MLB Draft 2025: Keith Law’s top 30 draft prospects to start the season

This year’s draft class doesn’t have a standout prospect at the top, never mind a surefire star like a Bryce Harper, but it is incredibly deep, meaning that the end of the first round through the third round might still bring forth a lot of big leaguers.

The college pitching group already looks better than anticipated, and the college position players have been the strength of the class as expected. I think it’s lighter on high school pitching than a typical year, but to that I say, tra la la. There still will be plenty of money for the good ones to sign, even if they don’t go off the board in the first round.

This is my first ranking of the year, so I’m just going through 30 picks, the normal number for the first round, although this year’s first round only has 27 picks because the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets all saw their first picks bumped back 10 spots because they tried too hard to win. My next ranking will go to 50 names, and then around early May I’ll go to 100.

I compiled this list based on my own evaluations, video and data work, and most importantly on conversations with scouts and executives about who they’ve seen and where they think players might slot in.

(Note: Scouting grades are on the traditional 20-80 scale.)

Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: L

Doyle is also a transfer, coming from Mississippi to Rocky Top — after going from Coastal Carolina to Oxford a year earlier — and he’s now sitting 96-98 with plus-plus life, so while he’s got a changeup and a hard slurve that are both above-average, he’s thrown about 75 percent fastballs through three starts because hitters can’t sniff it. In 14 2/3 innings in those three outings, he has walked three batters and struck out 34, an impossible-to-believe 69 percent K rate. The only real question is whether he can do it all spring: he had a 5.73 ERA for the Rebels last year in just 55 innings, missing plenty of bats (35 percent strikeout rate) but with too many walks and less velocity.

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

If you take anything away from this column, it’s this: Ethan is not his brother. He’s a very good prospect in his own right, with huge raw power already, excellent instincts in the field, and a plus arm. Jackson was more of a hitter with athleticism and only grew into some power as a high school senior, while Ethan has had the power for several years and is rounding out more as a baseball player. He swung and missed too much last summer, however, even just on fastballs, which may deter some teams at the very top from taking him.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Arquette transferred to Corvallis from Washington and is one of the best pure hitters in the class, making a lot of hard contact with a swing path that normally produces a lot of line drives. Coming into this year, he was a low-walk, high-contact guy who didn’t whiff much at all but also tended to go out of the zone too often; he’s cut way down on that chase this year so far, with just a marginal increase in whiff rate (20 percent to 22 percent) so far. He is very big for shortstop but has the hands and arm strength to stay somewhere on the dirt.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: L

Arnold was untouchable in his first two outings this year, striking out 16 and walking none through 11 scoreless innings where he allowed just three hits, before looking a little more mortal in his third outing (five innings, two runs, two walks, eight strikeouts). He’s 92-95 with plus movement and has a plus slider, coming from a slot that’s barely above sidearm and working way across his body. He finished third in Division I in strikeouts last year with 159, behind only Chase Burns (the No. 2 pick) and Hagen Smith (No. 5 pick). If you like him, he’s Chris Sale.

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Cunningham is a diminutive left-handed-hitting shortstop with excellent feel to hit and good contact quality already, projecting to stay at shortstop thanks to plus speed and an above-average arm. He’s going to get dinged for his height, but we’ve seen plenty of shorter position players go in the first round in recent years, including another shortstop from Texas in current Mets prospect Jett Williams, although Cunningham is a little bigger and stronger than Williams.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Kilen’s going to be a target for model-heavy teams, as he did several of the things that the models tend to favor last year, with an in-zone whiff rate of just 7 percent and above-average hard-hit and Barrel rates. The transfer from Louisville drew more walks in his first eight games for the Volunteers (12) than he did all of last spring in 54 games for the Cardinals (seven), and through 11 games he has seven homers, 13 walks, just two strikeouts, and a comical .486/.615/1.270 line.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: L

I don’t know about this one; LaViolette has the power to go 1-1, but there’s a mixed camp on whether he stays in center, and he struck out 81 times (24.2 percent) last spring, an unthinkable number and rate for a top-10 pick. He struck out 14 times in his first 46 PA this year, although in both last spring and this one he has drawn a lot of walks and hit for big power. It’s a high-risk, high-reward package — we haven’t seen guys whiff this much in college and end up good big-league hitters.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Irish was the catcher for Rangers minor leaguer Brock Porter in high school. Irish chose to go to Auburn back in 2022, and since arriving in college he’s shown a very advanced bat, with high contact rates and solid-average power that give him significant upside as long as he stays behind the plate. That’s still an open question, as the Tigers took him out from catcher after two games, then returned him there after he played six games in the outfield. He’s got a plus arm and is more than capable of becoming an average receiver; if he’s not, he’s still a first-round bat, but probably in the bottom third.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Summerhill is another high-floor guy, a very advanced hitter who should hit for average and looks like he should come into above-average to plus power. His swing is geared towards line-drive contact and he rarely misses pitches in the zone, so his future comes down to whether he can hit the ball harder as he finishes filling out physically. He’s a corner outfielder, so there has to at least be more power (he had just eight homers last year) for him to be an above-average regular.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: B, Throws: R

