2025 MLB Draft: 2025 MLB Mock Draft Predicting The Top 43 Picks

The NFL, NBA, and NHL drafts have come and gone. Next on the clock is the 2025 MLB Draft. It’s time for SGPN to step up to the plate and deliver an MLB Mock Draft piece. Where will top prospects Kade Anderson and Ethan Holliday be picked?

My name is Noah Bieniek, and I host The College Baseball Experience and follow amateur baseball all year long. This year’s Major League Baseball draft takes place once again during the Mid-Summer Classic festivities. Day 1 of the Draft will be on Sunday, 7/13, in Atlanta, Georgia, prior to Day 2 of the Draft on Monday along with the Home Run Derby and then Tuesday’s All-Star Game.

The event’s popularity has grown exponentially since moving the date/location near the ASG. Fans in person and many front offices on site have helped improve the viewing quality a lot. Washington Nationals will be on the clock at No. 1 overall at 6:00 PM ET.

CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS

2025 MLB Draft: 2025 MLB Mock Draft Predicting The Top 43 Picks

The 2025 MLB Draft class is not very deep overall. Many scouts view it as a weak college player draft.

There is a very good crop of high school shortstops who will be drafted in the first round. Ethan Holliday, Eli Willits, Billy Carlson, and JoJo Parker lead the Prep SS charge.

Also, quite a few college left-handed pitchers will hear their name early this year. Kade Anderson, Liam Doyle, and Jamie Arnold all have a chance to be Top 10 picks.

If you are not aware, the MLB Draft is unlike any other pro sports draft. Sometimes, teams do not select the best player available. Each team is given a “Bonus Pool” prior to the draft. The teams have to spread the money among all of their picks throughout the 20-round extravaganza. Some teams will elect to spend less on their early picks in order to use more money on picks later in the draft.

I do not have any sources; instead, most of the picks in my MLB Mock Draft are based on past draft history. I believe most front offices draft based on their organizational strengths rather than their team’s needs. So, with all that said, wish me luck.

Pick	Team	Player	Position	College/Commitment
1	Nationals	ETHAN HOLLIDAY	SS/3B	Oklahoma State
		Washington fired GM Mike Rizzo just a week ahead of the 2025 MLB Draft. Brad Ciolek is the Nationals’ new Senior Director of Amateur Scouting. He came from the Orioles Organization and they always take tooled-out hitters early in drafts. Nationals followed suit and picked Seaver King in 2024. Ethan Holliday is the best high school hitter in the 2025 MLB Draft class right now. At 6-4, 210 pounds, Ethan is more physical than his brother Jackson and has huge raw power in a crisp left-handed swing. Holliday is an advanced hitter who grew up around a baseball family (son of Matt, nephew of Oklahoma State Baseball Head Coach Josh) and consistently makes hard contact. During his Senior year Holliday hit .611 with 19 home runs in 32 games.
2	Angels	LIAM DOYLE	LHP	TENNESSEE
		The Angels have selected six straight college players and three straight hitters with their most recent first-round picks. Liam Doyle is already 6-2, 220 pounds and a star in the SEC, so he doesn’t have much projection left, and that makes him a prime candidate to be LA’s first-round pick. Doyle was named 2025 SEC Pitcher of the Year and led the nation with 15.4 K/9. The southpaw’s fastball flirted with triple digits this past season. Doyle’s heater has good carry and armside movement. In the first few rounds LAA has also fallen in love with the Volunteers’ program in recent drafts (Christian Moore and Ben Joyce).
3	Mariners	SETH HERNANDEZ	RHP	Vanderbilt
		Seattle has selected a high school player with nine of their last 14 first-round picks. Seth Hernandez, a Corona High School product and Vanderbilt commit, is a very projectable 6-4, 190 pound RHP. He lands closed and finishes with long and whippy arm action. Hernandez’s fastball sits mid-90s with good ride and he’s touched 100. Hernandez is a very good strike thrower and has two plus offspeed offerings (changeup and slider).
