EDITOR’S NOTE: The following rankings and evaluations by FSS PLUS are based on subjective analysis and industry sources, and do not influence, are not influenced by, or are affiliated with the opinions and reports of Future Stars Series scouting and development staff.
The 2025 high school showcase/tournament circuit is right around the corner and with it comes a fresh, new look at some of the most exciting preps in the country. Here are the top 100 high school prospects to watch for this summer.
HOMETOWN: Stillwater, Oklahoma
HEIGHT: 6-4
WEIGHT: 210
BAT/THROW: L-R
COMMIT: Oklahoma State
While Jackson Holliday was the prize in the 2022 MLB Draft, scouts got a first-hand look at his brother in their trips to Stillwater. The youngest of Matt Holliday’s children, Ethan is far more physical than his older brother with huge raw power and a similarly beautiful left-handed stroke. Still extremely young, Holliday already tops the scales at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds with broad shoulders and plenty of projection to go. There’s no question the bat carries heavy value here and he should generate even more raw power as his frame matures.
Holliday is the prohibitive top high school bat at this stage though he had a streaky summer where he struggled to show his impact in games. There was more swing and miss than scouts were accustom to seeing too. Still, you’d be hard-pressed to find many scouts who aren’t bullish on a rebound in the spring considering the physical tools, track record, and pedigree. Remember, his brother Jackson has a sluggish summer in 2021 too.
Holliday, already a third baseman, is athletic enough to stay on the dirt or potentially shift to a corner outfield role with his average run times. His solid-to-above average arm strength is plenty strong enough to stay on the left side. Considering his age, this is already an impressive, bullish offensive prospect with a strong ceiling.
What Appenzeller lacks in present stuff he more than makes up for in terms of projection. This is as good as it gets from an upside perspective. A tall, lean left-hander, Appenzeller lives in low-90s but projects to tick into the mid 90s with his long, wiry frame. He’s already grabbed 94 but is yet to make his anticipated significant velocity jump. It’s a controlled delivery featuring very little effort. The arm action works well with looseness and fluid athleticism, some funk and angles.
Appenzeller throws an above-average low-80s slider that flashes ‘plus’ upside with big two-plane tilt. Appenzeller shows a real understanding for shaping the baseball with a willingness to sweep the ball away from left-handed bats and bury breakers onto the back-foot of righties. The changeup has taken major strides over the last several months and is routinely average with more ceiling coming. It’s a low-to-mid 80s off-speed weapon with strong action into the left-handed batters box.
Appenzeller is one of the more premium arms in the class with strikes, projection, three pitches and a good breaker. A two-sport guy, Appenzeller is also a talented basketball player. Tons to like here with even more to dream on.
Cunningham is a pure hitter with the ability to cover every quadrant of the zone with a willingness to shoot the ball to all-fields. He has a quiet, calm demeanor in the box and his left-handed swing really projects to hit moving forward. There’s budding slug here, though he’s unlikely to ever be a middle-of-the-order impact stick. Cunningham has one of the most decorated and consistent amateur baseball careers of anyone available in this Draft. He starred for Team USA’s 18u roster in 2024.
Cunningham isn’t the biggest guy on the field, but what he lacks in size he more than makes up for in box scores and on the base paths. He is a plus runner and is a threat on the bases. He also has quiet actions on the dirt and the arm strength necessary to stay on the left side of the dirt. Cunningham will be 19 on draft day.
The thing that immediately stands out about Hernandez at this stage is his mature pitch-ability and his natural talent to pound the strike zone. He’ll work into a lather and sit 92-95 as the innings build but Hernandez will touch 100 mph in the early goings. It’s not the most dynamic fastball shape, but there’s generally some carry that allows the heater to work elevated. When left at the bottom of the zone or in the heart of the plate Hernandez has struggled to generate whiffs with his pure velocity.
His best weapon currently is a low-80s outlier changeup that he executes well by killing spin and creating depth off his fastball tunnel. It’s likely a ‘plus’ pltch when all is said and done and could end up a double-plus weapon if he’s eventually able to extract more value out of his fastball. There’s a mid-80s slider with solid depth and some sweep as well. Hernandez has a track record against older bats and he gets outs. He may not end up the punch out artist that his high school arm talent would naturally suggest, but he’s got a reasonably high floor in terms of high school pitching prospects. When you consider the resume, the frame, the projection and the present feel for the mound, there’s upside here for an impact righty at the next level. He’s clearly one of the top prep arms in this class and has an argument as one of the better high school arms to come in a number of years. Hernandez will be 19 years old on draft day.
Neyens is one of the more physical bats to ever come out of the Pacific Northwest. The bat speed here is pretty enormous, especially considering his age. Neyens still has plenty of room to fill out his 6-foot-4-inch frame too. The raw power trumps the hit tool at this stage though Neyens has shown flashes of above average hitter-ish performances. Neyens has played up against older competition for the better part of two years now and consistently looks like the best bat on the field, hit tool included It’s a sweet left-handed swing with a tight turn and scouts think it’ll play against premium stuff as he continues to get tested up the ladder. Neyens slowed a bit as the 2024 summer fizzled to its end struggling to pull the trigger at times in tournmanent and showcase settings. It was a passivity rather than whiffs.
Neyens is a primary third baseman now but could end up in a corner outfield spot at the next level. He’s an average defender on the dirt with some fundamentals in the footwork and hands that need polishing up, but he’s generally been a steady, reliable glove. It’s at least ‘plus’ arm strength that plays all over the field.