The son of former Angels outfielder Reggie Willits, Eli reclassified from the 2026 class into this one — we do love us some reclassifiers — and he won’t turn 18 until December. He’s a true shortstop and a switch-hitter with better bat speed and results from the left side, although his right-handed swing is fine and he may stick as a switch-hitter long term.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Quick threw just three innings as a sophomore before undergoing Tommy John surgery in February 2024, but he’s come back just fine, sitting 95-99 in the early going, making three pitch-limited starts so far and allowing two runs in 11 innings with 13 strikeouts. He’s got a power slider in the upper 80s with near-straight downward break and a very firm changeup up to 90 that he hasn’t been able to get down consistently. It’s easy, huge velocity, though, and if he keeps this up while stretching out he’s got a shot to get into the top 10.

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Parker’s one of the best pure bats in the high school class, with a tremendous history of contact thanks to a short swing and great bat speed, although his future power is a wide-open question. He’s got the size and strength to hit for power, but the way his hands work he’s not using his lower half that much, trading some of that for those very high contact rates. Per data from Synergy Sports, Parker saw 83 pitches in the zone at tracked events in 2024 and whiffed on two(!). He’s probably not a shortstop but stays on the dirt at second or third.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Bremner came into the spring as the consensus top right-handed pitcher in the class, maybe even the top overall pitcher, but he stumbled out of the gate with two three-inning outings, one where he left with some tightness, the second where he threw 62 pitches and gave up a couple of homers. His third outing was better, as he went seven innings and allowed just one run, striking out only four batters while getting from 93-94 his first two starts to more 94-96 in the third. He still has a plus changeup, and his slider is inconsistent but centers around below-average, in part because he cuts himself off in his landing and can’t finish it. He’s ranked here based on what he was last year, with just a small demerit for the poor start.

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Carlson is one of three kids on the Corona team who could be drafted on Day 1. Carlson’s defense at shortstop is his calling card. He has an easy plus arm and is at least a 60 defender already, with a good swing but not much impact so far at the plate. Corona will return to USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational (NHSI) this year after winning the tournament last year, giving Carlson a chance to hit against some of the best pitching he’ll see all spring.

Pitcher

Position Player

High School

RHP

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

A healthy Cannarella had a chance to be in the 1-1 conversation, but his shoulder isn’t right, whether it’s a delayed recovery from shoulder surgery or something new; he’s not throwing well at all and it’s affecting his swing. Prior to the injury, he showed a very high-contact approach with a chance for average power and plus defense in center, which would make him at least a very good regular.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: L

Root transferred to Fayetteville from East Carolina and has impressed in the early going with command of five distinct pitches already, working up to 95-96 with great feel to spin two breaking balls. He walked just 7.6 percent of batters he faced last year with the Pirates, and is off to a similar start this year for the Hogs. It’s an unusual delivery but he repeats it very well.

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Several scouts have said to me that Fien’s the best prep hitter on the West Coast this year, and he does have a good-looking swing to produce line drives with some eventual power. He’s at shortstop now, big for the position but not a lock to move, with a cannon of arm that would let him slide to third with no problem.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Witherspoon is a draft-eligible sophomore who’ll turn 21 in mid-August. He is off to a roaring start, striking out 28 batters in 18 innings (41.2 percent) with just two walks. He’s sitting 96-97, up to 99, with two short but sharp breaking balls — they’re almost one pitch beyond about 3-4 mph in separation — working with a very short arm action. His changeup is his worst pitch, straight at 89-91 without a lot of feel, and he may have to work on that or try his seldom-used cutter to keep getting lefties out.

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: L

Compton has been the bright spot on a weak Sun Devils team in 2025, as the redshirt sophomore got off to a solid start that builds on a solid first year on the team in 2024 before a rough third weekend that dropped his season line to .308/.482/.590. He makes a lot of hard contact without the elite contact that might point to huge power, although with a little more loft in his finish he would end up barreling a lot of balls and could get to 20-25 homers. The left fielder had trouble with breaking stuff last year and has also struggled with it in the early going this year, so expect him to see a lot of that the rest of the way, especially from lefties.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Houston is one of the best defensive shortstops in the class, and if he shows more with the stick this year he could jump into the top 10-15 of the first round. He rarely swings and misses, especially at strikes, but doesn’t hit the ball hard at all, averaging just over 99 mph last year. It helps that he hit very well with the wood bat on the Cape last summer, with a .306/.465/.329 line that included more walks than strikeouts but, of course, no power.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Ford has split time between the outfield and first base this year after spending most of last year on the assembly line … er, at first, which didn’t make much use of his athleticism, although he’s easily a plus defender there. He has excellent bat speed and makes a lot of very hard contact, but is a little too prone to chase pitches out of the zone, something that’s continued in the early going this year. He turns 21 in July so he’s draft-eligible as a sophomore.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: L