4	Rockies	KADE ANDERSON	LHP	LSU
		The Rockies have selected five straight college players with 1st Round picks. Kade Anderson is the next best available 2025 MLB Draft prospect. Anderson led LSU to a National Championship this season and was named College World Series Most Outstanding Player after a 130-pitch Complete Game shutout against Coastal Carolina in the CWS Finals. The southpaw is a spin god. Anderson’s Uncle Charlie gets over 3000 rpm. His low-to-mid 90s fastball garnered 19 iVB in the 8th inning of his CWS Finals CG. Anderson also offers an above average changeup and slider as well.
5	Cardinals	JAMIE ARNOLD	LHP	FLORIDA STATE
		General Manager John Mozeliak and the Cardinals have selected 5 college pitchers in their last 10 first-round picks. How much impact Chaim Bloom will have on this year’s draft is unknown. Jamie Arnold provides two plus pitches: his mid-to-high 90s fastball and sweeper from a low left-handed arm slot. Arnold attacks the top of the zone viciously with his fastball, and his sweeper/changeup offspeed duo can make hitters look foolish. In his Sophomore season, Arnold racked up 159 strikeouts (3rd most in Div. I), an 11-3 record, a 2.98 ERA, and only 26 walks in 105.2 innings pitched.
6	Pirates	ELI WILLITS	SS	Oklahoma
		Pittsburgh hired away Boston’s Scouting Director, Justin Horowitz, this past offseason. In recent years, the Red Sox have valued hitters much more than pitchers with their early selections. Horowitz and the Pirates followed suit in 2024, taking Konnor Griffin. Eli Willits is a 6-1, 175 pound reclassified switch-hitting shortstop that could be the youngest player taken in the 2025 MLB Draft (17 years, 7 months). Willits comes with an MLB bloodline as his father Reggie played for the Yankees back in the day. Eli is a disciplined switch hitter at the plate and makes consistent line drive contact with great bat-to-ball skills.
7	Marlins	IKE IRISH	C/OF	AUBURN
		Miami definitely prefers the high school route in the first round. Under this scouting department, there has been a lean toward high school pitchers in recent years. However, Ike Irish has not submitted a medical examination and is exempt from a slot value minimum. In result this would allow the team that drafts Irish the ability to spread more money throughout all 20 rounds of the draft. An organization like Miami could use that extra cash to pay up for high school players later in the draft to keep them from taking their NIL offer and going the college route. Irish is a power/hit first, defense second profile. Irish’s profile began as a catcher. He has a strong arm but has faced receiving questions throughout his college career at Auburn. In 2025 he played Right Field to allow the Tigers to play Chase Fralick at Catcher in order to put their best 9 players on the field. Either way, it is plus power for Irish with great bat-to-ball skills. In two seasons, Irish has compiled a .343 batting average, a .999 OPS, and 20 home runs.
8	Blue Jays	KYSON WITHERSPOON	RHP	OKLAHOMA
		Six of Toronto’s last 10 Round 1 picks have been college pitchers. Kyson Witherspoon is an intriguing power pitcher who can pepper the high 90s with his fastball. He supports the heater with a hard slider and can throw a changeup and curveball. Consistent command deep into outings is a work in progress, but he mowed down SEC competition in his Junior year. Witherspoon posted a 10-4 record with a 2.65 ERA, 124 K, 23 BB, and 95 innings pitched.
9	Reds	TYLER BREMNER	RHP	UC SANTA BARBARA
		Cincinnati has selected three straight college right-handed pitchers in the first round. At 6-2, 190 pounds, Tyler Bremner is an explosive metric darling. Bremner features a high 90s fastball with a big iVB and a deceptive delivery that allows his fastball-changeup combo to play up. He received an invite to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team after an 11-1, 2.54 ERA, 104 K, 21 BB, 88.2 IP campaign in 2024. Bremner’s draft stock fell slightly after a tough start to 2025 against mid-major college competition.