Neyens has a shot to pitch too. He’s already touching 96 on the mound and throws a short, deceptive slider that’s been good when he can command it. The physical tools at the plate might ultimately end the conversation though.
A re-class from 2026, Eli Willits is a true switch-hitter in every sense of the word. Some guys fake it hitting from both sides and struggle from one side or the other. That’s not the case here. From the left side Willits features a tight, compact swing with quick hands and twitchy hips. He uses the whole field and has an adjustability with the barrel that few can match. There’s some moving parts in the load and some late barrel tilt that could test his ability to handle higher velocity arms, but to this point he’s impressed in tournament settings and has had little issue squaring up fastballs in premium settings. Right now it’s fringy raw power with ringing gap power. That said, Willits has a lean frame with the hands and projection you look for in a guy that could ultimately get to average or better raw power. From the right side it’s a bit more bat speed with louder results and a bit more impact to all fields. The hit tool projects better from the left side, but he’s far from a liability as a right-handed hitter. He clearly projects to be able to hit from both sides of the plate going forward. Interesting offensive tools from both sides of the plate.
Willits looks every bit the part of a future shortstop, centerfielder or up-the-middle defender too. He’s a rangy defender who has demonstrated the ability to get to any ball. As a shortstop he excels when coming in on the grass and making the play on slow-rollers in front of him. He can get his body into the athletic positions necessary to make just about every throw. He’s also an above average runner with long strides and a smooth gait that really projects to hold deep into professional ball. He’s also shown plenty capable of playing a strong centerfield if teams want to give him run at the ‘8’. He takes some of the stronger routes in the class out there and demonstrates solid spacial awareness around the wall and warning track.
Perhaps the one nitpick analysts and some evaluators have on the entire profile is a general lack of explosive, twitchy athleticism. Willits doesn’t stand out when it comes to force-plate testing or 30-/60-yard dash workouts. Skeptics of those results will point to a low ceiling from an impact perspective. Those bullish of his profile will point to his extraordinarily young age as means to reason a jump in explosiveness and strength on the horizon.
Willits has a chance to be one of the first players off the board if he adds a bit more impact at the plate. The tools are here for a special player. As noted, he will be extremely young for the draft, just 17.7 years old when he’s selected.
Gamble, pound-for-pound, is the most explosive athlete in the 2025 class with twitch and torque in his hips and shoulders. The bat speed he’s able to generate from a prospect of his size and stature is hard to match. Very easily ‘plus’ raw power. It’s elite-level traits and a powerful track record with the bat that has scouts drooling on what it could become. There is swing-and-miss in this profile specifically on spin. Gamble can get a little jumpy at the plate, lunging at breaking balls and off-speed pitches into his front-side. He’s began adjusting in-game with more consistency of late and is showing more of a willingness to come off the fastball.
Gamble is a plus runner who projects into any of the three outfield spots. He may even get a shot to get some run at shortstop early in his pro career. Gamble will be 19 years old on draft day, but his present physicality and athletic traits should help model teams ignore that.
Becker possesses just about everything a scout is looking for in a high school prospect. He plays a premium position and comes packaged with tools and projection. Becker has shown advanced bat-to-ball skills and a sound approach with the ability to work deep counts and foul off shadow pitches. He is growing into his more raw power and some project the potential for above average game power when he’s fully matured.
Becker plays shortstop now and projects to stay at the position. He has great feet with range and a quick release with arm strength that carries across the diamond on throws from all angles. There’s the chance for above-average defensive traits here.
As if the burgeoning bat and glove weren’t enough, Becker has posted 70-grade run times home-to-first and burns underway. He has the ability to impact the game on the bases and should be a threat to steal plenty of bases as a pro. There’s an awful lots of reasons to buy in here.
Sell is a dynamic two-way athlete with projection and traits on both sides of the ball though just about everyone agrees he belongs at the top of a lineup somewhere. Offensively there’s plenty to like where he’s a plus runner out of the box with a tight turn and a path that plays to all fields. Sell has performed as good or better than just about all of his peers and has a proven track record against both spin and high-tier velocity. It’s unlikely to ever be more than average power, but bulls think there’s potential for a double-plus hit tool. He’s been one of the more consistent performers on the tournament circuit for the last calendar year and the offensive traits continue to trend upward.
Sell is a talented centerfielder who takes strong reads and looks comfortable out there. He is an instinctual player with a high IQ and gets high marks for his attitude and focus on the field. He is on the older side of the class and will turn 19 years old just a couple months after the draft.
Sell is expected to be an extremely difficult sign away from his commitment to Stanford.
Carlson is mature well beyond his years at the plate with supreme pitch recognition and a large sample of being able to handle advanced velocity and tough breaking balls. He hits the ball on the ground too often, but it’s something that can eventually be improved. A lean, wiry frame, Carlson projects to add weight and impact as he develops though he’s unlikely to ever be a power-hitting infielder.
Carlson has a very strong arm that rivals some of the better high school shortstops of the last decade and a soft glove. It’s a shortstop frame with rangy actions and strong hands around the bag.
Carlson also pitches and features a high-spin breaking ball with big lateral action. He’s been up to 95 mph. Most believe his future is on the dirt. Carlson will be 19 years old on draft day.
The Top 100 College Prospects for the 2025 Draft
- 2025 MLB Draft: Top 200 College Prospects - September 4, 2024
- 2025 MLB Draft: Top 250 Prospects - September 3, 2024
- 2027 MLB Draft: College Top Prospects Watchlist - August 2, 2024
