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.
NIL and the Transfer Portal has made things complicated in the MLB Draft. The amount of money and opportunities being thrown at college baseball is different than ever before. As recent as four years ago if a player was being courted with sixth or seventh round overtures in the Draft, it was almost a foregone conclusion they would go pro. In 2025, the final pick in the seventh round has a slot bonus of ~$250,000. That kind of money can be had in NIL in some cases.
There may be no better example of the muddiness that Texas A&M left-handed pitcher Ryan Prager. In 2024, Prager was a third round pick by the Angels with the 81st pick in the Draft. That pick carried a slot bonus of ~$950,000. Prager, in large part due to NIL opportunities, returned to Texas A&M. Prager never had a draft profile that projected to make a sizeable jump in the Draft. He returned to school because he knew he could make roughly the same amount of money in College Station that he’d make in professional baseball.
Prager never dabbled in the transfer portal, but he’s a good example of the financial overtures available right now in college baseball. And those opportunities are flush in the portal. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 prospects currently in the transfer portal ordered by rank on the Future Stars Series PLUS Top 500 Draft Prospects.
TOP 500 | Mock Draft 1.0 | Bonus Pools
Ford got off to a slower start in 2025 but finished with a flurry. His .362/.420/.575 slash with eleven homers was largely built in the second-half of the season. Ford worked to transition his game to the outfield in 2025, but still ended up playing roughly one-third of his games at first base.
The departure of UVA Head Coach Brian O’Conner for Mississippi State has led to mass exodus for the Cavaliers, Ford being the most famous name of the bunch. A draft-eligible second-year sophomore, Ford has more leverage than most players on this list.
REPORT: Ford, a draft-eligible sophomore, joined the Cavaliers in 2024 as a true freshman and immediately carved out a role in the middle of the lineup. A big, tall, long frame, Ford has sneaky athleticism and will get time in a corner outfield role in 2025. Big league organizations may also give him a shot at third base at the next level. It’s smooth actions and gliding fluidity on the dirt with enough arm strength to handle the left side. His 6-foot-5-inch frame certainly projects to a corner in some capacity in the long run, but the actions are undervalued by the industry. Ford has displayed good route-running ability in the outfield and shouldn’t be any sort of liability if he ends up in the grass.
Ford has easy power and uses every bit of his leverage at the plate. He’s short and direct to the ball with impact bat speed, extension and feel for lift. The exit velocities support the eye test too, however they’ve backed up a bit in 2025 after a gaudy freshman campaign. The pure hit tool looks much improved as a sophomore this spring with healthier whiff rates and better impact against spin. That said, his power production has backed up. He has a tendency to step in the bucket and throw his front hip at times and that’s affected his contact quality and his ability to get the ball in the air in 2025. He’s an aggressive hitter who has shown a tendency to expand the zone. Still, Ford’s impact on pitches inside the zone and relative absence of an enormous hole in his swing points toward a middle-of-the-order thumper at the next level — especially considering his size and physicality in the box.
Staying at third base or in right field will be especially critical for Ford’s draft stock in 2025. He played the vast majority of his games as a freshman at first base and still managed to play one-third of his games at first base again in 2025. It’s a label he’d like to dissipate as scouts want to see more versaility in his game outside of the batters box.
Wideman was a huge get for Western Kentucky in the transfer portal entering the 2025 season, but now finds himself potentially changing zip codes once again for the 2026 season. A .398/.466/.652 slash with 10 homers and 45 stolen bases paints the picture of just how productive he was in his single year in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Wideman is a third-year collegiate and will turn 22 years old in November. While others on this list are largely expected to transfer looking for new opportunities, Wideman is expected to get selected in the third or fourth round and his impending commitment will likely be used more for leverage than anything else.
REPORT: Wideman was a standout performer at Georgia Highlands Community College in 2024 before transferring to Western Kentucky for his draft-eligible 2025 season. Watching the tape and checking the back of the baseball card, many wondered how he ended up in Bowling Green, Kentucky in the first place. Wideman has the size and tools generally found atop the lineup of SEC programs.
At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, Wideman can certainly fill out a baseball uniform. He’s an “off the bus” guy. You know he’s a player with his duffle bag on his shoulder. The tools start with ‘plus’ speed and instincts that play in centerfield; rare traits for a player of his size up the middle of the field.
