MLB Network Analyst Predicts Brewers Will Acquire Rangers All-Star Outfielder
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Less than two seasons removed from a World Series Championship, things are not going well for the Texas Rangers.
Entering Wednesday, Texas was 45-47 and 10 games out of first place in the AL West and 3 1/2 games out of an AL Wild Card spot.
With the trade deadline looming and the Rangers looking like they may not be postseason contenders, right fielder/designated hitter Adolis García is believed to be a prime trade candidate by many, including MLB Network analyst Greg Amsinger.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: Adolis García #53 of the Texas Rangers gestures before the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on July 05, 2025 in San Diego, California.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 05: Adolis García #53 of the Texas Rangers gestures before the game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on July 05, 2025 in San Diego, California.Amsinger predicted landing spots for his top 10 trade candidates, and he predicted that García would be playing for the Milwaukee Brewers when August rolls around.
"Adolis Garcia will get traded and he's the number one target for the Milwaukee Brewers," Amsinger said. "They need an outfielder that slugs and with Adolis hitting behind Christian Yelich, he'll make a good Brewers team even better."
Amsinger's prediction comes just one day after MLB writer Jeff Passan stated that the Brewers are one bat away from being true World Series contenders.
García's career .738 OPS and 132 home runs in seven seasons would certainly indicate that he's the type of power bat that Passan said Milwaukee could use in its lineup.
A cinematic shot worthy of a cinematic moment 🎥
This ump cam footage of Adolis García's home run from the 2023 ALCS is LEGENDARY! pic.twitter.com/T2C4m0XmeT — MLB (@MLB) May 16, 2025
The Brewers certainly need more power in their lineup, as they are currently 22nd in baseball with just 89 home runs this season.
That gives them the second-fewest of the five teams from the NL Central, 19 spots behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs.
If Milwaukee has hopes of tracking down Chicago and winning a third straight NL Central title, it must make some move to add power to its lineup and García could be the perfect solution.
More MLB: Cubs Must Make Lineup Decision On $177 Million Shortstop
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All the picks from the 2025 MLB Draft Day 1: Scouting analysis and evaluations
Day 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft got off to a surprising start, with the Washington Nationals taking high school shortstop Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick and the Los Angeles Angels selecting UC-Santa Barbara right-hander Tyler Bremner at No. 2. Below are all 105 picks from Day 1 of the draft, with scouting reports and commentary from our live blog. Join us back on the live blog for Day 2! Live blog analysis: The Nationals take one of the youngest players in the draft class in shortstop Eli Willits, son of former big leaguer Reggie Willits, and a darling of analytical models because of his age, position, and propensity for making contact. He's a plus defender at short already and might end up better than that, while his swing is short and compact, aimed at putting the ball in play, without much loft or impact right now. He won't turn 18 until December, so he has more time to fill out than just about any other player in the draft, and scouts had a wide range of opinions on how much power he might ultimately get to. His contact skills and overall feel for the game are separating tools. He wasn't first or second on my board but he does have the upside of a potential star who anchors the infield for years. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Willits, the son of former Angels outfielder Reggie Willits, is one of the leaders of the deep group of high school shortstops in this draft class, and one of the most likely to stay at the position for the long term. He reclassified into the 2025 class, and now he's one of its youngest prospects, turning 18 five months after the draft. His swing is compact and geared toward contact, without a lot of lift or length to the ball to create more power. He does have room to fill out, especially in his lower half, and his contact quality should improve to the point that it can support higher batting averages, although I think he'll top out at 45 (below-average) power. He's a definite shortstop with soft, easy hands, a plus arm, and plus running speed, with the upside of 70 defense. His floor is pretty high because he can defend and make contact, which would at least make him a utility infielder, with above-average upside if he gets strong enough to get to some doubles power and hit .300 or so. GO DEEPER Nationals pick Eli Willits with the No. 1 selection of the 2025 MLB Draft Live blog analysis: Pick No. 2 is the first shocker of the night, as the Angels take Tyler Bremner — who pretty clearly had no idea they were taking him — betting that the UCSB right-hander's late-season surge is more indicative of who he'll be as a pitcher than the guy many of us saw get knocked around earlier in the spring. He's got an easy plus changeup and can hit 97, with the four-seamer playing up thanks to the presence of the change, while his slider has been inconsistent and is hindered by his delivery. He's a big strike-thrower, though, and came into the year as the top college right-hander in the class. He lost his mother just a month ago to cancer, which many people who know Tyler thought was affecting him during the season, as it would affect just about anybody. Keith Law scouting report: Bremner came into the spring as a potential top-five pick, but his stuff wavered and his results weren't great, especially early in the season, and by the time he started pitching better a lot of teams up top had moved on. He has an elite changeup, probably a 70 on its own, with excellent fade, effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. His fastball has the velocity, sitting 94-96, but it's too straight and he doesn't command it well up in the zone. His slider would be at least an average pitch but he cuts himself off in his landing and can't finish it out front, so while he gets good spin rates the pitch just doesn't have the bite it needs to at least miss right-handers' bats. He's pretty athletic and he does throw strikes; he walked 19 batters on the season (6.1 percent), and in the last half of his year, covering seven starts, he walked 5.9 percent of batters while striking out 43.8 percent. There might be a mid-rotation starter here with some delivery help, and maybe the addition of a two-seamer. GO DEEPER Why the Angels shocked MLB by drafting Tyler Bremner with the No. 2 pick Live blog analysis: The Mariners got the guy most people, myself included, thought would go 1-1, LSU's ace lefty Kade Anderson, who led Division 1 in strikeouts and led the Tigers to the College World Series title. He's very polished and probably has the most complete arsenal of any of the top pitchers in the class. There's some disagreement over what his ultimate ceiling might be, whether he's more of a good No. 2 or more of a dependable mid-rotation guy. He seems like he's very close to big-league ready, though, and that also fits the Mariners' desire to contend next year and beyond. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Anderson is a very polished, competitive lefty who works with a true four-pitch mix, or five if you distinguish between the two fastballs, and he throws a ton of strikes with the whole arsenal. He's 91-95, using four- and two-seamers, and leads with a plus changeup that has excellent deception and hard fading action, helping him attack hitters on both sides of the plate. His slider is the better breaking pitch of his two, as the curveball looks pretty but doesn't generate as many whiffs and may be more of a show-me offering to keep hitters guessing. He repeats his delivery well and it looks like real command, not just control, especially of the fastball. Anderson threw 135 pitches on a cold night in Norman, Okla., in early April, which was followed by two of his worst starts of the year (11 runs allowed in 10 innings), which I'm sure is just a coincidence and not at all related to the irresponsible usage — although to Anderson's credit, he competed all the way to the end of that shutout against the Sooners, even as his stuff continued to fall off in the last two innings. He went 130 pitches again in the first game of the finals of the College World Series. As long as he's at full strength, he's a mid-rotation starter, and looks like the kind of college pitcher who could get to the majors inside of 18 months. Live blog analysis: The Rockies end up with the top player on my board, and I would say if he's the, uh, plurality vote for No. 1, in a year when we had nothing close to consensus on who the best guy was. Ethan is a power-hitting shortstop with excellent hands and a strong arm; if he doesn't stay at shortstop because he outgrows it, he could be a Scott Rolen-esque third baseman. He has shown some propensity to swing and miss, much more than Jackson ever did as an amateur, although I think there are some mechanical issues the Rockies can iron out once they get their hands on him. Rockies fans have had a rough year, but this is fantastic news for the organization. Keith Law scouting analysis: Holliday is probably the best-known player in the class, thanks to his famous father, Matt, and increasingly famous brother, Jackson, but also because there have been plenty of points in the past year-plus when Ethan has looked like the best prospect in the class. He has easy plus power already and projects to be more similar to his father in that regard than his brother, though he's not as advanced a hitter as Jackson was at the same age. Ethan has been inconsistent this spring at the plate, with his front side flying open as he tries too hard to get to that power, leaving him vulnerable to stuff on the outer third, although that's a fixable problem. He does know the strike zone, and rarely chased stuff out of the zone last summer and fall. He's big for shortstop but has great hands and a plus arm, showing better range this spring and more consistency on routine plays; if he moves to third base, it'll be because he outgrows short, not because of a lack of ability. He's not a sure thing, given some of his swing-and-miss issues (such as on velocity up in the zone) and the mechanical adjustments he'll have to make, but he offers the best combination of upside and probability in the class. GO DEEPER Rockies pick Ethan Holliday, son of Matt, with No. 4 selection in MLB Draft Live blog analysis: Liam Doyle was my favorite of the college pitchers in this draft because of his invisible fastball, which had him leading Division 1 in strikeouts for much of the spring. He's got a somewhat funky arm action that adds to the deception, although he repeats it well and throws plenty of strikes. His splitter is a real weapon as well, and while his slider doesn't get great grades from analysts it plays like an above-average pitch. I know some scouts worried he'd end up a reliever with the delivery but I don't share those concerns and I think the Cardinals may have gotten a #2 starter. Advertisement Keith Law scouting analysis: Doyle transferred for the second time in as many years, moving from Mississippi to Tennessee (after starting his career at Coastal Carolina), and picking up some serious velocity along the way. He spent the spring of 2025 dominating hitters with his 96-99 fastball, striking out 42.6 percent of batters he faced. He throws the heater more than 60 percent of the time, and hitters just don't hit it — they whiff over 40 percent of the time they swing at it, even though he's throwing it so often they can frequently just guess fastball and be correct. He backs it up with a plus splitter up to 89 mph and an above-average slider in the low to mid 80s, both of which miss plenty of bats, with the splitter a weapon he'll use against hitters on both sides of the plate. He works in the zone a ton, walking 8 percent of batters he's faced, and isn't afraid to attack hitters on the inner third. The only knocks on Doyle seem to be the lack of track record prior to this year and the fact that the delivery is unorthodox, although he repeats the heck out of it and I don't see a big red flag beyond the fact that he throws really hard. If his command and control hold up against better competition, he could be a No. 2 starter, and I wouldn't hesitate to start him at least in Double A. GO DEEPER Cardinals select left-hander Liam Doyle with No. 5 pick in MLB draft Live blog analysis: The Pirates take right-hander Seth Hernandez, the top high school pitcher in the draft class and one of the best of the last five years, with their first pick, banking that their superb pitching development can help finish a pitcher who already has several pluses in his arsenal. Hernandez has one of the best changeups in the draft, a slider that's arguably plus as well, and a fastball that's up to 100 although it doesn't have a ton of life to it. He's an excellent athlete who can swing the bat a little too. High school pitchers are the riskiest category in the first round, however, because of the high injury risk and the selection bias (high school pitchers taken in the first round tend to be the hardest throwers), so this is a very high-risk, high-reward pick. Keith Law scouting analysis: Hernandez is the consensus top high school pitcher in the 2025 draft class, anointed as such as a junior and only seeing his stock increase with his velocity this year. He's been up to 100 mph on his four-seamer, although the velocity, which is more typically 94-97, isn't the main attraction. He has at least a 60 changeup and an above-average curveball as well, along with a slider that's extremely inconsistent right now but that I think will improve significantly once he gets to a team with a good pitching lab — he can spin the ball and he has plenty of arm speed, so it's hard to imagine him not getting to a plus slider. The changeup has continuous tumbling action to it and it's very deceptive right out of his hand, while the curve