combined .381/.476/.680 with 24 home runs and 33 stolen bases over 97 games, including leading the Pac-12 with a .413 batting average in 2024. Undersized at 5'11", Vu packs a punch for his size and has created many fans for himself. Setting up with a high handset and the bat pointed down his back, he rocks it into place before the pitch and fires through the zone with impressive twitch to create average power despite the size. The overall hit tool is average as well with a tendency to chase that can get him into trouble, though he has righted the ship a bit and dropped his strikeout rate from 24.2% in his huge sophomore season to 18.1% as a junior. So long as he can continue generating impact with wood bats, he has a chance to flirt with 15 home runs per season while hitting for a decent average, though he did struggle in a brief thirteen game Cape Cod League stint in 2024. Vu is also a solid outfield defender with average speed but better instincts and a solid arm that will help him play any outfield position. He probably won't win any Gold Gloves, but the Reds will be able to use him where they need him whether that's in an everyday role if he hits or in a fourth outfielder role if he reaches his median projection.

2025 MLB Draft Review: Chicago White Sox

Full list of draftees

This is a really fun White Sox class with a lot of upside. Spending three of their first four picks and more than a combined $10 million on high school bats (plus another in the eleventh round), Chicago is going all in to build a future high-impact lineup. I had a lot of fun writing about some interesting profiles, from defensive whizzes to hometown picks to two 6'9" pitchers to a former Big Ten quarterback.
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.

1-10: SS Billy Carlson, Corona HS [CA]
Slot value: $6.24 million. Signing bonus: $6.24 million ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #11. MLB Pipeline: #7. Baseball America: #9.
Billy Carlson is a really fun prospect to start out the draft with a bang. An ultra-athletic two-way player, he has long been one of the most famous amateur prospects in California and spent his entire senior season right there near the top of the collective draft board. Pitching behind eventual Pirates #6 overall pick Seth Hernandez at Corona High School, Carlson was sitting low 90's and touching 97 while showing a pair of potentially above average offspeed pitches in his curveball and changeup. That's a day one pitching prospect, but it's his bat and glove that brought him here to #10 overall. Hitting from a closed-off stance, he gets nice leverage into his tight right handed swing and is growing into average power. He has a long track record of performance against top arms on the showcase circuit and in Southern California, where his advanced approach and solid bat to ball should make him at least an average hitter as well. Carlson is still growing into his 6'1", 185 pound frame, and while his skinny stature might limit his overall impact projection, he is an explosive athlete that is better learning how to channel that explosiveness into bat speed. There's a chance for 15-20 home runs and .350+ on-base percentages at peak if he can continue to fill out. For as good as his bat is, he's better with the glove. Carlson has excellent body control and plenty of range to not only reach balls all over the left side of the infield, but get himself into a good position to send them back across the diamond for the out. With that plus-plus arm that has reached 97 on the mound combined with the comfort of throwing from multiple angles, there is virtually no throw he can't make, kind of like a Patrick Mahomes playing shortstop. He's an average runner that has worked to get quicker and can post above average run times, but the instincts, coordination, and arm strength all point to a plus defender at one of the most difficult positions on the diamond. All together, this is a high-level athlete that moves in ways that most cannot, one who if developed properly can outplay all of his projections. The full product reminds me a bit of a bigger version of Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn.