The subsequent raw power you’d expect from a player of his size exists as well. Wideman has ‘plus’ bat speed and exceptionally strong hands with the ability to stay short and compact through the zone with explosiveness in his hips and shoulders. He makes hard turns on the baseball and has flashed exit velocity figures north of 110 mph in the last twelve months. This is all complimented by a strong bat path that allows Wideman to backspin the baseball and create slug. He’s a hyper-aggressive hitter, however. Wideman has been known to expand the zone at unsustainable rates, something that’ll be tested considerably in the pro game. At this stage, he’s making enough contact to remain potent.
Scouts will be watching and evaluating carefully to see whether some of Wideman’s unorthodox swing mechanics will play in Conference USA ball in 2025. He sets up in a throwback wide-squatted stance, open to the pitcher with his hands set low and his weight slightly pressed forward. He’ll then rock back and anchor hard into his back heel before loading into a bigger leg kick and exploding forward, locking into a reasonably firm front side. There’s a ton of barrel tilt in his setup and load forcing the bat and his hands to go a long ways before getting into the hitting zone, but Wideman’s hands are so strong he gets into position very quick. It’s a move very few in the sport are physically capable of making. Scouts may want to see him stand up a bit taller to allow his lower half to rotate more freely in an attempt to unlock more of his raw power into games. Or maybe not. The slash and ISO don’t seem to think it’s necessary at this stage.
He has the tools to fit somewhere in the third- to fifth-round range if it all comes together. Wideman will not get many opportunities to prove his mettle against elite competition in 2025 and he doesn’t have a track record in summer wood bat leagues.
Barr saw a growth spurt headed into his freshman year at Niagara and it helped his stuff absolutely explode in 2025. He threw 54 innings this season and punched 94 tickets whilst walking just 21 hitters. He began his season with 12 innings pitched, 24 strikeouts and 0 walks before finally issuing his first free pass. His 1.74 ERA and 0.75 WHIP help support just how dominant he was this spring as a teenager. He’s expected to command a high dollar figure in the 2025 Draft and could hear his name called in the second round. Barr has some of the same components that Jacob Misiorowski had when he was picked high by the Brewers.
Barr is committed to attend the University of Tennessee and won’t be draft-eligible again until 2027 if he elects to stay in school.
REPORT: Matt Barr has seen his stuff explode since adding considerable weight over the last 24 months. As a senior in high school, Barr sat 6-foot-4, 165 pounds. Now a freshman at Niagara, Barr is 6-foot-6, 195 pounds. That added weight and muscle has taken a 91 mph fastball and ballooned his velocity up to 98 mph. He’ll routinely sit 93-96 with some carry and tailing action launched out of a short-arm delivery with a 66-inch release height. It’s a pretty unique delivery for hitters to digest coming from a 6-foot-6-inch righty.
Barr has components to two breaking balls that’ll catch scout and analyst attention but both pitches are unrefined and inconsistent. He can spin both breakers north of 3000 rpm, but shapes and execution still lag behind. At his best he’s sweeping the breaking ball away from right-handed bats with north of 14 inches of lateral movement.
Barr also added a cutter this winter to get hitters off the fastball; a necessary adjustment for a player of his size who struggles to extend down the mound. It’s not poor extension, but it’s not dynamic either considering the size of the player. Despite his unique arm slot and velocity, Barr may still only produce above-average to plus results with the heater. Certainly not bad.
This is a stuffy arm with green stuff and untapped potential. The strikes and command have been better than most could have imagined entering the season. He could find himself selected inside the top three rounds if he continues to surge toward July. He will be 19.5 years old for the Draft. Barr committed to the University of Tennessee for the 2026 and 2027 seasons, muddying his signability a bit for the 2025 Draft. If he ends up in Knoxville he will not be draft-eligible again until 2027.
Things just never came together for Scott in 2025. A potential first round talent with traits and intangibles you cannot teach, he struggled to lock into a specific arsenal and many believed his pitch sequencing and approach to attacking hitters left much to be desired. His 52.1 innings pitched and eleven starts were both career-worsts for the three-year Stanford standout. A 6.02 ERA, 56 strikeouts and 22 walks highlight the more middling impact he was able to provide this season.
