Latest news with #GavinKilen
USA Today
14-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
SEC dominates Day 1 of MLB Draft
The Southeastern Conference's status as the best in college football is known far and wide, thanks to football's status as the most popular sport in the country. But as good as the SEC is in football, it's even more dominant in baseball. Sunday's first round of the Major League Baseball Draft provided even more evidence. The draft kicked off July 13 with the first three of a scheduled 20 rounds. A total of 105 players were selected by MLB franchises. Of those 105 players, 31 played their college baseball in the SEC. That total is more than every other power conference combined with the Atlantic Coast Conference seeing 12 players drafted, the Big 12 having seven and the Big Ten seeing six selected. OU saw three players taken, but even the Sooners' solid day wasn't quite up to some of their brethren. Arkansas and Tennessee carried the way with four players each taken in the first round alone. Volunteers left-hander Liam Doyle went fifth overall, followed by shortstop Gavin Kilen at No. 13, third baseman Andrew Fischer at No. 20 and right-hander Marcus Phillips at No. 33. Gage Wood, a right-handed pitcher, was Arkansas' first selection at No. 26, followed by shortstop Wehiwa Aloy (No. 31), left-hander Zach Root (No. 40) and outfielder Charles Davalan (No. 41). Two SEC teams made the College World Series, with LSU ultimately capturing the national championship. The Tigers' win marked the sixth straight season an SEC school had won the title. Dating back to 2009, Southeastern Conference teams have won the crown nine different times. The draft is set to conclude Monday as rounds 4-20 take place on MLB Network. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
New York Times
14-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The Giants drafted Gavin Kilen, a crowd-pleaser and analyst favorite
With the 13th pick in the 2025 MLB draft, the Giants selected Gavin Kilen, a 22-year-old shortstop out of Tennessee. If you're in a hurry, the quickest way to describe him is he's a left-handed college bat who should move quickly — maybe even very quickly — although he's likely to move to second base. Advertisement But if you're in the market for a long-winded but semi-accurate way to describe the pick, I have you covered, too. All you have to do is remember a few things and use your imagination. First, remember that teams almost never draft for need. They choose the player at the top of their board, regardless of any holes in the organization or major-league roster. Second, remember that teams don't expect instant gratification. They pick the best player available, whether they're two or six years away. Now pretend that there's a team that hated all those stupid draft norms. Maybe they have an impetuous owner, one of the noisy ones. They want to draft a player who fits what the team needs now. And they don't want to wait. They want the fast-moving players, the ones who will help everyone keep their jobs. That's also the kind of team that would have made this pick. To be clear, the Giants are still the normal organization from the first example. But if they were to draft like they had their version of Al Davis or George Steinbrenner in the room, this is also the selection they would have made. And that's the best way to describe Kilen: He just happens to be exactly the kind of player the Giants need right now. He might move quickly. Heck, he might get to the upper minors by this time next season, and once a player is in the upper minors … That would make him the pick of a Yosemite Sam-type owner, and he just so happened to be the pick of an organization that was acting responsibly. That's always a fun coincidence. Kilen's best tool is his bat, by all accounts. Here's what Keith Law wrote about him after the pick: 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. Advertisement Lots of contact. Line drives. Gap to gap. If it's a profile that seems rough for a left-handed hitter at Oracle Park, that's a fair concern, but don't overthink the ballpark. Left-handed hitters definitely help the Giants win. They just break more helmets after 420-foot outs. That's their problem. You still get the left-handed hitters who can contribute and hope they have good senses of humor. Another note of interest is with Kilen's developmental path, which took him from Louisville to Tennessee this last season. At his new school, his exit velocities took off, and his plate discipline stats improved, too. Not only was he hitting the ball harder, but he was swinging at less garbage while doing more damage at pitches in the middle of the zone. If that sounds familiar, that's because that's been the organizational philosophy for the last several years. Whatever Tennessee helped Kilen with is exactly what the Giants want their hitters to do. It's what they've been preaching since the last front office was running things. Also, if you were wondering if Buster Posey was going to prefer ballplayer's ballplayers, the