is a classic two-planer with a high spin rate as well. The four-seamer is dead straight and hitters who can catch up to the velocity can square it up, even at the high school level. He takes a huge stride toward the plate to generate all of that velocity, with a head-snap at release, and his arm can struggle to catch up, which may be why the breaking stuff isn't consistent yet. The history of high school pitchers taken in the first round is dismal, however, given their high attrition rates, and as talented as Hernandez is, he's still in that same category. There's at least No. 2 starter upside here, but the risk of any high school arm is that they get hurt or don't have the command and control to get to the majors. Live blog analysis: It's hard to go wrong by taking the best college position player in a draft class. The Marlins did just that, landing Aiva Arquette, the Oregon State shortstop who makes a ton of hard contact and will either stick at short or be an excellent defensive third baseman. He's huge for the position, listed at 6-foot-5, 220, with really broad shoulders, so he might get even stronger and end up with even more power. If that moves him off the position that's a tradeoff the Marlins will probably take. The pick is also a nice balance to their 2024 draft, which started off with two somewhat higher-risk high school position players. Keith Law scouting analysis: Arquette might be the top college position player in the class … but you'll find people who say he's a back-of-the-first-round talent, too. The Hawaiian standout transferred to Oregon State from Washington this year, and he's hit .354/.461/.654 as the Beavers have played an independent (non-conference) schedule, finishing one behind team leader Gavin Turley in homers. He has excellent hand-eye coordination, rarely swinging and missing, especially at pitches in the zone, and he doesn't chase much, although he's started expanding the zone a little more with two strikes as the spring has progressed. He's an agile shortstop with excellent hands and a plus arm. However, at 6-foot-5 and I'd guess at least 10 more pounds than his listed 220, he'd already be one of the biggest shortstops in MLB history, and I'd bet heavily that he goes to third base. Aside from that positional question, Arquette just hasn't faced much good pitching this year; he's seen enough velocity to say he can hit it, but he hasn't seen much quality secondary stuff, and when he has faced harder sliders or changeups with some tumble, he hasn't fared as well. There's 25-homer upside with a strong eye and what could be really good defense at third, a Troy Glaus-ish profile, if Arquette reaches his potential. Live blog analysis: JoJo Parker had one of the best hit tools in the high school class, with exceptional contact rates even against better stuff last summer — and that's really what made him a top ten pick, as the competition he and twin brother Jacob faced this spring in Purvis, Mississippi, made it tougher to scout him than most guys. (The day I saw the pair, Purvis won both ends of a doubleheader on mercy rules, 18-0 and 15-0.) Parker may not stick at shortstop, projecting as more of an average-ish defender there who has better instincts and hands than agility or range, but will be above-average at second or third. He's strong enough to get to more power if he stays back on the ball better, which I don't even think will cost him that much contact. He could easily end up one of the top 3 players in the class with the right help at the plate. Keith Law scouting analysis: Parker is one of the best pure hitters among the high school crop this year, with a very high-contact approach that held up against better pitching last summer and fall. He has incredible hand-eye coordination and a reasonably compact path to the ball, only whiffing twice in 86 pitches in the zone, according to 2024 data from Synergy. He doesn't expand the zone easily and has shown he can catch up to good velocity. He does have a habit of drifting over his front side on some pitches, and that is at least one reason why his evident strength hasn't translated into much in-game power. He's a shortstop for now with good hands and a plus arm, way more likely to end up at third base as his range is average at best. He's a bet on the hit tool, and if you're going to bet on a high schooler's hit tool, his is the one to bet on. GO DEEPER Jacob and Jojo Parker couldn't play catch with their dad; He got them to the MLB Draft anyway Live blog analysis: Steele Hall only joined the 2025 draft class in December when he reclassified, making him one of the younger players in the class … and one of the fastest, as he's a true 80 runner. He's a definite shortstop with plenty of range and first-step quickness, while at the plate, he can whack a fastball, but has had trouble with breaking stuff and will have to work on developing his pitch recognition in pro ball. He might benefit from getting more time in the complex league next spring rather than just going straight to Low A. The speed is game-changing and he's got real defensive value as well. Advertisement Keith Law scouting analysis: Hall is an 80 runner and definite shortstop who's going to be a favorite of teams that go for high-upside athletes over present performance or metrics. He has excellent bat speed and can hit a fastball, with close to average power already at age 17. He can't hit breaking stuff, though, with whiff rates near 50 percent when he saw them at tracked events last summer/fall, although the sample isn't huge because he only reclassified into the 2025 draft in December. Analytical models will love his age and his speed, but the swing-and-miss on sliders and curveballs is a real concern and I think reason enough for him to go after the first round, even with the potential upside of a 50-steal shortstop with 12-15 homers. Live blog analysis: Billy Carlson is an incredible defensive shortstop with power already despite still having room to get stronger, and if there had been more confidence in his hit tool he might have gone first overall. He's one of the best high school shortstops I've ever seen, with quick actions, great reads, and a 70 arm if not an 80. His swing can get long as he bars his lead arm and his hands can get kind of lost in back, but there's plenty of bat speed here. If you believe in your player development's ability to help someone improve or optimize his swing, he's an excellent upside play. Keith Law scouting report: Carlson is a plus defender at short with a cannon of an arm, and he projects to enough power to get to 20-plus homers if he can shorten up his swing enough to make consistent contact. He bars his lead arm and his hands are so far back that he has trouble getting the bat head to the ball on time, so the power doesn't always play in games and he's very vulnerable to pitchers who can change speeds on him within at-bats. He's a wizard on defense, though, with great instincts, range in both directions, and excellent hands, along with at least a 70 arm — he's been up to 97 off the mound, although apparently he doesn't want to pitch, and given his defensive prowess that's the right call. He should have a high floor because of the defense, but there's some risk in the hit tool here that he never gets to enough contact to stick in the majors; someone's going to have to reduce the arm bar to untap his All-Star upside. GO DEEPER White Sox first-rounder Billy Carlson is used to playing in the spotlight Live blog analysis: I don't think anyone anticipated Arnold, who came into the year as a potential 1-1 pick and the consensus top pitcher in the class, getting out of the top 10 picks. He was good this spring, but not as dominant as he had been in 2024, losing a tick off his fastball, which may have exacerbated some concerns about his unusual delivery and low arm slot. He's a pitcher, though, in the sense of a guy who knows how to change speeds and move the ball around the zone, working with three pitches that are all effective in part because the ball is so hard to pick up. I'm generally bearish on these lower-slot types, but I think Arnold's arm action is easy enough that he can end up a mid-rotation starter. Keith Law scouting report: Arnold came into the year as the likely top college pitcher on the board after a dominant sophomore season in 2024 that saw him finish third in Division I in strikeouts, behind only 2024 top-six picks Chase Burns and Hagen Smith. He's taken a tiny step back in stuff this year, although he's still topping out at 97-98, just sitting about a half a mile an hour less, so now he's 91-95 but with a ton of ride, coming from such a low slot — nearly sidearm — that hitters can't square it up. He works with a plus slider that gets huge horizontal break and he can throw a true changeup that's at least a 55, with great arm speed and late, sudden tumble to it. It's a surprisingly easy delivery for its type; a lot of guys coming from down there with this velocity have high-effort or otherwise troublesome deliveries, but other than some cutoff in his landing Arnold's is about as easy as it gets. There's definitely some reliever risk here with the low slot, but in this class he's pretty clearly one of the top-five talents, and at least a mid-rotation guy if he starts. GO DEEPER A's first-round pick Jamie Arnold relishes the Chris Sale comps, ready for next step Live blog analysis: Gavin Fien was the best hitter on the high school showcase circuit in 2024, considering contact rates and batted-ball quality, so he seemed like he was going to soar into the top ten. He had a down year this spring, however, struggling to make as much contact against lesser pitching and eventually developing some trouble throwing despite a plus arm. The Rangers are obviously betting that the 2024 version is the real Fien. I am too. He'll end up at third base and I think he'll end up a star because of his bat. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Fien is one of the bigger enigmas in the draft class, as he was clearly the best hitter on the showcase circuit last year, making a ton of hard contact against all manner of pitching, but didn't have the same success this spring against lesser competition while playing for his regular high school team. At his best, Fien has excellent bat speed and plate discipline to match, rarely whiffing or chasing; in a modest sample last year, he swung at pitches beyond the shadow of the zone just 11 percent of the time. He showed at least 55 power and projected to plus, with such great feel to hit that he seemed like he'd be one of the first high school players selected. This year, he's still making a lot of contact, but not the kind of hard line-drive contact that he made last summer. He still has great hand speed and loft in his finish to get the ball in the air, but he's less fluid, top and bottom, and a little longer to the ball. The result is his timing has been off — but he has had it before, and that's something that you can fix, a lot more easily than overhauling a swing or trying to teach someone to stop chasing sliders down and away. He has a 70 arm and while he's almost certainly moving from shortstop to third base in pro ball, he's a good enough athlete that he could be a plus defender at the hot corner. There's some risk here given the performance this spring, but that looks like a buy-low opportunity for some team that probably thought in January it would have no shot to draft a player of his talent. He's committed to Texas. Live blog analysis: I love this pick for the Giants — even though Gavin Kilen was the one Tennessee hitter I didn't see live this spring. He's on the smaller side, and he's not going to stick at shortstop, but he combines excellent contact skills, very strong exit velocities, and a swing that tends to put the ball in the air on a line. He transferred to Rocky Top this year from Louisville and boosted his performance across the board, hitting for more power and walking significantly more as well. I'd take him off shortstop right away and let him worry about hitting. Keith Law scouting report: Kilen transferred from Louisville to Tennessee this year and started the season on fire, going 9-for-15 with four homers at the Minute Maid* Tournament against Oklahoma State, Rice and Arizona. (*It has another name now, but I'll call it Minute Maid forever.) The only thing that stopped him all spring was a hamstring injury that took him out for close to a month; other than that, he hit for contact and power, walking more than he's struck out, playing capable defense at short and above-average defense at second. Kilen struck out in just 11 percent of his PA this year, and his whiff rate on pitches in the zone is just 10 percent, yet he still hits for significant power, topping out over 110 mph and boosting his average exit velocity about 2 mph over his sophomore year. He's going to end up at second base in pro ball, maybe starting out there, with a chance to hit .300+ with at least solid-average power. Live blog analysis: The Rays picking Pierce is a little bit of a surprise, as I'd heard them with more college players than high school this year. Pierce is a no-doubt shortstop who shows at least four of the five tools, with some disagreement over what kind of power he'll ultimately have. He's closer to average now, but some scouts and analysts think he's going to get to plus, as he flashes that kind of hard contact already. I see some similarities between his profile and that of outfielder Theo Gillen, the Rays' first-round pick last year. Keith Law scouting report: Pierce is a no-doubt shortstop with excellent feel to hit, boasting a smooth right-handed swing that has enough loft for line drives; where scouts diverge on him is what kind of power he might have in the future. He's a 70 runner with a 70 arm and shows great instincts in the field, with no consideration that he'll have to move off the position at any point. He's probably maxed out physically or close to it, with batted-ball data that points to above-average power but more below-average results in games. He made good swing decisions on the showcase circuit with strong whiff and chase rates. At worst he should be a utility infielder because of the shortstop defense and ability to put the ball in play. The ceiling is an occasional All-Star if he gets to enough in-game power. He's committed to