Scott has a lot of things going for him and still has the DNA to hear his name called inside of the top five rounds. But he may be better served heading to another school and rebuilding his draft stock in 2026.
REPORT: Matt Scott is a mountain of a man, standing tall at 6-foot-7, 231 pounds. He has all the traits teams look for in a future starter at the next level. He’s a strike-thrower with a beautiful operation, fantastic body control and the stuff to carve through a lineup two or three times over. 2025 has been a bit of a step back in terms of his control for the zone, but evaluators believe he’ll still be able to fill the box as a pro.
The fastball will grab 98 with carry through the zone, however he’s been a few ticks lower than than in 2025; only grabbing 96 thus far and more commonly resting in the low-90s. It’s effectiveness is nullified a bit by his high release point, steepening his approach angle. He’s still extremely tough to square up at the top of the zone. He’s begun folding in a more traditional cutter in 2025 to try and generate more production from the fastball bucket.
Scott throws a firm slider in the mid-80s with short two-plane tilt. It’s been especially effective against right handed bats. He’ll also mix in a splitter to lefties, and he’s had some success in that department too thanks to late, deeper break and strong tunnel attributes off his heater.
For now, Scott’s fastball is his carrying pitch, the his two secondaries will flash solid-average, the slider being more potent. That said, when you consider the body, the mechanics, the athlete and the development ahead, this is a reasonably elite prospect with a high floor.
The second Cavalier on this list, Teel enjoyed a big year for the Hoos after distancing himself from injuries in his first two years. A .317/.442/.538 slash with 7 homers, 9 stolen bases and more walks than strikeouts shows how balanced his profile can be. Teel was the starting centerfielder for Virginia in 2026 and projects to stick there wherever he lands. He’s a player that is a bit of a coin flip as it pertains to going pro or getting paid somewhere in NIL.
REPORT: Aidan is the second Teel to grace the Virginia Cavaliers program in the last few years. His brother Kyle was the 14th overall pick by the Red Sox in 2023. Aidan missed that 2023 season due to injury, but has looked strong since returning to the mound and the outfield.
While not the biggest player in terms of stature, Teel more than makes up for his size with stuff on the hill. He’ll work up to 95 with darting action in on righties and some tail away from lefties. Teel flashes a promising slider with considerable sweeping action in the low-80s; a pitch that has been highly effective against right-handed hitters. There’s also a bigger curveball with depth and some sharpness. Teel hides the ball a bit with a shorter arm action and a tight elbow spiral in the back. Although he’s thrown longer outings in school, scouts are split on whether he fits best in a bullpen or in a rotation at the next level.
More scouts seem to be pointing toward a future in the outfield for Teel. After loggin just 11 plate appearances in 2024 (and blasting three homers in that short sample), Teel played the outfield full-time in the Northwoods League last summer and got hot. His .387/.455/.671 slash with 11 homers represented one of the more impactful performances of any player in the 40-game sample. Teel boasts above-average bat speed and a simple swing from the left side with an upright stance and an quiet move forward when the ball is pitched. Most of his power is to the pull-side, however the bat speed plays into the opposite gap. Teel is an aggressive hitters who looks to make things happen, however average bat-to-ball skills and a willingness to work deeper into counts after an ambush approach balances the profile out a bit. He’s susceptible against spin, especially against left-handed pitching, but feasts on fastballs and has shown the ability to flip off-speed stuff the other way.
Teel presents plenty of value in the outfield where he has the look of a solid-to-above average defender in center with plus speed and plus arm strength, both of which help limit the opposition from taking the extra bag. Although it’s a smaller sample or work, this years’ version of Teel took good routes, especially into the left-center field gap on tough fly balls. He’s a defensive asset that should earn stock in draft rooms with the glove.
That versatility, abbreviated baseball card and variation in role projection make Teel a polarizing prospect. He’s likely valued heavier as a bat than an arm at this stage, but could get draft consideration on both fronts.
Arcamone took off like a bat out of hell the first two months of the season before slowing a bit as the 2025 season came to a close. The baseball card tells the story. A .355/.463/.675 showing with 13 homers is exceptional for a catcher at the collegiate level. If Arcamone does ultimately elect to transfer into a bigger school, he may be pushed into the outfield into a more permanent role. If he goes pro, he’ll likely be developed as a catcher to begin his career.