10	White Sox	AIVA ARQUETTE	SS	OREGON STATE
		The White Sox have selected a college hitter with 9 of their last 12 first-round picks. Aiva Arquette is a 6-4, 200 pound shortstop who grew up in Hawaii and has played his college ball with Washington and Oregon State. Arquette does everything well. He has above average power and good hit tools. The Hawaiian is a versatile fielder, with a good arm, and has a projectable build.
11	Athletics	JACE LAVIOLETTE	OF	TEXAS A&M
		The Athletics have had nine Round 1 picks in the last eight years. They’ve selected six college hitters. This range is a bit murky for college hitters, the A’s could honestly pick eight guys and I wouldn’t be surprised. However, the Athletics are in a spot where they desperately need star power on the diamond in Sacramento and Las Vegas for various reasons. Shooting for upside in a draft class that doesn’t have many potential superstars seems like a no brainer. Jace LaViolette is already 6-6, 230 pounds and was a star in the SEC. LaViolette is super physical and possesses all five tools. It’s a beautiful uppercut left-handed swing that allowed him to break Texas A&M’s all time program home run record. His above-average speed and arm strength suggest he could stick in centerfield or could handle RF. LaViolette entered 2025 as the unquestioned No. 1 college hitting prospect. It allowed scouts and etc to poke as many holes as possible in his profile over the last year. The red flag on LaViollette’s profile is that he had a lot of swing-and-miss especially against LHP that resulted in a 25.2% strikeout rate. Bottom line Jace LaViolette had an OPS North of 1.000 in all three of his seasons in the SEC. In the conference tournament he was hit by a pitch that broke a bone in his left hand. LaViolette got surgery on the same day and then played in the next day’s game and recorded a RBI. This guy has plus plus character and that should be a MLB Draft green flag.
12	Rangers	JOSEPH "JOJO" PARKER	SS	Mississippi State
		General Manager Chris Young has had a hand in selecting four straight college players in the 1st Round. However some MLB Draft buzz has linked Texas with Joseph “JoJo” Parker to possibly be the Mississippi HS shortstop’s floor. Parker is a projectable bat-first profile and is one of the better ones from this year’s high school class. At 6-foot-2, 195 lbs Parker has a simple and smooth lefty swing and he rips backspinned line drives consistently. His eye at the plate is excellent.
13	Giants	WEHIWA ALOY	SS	ARKANSAS
		San Francisco has selected college players with six of their last seven first-round picks, four of which have been position players. Wehiwa Aloy was named SEC Player of the Year and the Golden Spikes Award winner in the 2025 college season where he hit .349 with a 1.097 OPS, 20 home runs, and 19 doubles. The Hawaiian shortstop began his college career at Sacramento State and finished it playing in the College World Series for Arkansas where the fans cultivated in fandom around him and his younger brother Kuhio Aloy. Wehiwa has a level swing with great whippy bat speed.
14	Rays	STEELE HALL	SS	Tennessee
		In their last 13 first-round picks, Tampa Bay has selected nine hitters (five high school). Steele Hall is a 5-foot-11, 160 pound shortstop with elite speed and projectable power as he continues to grow into his frame. Hall is one of the youngest players in the 2025 MLB Draft class after reclassifying from the ‘26 class. He is an outstanding defender at shortstop and is an aggressive hitter with a quick swing.
15	Red Sox	BILLY CARLSON	SS	Tennessee
		Boston has taken four middle infielders (three high school) with their last five first-round picks. The Red Sox could find themselves in a similar situation as they were in last year when Braden Montgomery fell out of the Top 10. Keep an eye on the blue chip high school shortstops, specifically Billy Carlson. Boston has a sandwich round 1 pick that they could manuever some money and drag a guy like Carlson through the 8-13 range. Tampa Bay could snipe Carlson but Steele Hall feels like the Rays’ match made in heaven. Billy Carlson is a legit shortstop, his defensive capabilities are not why the Corona (CA) shortstop may slip. The lower half of his swing needs some refining. At the plate Carlson has a line-drive approach and good bat speed that could translate to raw power with development. Carlson excels defensively with good agility and a strong arm.
