2025 MLB Draft Room ~ Thread, Mocks, Discussion, Draft Boards

[craviduce]

Marek Houston hit his 7th HR today, 33rd RBI. 2nd only to Justin Lebron (Univ. of Alabama) in RBIS, who has 42 RBI, 10 HR (still playing in the 6th inning for 'Bama)

I don't know if Lebron is draft eligible or not...20 y.o. Sophomore, non-redshirt.

Crav - my top 4 stand out to me above others in Arnold, dude from A&M, Holliday, Bremer and then others sneaking up such as Cannarella. Who is your 5th prospect or range from 5-7. Does Marek warrant convo in this? He had a solid season last year.

that's a good Top 4, Otha.

here's what I posted last Sunday. I could probably swap Holliday @#5 for several players, which I listed those players after my top 5 write up

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March 2nd

by craviduce » 02 Mar 2025 11:55 am

if I were do give a Top 5ish draft board with only 3 weeks into the College season, and HS just starting up (note ~ this is tough, b/c you want to be fair to everyone, sometimes there are slow starters, and it's been really cold across much of the US this February).

Taking hot streaks and slow starts into consideration, and weather:

1. Jaime Arnold, LHP, FSU ~ 3 Games, 16 innings, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 24 K....1.13 ERA, 0.563 WHIP. ..... He'll start to face much stiffer competition in 2 weekends with ACC play

2. Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona HS (CA)...his stats are 3 posts above...2nd best pitcher in the country right now. Corona's competition/schedule is fierce, and Hernandez has sat them all down. 0 Walks, 0 Runs in 8 IP...15 K's

3. Jace LaViolette, CF, LHB, Texas A&M... only 6 Hits in 9 games. His BB/K totals nearly 66% of his 41 PA's...12 walks, 14 K's. 28 AB's, 12 K's, gives him a 50% K rate. I'm thinking the pressure to lead his team and pressure being the potential #1 overall pick, is a bit much for him early on. A&M has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules out there the last 3 weeks, it will only get tougher next weekend with SEC play. LaViolette does have 3 HR...batting .214, with a 1.035 OPS....the Power is there, but the one issue that plagued him coming into this season was the Swing and Miss....and he's Missing. We pray for a rebound from LaViolette

4. Marek Houston, WF, SS....he's a tall SS at 6'4", could move to 3B?. 11 Games, 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 5 HR...easily college's best hitters. BillyBaseball talked him up earlier in this thread, it's a great post, I suggest you all read it.

5. Ethan Holliday, 3B/SS, Stillwater HS (OK)...the knock on Ethan is he won't hit for a great avg with a wooden bat, but he packs a mean power punch, much more than his brother. He lands @ 5 for me, not so much a knock against him, but I feel 3 others are better prospects than him at this time (Houston, Arnold, Hernandez). His season is just starting, so stay tuned to see how he does.

Others on the rise.... Ethan Petry, 1B/RF/LF, South Carolina; Avia Arquette, SS/2B, Oregon St; Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU; Chase Shores, RHP, LSU; Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee (really good 3 weeks from Doyle, ranked on some 150 boards, and not on others...should be making his way on to all boards now); Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee; Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (CA); Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma ; Cam Cannerella, CF, Clemson

Need to see stats/highlights from Willits, Cunningham, and Neyens...these 3 guys could really carry the SS/3B crop this draft. All 3 are HS phenoms.

Updated top 20 draft boards and mocks should be rolling out soon. I thought it would be neat to put my own rankings out there.

I think Marek Houston is hands down the best collegiate bat going in all facets right now. Arnold is the best pitcher with Witherspoon and Doyle nipping on his heels. Doyle might've surpassed him with 34 K in 14 IP. We might be looking at 1a, 1b in terms of pitchers between the 2.

Offer your Top 5/10 if you want Take mine for whatever it's worth (not much), just a silly fan with his foolish opinions

[craviduce]

WRC+ entering today from a few College top prospects

Note ~ please tell me if I missed someone you're interested in following. I will do my best

-----

No particular order

~ Marek Houston, SS ~ 175
~ Jace LaViolette, CF ~ 94
~ Luke Stevenson, C ~ 133
~ Aiva Arquette, SS ~ 165
~ Wehiwa Aloy, SS ~ 158
~ Dean Curley, SS ~ 136
~ Ethan Petry ~ LF/RF/1B ~ 148
~ Max Belyeu ~ RF/DH ~ 130
~ Ethan Conrad ~ CF ~ 141
~ R.J. Austin ~ 115
~ Cam Cannarella ~ 92
~ Henry Godbout ~ 107
~ Henry Ford ~ 91

the UVA Henry's have zero HR's tween the two... 26 between the two last season

[craviduce]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

[Othawhitemeat]

Marek Houston hit his 7th HR today, 33rd RBI. 2nd only to Justin Lebron (Univ. of Alabama) in RBIS, who has 42 RBI, 10 HR (still playing in the 6th inning for 'Bama)

I don't know if Lebron is draft eligible or not...20 y.o. Sophomore, non-redshirt.