The Northwest is kind of loaded this year, with de Brun the best high school player of a large group of prospects between Oregon and Washington. De Brun is small, listed at 5-9, but he has a great swing, makes pretty hard contact, and can definitely stick in center field due to his plus speed. He’ll get compared quite a bit to Corbin Carroll based on size and geography, and to last year’s No. 28 pick Slade Caldwell based on size; I think he slots in between the two.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Taylor’s an advanced hitter who doesn’t have a clear plus tool anywhere but does just about everything well at the plate, with 55 power, good swing decisions, and solid but not elite hard-contact data. He hit well on the Cape, seems to recognize pitches, and will take his walks. He’s just limited to left field, or else he’d probably be a top-10 pick.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Stevenson can hit and has power, so where he lands in the draft will depend on whether there’s a team with a strong conviction that he can stay behind the plate. The draft-eligible sophomore hit 14 homers last year and drew 48 walks in 64 games, striking out 55 times, with his 90th percentile EV over 106 mph, so the hard contact is there. He doesn’t chase much but also doesn’t swing enough at strikes, so there’s some low-hanging fruit for a team that believes they can help a player’s swing decisions. He has a plus arm that plays down due to a long release, and he’s a below-average receiver, so there will likely be some teams that evaluate him as a bat with the probability that he ends up at first base.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Another draft-eligible sophomore, Curley turns 21 in April and was the primary shortstop last year for the national champs, hitting .285/.386/.502 with 12 homers and almost never missing a fastball — just 9 percent of the time he swung at four- or two-seamers, just 7 percent if they were in the zone. He’s got an easy plus arm and would be fine if he has to move off shortstop, where he’s probably solid-average or a tick better but might outgrow the position.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Dumesnil has excellent bat speed and stays back well on pitches to maximize his time to recognize them, along with above-average power and speed that give him a chance to stick in center field and maybe end up a 20/20 guy there. He was a little too aggressive last year on pitches out of the zone, but in the first few games this year he’s brought that down quite a bit; if that holds he should stick at least in the back of the first round.

Position Player

4-Year College

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Hall also reclassified to get into the 2025 draft class, and he’s impressed scouts who’ve run into Alabama to see him. He’s a plus runner who projects to stick at shortstop, while as a hitter he shows good bat speed, loading his hands a little low to try to put the ball in the air more frequently. He played at some showcases and travel events last summer, where he hammered fastballs but had some trouble picking up spin.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Hernandez is the top high school pitcher in this draft class, although if you’ve read my work at all, you know I’m not enamored with taking prep arms in the first round due to their higher attrition rate. He’s 6-4 and still projectable, sitting 97-98 this spring, with a real four-pitch mix including a changeup that’s plus when he hits it, a sharp slider, and a high-spin curveball. There’s some similarity here to Noble Meyer, who was the No. 10 pick in 2023.

Scouting Report

Bats: L, Throws: R

Neyens is a strong, athletic infielder with some real power but a questionable approach, whiffing on nearly a quarter of the pitches he saw in the zone last summer while also taking a ton of strikes. He loads his hands very deep and his timing on pitches isn’t great, but he swings very hard so when he does connect, the ball goes. He has a plus arm and is big for third base but seems athletic enough to stay there even though he’s a below-average runner.

Position Player

High School

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

Forbes threw just 38 innings total in his first two years at Louisville around some injuries, but came out blowing smoke this year, sitting 93-97 with good ride up top and showing a plus slider along with a harder cutter/slider hybrid. Through two outings, he’s struck out 30 batters in 15 innings (50.8 percent) with just one walk, working mostly with the first two pitches and barely using a changeup. He comes from a low three-quarters slot with some effort, and he barely uses his below-average changeup, although so far this year he hasn’t had any issues with lefties. The two pitches are the beginnings of a first-round arm, at least, and if he keeps missing bats like this he’ll stay here.

Other draft prospects of note

In alphabetical order:

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas

Max Belyeu, OF, Texas

Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina

Gabe Davis, RHP, Oklahoma State

Brady Ebel, SS, Corona HS (Calif.)

Daniel Pierce, SS, Mill Creek HS (Hoschton, Ga.)

Matt Scott, RHP, Stanford

Jared Spencer, LHP, Texas

Jordan Yost, SS, Sickels HS (Tampa, Fla.)

(Top photo illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; Icon Sportswire / Getty Images, Matt Dirksen/ Getty Images, Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

MLB Draft 2025: Keith Law’s top 30 draft prospects to start the season

Other draft prospects of note

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