16	Twins	BRENDAN SUMMERHILL	OF	ARIZONA
		Minnesota has selected a hitter with 11 of their 13 first-round picks. Seven of those selections were out of college. The Twins are an organization that drafts position players based off batted ball data. Brendan Summerhill is a pro prospect with a high floor. He has a super low whiff rate and impacts the baseball with good exit velocity. At a lean 6-3, 195 pounds, there is still a projection for power in Summerhill’s game. He posted a career .323 batting average and a .959 OPS, with 150 runs scored, and a 82/80 BB/K ratio in three seasons at Arizona. The all-around potential should keep Summerhill in the Top 25 picks.
17	Cubs	GAGE WOOD	RHP	ARKANSAS
		Five of the last eight Round 1 selections made by the Cubs have been college pitchers. In 2022 Chicago made a risky selection drafting Cade Horton, a buzzy RHP from Oklahoma that pitched superbly down the stretch of the season as the MLB Draft neared. Gage Wood fits that exact same narrative after shrugging off an early season shoulder injury. Gage Wood was explosive during his last appearance of the 2025 season with Arkansas. Wood tossed a 19-strikeout, zero-walk (2 HBP) complete game no-hitter in the College World Series against Murray State. He has a sturdy filled-out build at 6-foot, 205 pounds. Wood possesses demonic fastball traits. The FB is thrown with a flat approach angle and sits in the upper 90s. The pitch garners a 32% whiff rate and is tunneled with a devastating curveball. Wood will also throw a changeup and a pitch that consistently bounces between a cutter/slider classification.
18	Diamondbacks	CADEN BODINE	C	COASTAL CAROLINA
		Arizona has selected high school hitters with seven of their last 12 Round 1 picks. That’s obviously not an overwhelming majority so let’s rely on the recent buzz. According to Joe Doyle of Future Stars Series, “the Diamondbacks, without question, covet Caden Bodine and see similarities to what Daulton Varsho once was in Arizona. This would save the DBacks some money for No. 29 and the rest of their picks throughout the 2025 MLB Draft. Caden Bodine has an outstanding feel for the strike zone as a switch hitter. Being a catcher helps him out in that aspect. Bodine has plus defensive capabilities outside of the average arm. Most notably Bodine went viral for how well he frames pitches during the College World Series. Logically MLB teams shouldn’t draft Bodine based off framing alone because of the incoming ABS strike zone. Nonetheless, Bodine’s bat is made for the big leagues. He has an all fields approach and raw power. Bodine is a physical 5-foot-10, 200 pounds but played centerfield in high school and is quite mobile. In three seasons, the Coastal Carolina Catcher cataloged a .337 batting average, .968 OPS, 25 home runs, and a 141/68 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
19	Orioles	ANDREW FISCHER	1B/OF	TENNESSEE
		In eight straight MLB Drafts, Baltimore has selected tooled-out hitters. The Orioles are swinging the big stick in this year’s draft after a trade earlier this week with Tampa Bay to acquire another 1st Round pick which then gave the O’s the highest 2025 MLB Draft bonus pool. Baltimore can get really creative with their draft class. Andrew Fischer is a slam dunk under slot candidate that will allow the Orioles to open up their pocket book later on with their remaining 3 first round picks. Andrew Fischer has a physical 6-1, 205-pound build with plus power. This season in the SEC Fischer hit .341 with a 1.257 OPS, 25 dingers, career high walk rate (22%) and career low strikeout rate (14%). His batted ball data is near the top in most categories and will mesh extremely well with Baltimore’s draft models.
20	Brewers	GAVIN KILEN	2B/SS	TENNESSEE
		Matt Arnold is the new General Manager of the Brewers, and the 2024 Draft was uncharacteristic of the Brewers' normal hauls. I don’t know what to expect from Milwaukee in 2025, so the best available player, Gavin Kilen, feels like a nice fit. Gavin Kilen is a 5-11, 185-pound batted ball data darling. Kilen consistently records triple-digit exit velocities with elite bat-to-ball skills. The left handed hitter raked in 2025 with a .357 average, 1.112 OPS, 15 HR, 13 2B, 60 R, and 46 RBI. Kilen played some second base with the Volunteers but has a chance to stay at Shortstop with good fielding ability and a strong arm.
