2025 Prospects Big Board

Since being picked in the 18th round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2022, Arquette has done nothing but get better and better. In 2024 he tore up the PAC-12 with the Washington Huskies on the way to All Conference honors. It’s a big bodied, athletic, 3B profile along the DJ LeMahieu lines. There’s plus raw power and an ability to loft the baseball that will bring HRs and XBHs. 113 max EV and 107 mph 90th EV with a 27.5% barrel rate are all top-end metrics. You’re getting 55 bat-to-ball skills with him as well, whiffing at 20% and just 13.6% in-zone. The approach here is slightly aggressive, though he still makes good swing decisions (45% Z-Swing-Chase%). There’s been some struggles for him against velocity as well as a contact quality issue against breaking balls which likely originates from the fact that he simply doesn’t whiff and is going to put poor offerings in play at times, but neither is a major red flag.

Arnold sits in the mid 90s on his fastball from a 4.4’ release height while getting elite extension. It’s a 2-seam shape, but he’s able to get whiffs with it to all quadrants. His slider is potentially more attractive, getting 11.6” of sweep and lift, drawing a 42% whiff rate and landing the pitch for strike. He threw an upper 80s change-up in 2024, which was a contact pitch for him, but he added a splitter at driveline over the off-season thats had up to 8” of depth. He’ll be even better this year than he was last year stuff wise, and may find himself in the 1-1 conversation when it’s all said and done.

Bremner is an elite mover on the mound, getting up to 98 mph despite standing just 6 '2 190. He throws a 70-grade change-up at 84 mph with 19.3” of arm-side run, drawing both whiffs and chase on the pitch. He throws a short slider for strikes in the upper-80s, which is a nice compliment to his FF. It’s a loud 3-pitch mix, with a wiry athlete who maintains an element of projection. Bremner will have a chance to prove that he’s the best arm in the class, and will almost surely find his way into a top-10 selection in July.

Fischer is one of the more complete hitters in this class. He’s got a ton of bat speed and produces plus power, running a 113 mph max EV and 106.5 mph 90th EV. There’s easy loft, getting a 21.8 degree HH LA. His hit tool is strong-average, if not better, with both his swing decisions and bat-to-ball numbers profiling well despite an inflated K rate. While he ran into some issues on the Cape this summer, his contact quality was some of the best of any player there. Fischer projects as a long-term 3B option for me, though there’s been some debate on that.

Laviolette is a 60 runner who played CF for the Aggies in 2024 at a league average level, and will get a chance to play CF in pro-ball but likely lands in the corner-OF when it’s all said and done. 6’ 6” 230 is tough to project in the OF, but he’s got the athleticism to make it work. The offensive profile is well rounded with thump and feel to hit. It’s average barrel accuracy, but his max EV was 115.7 mph, his 90th EV was 109 mph and he had a 65% HH rate to match a 95.5 mph average EV. The swing plane is geared to loft, reflected in a 22.6 degree average LA and 28.8 on his HH balls. There’s plus swing decisions here, a 47.8% Z-Swing-Chase% and swing rate <40% are both encouraging. Bat-to-ball skills skew towards the wrong side of average, his 20% in-zone swing is elevated, and a 27.3% whiff rate is slightly suppressed. There are near-40% whiffs on pitches 92 mph or harder up in the zone which will become a factor at some point.

Cannarella is a top of the scale runner with an above-average arm and projects to play plus CF defense. The body is still wiry and athletic with minimal strength, and the power has yet to come on in full. He’s a gap-to-gap guy with some pull-side authority, but could mature into more physicality. The bat-to-ball skills are of the best in the class, with a 17.8% whiff rate, 8.5% in-zone, coming against ACC competition. There’s some injury track record, notably a labrum surgery last summer that may act as a hurdle to clear early in the year for him.

