With the college season hitting its halfway point, several hitters have emerged as major draft risers, separating themselves through a combination of polish, power, and production. Some entered the year under the radar and have forced their way into national conversations; others have taken a leap forward by refining key parts of their offensive game. Whether it’s improved plate discipline, a jump in exit velocity, or a more complete all-around profile, these bats are making scouts take notice. Here’s a look at the data behind five standout performers who’ve seen their stock soar this spring.
Gavin Kilen
Coming into 2025 I was curious to see how Kilen’s approach would change, considering he ran a 37% chase rate in 2024 with a 30% mark on the Cape over the summer. This spring he’s cut it down to 18.2%, and has seen his wOBA on contact jump up by .188. For me, the approach is much more sustainable, and an O-Contact% drop off wouldn’t be as impactful to his results as it previously would’ve been. His signature bat-to-ball skills are good as always, with a 15.8% whiff rate. On the same thread, he’s also been one of the best hitters in the nation vs breaking balls, with an 84% contact rate and .405 xwOBA. He covers fastballs up and away at an elite level as well, which is a positive indicator for a LH hitter. The weakness here has been on change-ups, but despite a 35% whiff rate on the pitch he’s got a 42% HH rate on them. The launch profile is average for me, with a 10.5 degree average (same on his hard hits), and a near-26 stdevLA for his career (league average). The EVs have run light so far this year, with a 108 mph max in 2025, though he’s got a 111 mph career max which points to near plus in game power. He plays 2B, which may knock him for some but he’s solid at the spot and is the most well rounded offensive profile out of the college bat demographic for me this year.
Alex Lodise
Lodise is one perhaps the most aggressive hitter I’ve seen be this productive. He’s swinging 52.5% of the time, 80% in the strike zone, and chasing at 32.6%. The whiff rates have been shockingly good, approach considered, with a 24.7% rate. I see a potential issue with sliders, though. It’s 37.3% whiffs on the pitch which is a red flag considering the popularity of the offering in pro ball, but on the flip side he’s running a .980 wOBA when he makes contact which is freakish. He’s got a 113 mph max EV this year with a 108 90th EV, and profiles with plus or better power. His 58% HH Rate and 95 mph average EV bode well for his average contact profile, which is supplemented by an above-average LA profile. The look here is an outstanding shortstop defender with plus power, which is great in itself. The tough part here is there’s a million ways you could go on the hit tool, but even if you want to say it’s 40 you have to ask if the contact will be good enough to make that a non-factor.
Mason Neville
The bat here has been leaps and bounds ahead of anything I’ve seen out of Mason to this point. On the circuit in high school he whiffed at 35% and in the first 2 years of his college career he whiffed 33.7% of the time with a 37.7% strikeout rate. This year, he’s whiffing at 25%, and has dropped the K-rate below 20% and has a 1:1 BB:K ratio. The contact quality here is top-end, with a .450 xwOBAcon and a 31.3% barrel rate. His 20.2 degree HH LA and 97 mph average EV on aerial contact allows 60-grade power to play up, with 13 HRs and 10 doubles so far this year. The bat speed here is special with lots of pulled contact and he’s killing velocity (0% whiffs, .731 xwOBAcon vs 92+). The worry here is below average contact rates vs secondaries - 64.3% to be exact - will come into play at the pro level, but for me the athlete, power and hit vs fastballs is enough to put him firmly in the second round conversation.
Antonio Jimenez
Jimenez is an above-average shortstop defender for me, with the arm strength and actions to stick there long term. He’s been impressive with the bat as well, whiffing at 19.8% (7.9% in-zone). He’s passive though, with his swing decisions profiling as below average, as he’s only swinging 39% of the time and at 60.2% in-zone, which is partially to blame for the low zone whiffs mark. He’s got a 110.5 mph max EV, good for 55 power, with a 107.6 mph 90th EV and is doing the bulk of his damage in the air. The contact quality has been great, with a .400 xwOBAcon, .499 vs secondaries, and a 22.7% barrel rate.
Kyle Lodise
Kyle, a cousin of Alex Lodise, has been a pleasant surprise this year for me. After spending 2024 at Division 2 Augusta, Lodise went to the Cape where he was good not great, hitting .243 with a .756 OPS while whiffing 25% and chasing 17% of the time. After a solid fall at Georgia Tech, I came into the spring with a 4th rounder on Lodise but he quickly outperformed that. He’s whiffing at 22.1% with a 17.7% chase rate this year, but has trended towards passivity and given away strikes as a result. There’s a clear feel for loft in there, with a 16.6 LA (18 degrees on his hard hits) and 12 HRs. Most of the power is coming to his pull side, which is a positive considering fringe average power, with a 47.5% pull rate and 44% air pull rate. He’s impressed on both velocity and breaking stuff, which was one of my main questions considering that he was moving up a level. I think he’s serviceable at shortstop, but is a better fit at 2B long term.