21	Astros	MAREK HOUSTON	SS	WAKE FOREST
		Houston has selected a college hitter with 6 of their last 8 picks in the 1st round. Marek Houston is the best defensive shortstop in the 2025 MLB Draft class. Houston has quick feet and elite hands. He lacks a little bit of power at the plate and everybody says that Wake Forest’s home field inflated his power numbers. Houston makes consistent line-drive contact and as he continues to develop physically more power could come. The “Juice Box” much like “The Couch” could aid Houston’s patented lasers in finding the Crawford Boxes or sneaking over the RF fence and turning them into more home runs. Add 20 homers per year with elite defense and that’s a franchise shortstop.
22	Braves	JACK BAUER	LHP	Mississippi State
		Nine of Atlanta’s last 11 first-round picks have been pitchers (five high school). More specifically the Braves have loved to find arms with an elite pitch. Jack Bauer doesn’t just have the best name in the 2025 MLB Draft, he has the best fastball in it too. Bauer is the hardest throwing high school southpaw in history with a fastball that has touched 102 mph this Spring. He compliments that with a 3,000 rpm slider. You may be wondering, ‘how is this kid not in the Top 5?’ Right now Bauer has some command questions and only throws (needs) two pitches. Bauer throws a changeup but it needs more development. Bottom line, there is precious clay for somebody to try to mold into, Atlanta seems like a perfect destination.
23	Royals	GAVIN FIEN	3B	Texas
		Through two drafts with Kansas City, Scouting Director Brian Bridges hasn’t really established a trend in the first round. 4 of their first 7 Top 100 selections have been prep players. The slide for Gavin Fien stops here. The only true weakness on Gavin Fien’s player profile is his defensive outlook. Fien currently plays shortstop but his lower half is not projectable long term for the position and he likely fits in the corners of the infield or outfield. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds Fien was one of, if not the best hitter for this past USA Baseball 18u National Team. Fien has good power and rips line drives to all fields.
24	Tigers	KAYSON CUNNINGHAM	SS	Texas
		Scott Harris, president of baseball operations, has made three first-round selections with the Detroit Tigers. All three of them have been high school hitters, and he hails from the Farhan-Zaidi-Giants organization, which valued prep players highly. Detroit sports fans are already acclimated to the last name of Cunningham, why not add another? Kayson Cunningham is a “5-foot-10”, 175-pound shortstop from Johnson, Texas. He has a quiet and quick left-handed swing. In 2024 Cunningham was the MVP for the U18 Team USA batting .417 in the World Cup qualifier. Cunningham is a stolen base sleuth and has good arm strength that should allow him to stay at short. It’s a pure-hit player projection with the ability to put the ball in play to all fields.
25	Padres	SLATER de BRUN	SS	Vanderbilt
		San Diego has drafted 12 prepsters with their last 14 first-round picks. Slater de Brun stands at just 5-foot-9, 190 pounds but is an absolute burner. Every time de Brun gets on base he will be a stolen base threat. He has great range and an above average arm so de Brun should stay in centerfield. de Brun has a great approach at the plate and makes very good contact with a short swing.
26	Phillies	QUENTIN YOUNG	SS/3B/OF	LSU
		Philadelphia has picked a prep player with six straight first-round selections. Here’s a history lesson that hasn’t been talked about much. In 2002 GM Dave Dombrowski arrived in Detroit as the President and CEO of the rebuilding Tigers. One of his first moves in the offseason was trading Luis Pineda and Juan Encarnacion for ‘03 All Star Dmitri Young, formerly a 4th overall selection. Later during the 2011 season Dombrowski and the Tigers traded for Delmon Young. Delmon homered in his first AB with Detroit and went on to become the 2012 ALCS MVP. In the ensuing offseason Young became a free agent and signed with… the Phillies. Quentin Young is the nephew of both Dmitri and Delmon. Young reclassified into the 2025 MLB Draft class from ‘26. Quentin Young is a 6-foot-5, 215 pound freak athlete. He has light tower power, with strength and bat speed. Young plays shortstop however will probably move off the position due to his size and stature. He has great speed and a rocket attached to his right arm that could make him a great right fielder if he doesn’t play in center.