Georgia. Live blog analysis: The Red Sox took a pitcher! Kyson Witherspoon was the top right-handed starter on my board, a very athletic right-hander with a five-pitch mix, and I think there's some low-hanging fruit here if someone just helps him alter what pitches he uses to lefties. I heard some of the most positive notes on his makeup this spring that I heard on any player as well. He did slide a little on concerns about his unusual arm action, although he repeats it well and showed plus control in college. He's a definite starter and should at least get to double A very quickly. Keith Law scouting report: Witherspoon was dominant in his second year with the Sooners after he spent a year in junior college, cutting his walk rate almost in half even though he's gained about a full mph on his heater since last year. Witherspoon will hold 95-97 deep into games, topping out at 99, with a five-pitch mix that includes a slider and cutter that run into each other, along with a 55 changeup that he needs to use more often. He has such good arm speed on that last pitch that it looks like it should be a real weapon for him, especially against lefties, but he prefers to go to the cutter against them despite worse results. His arm action is very short — after separation, he barely brings his pitching hand down, tapping an imaginary button behind him with the ball before he begins moving forward — which is the trend right now but in his case has produced plus control. He looks very athletic and should be able to make adjustments to the delivery to get him to a more consistent release point out front, which should boost the command, especially on those two breaking pitches, which he can leave up in the zone. There's so much to work with here, and a strong foundation of arm strength and strikes, with No. 2 starter upside if he gets the right development help. He won't turn 21 until a month after the draft, just like his twin brother Malachi (what a strange coincidence), who has similar velocity and a 55 slider, but doesn't throw enough strikes to start because he doesn't repeat his longer arm stroke. GO DEEPER Red Sox first-round pick Kyson Witherspoon ready to chart his own path in pro ball Live blog analysis: Marek Houston is one of the safest picks in the draft, as he's definitely a shortstop and seems extremely likely to hit enough to at least be a regular for someone in the majors. He started to hit the ball a little harder this year, although his career-high 15 homers were aided more than a little bit by Wake Forest's Manhattan studio apartment-sized ballpark. He hit for average and a ridiculous .465 OBP on the Cape last summer as well, a very positive sign since that came with the wood bat. I don't see a star here, but I do see an everyday player. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Houston is a no-doubt shortstop who's boosted his performance and some of his batted-ball characteristics just enough to give him a chance to get into the top 10 in a draft class that's weak up top. He set career bests in homers and steals this year while playing plus defense once again. The power is kind of an illusion, as Wake Forest plays in a shoebox, and 11 of Houston's 15 homers this year came at home, mostly wall-scrapers that would be doubles or outs in a typical ballpark. He does have very strong hand-eye coordination and almost never whiffs on pitches in the zone, with a short swing that had him over a 50 percent groundball rate as a sophomore but down to 44 percent this year. He's a high-floor, lower-ceiling prospect, unless someone foresees more power in his future than I do. He is a definite shortstop who hits the ball hard enough to keep his average up against good pitching, but probably doesn't get above 10-12 homers a year. Live blog analysis: The Cubs provide the second real surprise of the first round so far (the Angels' pick being the first), as they take Wake Forest outfielder Ethan Conrad, who was in the midst of a breakout spring when he injured his throwing shoulder and underwent season-ending surgery in early April. He destroyed the Cape Cod League last summer and was doing the same in the early going in 2025, mostly against non-conference competition. He keeps his hands inside the ball well and showed increased power this year, although he's still not that disciplined a hitter and might have more adjustments to make in the low minors than some of the Cubs' other recent first-rounders. It's a bet that the shoulder is fine and that he can keep raking the way he did over the last twelve months. Keith Law scouting report: Conrad was surging this spring, hitting .372/.495/.744 in 21 games, when he injured his shoulder and had to undergo season-ending surgery. He could have been a first-rounder had the production continued, although scouts hadn't seen him face much good pitching, with only seven games in conference at the time of the injury. He transferred to Wake Forest from Marist, and was an All-Star on the Cape last summer, hitting .385/.433/.486 in the premier wood-bat league. He has very quick hands and stays inside the ball well, but his plate discipline hasn't been great; even against a relatively weak slate of opponents, he chased 27 percent of the pitches he saw out of the zone, 17 percent of those well out of the zone. The uncertainty around the hit tool and the shoulder probably push him to someone's second pick, with the upside of a top-15 or so talent in the draft if he comes back 100 percent. Live blog analysis: Arizona took another fun-sized player, and the sun rose in the east. Kayson Cunningham can hit — I knew a few people who ranked his bat up there with the best hit tools in the class – and he's very strong for a smaller guy, projecting at least to hit for real gap power, with outstanding contact rates last summer. He's 19 already, but with that propensity to hit even against better stuff, he should be able to move a little more quickly than the typical high school draft. Keith Law scouting report: Cunningham is one of the better pure hitters in the draft class this year, on par with Gavin Fien and JoJo Parker, although he doesn't offer the possible physical projection that those guys do as he's already filled out. He has elite hand speed and rarely swings and misses, with a whiff rate of just 9 percent at tracked events in 2024, according to data from Synergy Sports. The swing is a little flat through contact, so the power potential here is limited unless someone can get him to loft the ball more. He has a 55 or 60 arm at shortstop and his hands are excellent; I've heard very mixed reviews on whether he'll stay there, as he's at least not the prototypical shortstop and it's not clear if he has the lateral range to stick. Cunningham is listed at 5-10 but he's shorter than that, maybe 5-8, which is also going to take a lot of teams out of the running (except Arizona), as will the fact that he'll be 19 on draft day. If you believe in the defense, he's an easy first rounder; if you think he's a second/third baseman without enough power, he's still a top 40-50 pick, at worst, because he has such good feel to put the bat on the ball. He's committed to Texas. Live blog analysis: Irish sliding to pick 19 is a bit of a shocker, as I know he was at least in consideration by several teams in the top 10. I'll be curious to see what his bonus is, as the Orioles had the pool to pay him way above slot here. He's a catcher by trade but spent more time in the outfield this spring after he fractured his scapula. He's very much a work in progress out in right field, although the hope is that the bat is good enough that it'll profile anywhere. He makes a lot of hard contact and goes the other way as well as anyone in the class. Keith Law scouting report: Irish started the year as Auburn's catcher but was hit in the back by a pitch, fracturing his scapula, and after his return he mostly played the outfield, which is only going to underscore questions about whether he's a catcher at the next level. He can really hit, though, with an old-school approach that uses the whole field; he hit about 50 percent more balls to left field this year than he did to right field, a big increase over 2024 when he was closer to 50/50. He did start pulling the ball more as the season went on, though, which will help him with models that zero in on players who pull the ball in the air. He hits the ball extremely hard regardless of where it's going, though. Pitchers have worked him away, and he's just taken those pitches to left, with enough success that you'd think teams would try to come back in on him. He's about a 45 receiver now, needing some work across the board behind the plate other than his throwing, where he nailed six of eight would-be basestealers before his injury. His ability to hit, and to handle stuff on the outer third so well, gives him a different sort of floor than the typical catching prospect — maybe he ends up at another position, but hits enough to profile as an above-average regular even if it's an outfield corner. However, if he can stick at catcher he might be a star who hits for a high average with a ton of doubles the other way, and 12-15 homers with the current approach. Live blog analysis: The Brewers took a slugging first baseman from Tennessee last year in Blake Burke, and then went back this year for the updated model in Andrew Fischer. Fischer nearly led D1 in homers, and boasted a hard-hit rate of 60 percent that was only behind Ike Irish's among major-conference prospects this year. It's actually not elite raw power; he hits it hard enough and puts it in the air so often that it produces plenty of homers by a different route. He also dramatically improved his approach at the plate this year, making more contact and better swing decisions across the board. The Brewers announced him as a third baseman, where he played a little this year, although I think he's going to end up at first. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Fischer came from Mississippi to Tennessee along with Liam Doyle as transfers this year and ended up leading the Vols with 25 homers, just one off the Division I lead heading into the College World Series. His hard-hit rate was among the best in Division I, over 60 percent. It's plus power for sure, but his top-end exit velocities aren't elite; he gets more out of his power because his swing gets the ball in the air at a high enough angle to put the ball in the seats. He improved his approach substantially in 2025, cutting his chase rate from 28 percent to 19 percent, and his swing rate at pitches well out of the zone from 22 percent to just 10 percent. He's first base only even though he's played a few games in left and at third, so the bar is high for his bat. This year definitely turned him from a power-over-hit guy into a more complete player who might hit enough for solid OBPs and 25-plus homers a year. Live blog analysis: I didn't think Neyens would get to the Astros' first-round pick — and I'm wondering if they didn't, either. He's one of the top power bats in the class, with some concerns over his present hit tool; I know some teams didn't have him in the first round because of concerns about swing and miss, while the power was probably top-ten worthy if you believe he'll hit enough for it. He's nominally a shortstop but will end up at third base. Keith Law scouting report: Neyens has some of the best raw power of anyone in the high school class this year, getting up to 108 mph at showcases last summer, with a high-effort swing that boasts strong bat speed and puts the ball in the air a ton. He has hit well this spring against local competition, but at tracked events last summer/fall and this spring he's shown too much propensity to whiff on pitches in the zone — 23 percent of the time he swings at them, including fastballs in the upper half. He doesn't chase, with a swing rate on pitches out of the zone of just 11 percent in those same events, so the issue is contact on strikes, not ball/strike recognition. He has a strong arm and should be able to stick at third base, where the power would make him an above-average regular if he hits enough to get to it. If there's a consensus on him now, it's that we don't know if his hit tool is advanced enough to support the rest of the package. He's committed to Oregon State. Live blog analysis: This is the first 'yikes' pick of the draft for me; I had Southisene 74th on my board. He's a plus runner who'll start out at shortstop but may move to second or centerfield. He can hit a fastball, but had contact issues with offspeed stuff, and he doesn't have more than fringy power. He does have great makeup — area scouts love the kid — but that's not enough for me to put him in the first round. I haven't loved Atlanta's drafts in general in the last few years, as they seem to march to an entirely different beat, and this is kind of in line with that. He'll have to be a much better hitter than I think to be worthy of the pick. Keith Law scouting report: Southisene's older brother Ty was the Cubs' fourth-round pick last year out of the same high school (which is also Mason Neville's alma mater). Tate is a little ahead of Ty across the board — better hit tool now, better shortstop — with the same raves about his makeup from scouts. He probably goes out as a shortstop but moves to second or third in the high minors, or even center field, as he's a plus runner. He's had some issues with off-speed stuff at showcases, and didn't make as much hard contact as some of his peers, so he might be more of a fringe power guy than an average one. He's committed to Southern California, where another brother, Tee, is currently playing. Live blog analysis: There was some talk that Sean Gamble's commitment to Vanderbilt and his age (19, so he'd be draft-eligible again in 2027) might make him unsignable despite having some of the best pure tools in the high school class. The Royals have multiple extra picks, so if Gamble wanted more than slot, they have the flexibility to get it done here. They announced him as an outfielder, which is where he belongs and where his plus speed might make him a superior defender in center. He's also got some sneaky power that doesn't always show up because his swing is flatter than it should be. There's 20/20 upside here, at least, and I think his path will be a little easier now that he's off the