A draft eligible sophomore, Tre Phelps was a machine for the Bulldogs as a freshman. He doesn’t whiff, just 10.4% in the strike-zone and 20.4% overall. He’s one of the more aggressive hitters in this class, swinging nearly 50% of the time (77.6% Z-Swing%), but manages to keep his chase rate at 28.5%. There’s plus power in here also, with his top EV at 112.6 mph and a 91.6 mph average EV. His Hard-Hits are line drives, and he’s able to produce a ton of power as a result. A potential issue with the current approach is that he’s unwilling to take BBs (5.9%) and I think the free-swinging nature and contact ability combo may end up tanking his BABIP at some point. Ultimately you’re getting an athletic SEC performer who will likely stick at 3B long term, which is an amazing profile to bet on.

The next big-time bat out of the Tennessee program, Curley has a chance to make it 3 years in a row with a Vol selected in the top-10. It’s really a full package offensively: Power, swing decisions, bat-to-ball skills, hammers velocity and breaking stuff. You’re looking at a player who had a 10% zone whiff, 111 mph max EV, with both his chase rates and whiff rate <20% while playing in the SEC. He’s got the ability to loft the baseball, especially to his pull-side, with a 17.6 LA on his hard-hits, which is reflected in a 19.5% barrel rate. My concern here is that his xwOBAcon and Avg LA numbers tank when facing high-velocity, with his approach being to sell out for contact. I know he’s got the skill set to get his bat head around and do damage, and I’d love to see him put it into practice this year. His body-type is very reminiscent of his former teammate Christian Moore, but Dean has a better arm and figures to play 3B at the next level.

In a similar fashion to Texas CF Jared Thomas from last year, Summerhill is an easy player to project more power on. Though the present power is slightly lagging (109.5 mph max EV), it’s easy to envision a power surge about 15 pounds from now. He should play CF this year, and through the beginning of his professional career, but his ultimate home is likely in a corner-OF spot, which he’ll play very well. He doesn’t whiff, <10% in-zone and 14.2% overall with the swing decisions to match (51.1% Z-swing-Chase%). Right now it’s a plus or better hit tool, above-average barrel accuracy, and line-drive hitter profile who will likely grow into power sometime in the next 3 years.

An Indiana product, Taylor is as well rounded as it gets. He’s got a >110 mph max EV, near-plus launch angle distributions, and a .407 xwOBA on contact. He hits the ball in the air, and figures to be a 20 HR guy in the big leagues. His approach in the box is sound, swinging at strike while limiting his chases and has bat-to-ball skills that make the profile work as a whole. The biggest knock on him is that you get what you get, he’s a smaller guy and has gotten near his physical ceiling at this point. He’ll play average defense at a corner spot, but won’t wow you defensively. There’s value in stability, which Taylor exemplifies, while still offering premium production. There’s a role for guys like this in every MLB roster.

Davis averages 95.3 mph, and touches 100 mph, with 6.7’ of extension and 17” of vertical. True plus velocity and extension with approximately average vertical movement for his release height. The most interesting piece of his arsenal is the change-up, which carries a 51.7% whiff rate and a .203 xwOBA against. He’s throwing the pitch almost exclusively down in the zone, maximizing an ultra-steep release angle. It’s clear on video that Davis has pronation bias, and has occasionally thrown sinkers with a near identical horizontal profile to the change-up at 95 mph with a high rate of success, which I’d like to see become a more significant piece of his pitch mix. 2 breaking balls, curveball and slider. The curveball is my favorite of the two, and profiles as plus. It’s -8.2” IVB with 6” of sweep at 83 mph, a true banger of a breaker. His slider is more velocity-reliant than shape-reliant, thrown 86–89 mph with 4” of sweep.

Ford looks to be the next big-time hitter from the Virginia program, and has the skillset to do so. His approach is on the aggressive end, which shows up in a near-30% chase rate. Ford has enough power to profile well at a corner-OF spot, with a 112.4 max EV. There’s a lot of hard contact, and the bulk of it coming in the air, which is a positive sign for his future production level. There’s a bit of out-of-zone whiff here that may become an issue at some point, but it hasn’t acted against him to this point.