27	Guardians	ETHAN CONRAD	OF	WAKE FOREST
		Cleveland has drafted 8 hitters with their last 14 first-round picks. Their front office has a notable affinity for middle infielders. Also, the Guardians have noticeably liked the top percentile performers from the Cape Cod League. Ethan Conrad was the 2024 Cape Cod League All Star Game MVP and Summer Breakout Prospect Award winner. Conrad recorded the CCBL’s second highest average and OPS at .385 and .919 respectively. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder had his Junior year with Wake Forest strategically cut short due to a lingering shoulder injury that shouldn’t be a long term worry. During his sophomore season at Marist, Conrad hit .389 with a 1.171 OPS, 9 bombs, and led the country with 13 triples. The ceiling outcome for Conrad is 5-tool capability.
28	Royals	KRUZ SCHOOLCRAFT	LHP/UTIL	Tennessee
		Through two drafts with Kansas City, Scouting Director Brian Bridges hasn’t really established a trend in the first round. 4 of their first 7 Top 100 selections have been prep players. Last year the Royals selected the multi-talented Jac Caglianone. Let’s mock another 2-way player to Kansas City. Kruz Schoolcraft is already a whopping 6-foot-8, 215 pounds and has a fastball in the mid-90s. Schoolcraft re-classified to jump up from the 2026 Draft class to 2025. He has a quick arm with a good pitch arsenal to support the fastball. Schoolcraft’s changeup has knuckleball characteristics that records sub-1000 rpm. Schoolcraft swings a slurve in to put away left-handers and to set up fastballs away against RHH.
29	Diamondbacks	DANIEL PIERCE	SS	Georgia
		Arizona has selected high school hitters with seven of their last 12 Round 1 picks. In an ideal world outside of Baltimore who picks directly after the Diamondbacks and has more money than the DBacks, the Snakes should have their top pick once he slips past No. 24. will have their choice on any guy. The best available prepster would be Daniel Pierce and this would be a bit of a slide for Pierce. Pierce is an excellent defender with a plus arm that just needs time to grow into his offensive potential. At the plate Pierce has shown potential, for example at the 2024 East Coast Pro showcase. Pierce has some pop but the swing needs some mechanical tuning. When at his best Pierce has a great eye with a balanced build and pull-side-power.
30	Orioles	JOSH HAMMOND	3B/SS/RHP	Wake Forest
		Baltimore has the biggest stack of bonus pool cash on the table in this year’s draft after a trade earlier this week with Tampa Bay to acquire another 1st Round pick. There has been loads of buzz that the reason for that trade was to come over top the Diamondbacks with a better offer for Josh Hammond. After all, in eight straight MLB Drafts the Orioles have selected tooled-out hitters. Josh Hammond came onto the circuit as a 6-foot-2, 215 pound two-way player. In the Spring of 2025 Hammond made the highly critiqued decision to ditch pitching. What do you know, it looks like it was the correct decision. Hammond has terrific arm strength and if his footwork improves he could stay at shortstop, but his bat would definitely hold it’s own at 3rd base if needed. He has a leg kick and great bat speed which creates explosions on contact. Hammond has 30 home run potential.
31	Orioles	XAVIER NEYENS	3B/OF	Oregon State
		Xavier Neyens is a projectable bat-first profile. He stands 6-4, 205 pounds and with raw power, and has shown a good feel for the barrel against older competition growing up. Neyens will play a corner infield or outfield position with a strong arm.
32	Brewers	LUKE STEVENSON	C	NORTH CAROLINA
		Matt Arnold is the new General Manager of the Brewers, and the 2024 Draft was uncharacteristic of the Brewers' normal hauls. I don’t know what to expect from Milwaukee in 2025, so the best available player, Luke Stevenson could be a top choice. Luke Stevenson is one of the best all-around defensive catchers in the 2025 MLB Draft class. Stevenson excels at getting on-base (19.1% walk rate) and has a track record of being a power hitter in all six years of his high school and college career in North Carolina. The lefty slugger was the NC home run leader during his Senior year of HS and swatted 33 in two years with the Tar Heels.