REPORT: A draft-eligible sophomore, Arcamone has come on gangbusters in 2025 after a reasonably impressive freshman campaign in 2024. It’s a bat-over-glove profile behind the plate with enough athleticism to potentially platoon back there as a professional.
Arcamone’s bat has been strong in 2025. He’s making plenty of contact and staying inside the strike zone at impressive rates. His unwillingness to expand the zone has led to more barrels and bigger exit velocities than what he showed as a freshman. It’s above average raw power with a swing geared to get to it. Arcamone creates big coil in the box bringing his hands tight to his body and exploding through the zone. There’s very little wasted movement in his move forward, his hands staying neutral until he fires. He’s shown the ability to take the barrel to all four quadrants, his impact slightly lesser on pitches on the outer-third. He is a below-average runner who has a tendency to throttle down on ground balls hit to the right side. Arcamone has a chance to hit for average and power at the next level with a sweet left-handed swing scouts admire.
The catching is a bit more on the fringy side. Like many catchers at his level, Arcamone struggles to frame the low pitch and is just passable getting low into the crouch. His framing on pitches at the top of the zone is slightly above average. He does have above average arm strength, however his exchange and pop times are below average as he’s a bit clunky out of the crouch.
Many believe Potter is scratching the surface of what he’s capable of. At worst, he’s a potential game-ending reliever at the college level if he transfers to a big school in 2026. It really clicked for Potter in 2025 with the Shockers. Across 29.2 innings, Potter struck out 33 hitters and walked 17. His stuff was big enough to limit damage consistently en route to a 3.34 ERA.
REPORT: Following a stint at Crowder College, Potter transferred to Wichita State for the 2025 season and immediately because a force out of the Shockers bullpen. It’s one of the best fastballs in the country, up to 100 mph and routinely 95-97. Potter dramatically cuts the heater and is able to keep vertical carry through the zone making it a devastating option at the top of the zone. His 34 percent whiff rate on the fastball this season is evidence to just how dominant he can be with one pitch. The heater is complimented by exceptional athleticism. Potter is a very good mover with borderline elite extension and spin traits that a player development program will sink their teeth into. It’s all the makings of a potential 60- or 70-grade fastball out of a big league bullpen.
Potter’s slider is firm with depth and some lateral movement. He’s struggled to throw the breaker for strikes, though he’s hardly deployed it enough to warrant any sort of conclusive opinion. He also broadcasts the breaking ball a bit and cuts off his stride pretty dramatically in order to get his arm through the release. It’s something that will require plenty of work at the next level.
This is a bullpen profile but there’s so much to like. His 6-foot-4-inch frame is long, lean, wiry and whippy. Potter could add 15 more pounds of muslce and suddenly be living 97-99 touching 102. He’s got the components to get there. Developing value with the secondaries and throwing more consistent strikes across the board will unlock his high leverage upside. For now, it’s a terrific ball of clay that will need time and attention to reach his ceiling.
Entering the 2025 season there were those in the industry that believed Hickson was on his way toward becoming a Top 100 pick. He’d changed his delivery and become something of a unicorn early on, however his slot kept getting higher and higher as the season carried forward. That ultimately limited his effectiveness to a degree, but it was still a very good year for the third-year Owl. Across 73 innings, Hickson punched 90 tickets and walked just 35 hitters; good for a 3.82 ERA. It was a big step in the right direction in the control department. While he ranks No. 253 on the Top 500 board, it wouldn’t surprise if he ended up a Top 150 pick with some of the bright flashes he showed this spring.
REPORT: Hickson was an absolute horse in 2024 for the Owls logging 54.2 innings pitched across 27 games, all out of the bullpen. Rice played 59 games for the entire season; Hickson appearing in almost half of them. Hickson threw 6 innings against Memphis in April and had another 5 inning performance against Charlotte at the end of the year. That trust and durability resulted in a shot to pitch Friday nights for Rice in 2025.
Hickson dropped his arm slot almost five inches in the hopes of generating even more value from his fastball. The result has been a fastball with more carry and way more cutting action than a year prior. It’s inconsistent and the launch height will jump back up a handful of inches now and again, but when he’s low-launching the fastball it really eats. It’s been up to 97 and will likely rest more in the 92-95 range as he lathers into later innings. Hickson generates a flat approach angle allowing his heater to produce above-average whiffs up in the zone. He’s got a chance at a ‘plus’ fastball, maybe better if the command for the upper-third of the zone improves.