Houston has elite shortstop actions and is a plus athlete who figures to stick at the position for decades to come. Offensively it's an extreme hit over power (think Jacob Wilson), with his whiff rates at 14% and 7.4% in-zone. There’s not much chase to speak of here, with the approach skewing slightly towards passivity. There was no power to speak of in 2024, with a <105 mph max EV and <85 mph average EV. Additionally there was a ton of variance in his batted ball spray, which is concerning for projecting BABIP on an already limited power producer. Guys like Wilson and Isaac Paredes have found success in selling out to get to the pull-side, producing power beyond their EVs , which is the next frontier for Houston pending 35-grade or better raw power. The defense is good enough to be a carrying tool for me.

Scott is a massive RHP, sitting 92-96 and touching 98 mph with plus carry. He throws a bullet slider in the upper-80s, which has been a great whiff offering for him, while also limiting hard contact. He’s thrown a splitter going back to his prep days, which is his best pitch. He throws it at 82 mph with 2.4” of vertical and 4.6” of arm-side, drawing both whiffs and chase at an elite level. He's done a lot of work this fall with pitching trainer Cam Lanzilli to fill out his arsenal, and will come out with a kick-change and a sweeper this spring.

The front line tool here is the power, which is plus. He had a 114 mph max EV and 107.5 mph 90th EV, enabled by high-end bat speed. His launch angle profile is one of the best in the nation, with a 15.8 average LA and 17.9 HH-LA to go with plus LA distributions point towards a guy who will consistently run a high BABIP. The hit tool has a couple glaring flaws, including a near-30% whiffs (20% in-zone), a 33.2% chase rate and 51.2% swing rate. I think a lot of good would be done if he simply swung less, which is theoretically a simple coaching point, but easier said than done. I think the fact that he was able to produce at such a high level and limit Ks, relatively speaking, while clearing the previously mentioned hit tool hurdles speaks to the talent level on a broader scale. His Cape Cod performance did a lot to help my confidence level, where he actually outperformed his spring while posting encouraging batted ball metrics.

Stevenson has a plus arm and is a great athlete, but is still not quite there as a receiver. He should play as an average catcher moving forward. The impact with the bat is very encouraging, posting a 112.2 Max EV , 106.4 90th percentile EV to match a .350 xwWOBAcon. There’s an obvious feel to loft the baseball and he will get to his power. I’m a big fan of his swing decisions as well, his chase rate is 20.5%, swings at pitches in the zone 63% of the time and overall very selective with his swings. He’s had problems handling spin, an issue that I anticipate will be a trend throughout his career.

Leiter will not pitch for Florida State in 2025 due to injury, but a healthy Cam Leiter is the best pitcher in the class for my money, with 3 plus or better off-speed offerings He sat 96 mph, touching 99 mph, in 2024. He’s throwing it with an almost directly over-the-top arm path to a 5.8’ release height with plus extension at 6.7’. The extension and velocity combination has allowed the pitch to play beyond his 15”/8.5” shape, drawing a 29.8% swing-miss rate (28% in-zone) with 24.6% chase. The slider here may be the best in the class. It’s 87 mph with 2” of lift and 6” of glove-side. The results are elite, drawing chases at a 51% clip with a 64% whiff rate. His second breaking ball is a downer Curveball thrown at 80.3 mph with -60” of depth and -10” of sweep. The pitch has been viable to both Righties and Lefties for him, drawing a 41% whiff rate, but the chase here is minimal. Like with both his slider and curveball, the change-up draws a near-elite amount of whiffs at 44.5%.

Belyeu had second round grades coming out of high school, and has lived up to that standard so far. He’s got plus raw power, posting a 113 mph max EV, and has above-average bat-to-ball skills. He’s got some chase to his game, but it hasn’t led to a concerning K rate. He has had some of the best contact quality in the nation during his college career, posting a .426 xwOBAcon in 2024. He’ll play a corner OF spot at an average or better level in pro ball.