square-jawed, toolsy grinders, here's your answer: Sometimes he'll pick the player that the quants and analysts love, too. Heck, sometimes he'll even make the same pick that the last guy might have. A lot of the same people are still around, after all. The pick was less of a statement and more of a confirmation: Yep, still picking the best player on the draft board, regardless of who's in charge, thanks for asking. Will it work? No idea, of course. Kilen seems like a fast mover with a high floor and a high ceiling, but a lot of prospects have had that profile. The only thing we know for sure is that among prospects with that profile, he'll have a career somewhere between Eddy Martinez-Esteve and Will Clark, unless it's a little better or a little worse. Advertisement Still, it's a fascinating pick, one that just happens to align with all sorts of interests. It aligns with the interests of the impatient. It aligns with the interests of the common fan who knows more about the NFL Draft and expects to see this guy soon. It aligns with the interests of the fans who don't really give a rip about the draft or minor leaguers, but are still hoping for good players to arrive on the Giants roster quickly and out of nowhere. And, yes, it aligns with the interests of dorks like me who care about exit velocities and chase rates, both of which, in Kilen's case, hint at a player with a great chance of success in the majors. The Giants had one more pick on the first day of the draft (they forfeit their second-round pick to sign Willy Adames), a third-round pick that they used on Trevor Cohen, a outfielder out of Rutgers. He was also a metrics darling at the MLB Draft Combine, with the fifth-highest average exit velocity (101.1 mph) on the second day of the event, and Giants director of scouting Michael Holmes touted his low strikeout rate (8 percent) on a conference call after the draft. He said the combination of high exit velocities and contact rates didn't lead to much power because of a swing that resulted in a lot of grounders, but that it was something the organization feels confident they can work with. The Giants are also hoping Cohen can stick in center field as a professional. A fun fact is that he was playing right field at Rutgers because center was filled by Peyton Bonds, Barry's nephew and Bobby's grandson. Bonds will be eligible for the draft next year, and while you're not sure if he's among the top 1,000 prospects, you're pretty sure the Giants should draft him. You're not wrong. If you were looking for batted-ball metrics, the Giants had a draft for you. If you were hoping for a hitter who could help the Giants score more than a couple lousy runs against the Dodgers, the Giants had a draft for you. If you were looking for both, well, you just might be the audience for this article. The Giants definitely had a draft for you. We'll know in a year or nine if it all worked out.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Sox Predicted to Replace Trevor Story With 15 Home Run Youngster
Red Sox Predicted to Replace Trevor Story With 15 Home Run Youngster originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Boston Red Sox have a Trevor Story problem, and it's tough to ignore. Story, who isn't done with his contract until 2028, is playing on a six-year, $140 million deal. When the Red Sox signed him, the hope was for him to be the same type of player he was with the Colorado Rockies, when he could hit 30-plus home runs in any given year and post an OPS+ above 120. Advertisement Instead, Story has dealt with multiple injuries and is currently posting a 79 OPS+ with just a .647 OPS. He has 11 home runs, which isn't terrible in his 294 at-bats, but outside of that, he hasn't done much of anything. And that's why Just Baseball recently predicted they'd replace him with Gavin Kilen, a second baseman/shortstop out of the University of Tennessee. Kilen improved during his time at Tennessee, showing that he was an above-average player, hitting 15 home runs this past season. Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story (10) looks to throw the ball in the stands during the game against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Truist Zanine-Imagn Images 'The likelihood that Kilen drops out of the top fifteen is very low at this stage. His new approach boosted his draft stock massively, plus he's shown the ability to play shortstop at the next level. Advertisement 'It's a step away from their recent trends, as Boston tends to go for toolsy preps, which makes Xavier Neyens a popular suggestion here,' they wrote. Kilen started his career at the University of Louisville, but didn't show much power there. He hit nine home runs in his second season with the Cardinals, but had a .952 OPS. However, in 2025, he demonstrated more power, posting an OPS of 1.112. Related: Red Sox Trade Idea Swaps Gold Glove Winner in Package for Brewers' All-Star This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennessee-Arkansas Fayetteville Super Regional to feature 13 MLB top 200 prospects