With the college season hitting its halfway point, several hitters have emerged as major draft risers, separating themselves through a combination of polish, power, and production. Some entered the year under the radar and have forced their way into national conversations; others have taken a leap forward by refining key parts of their offensive game. Whether it’s improved plate discipline, a jump in exit velocity, or a more complete all-around profile, these bats are making scouts take notice. Here’s a look at the data behind five standout performers who’ve seen their stock soar this spring.
Gavin Kilen
Coming into 2025 I was curious to see how Kilen’s approach would change, considering he ran a 37% chase rate in 2024 with a 30% mark on the Cape over the summer. This spring he’s cut it down to 18.2%, and has seen his wOBA on contact jump up by .188. For me, the approach is much more sustainable, and an O-Contact% drop off wouldn’t be as impactful to his results as it previously would’ve been. His signature bat-to-ball skills are good as always, with a 15.8% whiff rate. On the same thread, he’s also been one of the best hitters in the nation vs breaking balls, with an 84% contact rate and .405 xwOBA. He covers fastballs up and away at an elite level as well, which is a positive indicator for a LH hitter. The weakness here has been on change-ups, but despite a 35% whiff rate on the pitch he’s got a 42% HH rate on them. The launch profile is average for me, with a 10.5 degree average (same on his hard hits), and a near-26 stdevLA for his career (league average). The EVs have run light so far this year, with a 108 mph max in 2025, though he’s got a 111 mph career max which points to near plus in game power. He plays 2B, which may knock him for some but he’s solid at the spot and is the most well rounded offensive profile out of the college bat demographic for me this year.
Alex Lodise
Lodise is one perhaps the most aggressive hitter I’ve seen be this productive. He’s swinging 52.5% of the time, 80% in the strike zone, and chasing at 32.6%. The whiff rates have been shockingly good, approach considered, with a 24.7% rate. I see a potential issue with sliders, though. It’s 37.3% whiffs on the pitch which is a red flag considering the popularity of the offering in pro ball, but on the flip side he’s running a .980 wOBA when he makes contact which is freakish. He’s got a 113 mph max EV this year with a 108 90th EV, and profiles with plus or better power. His 58% HH Rate and 95 mph average EV bode well for his average contact profile, which is supplemented by an above-average LA profile. The look here is an outstanding shortstop defender with plus power, which is great in itself. The tough part here is there’s a million ways you could go on the hit tool, but even if you want to say it’s 40 you have to ask if the contact will be good enough to make that a non-factor.
Mason Neville
The bat here has been leaps and bounds ahead of anything I’ve seen out of Mason to this point. On the circuit in high school he whiffed at 35% and in the first 2 years of his college career he whiffed 33.7% of the time with a 37.7% strikeout rate. This year, he’s whiffing at 25%, and has dropped the K-rate below 20% and has a 1:1 BB:K ratio. The contact quality here is top-end, with a .450 xwOBAcon and a 31.3% barrel rate. His 20.2 degree HH LA and 97 mph average EV on aerial contact allows 60-grade power to play up, with 13 HRs and 10 doubles so far this year. The bat speed here is special with lots of pulled contact and he’s killing velocity (0% whiffs, .731 xwOBAcon vs 92+). The worry here is below average contact rates vs secondaries - 64.3% to be exact - will come into play at the pro level, but for me the athlete, power and hit vs fastballs is enough to put him firmly in the second round conversation.
Antonio Jimenez
Jimenez is an above-average shortstop defender for me, with the arm strength and actions to stick there long term. He’s been impressive with the bat as well, whiffing at 19.8% (7.9% in-zone). He’s passive though, with his swing decisions profiling as below average, as he’s only swinging 39% of the time and at 60.2% in-zone, which is partially to blame for the low zone whiffs mark. He’s got a 110.5 mph max EV, good for 55 power, with a 107.6 mph 90th EV and is doing the bulk of his damage in the air. The contact quality has been great, with a .400 xwOBAcon, .499 vs secondaries, and a 22.7% barrel rate.
Kyle Lodise
Kyle, a cousin of Alex Lodise, has been a pleasant surprise this year for me. After spending 2024 at Division 2 Augusta, Lodise went to the Cape where he was good not great, hitting .243 with a .756 OPS while whiffing 25% and chasing 17% of the time. After a solid fall at Georgia Tech, I came into the spring with a 4th rounder on Lodise but he quickly outperformed that. He’s whiffing at 22.1% with a 17.7% chase rate this year, but has trended towards passivity and given away strikes as a result. There’s a clear feel for loft in there, with a 16.6 LA (18 degrees on his hard hits) and 12 HRs. Most of the power is coming to his pull side, which is a positive considering fringe average power, with a 47.5% pull rate and 44% air pull rate. He’s impressed on both velocity and breaking stuff, which was one of my main questions considering that he was moving up a level. I think he’s serviceable at shortstop, but is a better fit at 2B long term.