Irish was a relevant draft name out of high school, but chose to attend Auburn and has been great for the Tigers thus far. Irish has a knack for getting the bat on the baseball, whiffing at just 20.7%, and makes quality swing decisions with a 50% Z-Swing-Chase%. There’s plus raw power here, with a 112 mph max EV, and he’s been able to produce SLG to some degree in college. I take issue with 20-grade launch profiles, though. You’re looking at a 5.1 degree average LA, in addition to one of the worst distributions in the country. The BABIP will lag, and the power production likely will as well, but the baseline skillset works.

Hard thrower, ultra-athletic, and fast mover, though there are some present mechanical flaws to address. Fastball drew 31.9% whiffs in 2024, averaging 94.5 mph and up to 100 mph. He’s got average carry from a high release height with above-average extension, but is able to generate advantageous vertical approach angles, and as a result whiffs up in the zone. Slider results have been very poor, drawing just 14.3% whiffs without an above-average chase rate. The shape isn’t inherently poor (0.5” vertical, -4” horizontal), but is not notable either. I’d like to see him commit to a velocity-first approach here (average >88 mph) without much regard for what the shape turns into, throw it hard and results will tend to follow. I’m a big fan of the curveball, which is a 2-plane banger. Sits 81 mph with a plus movement profile and generated 36.4% whiffs and elite batted ball outcomes.

Russell’s release is an extreme outlier. He releases the ball with 6.4’ of extension from a 4.8’ release height, creating extreme angles for hitters. His VAA to the top third of the strike zone was -3.25 degrees, drawing whiffs overall at a 42% clip. He throws a sweeper with -8.4” of horizontal movement and a change-up with 21.7” of arm-side run in limited samples as well. The stuff here is elite, but the concern is his health as he missed time in 2024 and will likely miss time again in 2025 after undergoing an elbow surgery.

White has power and gets to it very often. It’s a 113.7 mph max EV, a 26.3% barrel rate and, over two thirds of his batted balls come >95 mph. His average launch angle is 22.4 degrees, and 22.9 on his hard hits. The distribution of his launch profiles is plus, which indicates he’ll run a high BABIP. The hit tool is potentially a problem, though. There’s a lot of whiff to his game as well as a chase issue. The hit tool is likely a 40, but you’re getting a potential 25 HR/year infielder.

Oliver has some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the class and makes solid swing decisions. There’s power in here as well, with a 110.8 mph max EV, which he’s still working to get to consistently. He’ll need to loft the baseball a bit more in 2025, but there’s reason to believe in the skillset. Oliver plays an above-average 2B.

Out of high school Turley was a personal favorite. The tools are premium to say the least: it’s plus or better athleticism, power, and bat speed. He had a 112 mph max EV with the bulk of his batted balls coming towards his top-end range. The launch profile was plus, with a ton of loud contact in the air without much variance. There’s a track record of him doing similar things with wood, which is an added layer of confidence. Turley makes sound swing decisions, but whiffs >35%, 24.4% in-zone, and struck out at 27.5% in 2024. There’s some similarities on a broad scale to Vance Honeycutt, which is concerning.

His mix is headlined by a four-seam fastball at 93 mph with 17.5” of vertical break and 8.2” of horizontal movement. His slider is a true plus offering at 83 mph with 11.5” of sweep, producing a 51.2% swing-miss rate. Third pitch is the curveball, featuring 53.2” of drop, and drawing 41.8% whiff rate. He rounds out his mix with a change-up thrown primarily to lefties at 86 mph with 16” of run. He also throws a cutter in small samples, which has been effective for him. The command here is great on all fronts, and with a complete 5-pitch mix, Smith will have a shot to slot into day 1 of the draft in July.

Root has potentially one of the best arsenals in the class, but the projection here is relatively limited. He’s a secondaries first arm, and throws 4 of them average or better (Change-up, Curveball, Cutter, Slider). Best of the bunch is his curveball, 2-plane shape at 79 mph with -55” of depth drew a 48% whiff ratewith a .057 xwOBA against in 2024. Cutter and Slider profile near each other with about an inch of horizontal separation and 4” of vertical separation, but both drew strong whiff rates and BIP results. Strong pronator with a 2-seam fastball and change-up, both carry significant arm-side profiles. Root will be a part of the potential best rotation in the country with Landon Beidelschies and Gabe Gaeckle.