2-44: OF Jaden Fauske, Nazareth HS [IL]
Slot value: $2.22 million. Signing bonus: $3 million ($773,900 above slot value).
My rank: #36. MLB Pipeline: #57. Baseball America: #54.
From Noah Schultz (Aurora) to George Wolkow (Downers Grove) to DJ Gladney (Matteson), it seems like the White Sox are always spending early picks on local Chicago preps and 2025's edition is Jaden Fauske. A native of Willowbrook, about seventeen miles southwest of downtown on the DuPage County line, he played his high school ball at Nazareth Academy in nearby La Grange Park. While he lacks a plus carrying tool, he does a lot not just well, but very well. With a simple left handed swing and a very disciplined approach at the plate, he has a chance to be an above average hitter at the big league level who can put up strong on-base percentages consistently. At the same time, he has started to fill out his strong 6'3" frame and is producing average power for now, but could get to above average as he continues to mature and learns to be more explosive. At ceiling, that is a 25 home run bat with high on-base percentages, one that can hit in the middle of the Chicago lineup for years. Defensively, there are more question marks. He has shown well behind the plate and most evaluators believe he has the glovework to stick as a catcher long term, while his average arm plays up due to a quick, smooth release. However, there are questions whether he actually wants to catch long term. It's the most grueling position on the diamond and a future big league catcher needs to be fully bought into that career path to have a chance. Given that, the White Sox actually drafted him as an outfielder, and that transition has a chance to go a lot better than most catcher to outfield transplants. He is also a strong athlete that runs plenty well enough to cover the requisite ground in a corner outfield spot. With an average arm, he could end up in left field or right field, but he won't be a below average defender out there like many converted catchers. Either way, the bat should play – if he catches, he's a potential first division regular. If he plays outfield, there's more pressure on the bat but he should still play every day and become an impact bat. Fauske did not come cheap, forgoing an LSU commitment to sign closer to the value of the #32 pick here as the White Sox' #44 pick.

3-76: SS Kyle Lodise, Georgia Tech
Slot value: $1.08 million. Signing bonus: $922,500 ($151,800 below slot value).
My rank: #84. MLB Pipeline: #79. Baseball America: #57.
Teams looking at ACC shortstops had two options from the Lodise family, with Florida State's Alex signing with the Braves at the #60 and Georgia Tech's Kyle coming to the White Sox at #76. Kyle began his career at Division II Augusta, where he hit .349 with a .450 on-base percentage and 23 home runs over two seasons. Transferring to power conference baseball at Georgia Tech, he didn't miss a beat with the jump in competition and set a career high with 16 home runs while hitting .329/.429/.667 in 55 games. Lodise, like Jaden Fauske, lacks a carrying tool but is an all-around ballplayer. Undersized at 5'11", he knows himself as a hitter and brings a balanced offensive profile. He generates great leverage into his right handed swing and shows fringe-average power, crushing thirty home runs over the past two seasons, though many of those home runs may become doubles and triples as he switches to wood bats. Lodise is a very advanced hitter with a keen understanding of the strike zone, helping him to a career .442 on-base percentage. Despite playing those first two seasons in D-II, he challenged himself by jumping straight into the elite Cape Cod League last summer and while he didn't provide much impact at the plate, he ran an impressive 20% walk rate against the best pitching he had ever seen. The upside here is that of a .260-.270 hitter with healthy walk rates and 10-15 home runs per season at peak. A plus runner, he moves well around the infield and should have just enough arm strength to stick at shortstop. If he moves to second base, he should be an above average defender there with strong instincts. His most likely projection is that of a utility infielder that will find ways to win, while he could find his way into the every day lineup if he sticks at shortstop and continues to show enough impact at the plate.

4-106: C Landon Hodge, Crespi Carmelite HS [CA]
Slot value: $722,600. Signing bonus: $1.1 million ($374,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #164. Baseball America: #131.
Between Jaden Fauske and Landon Hodge, the White Sox spent more than $4 million on bonuses for formerly LSU-bound catchers (including more than than a million dollars above slot value), something Tigers head coach Jay Johnson may not be so happy about but it certainly bodes well for Chicago's depth at that position. Hodge, whose seven figure bonus was close to the slot value of third rounder Kyle Lodise's #76 overall pick, hails from one of the most delicious sounding high schools in the country and provides a fairly similar profile to Fauske. He's not quite as physical, but he's plenty hitterish in the box with solid bat to ball and an innate ability to keep his hands inside the baseball, helping him use the entire field effectively. While the power isn't quite there yet, there's some projection in his 6'1" frame that should help him tap fringe-average pop as he fills out and learns to turn on the ball a little better. Behind the plate, his athleticism helps his glove and arm play up and White Sox scouts see a twitchy defender who will stick at the toughest position. Rather than airing out his throws, he prefers to throw as hard as he can on a line, allowing the ball to bounce well before the second baseman if need be. Hodge had a very strong spring on both sides of the baseball, showing more consistent performance at the plate while cleaning up his actions behind it, leaving Chicago convinced that his ascent has only begun. The upside here is that of a high on-base catcher who can club 10-15 home runs per season, but high school catchers are notoriously risky.