dirt. Keith Law scouting report: Gamble is a 70 runner with above-average bat speed, probably needing to move to center field in pro ball, who'll need some swing help to tap into more power. He's more athlete than hitter right now, with a flatter swing that doesn't loft the ball a ton, and he tends to open his front hip early so he doesn't always square the ball up like he should. I could easily see a 20/20 upside here — or 20/40 — in the right organization, but as a guy who takes longer to reach the majors than the very top high school position players do. He's committed to Vanderbilt, where he'd be age-eligible for the draft as a sophomore in 2027. Advertisement Live blog analysis: Jordan Yost is a plus defender at short and plus runner who could probably move right to centerfield and bring that defense with him. At the plate, he's an extreme contact hitter without much power at all. I had him 72nd on my pre-draft board because he's going to have to hit for a very high average to be an everyday player unless he has an unexpected power surge. For the Tigers, who've swung big on upside in recent years, this is a surprising pick, but I wonder if they think he's another player in the Kevin McGonigle vein. Keith Law scouting report: Yost is an extreme contact-hitting shortstop who doesn't whiff or chase, hitting for very little power in the process. His swing is short and he doesn't stride or even lift his lead foot at all, just flinching it quickly before swinging, with a whiff rate on the circuit last year of just 7 percent (in a smaller sample of pitches than most players of his caliber had). He's a true shortstop and a plus runner who could probably also go to center if need be. He does have room to get stronger and should impact the ball more when he does, although the current swing isn't going to produce many homers. He's committed to Florida. Live blog analysis: The Padres are who they thought they were: They took the giant, athletic, high-upside high school arm. Kruz Schoolcraft has been up to 98 with feel for a change, and depending on the day you saw him, you might have seen a plus slider as well. He's 6'8″ and showed some power as a hitter, although his future was always going to be on the mound. There's a wide range of outcomes here – as wide as his wingspan? – as high school pitchers are the riskiest category, and he's still developing as a pitcher. I completely understand why any scout might look and see a frontline starter here. Keith Law scouting report: Schoolcraft is 6-8 and imposing on the mound, coming from a low three-quarters slot and getting out over his front side at release to take advantage of his height. He's been up to 98, but the velocity is inconsistent and he's had outings where he's been in the low 90s. The consensus from scouts on his slider is that it's not there yet, although he can flash plus with it, as the pitch tends to be flat — what we used to call 'sweepy' before the term sweeper came into vogue — and doesn't have a lot of power to it. He can turn over a changeup well and probably gets to a plus pitch with that over time. His arm is frequently late, which can often lead to problems with breaking stuff. It's a tantalizing foundation for a starter, though, between the size, arm strength, and ability to create spin. Live blog analysis: The Phillies took College World Series legend Gage Wood, who set an Omaha record with 19 strikeouts in his no-hitter against Murray State. Wood missed a chunk of the spring with a shoulder injury, then came back to show some of the best pure stuff of any pitcher, starter or reliever, in the class. I speculated earlier in the week that the Phillies might decide to ignore the medical and take Wood to put him in the majors this fall as a partial solution to their bullpen woes. He's got the two pitches right now to get big-league hitters out if 1) he throws strikes and 2) doesn't get hurt again. Keith Law scouting report: If Wood hadn't missed a month-plus with a shoulder impingement, he'd be an easy first-round pick, as his fastball-curveball combination is as good as any two-pitch mix from a college righty in this draft. Wood made College World Series history by throwing the first no-hitter in the event since 1960 with a 119-pitch performance against Murray State. He's been up to 98 and sits 95-96 with explosive ride on the pitch, with hitters pathetically whiffing 44 percent of the time on the fastball, then he hits 'em with the 12/6 hammer at 83-85 or so, and there's just a pile of ashes in the batter's box. He does have a promising slider to give him something to pitch east-west as well, although he doesn't have anything for lefties and they've slugged over .500 against him this spring. That's the second issue, after the shoulder, and the third is that despite the 5 percent walk rate he's posted through Regionals, it's 40 command — he's just blowing guys away, but he's made enough mistakes in the zone, especially with the fastball, to allow five homers in 25 innings and post a 5-plus ERA before his brilliant CWS performance. The delivery has some nonsense in the back, but he's on time out front and gets to his release point from a three-quarters slot pretty consistently. It is so easy to call him a reliever given all of the caveats, and how many pitchers end up in the 'pen anyway, but you have to see if he can stay healthy and develop into a starter given the foundation here. Live blog analysis: I want to build a time machine so I can go back to February 1st and tell the Guardians that they're going to end up with Jace Laviolette with their first-round pick. Laviolette was among the top prospects in the entire class coming into the spring, although he struck out over 80 times last year and his plus-plus power comes with a lot of risk as well. He slumped to a .258 average, down 47 points from 2024, and went from 29 homers to 19 (although power was down everywhere), while his strikeout rate went up slightly. He's a centerfielder now and could end up in a corner. Even though I'm a skeptic on Laviolette I think this is a superb pick given who's left on the board. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: LaViolette was overhyped coming into the year, getting some 1-1 chatter despite the fact that he struck out over 80 times as a sophomore, but his dismal performance this spring ended that talk and probably pushed him to the back of the first round or beyond. LaViolette hit .258/.427/.576 this spring with 66 strikeouts, a 24.4 percent K rate, due in large part to how often he whiffs on pitches in the zone — just a shade under 20 percent of the time. He has no load in his approach, making very hard contact because he's extremely strong and has enough hand speed to get the bat going in time to catch up to good velocity, with a hard-hit rate on the year of 53 percent. He does know the strike zone well enough to see solid OBPs with power, likely pulled down by a low batting average and probably a strikeout rate above 25 percent when he gets to Double A. I don't think he's a center fielder but would expect at least 55 defense in right. If you think you can solve some of his in-zone miss, whether it's by adjusting his swing to give him a load and some more rhythm or if you think it's about pitch recognition, he does have 30-homer upside. There's a ton of risk here, though, just as there was last year with Orioles first-rounder Vance Honeycutt, who is struggling with contact in High A right now. Live blog analysis: Hammond was 28th on my draft board, coincidentally, as the two-way player is going to be a strong defender on the left side of the infield and may end a plus OBP guy with 20-homer power. This is a heck of a one-two punch of high-upside high school bats for the Royals. Keith Law scouting report: Hammond is a two-way player right now but his pro future is as a shortstop who hits for power. He's an excellent athlete with plus raw power and a 70 arm, moving well at shortstop with the potential that he'll just get too big for the position and end up a plus defender at third. His approach is the main question, and what it implies about his future hit tool; he doesn't swing and miss much but he will follow breaking stuff out of the zone, especially right-on-right. Hammond can show bat speed, but not bat control, with the hope that that improves as he fills out, particularly if his wrists and forearms get stronger and he can maintain his bat path more through the zone. It's 20-plus homer power and the chance for solid OBPs somewhere on the left side of the infield. He's committed to Wake Forest. Live blog analysis: Forbes has a first-round arm, but he's had some injury issues and right now doesn't have a real pitch to get lefties out. I'm more surprised that Arizona didn't take Slater de Brun, as they've been linked to him all spring, but Forbes' upside as an above-average starter if he stays healthy and develops a change or split makes this a solid pick. Keith Law scouting report: Forbes has missed time the past two years with various injuries, but he's missed a ton of bats when he's been able to pitch, striking out 36.7 percent of batters this year heading into the Super Regional (where he's struck out six of 16 batters as I type this). He's a fastball/slider guy, up to 100 on the four-seamer, with two variations on the slider, coming from a low three-quarters slot that gets some sweeping action to both breaking pitches. He barely uses his below-average changeup because he hasn't had to; he's been more effective against lefties this year, giving up six of the seven homers he's allowed to righties. I'll be shocked if that holds up in pro ball — he doesn't have any pitch that consistently moves away from lefties, and the best he can do is spin a slider that breaks down more than it breaks toward a left-hander's bat. It's a high-stress, slinging arm action, which also doesn't generally point to future command; he's given up too much hard contact for this quality of stuff and he's walked 10.9 percent of batters he's faced this year. There's starter upside here with the velocity, the plus slider, and the size. To get there, he'll need another pitch and probably needs at least another half-grade of control. Live blog analysis: Bodine is one of the best contact hitters in the draft and he's a strong defensive catcher who'll stay at the position. There isn't much power here so I'm not sure how much upside there is beyond an everyday guy. That's nitpicking, though, since an everyday catcher is hard to find and very valuable in trade if you happen to have an Adley Rutschman hanging around. Keith Law scouting report: Bodine can catch and he doesn't strike out — he struck out 8.1 percent of the time last year, and so far in 2025 that's down to 7.5 percent, through the Regionals. It's less a matter of plate discipline than one of not swinging; he swings less than 40 percent of the time, although when he does swing, he rarely whiffs, especially on fastballs. The result is that he's walked more than twice as often as he's struck out, but this year, with the Division 1-wide drop in power, he's gone from hitting 20 homers in his first two years to just three in 2025. He's hit lefties this season, reducing some questions of whether he'd be a platoon bat. He receives well and has a plus arm, throwing out just over a third of opposing runners this spring, although he could use some help to get a more consistent release. He's the second-best catcher in the class, and that's usually a top-30 or top-40 pick in any draft. Advertisement Live blog analysis: Aloy is the best pick of the draft so far going by the delta between where I ranked a player (13) and where he was selected (31). Aloy is a very Orioles type of pick — he hits the ball hard, with some chase and contact issues, although they're much more manageable than, say, Vance Honeycutt's were last year. He's also got a chance to stick at shortstop, and if he goes to third I think he'll be at least an above-average defender there. I'm still wondering where the Orioles' money is going — are Irish and Aloy over-slot guys, or were these just opportunistic picks of guys who fell? Keith Law scouting report: A native Hawaiian from Wailuku, Aloy is a true shortstop and a superb athlete who led the Razorbacks with 20 homers (through the Regionals) and a .355 average this season. He's not a runner but shows good instincts and lateral range, with plenty of arm for the left side of the infield; if he does eventually have to move off the position as he fills out, he should be an above-average to plus defender at third. He struck out 20.4 percent of the time this year, as he does chase pitches out of the zone, even those well out of the zone, at a higher-than-average rate. His main issue has been on breaking stuff, even when it's coming from left-handers. He has a sizable leg kick and gets his front foot down late, after his hands have started, which could be one factor. He does hit the ball hard when he makes contact, though, with a hard-hit rate of 54 percent and 90th percentile EV of 107.2 mph, so there's plenty of bat here if he can bring the contact rate up even half a grade. Just that one modest improvement would take him from a potential regular at shortstop to a potential star. Live blog analysis: Ebel was 84th on my draft board. He doesn't offer a ton of upside, although he could be a regular at third base. He doesn't have much power and his bat speed is just fair, although to his credit he has not had trouble hitting velocity. He is a natural shortstop who played third, his ultimate position, because his teammate Billy Carlson is a wizard. Keith Law scouting report: Ebel is a natural shortstop who's playing third base for his high school team because their shortstop is first-rounder Billy Carlson, although in the long run Ebel's going to end up at the hot corner anyway, or maybe at second, with his strong arm making third the more likely spot. I didn't see good bat speed from him at NHSI, but he hasn't had trouble with velocity, even up to 98, at showcases and other tracked events. It's a solid swing for contact and some low line drives, probably not power as currently constituted. He has a chance to be a regular in the Bill Mueller mold, where his value is in his average/contact skills and solid defense at third. Talk of his high school (Corona) having three first-rounders was overblown, but he's a solid enough prospect to go on Day 1. He's committed to LSU and won't turn 18 until late July. He's the son of Dodgers coach Dino Ebel. GO DEEPER Raised around stars, Dino Ebel's sons now chase own MLB dreams Live blog analysis: Phillips started at Tennessee, but right now he projects as a reliever, as he's a lower-slot guy who has nothing to get good lefties out. He's a classic sinker/slider type who has life on his fastball, up to 98, with a slider that's very effective against righties but runs right into lefties' bat paths. Sinker/slider types with his slot often have trouble developing a third pitch. I wonder if the Red Sox think they can do for Phillips what they did for Tanner Houck. Keith Law scouting report: Phillips needs a pitch to get lefties out, and if he finds one, he could be a mid-rotation starter. He's 95-98 with some sink, coming from a low three-quarters slot, and he has a hard, sweepy slider at 86-88, also using an occasional cutter and changeup. The changeup isn't bad, maybe a 45, just too firm and too often on the outer third. He used the changeup just 16 percent of the time against left-handed batters, while using the slider — a pitch that runs right at their bat paths — 28 percent of the time, which is at least part of why lefties hit .258/.365/.402 off him this spring. His arm action is a little long, but he repeats it enough for average control. Odds are he's a sinker/slider reliever in the long run; someone should give him every opportunity to start, however. Live blog analysis: Oliveto is the first player selected who wasn't on my top 100, although I did have him written up as a potential Day 1 pick. The Long Island native who is committed to an obscure liberal arts college in New Haven has average power now and a projectable frame, while he's got a chance to stick behind the plate with some work. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Oliveto is a tall, strong catcher with at least average power now, maybe more if he could stay on that front foot rather than rolling it over. He showed solid contact rates in limited time at showcases last year. He's on the taller side for a catcher but could still end up sticking back there, with solid hands but limited experience catching better quality stuff. He's committed to Yale, which of course calls his judgment into question. Live blog analysis: Seattle's strong draft continues with the selection of Stevenson, a first-round talent between his plus power and ability to catch. He slid out of the first round after hitting .251 this spring with 70 punchouts in 290 PA, both of which were steps backwards from his freshman year. He might just be a low-average catcher with power — but that plays. Keith Law scouting report: Stevenson is a power-hitting catcher who smacked 18 homers this year for the Tar Heels through the Regionals and drew 58 walks, but who hit a disappointing .254/.422/.555 overall with a 24.7 percent strikeout rate, numbers that may knock him out of the first round and would certainly do so if he weren't a catcher. Everything else about him would seem to indicate that he's one of the best prospects in the draft: He makes a ton of hard contact, he knows the strike zone and he's good enough to stick at catcher. His hard-hit rate of 57 percent was one of the best in Division I this year, and he topped out at 114.6 mph, with a strong but simple swing that I don't think will require much if any adjustment in the future. His main issue is that he has no two-strike approach at all; if anything, he has an anti-approach, as he swings 32 percent of the time before he gets to two strikes and 49 percent in any two-strike count. He chases more and he whiffs more in zone in those counts, so it's easy to see how he can be a high-strikeout guy with everything else he does well. He's a good blocker but a below-average receiver, and has a 55 arm that plays up because he's pretty accurate. He should be an everyday catcher, despite the low batting average this year. He's a draft-eligible sophomore who'll turn 21 about 10 days after the draft. Live blog analysis: Riley Quick has been up to 99 with an above-average changeup, and his slider has high spin rates that produce what should be a plus pitch but that hasn't played that way in part because he changes his arm slot on it. This was his first year back from Tommy John surgery and Alabama used him cautiously, which is great to see and might also mean there's some more progress ahead of him. Keith Law scouting report: Quick made one start in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, then returned this spring like nothing had ever happened, working 95-99 on a cautious program that has had him top 90 pitches just once all season. He throws four- and two-seamers, although the latter doesn't have a ton of sink, with a 55 changeup that is very deceptive out of his hand and has some late fading action to it. He also throws a slider that has big break from high spin rates, but changes his arm slot enough — by about 8 inches of release height — for hitters to pick it up, and has begun working in a cutter at 91-93. His arm is often late, which may be contributing to the issues with the slider, and he comes back across his body with some head-snap at release. It all points to some reliever risk even before you consider the injury, but he's also someone who has such a great foundation of arm strength, ability to spin the ball, and a present off-speed weapon in the changeup that he could be a No. 2 starter or better with some mechanical fine-tuning. GO DEEPER Riley Quick's fast recovery from Tommy John has ex-football player's MLB Draft stock soaring Live blog analysis: Fun-sized people rejoice: Slater de Brun has been selected. The Orioles are having what looks like their best draft in years, landing three players I'd ranked in my top 20, as de Brun makes a ton of contact and has the strength to maybe get to average power, while sticking in center and potentially getting to 55 or better defense. Keith Law scouting report: De Brun is a diminutive outfielder from the Pacific Northwest, like Corbin Carroll was; de Brun is listed at 5-10 but may be shorter than that, and like last year's fun-sized first-rounder Slade Caldwell, he has excellent feel to hit and projects to stay in center field. He takes a solid stride to get his lower half involved, but it's a slashy swing and he can wrap the bat a little behind his head, creating some extra length to the ball. With two strikes, however, he goes to the Juan Soto double-wide stance to trade some power for contact. He faces the same questions about his ultimate power level that all guys his size do; I've had scouts say he's somewhere in between those two Diamondbacks players in power potential. I felt a little better about Caldwell's impact, not for power but for consistent hard contact, just for comparison's sake. De Brun is committed to Vanderbilt. Advertisement Live blog analysis: The Mets have entered the chat, taking Michigan infielder Mitch Voit and announcing him as a two-way player. He was one of the best hitters in the college crop this year by performance and data, although he did it against lesser pitching in the Big Ten (compared to SEC or ACC competition). He also moved from the outfield to second base this year and took to it immediately. He threw 62 innings last year in 10 starts for the Wolverines, with a 5.49 ERA, but didn't pitch in 2025. Keith Law scouting report: Voit was one of the best hitters in the Big Ten this year with his combination of high contact rates and solid-average power, ending the season with more walks (40) than strikeouts (34). Just over half of his balls hit into play were hard-hit (95 mph exit velocity or greater), and he topped out at 111 mph, with solid bat speed and clearly plenty of strength behind it. He spent 2024 in the outfield for the Wolverines but moved full-time to second base this year and will stick there, although he also has the arm for third, and since he's a plus runner he could probably handle center. He won't turn 21 until September. Live blog analysis: The Yankees' first pick is a prep shortstop, Dax Kilby, a superb contact hitter with a short and direct swing that looks like it'll do the same against pro pitching. He has only below-average power now, with room to fill out, and probably slides to second or third base. Keith Law scouting report: Kilby has one of the simplest and quietest approaches in the draft, college or high school, with a swing that's short and direct and gets the bat to the ball consistently. He showed excellent contact skills and a low chase rate at tracked events last summer, swinging at just 9 percent of pitches beyond the shadow of the zone, with 40 power now but a chance to get to average as he fills out and perhaps with a little fine-tuning in the box. He's a fringe-average runner who's not going to stick at shortstop, ending up at second or third instead. He's committed to Clemson. Live blog analysis: Root seems a little un-Dodgers-like, but not in a bad way — he doesn't throw super hard and his fastball is his worst pitch, but he has a big arsenal and his curveball and changeup are both plus. He's got great feel to pitch and some deception in the delivery. I bet the Dodgers think they can alter his fastball to get more swings and misses on it, as it generated just a 9 percent whiff rate this year in his first year in the SEC. Keith Law scouting report: Root has a plus curveball and plus changeup, with an athletic, repeatable delivery, helping him to a 31.6 percent strikeout rate this year, but his fastball plays well below its velocity and he has just a 9 percent whiff rate on the pitch through the Regionals this year. He dominated non-conference competition but had more trouble with walks and hard contact in the SEC, with a 4.97 ERA in-conference versus 1.72 outside of it. The transfer from East Carolina has a true five-pitch mix, with a cutter and slider in his arsenal as well, and as a result he can work away from the fastball more than most pitchers, throwing it 37 percent of the time this season — and that might still be too often, given the amount of hard contact he allows on it. He's been up to 98 and sits 93-95, but the pitch is very straight and he tries to live with it middle-up, whether in or out of the zone. He holds his stuff deep into games and has multiple weapons to get batters out, so I don't see any reason to give up on him starting. Someone will have to either change his fastball shape (difficult) or alter his pitch mix (easier) to get him to play to his strengths so he can be at least a No. 4 starter in the majors. Live blog analysis: The Dodgers appear to have done all of their scouting in Fayetteville — not a bad strategy, mind you. Davalan, like Zach Root, spent just one year as a Razorback, but emerged as one of the team's top two hitters, walking more than he struck out, poking 14 homers, and enough sock to project above-average power. If he can play centerfield, this will go down as a steal of a pick; even if he's in a corner it seems like great value. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Davalan is an age-eligible sophomore from Waterloo, Ontario in Canada, who hit .350/.434/.573 in his first year with the Razorbacks, with more walks than strikeouts through the Regionals and at least average power. A transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, Davalan is an extreme contact hitter, with a whiff rate last year of 15 percent and just 11 percent this year despite the jump in competition. It's not a short swing, however, and he gets his hands back enough to generate plenty of bat speed for hard contact, with a hard-hit rate of 47 percent this year and peak EV over 110. He can definitely play an above-average left field, with a handful of games in center this year and on the Cape last summer; if you think he's a center fielder, he's probably a top 15-20 pick. Live blog analysis: Brendan Summerhill came into the year as a likely top-15 pick, but showed very little power this spring, and teams shied away from him due to some makeup concerns. He missed time with a fractured hand, which explains at least some of the lost power, and he maintained his strong command of the strike zone even when he wasn't producing. He hasn't looked good in center and is going to stay in a corner. Keith Law scouting report: Summerhill missed about a month this spring with a fractured hand, then had a minor leg injury in his second game back that cost him a couple of additional games. He hasn't been quite the same since his return, with a .277/.462/.425 line from the start of May through the Regionals, down from .409/.495/.527 when he broke his hand. He does have an elite hit tool with excellent zone control, rarely whiffing on strikes and staying in the zone more than the average hitter. He has shown enough hard contact in the past and early this season to project another half-grade of power with some swing help, but the hand injury clearly sapped some of that strength and his overall hard-hit data is down from his sophomore year. He'd be a top-10 pick if he could play center, but the Wildcats moved him to right this spring and he wasn't great in center on the Cape last summer. Keith Law scouting report: Cannarella finished the 2025 season with a .353/.479/.530 line, a disappointing result for someone who came into the spring as a potential top-10 pick. He had shoulder surgery prior to the season and never looked right in the field or at the plate, whether it was a slow recovery or something else bothering him. He went from 11 homers as a sophomore to just five this spring, with his exit velocity numbers down a little across the board from last year and his hard-hit rate dropping from 52 percent to 44 percent. He still has a good eye and walked more than he struck out this year, and continues to show plus range in center, although this year he just couldn't throw. As a sophomore, he looked like he could be a high-average centerfielder with plus defense, fringy power, and solid on-base skills. Maybe that guy is still in there if you get him fully healthy, which would make him an interesting buy-low opportunity at the end of the first round. Keith Law scouting report: Fauske is a center fielder and catcher who profiles much better in the outfield. He has a great swing that produces above-average to plus power