Crav - my top 4 stand out to me above others in Arnold, dude from A&M, Holliday, Bremer and then others sneaking up such as Cannarella. Who is your 5th prospect or range from 5-7. Does Marek warrant convo in this? He had a solid season last year.

that's a good Top 4, Otha.

here's what I posted last Sunday. I could probably swap Holliday @#5 for several players, which I listed those players after my top 5 write up

-----

March 2nd

by craviduce » 02 Mar 2025 11:55 am

if I were do give a Top 5ish draft board with only 3 weeks into the College season, and HS just starting up (note ~ this is tough, b/c you want to be fair to everyone, sometimes there are slow starters, and it's been really cold across much of the US this February).

Taking hot streaks and slow starts into consideration, and weather:

1. Jaime Arnold, LHP, FSU ~ 3 Games, 16 innings, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 24 K....1.13 ERA, 0.563 WHIP. ..... He'll start to face much stiffer competition in 2 weekends with ACC play

2. Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona HS (CA)...his stats are 3 posts above...2nd best pitcher in the country right now. Corona's competition/schedule is fierce, and Hernandez has sat them all down. 0 Walks, 0 Runs in 8 IP...15 K's

3. Jace LaViolette, CF, LHB, Texas A&M... only 6 Hits in 9 games. His BB/K totals nearly 66% of his 41 PA's...12 walks, 14 K's. 28 AB's, 12 K's, gives him a 50% K rate. I'm thinking the pressure to lead his team and pressure being the potential #1 overall pick, is a bit much for him early on. A&M has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules out there the last 3 weeks, it will only get tougher next weekend with SEC play. LaViolette does have 3 HR...batting .214, with a 1.035 OPS....the Power is there, but the one issue that plagued him coming into this season was the Swing and Miss....and he's Missing. We pray for a rebound from LaViolette

4. Marek Houston, WF, SS....he's a tall SS at 6'4", could move to 3B?. 11 Games, 20 hits, 11 runs, 3 doubles, 5 HR...easily college's best hitters. BillyBaseball talked him up earlier in this thread, it's a great post, I suggest you all read it.

5. Ethan Holliday, 3B/SS, Stillwater HS (OK)...the knock on Ethan is he won't hit for a great avg with a wooden bat, but he packs a mean power punch, much more than his brother. He lands @ 5 for me, not so much a knock against him, but I feel 3 others are better prospects than him at this time (Houston, Arnold, Hernandez). His season is just starting, so stay tuned to see how he does.

Others on the rise.... Ethan Petry, 1B/RF/LF, South Carolina; Avia Arquette, SS/2B, Oregon St; Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU; Chase Shores, RHP, LSU; Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee (really good 3 weeks from Doyle, ranked on some 150 boards, and not on others...should be making his way on to all boards now); Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee; Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (CA); Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma ; Cam Cannerella, CF, Clemson

Need to see stats/highlights from Willits, Cunningham, and Neyens...these 3 guys could really carry the SS/3B crop this draft. All 3 are HS phenoms.

Updated top 20 draft boards and mocks should be rolling out soon. I thought it would be neat to put my own rankings out there.

I think Marek Houston is hands down the best collegiate bat going in all facets right now. Arnold is the best pitcher with Witherspoon and Doyle nipping on his heels. Doyle might've surpassed him with 34 K in 14 IP. We might be looking at 1a, 1b in terms of pitchers between the 2.

Offer your Top 5/10 if you want Take mine for whatever it's worth (not much), just a silly fan with his foolish opinions

That's awesome to know. It makes me feel good that Hernandez has picked up that high and that Ethan Holliday is an option at 5 and even Bremer is not on the list. Sounds like as it always does, others rising. Glad we are at least in the top 6 or 7.

[Futuregm2]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

Interesting!

[billybaseball]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

I usually like BA but this list is godawful. Bremner has struggled out the gate and he had question marks already heading into the season. No Liam Doyle or Gavin Kilen? 4 preps in the top 10?