5-137: RHP Gabe Davis, Oklahoma State
Slot value: $534,400. Signing bonus: $587,500 ($53,100 above slot value).
My rank: #128. MLB Pipeline: #147. Baseball America: #129.
Gabe Davis doesn't come with the most straightforward profile here, but the White Sox see plenty of upside if he is developed right. After struggling command as a freshman at Oklahoma State in 2023, he took moderate steps forward and put together a nice 2024 season as a swingman. Pushing his way into the second round conversation entering 2025, he instead struggled to find any consistency and spent most of the season in the bullpen, where Oklahoma State used him sporadically and his 24.1 innings wound up a career-low. Still, there is tremendous upside here for a fifth round college arm. Davis stands an impressive 6'9", which is apparently how tall you need to be to make 235 pounds look skinny. The arm matches the size, with a mid 90's fastball that can reach triple digits in short stints. He shows a hard slider in the upper 80's with tight snap, while his average changeup rounds out a strong three pitch mix. With his size, Davis is just an average athlete and lacks the admittedly high level of coordination needed to keep such a long body in sync. Still, it's not often you see 6'9" flamethrowers chucking 100, much less those who can add a pair of good secondaries. Davis has a career 13.1% walk rate that will have to come down, while it will also behoove him to find something a little softer in his arsenal as everything now is pretty firm. Unless Chicago has some kind of magic it can work, the Oklahoma City-area product likely ends up in the bullpen, where he can live in the upper 90's and give hitters fits with the unique look he creates.

6-166: SS Colby Shelton, Florida
Slot value: $403,900. Signing bonus: $447,500 ($43,600 above slot value).
My rank: #83. MLB Pipeline: #142. Baseball America: #158.
While Colby Shelton is much more straightforward a prospect than Gabe Davis, he has had just as interesting a path to get to where he is now. A South Carolina native, he attended high school in the Tampa area before embarking to Alabama to begin his college career. After hitting 25 bombs and slashing .300/.419/.729 for the Tide, he was named a Freshman All-American by numerous outlets and wound up transferring to Florida amid Alabama's gambling scandal. Draft eligible as a sophomore in 2024 because he was a full year older than his high school graduating class, swing and miss concerns crept up into his profile and he did not get the bonus offers he desired. Returning to school in 2025 for his age-22 season, he changed his approach dramatically and teams took notice. After blasting 45 home runs over his first two seasons, he hit just seven in 2025. However, his batting average skyrocketed from .254 in 2024 to .377 while his strikeout rate plummeted from 26.4% to just 11.8%. Previously a dead pull hitter, he began using the entire field and became a doubles machine. Always an aggressive hitter, he continues to chase at an alarmingly high rate but the bat to ball is tremendously improved as he has stopped trying to do too much. Meanwhile, he did not sacrifice a lick of barrel force as his exit velocities remain roughly the same, just less in the air and less to the pull side. While the old Colby Shelton profiled for 15-20 home runs per season and low on-base percentages, the new Colby Shelton probably sticks in the teens while posting healthier, batting average-driven on-base percentages at peak. He has played shortstop at Florida, though with average athleticism and arm strength he probably fits better at second or third base in the long run. This has the look of a platoon bat if he can continue to make contact. Despite being a junior, Shelton is the age of a senior sign and will turn 23 in December.