33	Red Sox	JOSEPH DZIERWA	LHP	MICHIGAN STATE
		Boston has taken four middle infielders (three high school) with their last five first-round picks. Last year the Red Sox selected a position player with their first pick and then followed it up with a freaky left handed pitcher. Let’s have them reenacting that in the 2025 MLB Draft. Joseph Dzierwa is an alien, in the most complimentary way possible. Dzierwa (jer-wah) is a 6-foot-7 sidearm southpaw that has been one of the best college performers in both of the last two years. The Big Ten Pitcher of the Year tossed a 2.36 ERA with a sub-1 WHIP, 104 strikeouts, and just 22 walks in 91.2 innings pitched. Dzierwa sits in the low-90s with his fastball and it garnered a 34% chase rate due to the arm slot and pitch’s perceived cut. The changeup is the best offspeed offering. Dzierwa’s change-piece dazzled by drawing 44% chase and 39% whiff rates vs RHH and 50% chase rate and .111 batting average vs LHH.
34	Tigers	CAM CANNARELLA	OF	CLEMSON
		Scott Harris, president of baseball operations, has made three first-round selections with the Detroit Tigers. All three of them have been high school hitters. There is not an obvious prep candidate in this spot with many other deals being cut around the Tigers. Cam Cannarella is the best available prospect that possesses some tools that the new brass in Detroit have admired. Cannarella has elite bat-to-ball skills with an outstanding eye at the plate. He has plus speed and has plus range in the outfield. The Clemson star basically played through his entire sophomore season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Throughout his career with the Tigers Cannarella tallied a .360 AVG, 1.004 OPS, 23 HR, 54 2B, 192 R, 159 RBI, and he had a knack for the big time, clutch moments. Additionally the head coach of Clemson, Erik Bakich, has a few connections in the Tigers Development staff. Cannarella is a bulldog and great leader that should earn him a few brownie points on the counting report.
35	Mariners	AJ RUSSELL	RHP	TENNESSEE
		Seattle has selected a high school player with nine of their last 14 first-round picks. I mocked a prep RHP to them with the No. 3 overall pick. High school pitchers are a risky demographic so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mariners back it up with a college arm. AJ Russell is a polarizing prospect in this range of the draft. Russell had UCL surgery in June of 2024 then came back in 2025 appearing in relief outings. The 6-foot-6, 225 pound righthander possesses a mean mid-90s fastball that has a lot of carry thrown from a short release height and low three-quarters arm slot. Pre-surgery the FB garnered a 42% whiff rate. Russell supports the heater with a slider and changeup that both probably need some tuning at the next level.
36	Twins	MAX BELYEU	OF	TEXAS
		Minnesota has selected a hitter with 11 of their 13 first-round picks. Seven of those selections were out of college. The Twins are an organization that drafts position players based off batted ball data. That should bode well for 2024 Big 12 Player of the Year Max Belyeu out of Texas. Max Belyeu is a sturdy 6-foot-2, 195 pounds with not a whole lot of development left to be made to his growth. Belyeu is an aggressive hitter with good bat-to-ball skills and creates great power at contact point. The Longhorn outfielder isn’t swift of foot, but it’s not a weakness. Long term right field probably suits Belyeu and his strong arm best.
37	Orioles	DEVIN TAYLOR	OF	INDIANA
		Once again Baltimore has the largest MLB Draft bonus pool in modern history. The possibilities are endless but the latest trends have been toolsy hitters. Devin Taylor broke Kyle Schwarber’s program home run record at Indiana in three seasons. Yes, you read that correctly. Taylor has lightning bat speed supported by an athletic frame. Scouts suggest Taylor has raw power but I’m not sure how much projection is left for Taylor as he is already 6-0, 200 pounds. In 798 collegiate plate appearances Taylor has a .350 average with a 1.130 OPS and 54 home runs. Taylor is a great runner and average defender in the outfield.