After a great freshman season at South Carolina there were 1-1 expectations on Petry, which may have been a bit premature. There’s a long history of performance, including a Cape Code League MVP award in 2024, but the whiffs have always been an issue. Petry’s a 35.4% whiff guy who K’d at 25.5% in 2024, with issues coming against velocity and spin. There’s power and feel for the strike-zone, but the profile looks to be 1B long term which limits my ability to be forgiving on the hit tool.

Schubart’s contact skills are a blemish on an overall enticing profile. It’s a 36.6% swing-miss rate, and 29.1% in the strike zone. His swing decisions are the saving grace for the hit tool, cutting his swing rate to 40.1% in 2024 with minimal chase at 19.3% and 69% zone swings. The draw with Schubart is the impact, he posted a 115 mph Max EV with a 112.6 90th EV in 2024 with his average EV at 97.6 mph. It’s plus-plus top-end power and a guy who will get to it with regularity. 37.2% barrel rate was top-15 in the nation last year, which matches up with a 21-degree average LA (26.8 on his hard-hits). Truly all fields pop, with his max EV to the opposite field being 1 mph above his average to the pull side. Based on the batted ball consistency this is in all likelihood he’ll constantly run a near .350 BABIP in the big leagues. I really like Joey Gallo as a comp here. Strong 6 ‘5 body type, left-handed hitting corner OF/1B, top-of-the-scale power, and a ton of swing-miss.

Graham sat 94 mph on his fastball in 2024, touching 98.2 mph, from a 5.8’ release height. The best secondary is a big sweeper at 82 mph that has depth and works 14” to his glove side. Graham drew 28.7% whiffs on the pitch. He throws a cutter and change-up both <10% usage. The cutter is thrown at 90 mph and had 10” vertical, 1.5” horizontal. Graham threw his change-up exclusively to left-handed hitters in 2024 and struggled to limit damage on the pitch, which is representative of an overarching issue for him facing left-handed hitters. The shape is really good, averaging at 85 mph while killing vertical and getting 17.3” of arm-side run. Over the summer he added a 5th pitch curveball with -18” of vertical break and 9” of sweep at 81.5 mph. With Graham, you’re getting a great collection of traits with athleticism and 5 distinct pitch types, all of which are average or better offerings. The key here will be the command, which has been up and down.

Caraway was a potential day 1 pick out of high school, but made his way to Corvallis and will be eligible as a sophomore in 2025. He missed the bulk of 2024 with injury, and the data was a mixed bag in a 17 game sample. He posted a 113.3 mph max EV, but didn’t produce much power outside of that. He had some whiff and chase problems as well, but the Cape Cod performance was good, more hits, less Ks, more walks. I struggle to say much more about him until he gets a full year under his belt at Oregon State, but the prospect pedigree is there.

I like Godbouts glove at 2B and think he can play 55 defense there. The arm is closer to average, but the actions are solid. He’s got double-plus bat-to-ball skills, whiffing <15%, and makes great swing decisions as well. The power is better than he gets credit for, with a max EV of 110 mph. There’s some variance in his launch angle distributions, and his barrel rate is lower than you might anticipate, but on the aggregate he puts the ball in the air with authority frequently enough that he’ll project as a 15 HR guy, but there’s a world in which he taps into more power moving forward.

Witherspoon can run the fastball up to 99 mph, while sitting in the 94-97 range. His slider is his go to secondary pitch. He has feel for the pitch and throws it at 85 mph with 2” of lift and 4” of glove-side. His change-up is thrown in the upper 80s, and can get into the low 90s, but the shape is poor. He throws a cutter as well in limited samples. The mix seems a bit incomplete and he’s not an outstanding mover, but the stuff plays on its own. He may not be a starter in pro ball, but there’s upside in there as a reliever.