10-286: RHP Daniel Wright, Iowa
Slot value: $195,300. Signing bonus: $7,500 ($187,800 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Few players in this draft class have had a more roundabout journey than Daniel Wright. A native of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, a little town just outside of Sioux City in the northwestern portion of the state, baseball wasn't exactly his first sport. In fact, he was an all-state selection in both football and basketball while at Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School and was even a nominee for a McDonald's All-American spot. By my book the only draftee in recent years to attend Wisconsin, which does not have a baseball team, he tried to walk on as a quarterback in 2020 but never got into a game. Deciding to give baseball a shot, he transferred to Iowa Western JC for his sophomore season, he showed well enough on the mound to earn another opportunity at Houston, where he pitched to mixed results in two seasons. He made his home state Iowa Hawkeyes his fourth school in five years come 2025, where he pitched out of the bullpen to slightly better results. Looking at the profile, Chicago is buying the upside rather than the now-product. First of all, the 6'9", 235 pound Gabe Davis is not the biggest player in this White Sox draft class – that would be Wright, who stands the same 6'9" but tips the scales at 245 pounds. This is a massive human being. He sits around 90 with his fastball and grabs a couple ticks higher, though the pitch plays a bit above its velocity with ride and run from a wide, three quarters arm slot. Wright drops in a nice slider that looks average at its best, diving the opposite direction of his fastball. For now, the big righty doesn't always get everything in sync and his long arm swing and lumbering delivery make his command fringy. However, the White Sox see size and three sport athleticism that they can work with, hopefully streamlining his delivery and drawing several more ticks of velocity out of that big right arm. If he can live closer to 94-95, the ride on his fastball could make him a useful reliever. If not, the senior sign (23 on draft day) didn't cost the White Sox too much, just $7,500 as a money-saving tenth round pick.

13-376: C Rylan Galvan, Texas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #176. Baseball America: #237.
Rylan Galvan is a big name get for the White Sox in the thirteenth round, at least relative to most other thirteenth rounders. He teamed with current Astros prospect Garret Guillemette behind the plate as a freshman at Texas in 2023, then took over the starting role in 2024 while taking a big step forward with the bat. 2025 was his best year yet at the plate, and he'll leave Austin with 27 home runs and on-base percentage above .400 over 143 games in burnt orange, not too shabby for a catcher. Strong and sturdy at 6', 215 pounds, Galvan shows plus raw power at peak but typically shows above average exit velocities in games from a big right handed swing. Extremely patient, he ran an impressive 19.7% walk rate in 2025 while chasing at a plus (low) clip. However, his pure bat to ball is below average and he worries teams by missing too many of the hittable pitches he forces pitchers to give him with his patient approach. In order to tap his power in games, he is going to have to find a way to punish more mistakes because he will see fewer and fewer of them no matter how tightly he controls his own zone. Behind the plate, the Corpus Christi-area product has taken strides as well and now projects to stick back there with the glovework, accurate arm, and leadership typically desired among big league backstops. He profiles as a power hitting backup catcher.

15-436: RHP Caedmon Parker, Texas Christian
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #441.
Caedmon Parker has been on the Texas scouting radar for a while. He was a long, lanky high schooler back at The Woodlands Christian outside of Houston earning interest in the top few rounds, but made it to campus at TCU where he earned seven starts in the second half of his true freshman season. After missing the 2023 season with injury, he was solid as a swingman in 2024 but was more hittable as a full time starter in 2025. For Parker, the results have never quite matched the stuff. He sits in the low 90's, regularly reaching back for mid 90's and touching 96 at peak albeit relatively straight. He drops in a nice downer curveball that can look plenty sharp when he rips it right, often grading out as average. His slider in the mid 80's has short sweep but can dive late when he gets it right, and he also adds a changeup for a full four pitch mix. The 6'4" righty has a buttery smooth delivery that screams projection, though after four years in Fort Worth, he has only tacked on a couple of pounds. At this point, having turned 22 in June, you probably expect less projection out of Parker than maybe you did in 2021, but it's there if the White Sox can bulk him up and draw it out of him. Because of this, the velocity remains relatively stagnant from where it was four years ago, if more regularly at the upper end of his velocity range rather than the upper 80's where he used to find himself deeper into starts. Parker has walked exactly twenty batters in each of his three healthy seasons at TCU, but in taking on a larger workload each year has dropped his walk rate from 16.8% (poor) to 13.0% (below average) to 8.8% (average). I still love his loose, athletic delivery, so if the White Sox can help him tack on a little extra weight and bring one of his offspeed pitches a half grade forward, he still has a chance to work his way up as a back-end starting pitcher.