38	Mets	ALEX LODISE	SS	FLORIDA STATE
		David Stearns is the new General Manager of the Mets. He comes from Milwaukee, where the Brewers had selected four straight college hitters until this year. Stearns and the Mets selected a college hitter with each of their first 4 picks in the 2024 MLB Draft. Alex Lodise, the Dick Howser Award winner, stops his fall here. Lodise batted .394, with a 1.167 OPS, 17 HR, 18 2B, 68 RBI, and 62 runs scored to also get named ACC Player of the Year. The Florida State shortstop is a strong and athletic defender with the lateral quickness, swift hands, and great arm to stay at shortstop long term.
39	Yankees	MASON NEVILLE	OF	OREGON
		The Yankees have drafted seven college hitters with their last 12 first-round picks. New York tends to break their ties, leaning more towards left-handers to exploit its short porch. Mason Neville tied for the nation’s home run lead (26) in 2025. Neville’s achilles heel is the swing and miss but he took positive steps in ‘25 cutting his strikeout percentage drastically. The Oregon lefty slugger is a defined 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and is strong in the lower half which helped him create his power in ‘25 along with his great bat speed. Neville manned centerfield for the Ducks this season with great speed and arm strength.
40	Dodgers	PATRICK FORBES	RHP	LOUISVILLE
		The Dodgers have selected 8 college players with their last 13 first-round picks. Los Angeles has the ability to drag a talented player down the draft order and spend overslot on this pick knowing that they make back-to-back selections. Patrick Forbes broke out in the 2024 Summer pitching in the Cape Cod League. Forbes followed that up by pitching to a 4.42 ERA, with 117 strikeouts, in 71.1 innings and was the unquestioned Ace of a College World Series team. His fastball sits in the mid-to-high 90s with good ride out of a low three-quarters arm slot. Forbes’ slider has good shape; he just has to fine tune his accuracy. Thanks to Bobby Miller and Will Smith the Dodgers have lately had a Top round draft pipeline through Louisville.
41	Dodgers	GAVIN TURLEY	OF	OREGON STATE
		The Dodgers have selected 8 college players with their last 13 first-round picks. This will probably be the cheaper of Los Angeles’ back-to-back picks. Gavin Turley is a proven college product for the Dodgers to take with their second 1st round pick. Turley broke many Oregon State program records where his career numbers were absurd: .314 AVG, 1.121 OPS, 53 HR, 189 RBI, and 151 runs scored. Turley has all-around potential with his 6-foot-1, 195-pound compact build. It is an explosive swing with great bat speed that results in big time pull-side power and the ability to go yard to all fields.
42	Rays	BRANDON COMPTON	OF	ARIZONA STATE
		In their last 13 first-round picks, Tampa Bay has selected nine hitters (five high school). Obviously that’s not a convincing prep vs college ratio. I mocked a prep star to the Rays with their first pick, now we go to the best available college player. Brandon Compton is another model friendly hitter for the Orioles. Compton is a compact 6-foot-1, 210 pounds that has great power and consistently records high exit velocities off the bat. The left handed slugger burst onto the scene during his Freshman year in the PAC 12 but took a step back in Year 2 playing the Big 12 schedule. Last Summer Compton also tantalized true potential when playing in the Cape Cod League too.
43	Marlins	SEAN GAMBLE	2B/SS/OF	Vanderbilt
		Miami definitely prefers the high school route in the first round. Sean Gamble has an all-around game. The Vanderbilt commit has a smooth left handed swing, controls the zone, and can do damage to all fields. Gamble is an above average runner which allows him to project well at shortstop or in centerfield.

2025 MLB Draft: 2025 MLB Mock Draft Predicting The Top 43 Picks

Tune into The College Baseball Experience podcast and show to hear about any more MLB Draft developments. Stick with Noah Bieniek and TCE throughout the NCAA Baseball offseason for periodical transfer portal and coaching carousel updates as well as any other news along the way.