No. 14 national seed Tennessee (46-13) and No. 3 national seed Arkansas (46-17) are set to face off in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday. Game 2 is slated for 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Tennessee and Arkansas will play a third game on Monday if necessary. Advertisement The Vols and Razorbacks already played a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium to end the regular season. Arkansas won the final two games to win the series, 2-1. More: How to watch NCAA Tournament baseball super regionals: Times, TV channels The Fayetteville Super Regional will feature 13 MLB top 200 prospects in the 2025 draft class. Each of the super regional's 13 MLB prospects are listed below in the order of their ranking. 2025 Fayetteville Super Regional top 200 MLB prospects Liam Doyle Liam Doyle Team: Tennessee Position: Left-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 9 Position rank: No. 3 Gavin Kilen Gavin Kilen Team: Tennessee Advertisement Position: Second base Overall rank: No. 17 Position rank: No. 2 Wehiwa Aloy Wehiwa Aloy Team: Arkansas Position: Shortstop Overall rank: No. 22 Position rank: No. 9 Andrew Fischer Andrew Fischer Team: Tennessee Position: First base, third base Overall rank: No. 29 First base rank: No. 1 Third base rank: No. 4 Zach Root Zach Root Team: Arkansas Position: Left-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 43 Position rank: No. 6 Gage Wood Team: Arkansas Position: Right-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 50 Position rank: No. 11 Charles Davalan Charles Davalan Team: Arkansas Position: Outfield Overall rank: No. 55 Position rank: No. 16 Dean Curley Dean Curley Team: Tennessee Position: Infield Overall rank: No. 58 Marcus Phillips Marcus Phillips Team: Tennessee Advertisement Position: Right-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 65 Position rank: No. 12 AJ Russell AJ Russell Team: Tennessee Position: Right-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 69 Position rank: No. 14 Tanner Franklin Tanner Franklin Team: Tennessee Position: Right-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 119 Position rank: No. 30 Nate Snead Nate Snead Team: Tennessee Position: Right-handed pitcher Overall rank: No. 143 Position rank: No. 42 Brent Iredale Brent Iredale Team: Arkansas Position: Third base Overall rank: No. 168 Position rank: No. 15 Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: MLB top 200 baseball prospects playing in Fayetteville Super Regional
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Projections for three Tennessee baseball players in 2025 MLB draft first round
The 2025 MLB draft will take place July 13-14 at Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia. Liam Doyle, Gavin Kilen, Andrew Fischer, Dean Curley, Marcus Phillips, AJ Russell, Tanner Franklin and Nate Snead are former Vols expected to be drafted in 2025. Advertisement Eight former Vols were selected in the 2024 MLB draft: Christian Moore (Angels), Blake Burke (Milwaukee), Billy Amick (Minnesota), Dylan Dreiling (Texas), Drew Beam (Kansas City), Kavares Tears (San Diego), A.J. Causey (Kansas City) and Aaron Combs (White Sox). Jim Callis of released a mock draft for the first round. Below are 2025 MLB draft projections and excerpts for Tennessee players from Callis. Liam Doyle Tennessee's Liam Doyle (12) throws the ball during a NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional game between Tennessee and Miami Ohio on May 30, 2025. Team: Toronto Pick: No. 8 "Though the Blue Jays have been linked with shortstops such as (Billy) Carlson and (JoJo) Parker, they now appear to be pursuing pitching and should be able to land one of the best college arms. Doyle's stock has taken a slight hit after he surrendered 17 runs and 22 hits in his last three starts against SEC opponents (Arkansas twice, Texas)." Gavin Kilen Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen (6) throws the ball to first base during a NCAA regional baseball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Cincinnati Bearcats at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 31, 2025. Team: Houston Advertisement Pick: No. 21 "The Astros have used their last four first-round choices on up-the-middle players with strong bats, and (Wehiwa) Aloy, (Jace) LaViolette and Kilen all fit that profile. If they choose a different route, (Xavier) Neyens is intriguing." Andrew Fischer Tennessee infielder Andrew Fischer (11) hits the ball during a NCAA regional baseball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Cincinnati Bearcats at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on May 31, 2025. Team: Cleveland Pick: No. 27 "Barring someone surprising dropping in their lap, the Guardians may be mulling college bats such as Fischer and outfielders Ethan Conrad (Wake Forest), Devin Taylor (Indiana) and Cam Cannerella (Clemson). (Slater) De Brun fits their style too." Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Three Vols projected in first round of updated 2025 MLB mock draft