20-586: LHP Andrew Sentlinger, Virginia Tech
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Chicago closed out their draft with a risk/reward play, which I always love this late in the draft because the "risk" is your twentieth round pick not working out. So you might as well push the chips in. Andrew Sentlinger was a highly touted recruit coming to Virginia Tech, but making 22 appearances as a freshman in 2023 with a respectable 4.10 ERA and a 27.2% strikeout rate, has barely pitched over the past two seasons as he has struggled with injuries. The stuff is undeniable. He sits in the low 90's and touches 94 at peak, showing high spin rates and big riding life on his fastball to help it play above its velocity. He adds a sharp slider as well, helping him run a respectable 27.3% strikeout rate in 2025 even as he struggled to stay on the mound. Given his lack of extended health, he hasn't had much chance to develop beyond that and remains raw. The 6'2" lefty has a relatively uptempo delivery leading into a high release point, but with the lack of health he has struggled to repeat it. In 52.2 innings, he owns an ugly 17.9% in which his freshman season (15.2%) actually represents a career-best. If the White Sox can find a way to keep him on the mound, though, there is serious potential here. Sentlinger would almost certainly be a reliever, where his fastball/slider combination should tick up and any extended period of health should help his command creep back into the playable range. As a lefty who could chuck high-ride mid 90's in the future, that's a tough at bat.

2025 MLB Draft Review: Athletics

Full list of draftees

I think the A's came away with a really nice draft class here, especially towards the top. Starting with getting arguably the top pitcher in the draft for slot value at pick #11, moving on to some big bats with their next couple of picks, and through a half million dollar starting pitcher that could be pitching in Sacramento next year, I think this is a really strong class especially given the lack of a third round pick after signing Luis Severino. Overall, the A's did not play bonus pool games, never going more than $100K below slot on any pick and really only having second rounder Devin Taylor ($470K above slot) and twelfth rounder Alex Barr ($200K against pool) in the other direction. Out of coincidence, the A's happened to draft the #287, #387, and #487 players on the Baseball America 500.
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.

1-11: LHP Jamie Arnold, Florida State
Slot value: $5.99 million. Signing bonus: $5.99 million.
My rank: #6. MLB Pipeline: #4. Baseball America: #6.
Despite not picking inside the top ten, the A's still picked up one of the top pitching prospects in the class for slot value. In fact, there were times this spring where Jamie Arnold looked like the favorite to go first overall and virtually every draft board still had him safely inside the top ten prospects once the draft rolled around. After an uneven freshman season in 2023, Arnold put himself on the map with an All-American sophomore season in 2024 to vault himself to the top of the class alongside UCSB's Tyler Bremner (now an Angel). He came out of the gate hot, allowing just three baserunners in eleven innings over his first two starts and ultimately allowing more than two runs in just one of his first eleven starts. By season's end, Arnold was part of a quartet of starting pitchers alongside LSU's Kade Anderson (#3, Mariners), Tennessee's Liam Doyle (#5, Cardinals), and Oklahoma's Kyson Witherspoon (#15, Red Sox) considered to be at the top of the class. Many a low slot lefty has been compared to Chris Sale, and Arnold certainly found himself in that category as well. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and grabs 97 at peak, not overwhelming velocity for the top of the draft, but it plays up with flat plane and running action from his low slot. He rips off a plus slider that dives across the plate with a foot of sweep. When he has his best stuff, which is honestly most of the time, hitters look absolutely helpless and he can rack up a dozen or more strikeouts on any given night. Arnold is slowly finding his changeup and has gotten better about killing spin and lift while keeping the ball down, giving him the potential for an average or above average cambio down the line. For now, he doesn't command it as well and can bounce it at times, so it plays more like a fringe average pitch. The Tampa native creates a really tough look for hitters coming from a sidearm slot and a release height just four and a half feet off the ground, two full feet lower than some extreme over the top pitchers. Most pitchers with that profile – sidearm lefties up to 97 with a wipeout slider – understandably can get scattered with their command. That is not the case with Arnold, who has never walked more than 27 batters in a season and walked just 5.8% in 2024 before bumping up just slightly to 7.7% in 2025. That pair between bat-missing and strike-throwing ability is hard to find, especially from the left side, and the A's have themselves a potential top of the rotation horse. If there is one drawback in the profile, it could be some slight reliever risk. The 6'1" lefty isn't quite as imposing as some other aces, and right now without a third reliable pitch, he'll really need to hold his command in order to get through the lineup a third time against big league hitters. If the changeup comes along and he maintains his durability (he did throw 190.1 innings, with a sub-3.00 ERA, over his last two seasons in Tallahassee), this is a high-probability impact starting pitcher. If he is forced to the bullpen, the idea of a high octane sidearm lefty with command could be terrifying in short stints.