Hickson’s slider has taken a jump this season too. It’s living in the mid-80s with huge two-plane action when he gets around it. There’s above-average spin rates here too. Command and repeatability will be key to Hickson’s production and efficiency on the mound, but the clay is here for a dynamic breaking ball.
He rounds out the arsenal with an upper-80s changeup with lateral til and enough vertical action to get hitters out in front.
Hickson has long been a below-average control pitcher. It’s high-leverage stuff that will be tested in a starting role. The fastball command has been largely below average in recent looks as he continues to find the fat part of the plate. If he can get to a point where he’s flashing even average command for his fastball, he’s got a chance to become a true punch out weapon.
The third Cavalier on the list, Arroyo enjoyed a nice 2025 season after transferring in the season prior. A .291/.361/.519 slash with 11 homers helped produce run-scoring opportunities for the lineup. Arroyo has two-way potential and could be highly sought in the SEC in 2026 if he doesn’t go pro.
REPORT: An interesting two-way talent with upside on both sides of the ball, Arroyo saw his offensive game explode while as Pasco-Hernandez College in 2024 resulting in his transfer to the University of Virginia. It’s a big left-handed bat with above average raw power and very real bat speed. It remains to be seen how the hit tool will fare going forward, and Arroyo is limited to a corner outfield role or first base going forward too. The profile as a whole is limited, but the bat really plays and that’s what’s most important in any position player draft profile.
Should he end up on the mound at the next level, Arroyo will appeal to analytically-inclined teams thanks to his low release slot and gyroscopic slider. He’s up to 95. Arroyo gets a ton of swing and miss working the ball up and down in the strikezone with those two pitches. He’s also got a changeup that can keep righties off his fastball at the top of the zone.
Jensen broke out a bit in 2025 after spending time at Driveline the winter prior. A .284/.430/.582 slash with 5 homers doesn’t adaquently show the momentum Jensen had before getting hurt midseason, ending his year. He’s one of the few players on this list currently committed to transferring to a specific school. He’s expected to receive significant draft interest.
REPORT: Jensen enjoyed a breakout juniot campaign at Cornell in 2024 where he posted a .358/.455/.561 slash en route to being named a unanimous First Team All-Ivy performer. His six homers as a junior were a career high, although Ivy schools play under 40 games per season due to scheduling limitations. It’s a fair assumption the 6-foot-3-inch Jensen would have clubbed double-digit dingers had he played 55-60 games like most Division 1 schools do.
The book on Jensen is the hit tool and the frame. Scouts are super-intrigued by just how much more physical Jensen could eventually become. While his lower half has filled out, there’s still room in his shoulder and upper-body to add muscle and strength. The long levers and high waist point toward a hitter who could eventually play the game closer to 230 pounds and the subsequent power gains should come with it. His long, athletic frame stands open in the box facing the opposing pitcher, closing off his front shoulder and lead-leg during his stride allowing him to use the entire field. He’s an intimidating presence.
To this point in his career Jensen has lacked the raw power you’d expect from a player of his size. It’s been mostly fringe-average bat speed. Jensen has seen a jump in his bat speed this season after spending six weeks at Driveline during the winter. He’ll need to flash more consistent exit velocity peaks if he’s to become a priority in the top-ten rounds. The hit tool is reasonably polished. He could stand to sacrifice some bat-to-ball in an effort to hit the baseball harder.
Jensen has split time between first base and third base, the former being the more likely outcome at the next level. He is a sneaky athlete who can post fringe-average run times. That said, Jensen lacks first step quickness and his arm strength likely won’t top that of a more polished defender in professional ball.
If Jensen can show greater batted-ball data as July approaches he’s got a shot to be a priority under-slot option in rounds 7-10. Otherwise, he likely fits in the back-half of the draft or as a priority UDFA. The latter is unlikely as Jensen is committed to play ball at Vanderbilt in 2025 should he go unsigned.
2025 RANKINGS: Mock Draft 1.0
- MLB Draft: Mock Draft 3.0 - June 27, 2025
- 2025 MLB Draft: Top 600 Prospects - June 25, 2025
- MLB Draft: Mock Draft 2.0 - June 10, 2025
