Nicely, the massive weekend is lastly (nearly) right here.
We’re just a few days away from the 2025 MLB Draft, set to start Sunday from Atlanta throughout All-Star Week, and pleasure is beginning to attain a fever pitch. MLB Pipeline’s prospect gurus broke all of it down on the newest MLB Pipeline Podcast, detailing all the things it’s essential know.
Scouting stories, grades and video for all gamers talked about beneath will be discovered on MLB Pipeline’s Draft High 250 record. Listed here are the 9 important storylines we’re watching heading into the Draft:
Draft protection:
Day 1 (Rounds 1-3): Solar., July 13, 6 p.m. ET (MLBN/MLB.com/ESPN)
Day 2 (Rounds 4-20): Mon., July 14, 11:30 a.m. ET (MLB.com)
Will highschool slugger Ethan Holliday be part of his brother, Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, and grow to be the primary brother pair to go 1-1 in Draft historical past? Holliday, the No. 1 prospect on our High 250 Draft board, has been the foregone conclusion right here for some time now. But it surely’s not a certain factor the Nationals will go on this route with the highest decide. Washington has but to tip its hand about who it favors with this all-important decide, and given the group simply made main adjustments to its management, issues appear broad open by way of which route they could go.
That stated, the favorites are nonetheless Holliday and school lefty Kade Anderson, the second-ranked prospect on this class. On the podacst, our Draft gurus Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo put the chances at practically 50-50 whether or not Holliday or Anderson in the end goes No. 1.
May Seth Hernandez break the glass ceiling for HS RHP?
… except the Nationals go for the prep right-hander Seth Hernandez, and by doing so, make historical past. No staff has ever chosen a highschool pitcher 1-1, a testomony to the Draft’s traditionally most dangerous demographic. It is extraordinarily uncommon for a highschool righty to even be within the dialog for the highest decide, however Hernandez isn’t any highschool righty. The Corona HS (Calif.) hurler is “previous” for a prep prospect — he’ll be 19 on Draft day — making him extra akin to a school pitcher by way of bodily maturity. He is the No. 3 ranked prospect on this class and the second-ranked pitcher, behind solely Anderson. May he grow to be the primary prep hurler to go 1-1, or will he be a sufferer of his demographic?
What would possibly the Angels do at 2?
There’s an expectation that the Angels will seize Anderson if he would not go 1-1. But when he does, they don’t seem to be anticipated to essentially seize Holliday. It is doable Holliday drops to a minimum of the Rockies at No. 4, giving the Angels’ leeway to go in loads of totally different instructions. They might seize the following school pitcher in Jamie Arnold (No. 4), or possibly reduce a cope with a university bat like Ike Irish (No. 11). What a few highschool shortstop, the power of this class?
In the end, given the uncertainty on the tippy prime, something appears doable right here. And regardless of the Angels do appears more likely to set the tone for the remainder of the spherical.
Talking of these shortstops, this Draft class is stuffed with them. Together with Holliday, six of the highest 13 ranked prospects are prep shortstops, giving this Draft a transparent demographic power. One other shortstop, from the school ranks, is ranked sixth, in Oregon’s Aiva Arquette. As many as seven highschool gamers may in the end go within the first 10 picks, so it is an unusually sturdy group on this regard.
On the flip facet, the weakest group on this class may be school bats. Solely two of the highest 14 ranked prospects, and 5 of the highest 17, are school place gamers. That stated, it is the demographic that tends to drift up as Draft day approaches, and guys like Arquette and Irish do appear to have some helium.
In any other case, the primary spherical would possibly transpire with an unusually low variety of school place gamers taken. Names to control listed here are Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston (No. 15), Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill (No. 16) and Arkansas shortstop (and Golden Spikes winner) Wehiwa Aloy (No. 17).
One of many enjoyable wrinkles of this Draft class are the units of twins — two of them! Each are throughout the High 125 ranked prospects within the class, with every pair together with a possible prime 10 decide. Which means each units of brothers may hear each of their names referred to as on Day 1. That is fairly cool.
They’re: Mississippi prep shortstop JoJo Parker (No. 9) and outfielder Jacob Parker (No. 109) and Oklahoma righties Kyson Witherspoon (No. 10) and Malachi Witherspoon (No. 121). JoJo Parker may be the perfect all-around highschool bat in your complete Draft, and Kyson Witherspoon is the highest school right-hander within the class. With their brothers, Jacob Parker has intriguing energy and Malachi Witherspoon has related stuff (however fringier command) as Kyson.
Will we see a staff preserve the twins collectively by drafting each brothers?
Regardless of how precisely the Draft shakes out, pick-wise, Corona Excessive Faculty in California appears certain to make some historical past. The varsity has 4 gamers among the many High 150 prospects within the class: Hernandez, shortstop Billy Carlson (No. 7), third baseman Brady Ebel (No. 64) and righty Ethin Bingaman (No. 150). Of these guys, three may get taken on Day 1 and two are more likely to be prime 5-10 picks (Hernandez, Carlson).
Certainly that is uncommon. However how uncommon? Nicely, it is determined by precisely the place Hernandez and Carlson get picked. The best-drafted pair of highschool teammates are Mike Moustakas and Matt Dominguez, who had been taken second and twelfth general out of Chatsworth Constitution HS (Calif.) in 2007.
It is extra frequent for profitable school groups to have a number of gamers drafted, for apparent causes. Besides, Tennessee has an opportunity to return away with a report haul this 12 months.
Tennessee’s season ended within the Tremendous Regional finals this 12 months, after profitable this system’s first Faculty World Sequence title in 2024. The Vols may tie the report for many gamers taken in a single Draft, which stands at 14. Six groups have accomplished it, most lately LSU in 2023. The Vols have 9 gamers ranked within the High 250, together with three within the prime 30 and 6 within the prime 100.
This may be a banner 12 months for the Rainbow State within the Draft. Solely seven Hawaiian gamers have ever been taken within the first spherical, and two have an opportunity this 12 months in Arquette and Aloy. It might be the primary time two Hawaiian gamers had been ever chosen within the first spherical of the identical Draft.