2-48: OF Devin Taylor, Indiana
Slot value: $2.03 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($468,500 above slot value).
My rank: #38. MLB Pipeline: #30. Baseball America: #34.
Even with a half million over slot bonus closer to the slot value of the #39 pick, this is another great value for the A's. Devin Taylor has been a star since the day he stepped foot on Indiana's campus, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors back in 2023 and improving his performance each season. He starred in the elite Cape Cod League before his junior year, slashing .296/.397/.510 with five home runs in 29 games to establish himself as arguably a top ten prospect in the 2025 draft, right there with Jamie Arnold. I think most outlets had him a bit over-ranked prior to the season and despite putting up his best year yet in 2025, his stock corrected a bit and he found himself here with a signing bonus just outside the first round range. In the end, he finished three years in Bloomington with 54 home runs and a .350/.459/.672 slash line across 169 games. Taylor brings a really nice offensive profile as a power-over-hit type with a long track record of performance. Built like a rock at 6'1", 215 pounds, he channels his impressive strength into a compact left handed swing and excellent feel for the barrel to create a ton of impact. Taylor controls the strike zone pretty well, rarely expanding and bumping up his walk rate from 13.0% in 2024, already a strong number, to 19.3% in 2025. His pure bat to ball is a bit behind, and while he slashed his strikeout rate from 13.3% to 11.2%, concerns still remain especially against quality breaking stuff. He struck out a quarter of the time on the Cape last summer and his best performance in 2025 came against smaller schools, while he hit just .205/.326/.436 against teams that went to the NCAA Tournament. I've long been a bit worried about how his bat would play against pro pitching, though his strong Cape summer does assuage that a bit. The Cincinnati native profiles for 20-25 home runs per season with lower batting averages and healthy walk rates to boost his on-base percentages at the big league level. With Taylor, the bat is the primary selling point because he is a below average defender. He's a fringy runner with below average instincts in the outfield, limiting him to left field in the long run most likely. If he slows down more, he could be come a DH, but the A's likely believe that he can avoid that fate for the first half of his career. Either way, the bat is loud enough that it may not matter.

4-110: OF Gavin Turley, Oregon State
Slot value: $694,600. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($94,600 below slot value).
My rank: #82. MLB Pipeline: #78. Baseball America: #66.
Another pick, another great value. While the A's did not have a third round pick this year due to the signing of Luis Severino, they got a third round talent in Gavin Turley and still stayed under slot value. Turley was a famous high school bat that could have gone in the top couple of rounds in 2022, but he made it to campus at Oregon State and proceeded to embark on an excellent three year career in which he hit .314/.442/.630 with 53 home runs in 170 games. Ironically, those are remarkably similar numbers to Devin Taylor when adjusting for the slightly tougher competition that Turley saw in the Pac-12 and as an independent in 2025. Also like Taylor, 2025 was Turley's best season yet. While Turley has just as much if not more upside than Taylor, he's also a bit more boom or bust. Taylor's power comes from brute strength channeled effectively into a compact left handed swing, while Turley is twenty pounds lighter and generates his with a whippy, explosive right handed swing owing to better athleticism. The end result is better top-end exit velocities, but equal home run output as Taylor squares it up a bit more consistently. Turley is also more of a free swinger whose strikeout rates have remained steadily higher than you'd like and whose contact rates are a bit concerning. He generates so much impact when he connects and torched opponents' pitching to such a degree in 2025 that pitchers often stayed out of the zone, allowing him to run higher walk rates despite the fringy bat to ball and average chase rates. Turley is certainly not the same caliber of prospect, but you could call him somewhat of a discount Dylan Crews with a similar profile if scaled back in a few places (most notably the hit tool). Regardless, Turley is an explosive athlete with a ferocious right handed swing that connected more often than ever in 2025 even if his contact rates remained static and he was caught guessing relatively frequently. He's a better defender than Taylor with above average speed and plus arm strength, giving him a shot to stick in center field if he can improve his instincts off the bat and making him a potential plus right fielder if he slides over. There is a ton of upside here as a potential 25+ home run hitter with middling on-base percentages, though his streaky bat could stand in the way. Turley closely resembles another recent A's draft pick in Colby Thomas.