in BP, but in games he shortens up for more contact, preferring to hit softer line drives to the whole field rather than look to pull the ball for extra bases. He does use his lower half well, and seems to have solid hand-eye coordination, so the ingredients are here for him to hit for average and for power with some adjustments to his approach. He's a slightly above-average runner and may end up pushed to a corner as he fills out, although he should start his pro career in center. He was slowed a little this spring by minor shoulder soreness that kept him from throwing for a week or two (including, alas, the week I was there to see him). He's committed to LSU. Keith Law scouting report: Middleton is a strike-thrower who's been up to 97, sitting 93-95, with a basket of three average or better pitches, and his performance was among the best in Division I this year — he was 10th among qualifiers in ERA after the super regionals and tied for sixth in strikeouts. His slider looks like it should be above-average or plus, but he had more success with his straight changeup when it came to missing bats. The slider is up to 88-89, short but sharp in its break, while the changeup has just a little late fade to it but seems to fool hitters looking for the heater. His arm is very quick and he throws everything hard, and even with that he's shown average control, with a 6 percent walk rate this season and 67 percent of his pitches going for strikes. The fastball plays fine, about what you'd expect from the velocity, but it's not going to be a carrying pitch for him. He's a sure starter who has the weapons to be effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. Keith Law scouting report: Compton came into the year with some first-round attention after hitting .354/.427/.661 as a redshirt freshman for the Sun Devils, but crashed and burned this year with a .271/.379/.486 line, failing to even get to double digits in homers. He has power and some patience, but is a below-average runner and is limited to left field between that and fringy arm strength. It's an all-fields approach with a short path to the ball, showing 55 power rather than 60 or more because his swing lacks much leverage. He could be a bounceback bet for a team that believes in the underlying offensive tools and thinks they can get him to pull the ball in the air more frequently. He missed the 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, so he'll be 22 in October with two years of eligibility remaining. Advertisement Live blog analysis: Chase Shores seems like the most Angels pick — he closed out LSU's College World Series win, and I bet he shows up in the majors this year. Keith Law scouting report: Shores lost his rotation spot in mid-April after giving up 22 runs in his nine starts for a 5.12 ERA, and his results weren't necessarily better when he moved to relief — but his stuff was, as he hit 100 mph 47 times in the NCAA tournament. His main fastball is a two-seamer with huge tailing action to it, and his slider is at least a 55, up to 91 with solid tilt. He really can't start as is, as lefties had a .412 OBP against him this spring, but several of his postseason outings — including the one that closed out LSU's national championship — showed his upside in relief as a sinker/slider guy. Keith Law scouting report: Taylor hit .374/.494/.706 overall this spring and .360/.497/.586 in the Big Ten, although the pitching in that conference was far below what hitters in the SEC or ACC would face, and that has led to questions about how good Taylor's hit tool really is. He couldn't have done much more with what he was given, though; his hard-hit rate of 59 percent was among the best in Division I, and he doesn't whiff or chase excessively, resulting in a strikeout rate of just 11.1 percent and nearly twice as many walks as Ks. His value is all in his bat — he's not a runner and he's a 45 defender in left field if you like him, so he really has to hit. He just didn't see much velocity or quality off-speed stuff this year, because of the lack of power arms in the conference, and that raises some doubts about how much the performance will hold up. I do think it's a big mark in his favor that he continued to hit in conference play when his toolsy teammate Korbyn Dickerson, who went off against some terrible competition in the first few weeks, couldn't keep his performance going (.319 OBP in-conference with six walks against 32 strikeouts) in the Big Ten. Taylor's lack of other tools — and I'd include bat speed, as his looks fine but not elite — has just raised the uncertainty around his performance. It's going to be an issue going forward for any hitter outside of those two top conferences. If you buy the production and see him doing this against better pitching, it's a first-round bat. Keith Law scouting report: Petry is a power-over-hit first baseman/outfielder who hit 20-plus homers in each of his first two years at South Carolina, but with high strikeout totals, including 73 as a sophomore (25.2 percent). He's seen his strikeout rate and power output drop this year, and he's been especially bad against SEC pitching, with just a .388 slugging percentage in conference play. He does make exceptionally hard contact when he does get the bat to the ball, however, with a 90th percentile EV of 110 mph and a hard-hit rate that ranks in the top 3 percent of all D1 hitters, so there's some foundation here for an impact bat even if he's striking out around 25 percent of the time. He's not a great defender anywhere and is big enough that he's probably destined for first base. Petry sprained the AC joint in his left shoulder while crashing into the right-field wall and missed the last month-plus of the season except for one game, missing the Gamecocks' lone game in the SEC tournament. Keith Law scouting report: Cervantes is the second-best high school pitcher in California this year, and if you get him on the right day you see a potential first-rounder. He's been up to 97 with a plus changeup, working with a very easy delivery that gives him a chance to get to 55 or even 60 command. The breaking stuff is a work in progress, as right now he throws a slurve in the upper 70s that doesn't break downward so much as die an ignominious death as it reaches the plate, perhaps not the ideal weapon to have as the competition increases. He can generate high spin rates but what he calls two different pitches just run together and he will at a minimum need someone to help him refine that into at least one, consistent pitch he can command. He has a little bit of a mature body even though he won't turn 18 until August, and he's had outings where he's been more 91-93, so there's a wide range of opinions on what his ceiling is. The fact that he already throws a lot of strikes and has a simple operation on the mound is enough of an argument to see a potential mid-rotation guy five or six years down the road. Keith Law scouting report: Watson showed and proved at NHSI this year, with a strong performance where he demonstrated unusual command for a high schooler. He's 91-96 with good ride on the four-seamer, with a two-seamer, hard slider and split-change. The slider is his best pitch, mid-80s with some tilt, and he can move it around the zone effectively. It's a higher slot and he doesn't have a ton of deception; otherwise he has a clear starter profile, with plenty of projection left on his 6-5 frame to end up sitting at the top end of his current velocity range. He changed his commitment in June from Virginia to Florida. Keith Law scouting report: Russell had Tommy John surgery on June 11, 2024, and pitched in a game this year for the Volunteers on Feb. 25, which is less than nine months from knife to mound. He hit 97 that day, sitting 94-95, and he's largely held that, more 92-95, with an above-average slider. Tennessee used him very cautiously, sitting him for the entire month of March and limiting him to 25 1/3 innings on the season, even though they could have used him in their rotation. He wasn't great at the end of the season, however, giving up 10 runs in 10 1/3 innings in four appearances from the SEC tournament through the Super Regionals, mostly through poor fastball command, although he still struck out 16 in that stretch. He's barely pitched in college, but he has stuff and a good enough delivery to try him as a starter, with a clear floor in relief where he'd probably have two plus pitches. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Flemming is a solid athlete with some projection left to his 6-3 frame and a short, simple swing that produces a ton of contact. He's a left-handed hitter who uses the whole field well, potentially getting to average power when he fills out. He hits with little-to-no load, however, which likely explains his very low whiff rates (including just 8 percent on fastballs in tracked events in 2024-25) but isn't conducive to driving the ball. He did have higher whiff rates on breaking pitches, but the sample is really small (31 total pitches seen) and I haven't heard the same from scouts this spring. He's not going to stick at shortstop and will have to at least move to third base. He's committed to Vanderbilt. Keith Law scouting report: Young struggled badly in the summer and fall of 2024, with a 39 percent whiff rate at tracked events (per Synergy Sports data) and huge trouble catching up to even average velocity. He spent the offseason reworking his own swing, though, and had a strong enough spring to put him back on the map for at least teams that still scout players beyond data and video. He's improved his plate discipline and swing decisions, and he's much more balanced through contact as he's getting his front leg down more consistently. He has plus power right now, although he probably has a 40 hit tool even after the adjustments, and you're betting on him continuing to make improvements in pro ball. He has a 70 arm, so while he's not going to stick at shortstop, he might be able to handle third and should have a defensive floor in right field — and if he doesn't hit, I wonder if someone sees if he can pitch. He's committed to LSU. Keith Law scouting report: Mitchell was one of the most advanced and disciplined hitters on the showcase circuit last year, with whiff and chase rates of 16 percent each in almost 400 pitches at tracked events; on pitches well out of the zone (WOOZ?) his chase rate dropped to just 7 percent. He takes a long stride forward but keeps his weight back with excellent balance through contact, with fringy power but some projection to get to average. He doesn't throw well at all, however, and will have to move off shortstop, possibly to second base, more likely to center, and in the worst-case scenario to left. He's committed to Georgia Tech. Keith Law scouting report: Kepley is a very undersized center fielder who's a 70 runner and 60 defender, walking almost twice as often as he's struck out, with almost no in-game power at all. He only swung and missed at pitches in the zone 7.5 percent of the time this year, and just 10 percent out of all the times he swung the bat. He hit three homers all year, getting a lot of extra slugging percentage from his speed on doubles and triples, but he's probably got closer to 40 power than 30 — his exit velocities are all a little below the D1 median, but not terribly so. He's probably a fourth outfielder unless he can add strength, and hitting under .300 in his draft year probably doesn't help his cause. Keith Law scouting report: Becker, whose older brother Ethan is at Virginia and is likely to be a top-10 pick in 2026, came into this spring as a potential late first-rounder, but he started swinging for the fences more and some scouts have come back questioning whether he's ready to hit pro pitching. His swing got much longer this spring as he's trying to pull the ball in the air, leading to a more grooved path that pro pitchers will probably exploit pretty easily. He's a good athlete who has a real chance to stick at short, with above-average speed and great hands. He has some power, but last summer was more of a hitter with occasional pop, and if he gets back to that — maybe in pro ball, maybe in college next year — he'll have a chance to be a regular. As of mid-June, he'd decommitted from Virginia and hadn't announced a new destination. Keith Law scouting report: Dzierwa is a changeup lefty with good control, working with a somewhat stiff delivery and no windup and going after right-handed hitters with a low-90s heater and a plus changeup. The pitch has a lot of tumble to it and hitters don't seem to pick it up well, whiffing on it in and out of the zone. Against lefties, he mostly throws the fastball and prefers his mid-70s curveball, which has some two-plane break to it but just doesn't miss a lot of bats. He struck out 28 percent of batters he faced this year while walking just 5.9 percent, with the changeup getting the highest whiff rate of all his pitches at 39 percent. With his above-average to plus control he might be a back-end starter, although he'd be more valuable if he had a better breaking pitch for better results against lefties. Keith Law scouting report: Thompson has a low-90s fastball that's hard to hit when he lets it ride up in the zone, and when he pairs that with a 70 changeup, he's extremely effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. He's also got an above-average curveball and average slider, and throws strikes, with a 7.9 percent walk rate this spring, although it's control over command. He generated over 30 percent whiff rates on all four pitches this year, but the changeup stands out — hitters fanned on it 52 percent of the time they swung, as it has good late tumble and a little run to it as well. He seems like a definite starter, with no platoon split at all this year, who just needs to tighten up his fastball command to try to reduce the amount of hard contact he allows to become a mid-rotation guy or better. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Lodise dialed up the power this year, going from nine homers as a sophomore to 17 this season. With excellent bat speed, he offers the potential of a 20-homer second baseman if he hits enough to get to it. He makes contact in the zone, but has too much of a tendency to chase pitches out of the zone, especially sliders down and away, and he can expand the zone a little too much on heaters. He swings hard, often, and that's what produces the big power, but it means his misses can be huge as well, and he doesn't have the pure ball/strike recognition to keep his OBP up. He's a steady defender at short with an average arm, good on the routine play but possibly lacking the range to play the position in the majors. If someone gets him to tighten up his swing decisions even a little bit, he could become an everyday player. GO DEEPER Braves second-rounder Alex Lodise went from barely recruited to college baseball's 'Heisman' Keith Law scouting report: Lombardi was one of the best two-way players in Division I this year, hitting .273/.392/.453 as a center fielder and first baseman while posting a 2.14 ERA with a 43.5 percent strikeout rate over 42 innings as a swingman. His future is on the mound, however. He's up to 97 with tremendous carry and pairs it with a power curveball with sharp downward break, showing enough feel for a changeup to see a future starter. He walked 12.5 percent of batters faced this year, a little too high, although that may come down if he's given one consistent role. It's a big upside play on a mid-rotation or better arm. Keith Law scouting report: Malachi is Kyson Witherspoon's twin brother. He also throws hard, but doesn't have his brother's command and control, posting a 5.09 ERA in 15 starts for the Sooners this spring, with an alarming 17 hit batsmen on top of a 9.1 percent walk rate. He has a much faster, less controlled arm swing, so while his slider can be plus and get up to 89, it plays down because his release point is all over the place. It's a starter package with a reliever's delivery and command. I wouldn't rule out someone reworking his mechanics to help him start, though. Keith Law scouting report: Obermueller was draft-eligible last year, and declined to sign when the Rangers took him in the 19th round, so he's back in the draft this year and should go on Day 1 after a much better junior year. Obermueller has been up to 98 and sits 92-94 with a 55 slider that's very horizontal, and given his low arm slot it's not surprising that he's very east-west. He barely uses a changeup and the whole operation is very relieverish, from the delivery to the arsenal to the command. He did improve his control significantly this year, however, cutting his walk rate from over 15 percent a year ago to 9 percent this spring. I could see someone hoping they can build on his adjustments and develop a left-handed starter with two 55s or better. Keith Law scouting report: Curley has excellent feel to hit with a simple swing that gets the ball in the air, although as the season went on he started to have more trouble picking up off-speed stuff from the better pitching in the SEC. He rarely chases pitches well outside of the zone (10 percent this year on pitches beyond the 'shadow,' down from 14 percent last year), and makes enough contact in the zone to project an average hit tool, although his performance in conference is a little concerning. He can get to good velocity, but he'll have to work on pitch recognition at some point in the high minors, maybe in Double A where he'll see better secondaries on a consistent basis. He's not a shortstop and probably has his best shot to stay on the dirt at third base. He's draft-eligible as a sophomore, as he turned 21 in April. Keith Law scouting report: The nephew of Al and Mark Leiter, Cam missed part of 2024 and all of 2025 due to a shoulder injury that required surgery last fall. His fastball had been 95-96 and he had a plus curveball and 55 changeup before he went down, although he never had close to average control, walking 15.2 percent of batters he faced between his half-year at Florida State and his freshman year at Central Florida. Keith Law scouting report: Moss can run a little and might be able to handle center, but he has a tiny, slappy swing that's all hands, making no use of his lower half, and gets way out over his front side at the point of contact. He turned 19 in April and is committed to LSU. I think he'd be better off going to school given where his swing is right now. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Cairone is a projectable lefty who's touched 94, mostly sitting 89-92, with what will probably be a plus curveball when he fills out and adds some velocity. His arm works well, and he's around the plate enough to see future-average or better command. The industry doesn't take these types of pitchers very high any more, chasing pitchers with more current velocity, so the Cairones of the world often end up at college — he's committed to Coastal Carolina — and then are drafted in three years if they've survived that gauntlet. Keith Law scouting report: Lamkin comes way across his body to help his average slider play up a little bit; his fastball is fringy and there's a lot of effort to the delivery, with a hard stop in back before he accelerates his arm towards the plate. He throws a ton of strikes, though, with a 5.4 percent walk rate on the season and 70 percent of his pitches going for strikes (called, fouls, swinging, so not just pitches in the zone). He'll go out as a starter, but the delivery and fastball point to the bullpen. Keith Law scouting report: Gray starred in the Cape Cod League last summer and showed some plus power this spring, but he chases stuff out of the zone way too often for a mid-major player and doesn't have great bat speed, with good velocity eating him alive in the wood-bat league. He'll be a bigger target for teams that highly value batted-ball data — with his 90th percentile EV ranking in the top five percent of all D1 qualifiers at 108 mph — than teams that take a more holistic approach. He's not likely at all to stick at third and may end up at first base. Keith Law scouting report: Belyeu was off to a solid start for Texas when he injured his thumb on a diving play in the outfield on March 28, missing about seven weeks. When he returned, he struggled to a 6-for-37 line with 15 strikeouts, although he did homer twice in the Regionals as Texas was eliminated; I'm assuming the thumb issue was still inhibiting his grip and/or he'd lost some hand strength temporarily due to the layoff. When healthy, he has power and excellent bat speed, with quick hands and a swing he repeats easily. He does expand the zone too often, chasing pitches well out of the zone 19 percent of the time prior to the injury (I'm ignoring what came after, since there's reason to believe he wasn't 100 percent). He's an average runner at best and is limited to the outfield corner, putting more pressure on the bat; right now he looks like a lower-OBP guy with 20-plus homer pop who could be more than an everyday guy if he does more with his contact than the typical hitter does. Keith Law scouting report: Godbout was tabbed early in his college career as a future first-rounder because of the hit tool, but he was affected by the teamwide slump in Virginia's lineup, losing 63 points of average and 148 points of slugging from 2024 to 2025. He still has superb contact skills, with whiff rates on fastballs of 6.3 percent over the past two springs, and he wouldn't be the first guy to leave Charlottesville and come into more power. His swing can be very inconsistent, even down to how he strides, but the hand-eye is there and he gets some loft into his finish to keep the ball off the ground. He'll be fine at second base. Keith Law scouting report: Lodise, the cousin of Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise, transferred from Division II Augusta to Georgia Tech and held most of his performance even with the huge jump in competition. He took some time to adjust to ACC play but ended up with a credible line, with 10 of his 16 homers coming in conference play. He's been much better against fastballs, whiffing 27 percent of the time on other pitches, but still doing enough damage to see him potentially getting to an average hit tool. He'll go out as a shortstop but ends up at second base because his arm isn't strong enough for the left side. The hope here is that there's enough between the hit tool and the power for him to profile as a regular, more so if he's a 55 defender after he slides to the other side of the bag. Keith Law scouting report: Williams posted some elite exit velocities this spring, with a max of 115.1 mph and a 90th percentile EV that ranked in the top 40 of all qualifying hitters (top two percent), but he swings at everything, and it's a huge ask to send this guy out to even High A with this approach. He chased 36 percent of pitches out of the zone this spring and 27 percent of pitches well out of the zone, and generally doesn't pick up changeups. If he were clearly a center fielder, there might be more of a path for him to get to everyday status, but I think he's a corner guy and he has to cut way down on the swings to be a regular in a corner. He may go on Day 1 because of the data but I don't see him in that realm. Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Slawinski is a very athletic, projectable lefty with a chance for three average or better pitches now that his velocity has started to creep up. He works in the low 90s with good carry, with a low release height that adds some deception to the pitch. He shows solid control already, and his slider projects to plus as long as he finishes it out front. He also turns over a potentially average changeup, giving enough of an arsenal to see him as a future starter when he fills out. He's a multi-sport athlete who played wide receiver and small forward until his senior year. He's committed to Texas A&M. Keith Law scouting report: Harmon is an athletic pitcher who's been up to 100, pitching more at 93-95. He can flash a 55 slider from a slot just below three-quarters. He takes a huge stride towards the plate to generate velocity, but beyond that it's not a great delivery, as his arm is extremely late and he cuts himself off in his landing. The slider can get slurvy and blend into his curveball, and he doesn't have a consistent changeup. He's a bet on arm strength and pure athleticism, with some possible improvement right away if he uses the slider as his predominant breaking ball. He's committed to Mississippi State. Live blog analysis: Jake Cook might be the fastest guy in the draft, but he only became a position player this year; he was a pitcher through 2024 but Southern Miss converted him to the outfield to try to take advantage of his 80 speed. Keith Law scouting report: Cook might be the fastest guy in the draft, but he was actually a pitcher until this year — he didn't take a single at-bat for the Golden Eagles until 2025 — and hit .350/.436/.468 with just 19 strikeouts in 284 PA. It's not a good swing, slappy and handsy, geared towards contact no matter what, and he had a measly 24 percent hard-hit rate this spring. He also hasn't turned the speed into basestealing success; he was 3-for-8 on the bases this year, which, I don't know, it's the Sun Belt, maybe they could have sent him a little more often than that? It's extremely impressive that he could go from never taking an at-bat in college to a 6.7 percent strikeout rate, and he's a fantastic athlete who should be able to impact the ball a little. This is the type of guy the Dodgers take in the fourth round and a year from now he's on the top 100 list. Keith Law scouting report: Carmichael is a capable backstop with some power and enough contact skills to at least see a future backup catcher, probably a low-OBP type who might get to 15-plus homers if he plays every day. He hit .329/.398/.613 this spring for the Sooners with a 15.7 percent strikeout rate, but he did a lot of damage against weaker pitching — he did nothing with fastballs 94 mph or harder, and his whiff rate on breaking stuff was over 30 percent on the year — so in pro ball I think it's more of a 40 or 45 hit tool despite the strong triple-slash line here. He's handled the Witherspoon twins, who both show premium stuff, well enough to see him doing the same in the upper levels of pro ball. Keith Law scouting report: Morris was one of Mississippi's best potential starters this year, but the Rebels chose to stick him in long relief instead in favor of other pitchers with more seniority, making him one of the most underrated prospects in the draft. He threw 54 2/3 innings this year in 19 relief appearances, never making a start, and would sit 95-97 with a plus slider and cutter that allowed him to get lefties out even without a changeup. It's not a picture-perfect arm action but he repeats it well enough to project him to get to 45 or 50 control, and with this stuff that's at least good enough to be a back-end starter. Keith Law scouting report: Owens earns praise for his instincts and feel for the game, which sometimes means a player just isn't very talented, but he's also a plus runner and has a solid enough swing to project some power down the line. He's playing in the wood-bat Appalachian League this summer, hitting exceptionally well against mostly older pitching, with a .271/.419/.492 line and a 31 percent strikeout rate. He's committed to Georgia Southern but could go as high as the second round. He's the best prospect among those who missed my top 100 (so, yes, he's No. 101). Advertisement Keith Law scouting report: Gray's spring season didn't start until May and runs until July 7, so his stock has been rising even as other players are mostly done other than individual workouts and the MLB Draft Combine. He's a switch hitter with elite bat speed who makes a ton of hard contact and shows plus power now, hitting a ball at 109 mph in the preseason Super 60 showcase. He does tend to fly open, though, even on pitches out over the plate or middle-away, with his front foot rolling completely over through his swing, worse from the left side but still present when he hits right-handed. He's almost certainly not going to stick at catcher, with right field the most likely long-term position. The hit/power upside is pretty huge, but he's going to need to make some significant mechanical adjustments as he gets older and fills out so he can get to that ceiling. Keith Law scouting report: Eyanson transferred from UC San Diego to LSU for his junior year and ended up third in Division I in strikeouts heading into Omaha, behind only teammate Kade Anderson and Tennessee's Liam