[TomTreebow]

Through the early stages of college/HS ball it seems like the top is shaping up.

As of today, who I'd be happy taking, no particular order:
Jamie Arnold, LHP
Liam Doyle, LHP
Seth Hernandez, RHP
Ethan Holliday, SS/3B
Aiva Arquette, SS/3B

Wouldn't hate, but haven't impressed out of the gate:
Jace Laviolette, OF
Tyler Bremner, RHP

Sneaking up near the top list:
Marek Houston, SS
Billy Carlson, SS/RHP

[Shady]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

What's happened regarding Jace Laviolette, OF? He was thought to be a possible #1 pick? The Cardinals could use a power hitting outfielder.

[craviduce]

@billybaseball.

Carlos Collazo did a Top college pitcher vod with Peter Flaherty after 2 weeks into the season (2 weeks ago). Doyle is definitely on their boards, but like other publications, he was deep down on their boards before the season started. At the 5:30 mark, they start talking about Doyle, so you can tell he's moving up. Forbes got a mention on the "will be in the rankings next time"....he was on no one's radar, evidently, until now.

everyone enjoy. It's a good tutorial on College Pitching prospects....and I consider CC one of the best in the game. If you use X/Twitter, you should follow CC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKd10w1dYh0

I know that Schoolcraft and Bremner were pretty high on their lists back December...so, I'm going to give them a bit more time to drop them... Or Keep them.

as for the Prep guys.... Seth and Billy deserve the top 5, imo. They've been lights out so far (really young season).

[billybaseball]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

What's happened regarding Jace Laviolette, OF? He was thought to be a possible #1 pick? The Cardinals could use a power hitting outfielder.

He had contact concerns coming into the season and has
exasperated those concerns with his shaky start.

[craviduce]

We almost got Marek Houston in the mock....he's and Curley have risen quite far on BA's boards

[82birds]

Baseball America --- midseason mock 1.0

1. Nationals ~ Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
2. Angels ~ Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC-Santa Barbara
3. Mariners ~ Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona, CA, HS
4. Rockies ~ Billy Carlson, SS, Corona, CA, HS
5. Cardinals ~ Ethan Holliday, SS/3B, Stillwater, OK, HS
6. Pirates ~ Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
7. Marlins ~ Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
8. Blue Jays ~ Ethan Conrad, CF, Wake Forest
9. Reds ~ Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State
10. White Sox ~ Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset, OR, HS

Interesting!

indeed !

[craviduce]

Heads up.... Bonus pools were announced for the 2024 MLB Draft and 2025 IFA back in April on the 2nd. I expect the 2025 Draft Bonus Pools and 2026 IFA Bonus Pools around the same date this year. 3-4 weeks away.

We're likely to have a Top 7 or 8 Bonus pool allotment. That's a lot to spend.

[craviduce]

It's a year away, and not relevant at this moment, still it's fun to dream...especially when we can't pick 10th or better in 2026.

Justin Lebron does infact lead the way on BA's 2026 college draft board. He leads ALL offensive statistical categories in College this year.

[craviduce]

It's a year away, and not relevant at this moment, still it's fun to dream...especially when we can't pick 10th or better in 2026.

Justin Lebron does infact lead the way on BA's 2026 college draft board. He leads ALL offensive statistical categories in College this year.

Missouri State fans....you've got a prospect to watch

[craviduce]

WRC+ entering today from a few College top prospects

Note ~ please tell me if I missed someone you're interested in following. I will do my best

-----

No particular order

~ Marek Houston, SS ~ 175
~ Jace LaViolette, CF ~ 94
~ Luke Stevenson, C ~ 133
~ Aiva Arquette, SS ~ 165
~ Wehiwa Aloy, SS ~ 158
~ Dean Curley, SS ~ 136
~ Ethan Petry ~ LF/RF/1B ~ 148
~ Max Belyeu ~ RF/DH ~ 130
~ Ethan Conrad ~ CF ~ 141
~ R.J. Austin ~ 115
~ Cam Cannarella ~ 92
~ Henry Godbout ~ 107
~ Henry Ford ~ 91

the UVA Henry's have zero HR's tween the two... 26 between the two last season

Gavin Kilen ~ 2B/3B/SS ~ 193 wRC+ .....the Tennessee 2B is crushing it. Curley, Kilen, Fischer, Doyle....and maybe A.J. Russell gets into full time action, he appeared 2 weeks ago for 1 IP, but hasn't been seen since. Everyone raves over AJ Russell, if he can pitch significant innings, he could give Tennessee 5 potential 1st round picks....Top 40 at least.