5-141: RHP Zane Taylor, UNC Wilmington
Slot value: $513,900. Signing bonus: $513,900.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #174. Baseball America: #148.
Zane Taylor was on my radar as the draft approached, but ended up on the short list of guys I wanted to get to but ultimately didn't have the time for. He spent three years as a reliable innings eater at UNC Wilmington, but stepped forward in 2025 to put up one of the best statistical seasons in the entire country: 11-2, 1.98 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 105/11 K/BB in 95.2 innings. The 0.76 WHIP in particular was the best mark in the country by a large margin over second place JB Middleton of Southern Miss (now the Rockies) at 0.85. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and now reaches 98 at peak, though the pitch stands out more for its velocity than its life. He can cut in the upper 80's, more of a barrel misser than a bat misser, or he can turn it over into a truer curveball to steal strikes. A solid changeup gives him another tool that will work in his favor navigating big league lineups and does not need much development from here. A bit undersized for a "high floor" starting pitcher, he repeats his uptempo delivery very well for plus command that gave him a minuscule 3.0% walk rate in 2025, command that holds for both his fastball and his offspeed stuff. Taylor was already very old for his graduating class from the start, receiving his high school diploma right around his 19th birthday, so he was already 23 more than a month before the draft rolled around. That didn't stop the A's, who as with many other teams saw a nearly big league ready arm who would race through the minors. Indeed, the North Carolina native shot straight to AAA Las Vegas and threw well in his lone start, and he could join the rotation in Sacramento at some point next season. Taylor profiles best as a high probability #4 or #5 starter or long reliever. If he can add some life to his fastball or take a step forward with one of his offspeed pitches, he could reach his ceiling as a #3.

6-170: LHP Grant Richardson, Grand Canyon
Slot value: $390,100. Signing bonus: $400,000 ($9,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #287.
Not to be confused with current Marlins prospect and former Indiana star Grant Richardson, this Grant Richardson gives the A's a huge arm and potential excellent value coming off injury. He flashed big stuff as a freshman in 2023 then stepped forward in a larger role for Grand Canyon in 2024, but missed the whole 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. He committed to cross half the country to Ole Miss in 2026, but instead accepted the A's' sixth round offer. He's a two pitch lefty that sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97, then drops in a sharp, tight slider that misses plenty of bats. The goal in 2025 was going to be bringing along a changeup that functions as a tertiary pitch for now, but he'll have to do that in the A's' system once healthy. The 6'3" lefty is very physical and channels his strength into his power stuff. Working off a deep arm plunge that works into a longer arm action, he extends down the mound well with his lower half but is still learning to repeat his delivery consistently. He's shown fringy command in Phoenix that, like his changeup, he was hoping to fine tune a bit in 2025, and it remains to be seen whether he ever streamlines things enough to get to average. Richardson carries reliever risk due to that command and his lack of a reliable third pitch, but the A's believe the pause in his development only means he's ready to take a big step forward once healthy and develop into a mid-rotation horse. In the bullpen, his fastball should tick more consistently into the mid 90's and his deceptive delivery should give lefties fits.