Doyle. He has an easy, athletic delivery, and he works with a plus slider that has a really sharp downward break that hitters have missed more than half the time they've swung at it, along with a straight changeup that's effective but that he doesn't use that often. He even has a 12/6 curveball, possibly a spike, that was around average most of the year but was really sharp in his Super Regional outing against West Virginia. The fastball's a little light — he's been up to 98, sitting 93-94, but it doesn't have much life and doesn't miss many bats — so maybe he ends up adding a two-seamer or cutter, or just pitching more with the off-speed stuff. He's at least a back-end starter and I can see mid-rotation upside with everything he does well. Keith Law scouting report: Ellwanger has been up to 100 mph with enough of a slider to see a two-pitch reliever there. He started for Dallas Baptist this year but walked 13.5 percent of hitters, allowing a .382 OBP in the process. He has a spike curveball with a very pronounced break but doesn't command it at all, getting some in-zone whiffs on it (good) but not a lot of chase (because it's easy for hitters to spot). His slider is the more interesting pitch even though it doesn't break as much — it's 89-92, closer to a cutter in velocity and movement than to a slider, and at least generates more chases, with hitters swinging at it 38 percent of the time it's out of the zone versus 26 percent on the curve. He has a changeup, using it less than 5 percent of the time, and it's pretty firm anyway, up to 92 with just a little two-seam-like action. It's just not a starter's package as is, more than anything else because of the lack of command. Keith Law scouting report: Austin is a 70 defender in center and plus runner who doesn't whiff much, especially on strikes, but has no power or projection and doesn't show enough plate discipline to project as a high OBP/low power guy. He's a good enough defender to be drafted, but I don't think he's going to hit enough to be a Day 1 pick, lacking not just power but the ability to hit hard line drives. Keith Law scouting report: Wideman is a 70 runner who hit .398/.466/.652 this spring for the Hilltoppers, his first year there after spending two seasons in junior college. He didn't face much quality pitching this spring, and his chase rate of 40 percent (and 32 percent on pitches well out of the zone) is going to scare off some draft model-heavy teams, although he did make hard contact on half of the balls he put into play. He has a big swing where he gets his front foot down very late, so he's not getting his hands started on time consistently enough for contact against better pitching. He entered the portal and will transfer to Clemson, where his father played basketball, if he doesn't sign. Keith Law scouting report: Bowker comes from a low three-quarters slot, working 92-95 with excellent ride on the pitch. He has a 55 slider, enough to see a pretty good reliever floor here. He throws a cutter and changeup, both 45s, and probably should junk the cutter entirely as hitters have gotten to it — it's one of the biggest reasons he allowed 14 homers in 72 innings this year. He hasn't had a platoon split, however, with slightly better results against left-handed batters than right-handed this spring, his first season for Vanderbilt after he transferred from Georgetown. I'd start him for now and see if the changeup improves with usage enough to keep him in a rotation. Keith Law scouting report: Schubart has plus power, but the hit tool is a real question, as he continues to strike out too often and saw his average drop to exactly .300 this year from .370 as a sophomore. He doesn't hit breaking stuff, with a 40 percent whiff rate on sliders (per data from Synergy), and whiffed a third of the time on fastballs 94 and up. He's mostly played right field and is average there, with some experience at first and in left. So why is he here? He hits the ball as hard as anyone in Division I, topping out over 116 mph this year with a hard-hit rate in the top 3 percent of all qualified hitters, so even small improvements in his approach that improve his contact rate at all should yield large benefits. He was high school classmates with Ike Irish and Rangers prospect Brock Porter. Advertisement Live blog analysis: Antonio Jimenez struggled badly on the Cape last summer, but after transferring from Miami to UCF, he had a huge breakout year (against weaker competition), hitting .329/.407/.575 with a ton of very hard contact, almost all to the pull side. He almost never misses in zone but does chase way too often. He's an average runner with a hose of an arm, probably moving to third base in time. Live blog analysis: Kent is the son of former big leaguer Jeff Kent. Live blog analysis: Landon Vidourek's high strikeout rate (26.7 percent) masks a decent approach; his chase rate was only 17 percent on the year, but it jumps to 30 percent with two strikes. His hard-hit rate was in the top 10 percent of all Division 1 hitters, and his 90th percentile EV was in the top 2 percent. He's a plus runner and hits the ball in the air a ton, all of which should help him somewhat with teams heavy on the data side. He struggled badly in a short stint on the Cape last year and hit a combined .247 his first two years as a Bearcat, so there's plenty of concern about the hit tool. I thought he'd go on Day 2. Keith Law scouting analysis: Snead was much better as a sophomore, posting a 3.11 ERA across 75 1/3 innings, almost all in relief, in his first year with the Vols after transferring from Wichita State. His junior year was a big step back, as his ERA jumped to 4.53 and he gave up more contact on his fastball. He was up to 100 in the postseason, although he was 92-95 when I saw him in early April, and his out-pitch is a power curveball in the 82-85 mph range that has some two-plane break to it, but in 2025 he struggled to stay down in the zone with either pitch. He really has nothing for lefties, either, limiting him to short relief. I'd love to see if he could throw a decent sinker, since the four-seamer doesn't miss bats in the zone at all (13 percent whiff rate this year).
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How big is the ceiling for the Detroit Tigers' top prospect?
The Detroit Tigers are already the best team in the MLB right now. And the fact that they are as good as they are now with the young team they have should spit fear into the hearts of the other 29 teams in the league. Advertisement Riley Greene is playing at his highest level, Tarik Skubal is in the perfect spot to repeat as AL Cy Young recipient, and Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez are enjoying some nice career resurgence in the Motor City. But there's still one more player that the Tigers and fans are waiting to see bloom, and that is the team's current top prospect, center fielder Max Clark. Clark, who was the third overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, roused many with his play in the MLB Futures Game in Atlanta, where many of the top prospects amongst all 30 teams come together and play during the All-Star week. With a 3.89-second sprint to first base, Clark's notorious speed was well on display during the game. Advertisement And according to The Athletic's Keith Law, Clark just needs to tweak one tool of his playing to be a true star in the majors, a tool that is very much needed in today's offensive-heavy contests. "I saw him and Kevin McGonigle on Thursday, and I don't think there should be any concerns about Clark's speed or his defense in center," Law wrote. "I still think he's going to be a star once the power comes." For a guy like Clark, it is difficult to find that combination of speed and power that we've seen in recent times with players like Ronald Acuna Jr., Elly De La Cruz, and especially last year with Shohei Ohtani inventing the 50-homer/50-stolen base club on his way to his third MVP award. Clark's power has definitely lacked so far in his pro days up to this point, only 19 balls hit over the fence by the young prospect, but his eight homers this year are nearly equal to the nine he hit in the minors last year, showing much promise as he continues to trend towards getting the call up from the Tigers' front office.
New York Times
41 minutes ago
- New York Times
Reds gamble on 17-year-old shortstop Steele Hall with first-round pick
The way the Cincinnati Reds' amateur scouting department saw it, Steele Hall could've ended up being the top pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, so they took him in 2025 instead. Hall, a shortstop out of Hewitt-Trussville (Ala.), was selected ninth by the Reds in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday. Hall won't turn 18 until July 24, but last year while on a recruiting visit to the University of Tennessee, the Volunteers' staff suggested he could reclassify and go to college a year early. After putting on about 15 pounds of muscle, Hall will instead skip playing college baseball to start his professional career. Advertisement 'When we project these players, we're talking about what they are at the big-league level,' said Joe Katuska, the Reds' director of amateur scouting. 'Obviously, a younger kid, we're not surprised to see significant gains year after year with them, and that's what we saw over the course of the year every time we saw him.' The slot value for the No. 9 pick in this year's draft is $6,513,800. Hall is expected to sign for an amount slightly less than the value of the position. Thirteen high school shortstops were taken among 43 first-round picks, including seven of the first 14 and 11 of the first 24. A pair of Oklahoma high school shortstops were taken in the first four picks, with the Washington Nationals selecting Eli Willits with the first pick and Ethan Holliday falling to the Colorado Rockies at No. 4. Bryce Harper is the best-known case of a player reclassifying and being drafted early. In 2022, the Reds selected infielder Cam Collier 18th overall after Collier reclassified to be eligible for that year's draft. Cameron, still just 20, is currently in Double A, where he's hitting .293/.426/.354 after starting the season on the injured list following thumb surgery. Collier was the MVP of the 2024 Futures Game. Hall said he wasn't sure about following in the footsteps of Collier and Harper when the idea of reclassifying was first presented to him, but as more people brought it up, he and his family began to consider it. 'We did a pros and cons list to it, really. What are the benefits and what are the negatives to do or not do it?' Hall said Sunday night. 'Me and my parents gathered a ton of information, and we really didn't find any negatives to it. … So I said, 'Let's do it. Let's put all the cards in one deck and let's go. Let's roll.'' University of Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello was part of the draft broadcast team on MLB Network on Sunday. When the Reds took Hall, who signed with the Volunteers in November, Vitello said he was initially recruited for his defense. Since November, though, he's become a more complete player. Advertisement 'He started having a little more arm strength come along, the speed became a factor, then the hit tool,' Vitello said on the broadcast. Hall is maybe the fastest player in this draft, with Katuska describing him as a 'top of the scale runner.' 'We think he's a shortstop, he has power, he can hit, he can really throw,' Katuska said. 'It's a five-tool package that we think we've got there. We're very excited about him.' The 17-year-old also showed that he has a bit of confidence when asked if he thought he could beat current Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz in a footrace. 'I think so, yeah,' Hall said. 'I think I could.' That response probably didn't surprise the Reds. 'He likes to compete. Kind of mild-mannered off the field, but once you get him between the lines, he's fiery,' Katuska said. 'He likes to go. He's a guy that we think is going to fit in really well with the group that we have, and things that we've been prioritizing from a makeup standpoint, is that in between the white lines, he wants to show you how good he is.' Because of his speed, Hall's been compared to Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner. 'I think it's hard to put those sort of expectations on a player, you're talking about a guy who signed a $300 million contract at the big-league level, but that was the comp that got brought up in our room with our group,' Katuska said. 'That type of player that is ultra-athletic, can run, can throw, can play defense and provides value with the bat, as well as a leadoff type of guy. That's how we saw Steele and what ultimately led us to be comfortable with the pick.' Hall said he's patterned his game after a different shortstop who cashed in as part of the 2023 free-agent class, Dansby Swanson of the Chicago Cubs. 'I always liked the way he fielded and his bat was there at the Braves,' Hall said. 'But I really liked the way he carried himself, too.' Advertisement Elsewhere in the draft, the Reds selected 6-foot-5 right-hander Aaron Watson of Trinity Christian Academy (Fla.) with their second pick, the 51st in the draft. Watson is committed to the University of Florida. Katuska said Watson, who has seen his fastball hit 96 mph, played on a team with three other SEC signees and played good competition in the Jacksonville area. 'We all know what sort of baseball they play at the high school level in Florida,' Katuska said. 'Especially some of the private schools around the Jacksonville area. We saw him dominate all year.' In the third round with the 83rd pick, the Reds selected right-hander Mason Morris from the University of Mississippi. Morris, who stands 6-4, was the top-rated high school shortstop in Mississippi before moving to the mound. Morris mostly pitched out of the bullpen for the Rebels. 'We think it's a starting pitching profile,' Katuska said. 'He has the size, athleticism, delivery and the pitch mix to do that. He was lengthened out significantly in the bullpen. He maintained his stuff and really got better over the course of the season. Fastball-cutter-slider-splitter mix from him. There's a lot of untapped upside.' The first three rounds of the draft were held Sunday. The event concludes Monday with rounds 4-20.