Another infielder from a loaded Oregon State roster, Macias is one of the more complete bats in the class. While he’s on the more aggressive end of the spectrum, the chase rate isn’t egregious at 27.3%, and he’s got a knack for getting the bat on the baseball and rarely whiffs. There’s a 112 mph max EV as well, and some history of SLG. The launch angles on his hard-hits have been slightly suboptimal at 11.2 degrees, which is why the HRs haven’t come in full yet. Overall, the hit tool has been stable against high-level competition, there’s a baseline level of power, and he’s a good enough defender to play average or better 2B long term.

Compton was amazing on the Cape this summer, slashing .331/.414/.489 with 6 HRs in 38 games. The contact quality and bat speed were both on full display during that stint as well. At Arizona State in 2024, Compton was more of the same. While the exit velocities don’t stand out, the quality of his contact was high level. He put up a .406 xwOBAcon, with his launch angle profile concentrated near 12 degrees. It’s consistent line-drives right now, with an ability to loft the baseball at times, as shown on the Cape. The hit tool is average, and he will whiff a bit, but that’s more of an approach issue than anything else.

Shores has thrown just 18.1 innings since arriving on campus at LSU due to a Tommy John surgery in April 2023. He’s a player who had significant draft attention out of high school, and for good reason. In limited time for the Tigers he’s flashed 3 plus offerings, and averaged 96.8 mph on his fastball. If he’s healthy, the sky’s the limit.

Quick was great for Alabama as a freshman in 2023, sitting 95 mph on his fastball while flashing solid change-up and slider profiles. He threw just 3 innings in 2024 due to an elbow injury, and eventual surgery, but has been up to 99 mph so far this spring. If things fall into place for Quick this spring there’s very much a day 1 pick upside for him.

Kilen doesn’t whiff, just 15.7% overall and 7% in the strike zone, but has historically had issues with chases. The approach is extremely aggressive and has hindered his batted ball profiles at times, though he did a great job of limiting the variance last spring. There’s power, and barrel skills in here, enough to project that he’ll produce power at an above-average level moving forward. There’s a shortstop in here, but he may be best suited to play 2B long term.

A transfer from Utah Valley to LSU, Dickinson is a hit over power 2B type. In 2024 he posted 13.8% whiffs, and just 8.2% in the strike zone. It’s plus or better feel to hit, with above-average swing decisions. He’s undersized and the power went cold on the Cape this summer, but he’s shown the ability to tap into average raw power at times. The launch angle profile is stable, but the production upside is still limited. During his time at Utah Valley there were some inconsistencies against velocity, granted in a small sample, but he’ll be able to put those concerns to bed at LSU.

Austin is a great runner, and athletic enough to play almost anywhere on the diamond. I’m a fan of him at 2B, but he could have a chance in CF. The approach is sound, with minimal whiff to his game. He’ll chase a bit, but the swing decisions are still strong-average. He put up a 111 mph max EV with a .325 xwOBAcon and a 22.6% barrel rate, showing that the power output will likely be a tick above average. The launch angles are just alright, and it’s more gap to gap right now, but he’s shown the ability to loft. Always willing to take a bet on an SEC performer with this level of athleticism.

Abeldt throws from a horizontal slot, releasing the ball with a 5.1’ release height and 4.7’ release side. He throws 70% fastball and works in the mid 90s with the pitch. The slider is a draw, a low-80 pitch with 5” of sweep, 42.4% whiff and 31.9% chase. His cross-fire release creates a 98th percentile SL HAA at 6.16 degrees, maximizing the angle to his glove-side. The change-up shape is great, with 14.2” of arm-side and minimal vertical break.

Neville has elite contact quality, posting a .512 xwOBAcon in 2024 to go with an elite launch angle profile. He does the bulk of his damage in the air and has relatively no variance in his batted ball spray. The power is strong, with a 97 mph average EV and a 111.2 mph max, grading as plus. He rarely chases and has consistently shown above-average swing decisions. An issue going back to his prep days has been whiffs, with a 32.3% whiff rate in 2024 presenting red flags. The K rate was high, but it’s a sweet LH stroke, a great athlete and defender, with power and solid swing decisions. He’ll need to show improvements this year, but all the traits are here.