10-290: RHP Samuel Dutton, Auburn
Slot value: $194,100. Signing bonus: $150,000 ($44,100 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #387.
Samuel Dutton has been around a while, but it wasn't until 2025 that he really got a chance to shine. Spending three seasons at LSU, he worked in a variety of different roles but ran an ERA over 6 and never quite settled in. A native of East Alabama, he transferred back closer to home and spent his senior year at Auburn, where he spent the entire season in the rotation and more than doubled his career high in innings. Now, he's sitting in the low 90's and touching 95 with his average fastball, adding a full arsenal of secondary pitches including a get-me-over curveball, a tighter slider, and a solid changeup. Nothing stands out as plus or even as above average, but he has long been a great strike thrower and finished his four year career with a 5.9% walk rate. The 5'11" righty isn't tall but is sturdily built, repeating his delivery well and showing the durability to last a full pro season in the rotation. While he lacks the explosiveness, athleticism, and bat-missing stuff to become an ace, Dutton's command and four pitch mix gives him a chance to be a #5 starter or long reliever at the big league level. Having spent four seasons and appeared in 73 games (31 starts) in the SEC, he has the big game experience as well.

17-500: SS Jared Davis, Virginia Tech
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $100,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked.
Jared Davis has been around, and now he'll cross the country again. An Orlando native, he started off across the country at Arizona Western JC in Yuma before returning home to play his sophomore season at Florida Southwestern JC, hitting over .320 with an OBP above .410 at both stops. Evidently only playing at schools in the southwestern corner of their respective states, he answered the call when Virginia Tech gave him a Division I opportunity and served as the team's starting second baseman, where he hit more home runs (9) than he had at two years in junior college combined (8). Undersized at 5'9", he packs a lot of punch for his size and has become more adept at pulling the ball in the air, helping him make the most of his modest raw power. The ball jumps off his bat well for a smaller guy and there is reason to believe he could continue to flirt with double digit home runs in the pros. For a hitter jumping from JuCo ball to the ACC, he manages the zone reasonably well and makes solid contact, giving him a chance to be a fringe-average hitter with below average power. Important to note, though, that his performance suffered in conference play where he hit just .220/.313/.450, showing power but seeing his strikeout rate double from 10% to 20%. His arm limits him to the right side of the infield, but he moves well at second base with strong range and some speed. If he can show enough to play short or third in a pinch, he could work his way up as a utility infielder, but a more likely role as a 2B/LF will put a little more pressure on the bat if he wants to become a bench option for the A's.

20-590: RHP Kade Brown, Sacramento State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #487.
At least for now, Kade Brown gives the A's a hometown product if he can get to the big leagues quick enough. A native of Elk Grove in the southern Sacramento suburbs, he attended the same powerhouse Elk Grove High School that has produced numerous big leaguers including Buck Martinez, J.D. Davis, Rowdy Tellez, Nick Madrigal, Dylan Carlson, and David Hernandez, plus agent Scott Boras. Brown stayed home for college, heading just ten miles up Power Inn Road to play for Sacramento State. There, he blossomed into the Hornets' closer, saving 22 games with a 3.31 ERA and a 103/38 strikeout to walk ratio over two seasons. Brown does not have overpowering stuff, which is contrary to most pure college relief prospects, nor is he a pinpoint command guy, but he gets the job done. The fastball sits around 90 and peaks at about 93, playing up a bit with some life to sneak by bats. The ball dances well out of his hand with a nice, sharp slider that dives under barrels late, while his splitter has equally effective, late drop in the opposite direction. Between those three pitches, he's able to consistently keep hitters off balance as they have a hard time picking up the baseball out of his hand. That stuff played up in the Cape Cod League last summer, when he was a tad hittable but posted a sharp 19/3 strikeout to walk ratio in 15.1 innings. His command is probably fringy, which is tough sledding when you're a reliever throwing 90, so he has to rely on his secondary stuff dancing to remain effective. If the A's can help the 6'6" righty find an extra few ticks of velocity, he can crack it as a junkballing reliever. And if he can get up quickly, he could pitch in his hometown at Sutter Health Park before the team moves to Las Vegas.