The 2025 MLB Draft is in the books, and while we wait to see who signs and who heads to or back to school, let’s check out some draft hauls.
The rankings and analysis below are based on data, utilize Joe Doyle’s Final Draft Board and a consensus of public boards as a guideline, plus intelligence from industry personnel.
Haul rankings are presumptuous at this stage, with reasonable expectations that key selections will sign.
NOTE: These aren’t farm system rankings or even an attempt at ranking the team’s performance in the draft, simply the collection of talent added to each club.
DOYLE: 2026 Top 100 College | 2026 Top 100 High School
5. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs corralled four players generally considered Top 100 talents in this class, and added two more in the Top 200 range. The club’s top two selections are college bats — one an upside play, the other with impact questions.
Ethan Conrad‘s ability to identify pitch types and avoid bad chases will determine his chances to get to the big leagues as a regular, but there’s enough ceiling to see an above-average bat that’s also a value in the field.
Kane Kepley is a higher-probability, speed, defense, and on-base specialist who likely lacks the kind of punch at the plate to hit anywhere but the bottom or very top of the order, but he’s a quick-twitch athlete missing only the arm to profile well in center.
Best Pick: Josiah Hartshorn, OF — Orange Lutheran High School (Calif.), Round 6, No. 181 overall
The Cubs get a third-round talent in the sixth, but it goes beyond that, considering Hartshorn’s raw power from both sides of the plate.
He’s committed to Texas A&M, so it’s a question of whether he’s signable, but the Cubs put themselves in good position to get an over-slot deal done, and the upside here is considerable.
Fourth-round pick Kaleb Wing belongs in this discussion, too. He’s a projectable right-hander with a 92-95 mph four-seamer and the ability to spin the baseball.
First to MLB:Â Dominick Reid, RHP — Abilene Christian, Round 3, No. 90 overall.
Reid was an under-slot selection in the third round but appears best equipped to move quickly, provided he’s utilized out of the bullpen where his fastball-changeup combo projects well, including velocity in the 94-96 mph range.
Seventh-round pick Pierce Coppola would be the pick here if there weren’t so many questions on health, but if that were real, he’d have been selected three or four rounds higher.
Sleeper:Â Jake Knapp, RHP — North Carolina, Round 8, No. 241 overall.
Knapp’s fastball is mostly 92-95 mph, but he’s been up to 97, and a flip to the bullpen suggests a chance to more consistently reach the high end of that range — or even add to it.
His changeup is already average flashing above, and his low-80s slider has a shot to get there, too. In shorter stints, it could play up a grade. He throws enough strikes with all three and carries his 93.3 mph average fastball beyond the fifth inning in most outings.
4. St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals added two Top 60 talents and did well in the middle rounds to bulk-add arms and athletes.
Liam Doyle (No. 5 overall) has frontline upside and the best present fastball in the draft, and second-round selection Ryan Mitchell may be the most underrated college player in the 2025 class.
St. Louis ended up with at least eight of the Top 300 players, including Texas SS Jalin Flores in Round 11.
Best Pick: Liam Doyle, LHP — Tennessee, Round 1, No. 5 overall
Once you look past the delivery questions — effort, arm action — there’s not much in the way of projecting Doyle as the next lefty ace in the big leagues.
He’s 94-99 mph with a four-seamer showing tremendous carry, and batters pick up the ball late. He threw 66% strikes this season, and both his changeup (40%) and slider (35%) missed bats. He’ also toyed with a high-80s cutter.
He sells his secondary stuff with consistent arm speed, which projects well to the majors. Ya know, since he threw nearly 800 pitches over 95 mph in 2025, and 144 at least 98 mph — including a small handful in triple digits.
First to MLB: Doyle
Doyle likely eats up anything High-A or below in short order, thanks to the fastball value and raw velocity. He could see some challenges in Double-A if hitters find ways to force him to locate. His high-effort delivery isn’t a red flag or even some kind of telltale, but eventually going every 5-6 days rather than every seven can have an effect on velocity and efficiency.
It’s not uncommon for hard throwers to see their velocity back up on them in pro ball, and with Doyle more of a control-over-command arm, there could be hurdles versus better bats. Still, it’s tough to see the minors holding him much beyond 30 or so starts.
Sleeper: Cade Crossland, LHP — Oklahoma, Round 4, No. 120 overall
Crossland made good work of his first season in Norman, improving vastly across the board and showcasing three future big-league pitches. It’s a fastball up to 95, a low-80s slider (43% whiff), and 83-86 mph changeup (48% whiff). He is able to vary the breaking ball to mimic shapes and velocities of sliders and curveballs, but it’s two-plane break and a chance for a plus offering.
The changeup is more about velocity differential and arm speed deception than sink or fade, but it’s a consistent weapon versus right-handed batters.
More strikes is ideal, but specifically locating the fastball may be the biggest developmental task for Crossland so he can get to his secondaries in favorable counts.
3. Milwaukee Brewers
There’s a lot to like about a class with four Top 80 talents, and that’s what the Brewers did in this class.
In addition, there are four more in the Top 240 or so. Assuming all are signable, this is quite the class, and even without 12th-round pick Cooper Underwood — a Top 150 player — Milwaukee took care of some business in this draft.
Best Pick:Â Daniel Dickinson, 2B — LSU, Round 6, No. 185 overall
Dickinson is a high-contact bat who rarely chases and is comfortable hitting with two strikes. His .458 OBP this season backs up his Utah Valley production in 2023 and 2024, and he’s a good enough athlete with the hands and arm to handle second base or left field.
He’s not without power, though he’s unlikely to hit more than 10-12 homers a year in the big leagues. There’s some Logan Forsythe here, but the better comp is Mark Loretta.
First to MLB:Â Andrew Fischer, 1B/3B — Tennessee, Round 1, No. 20 overall
Third-round pick Jacob Morrison, fifth-round pick Sean Episcope, and ninth-round lefty Andrew Healy all could make a big jump, but Fischer has a real chance to follow the footsteps of recent high picks Cam Smith, Nick Kurtz, Jac Caglianone, and Wyatt Langford as power-hitting prospects to get to the majors rather quickly.
Fischer made tons of contact in 2025 (14.4% K), walking nearly 22% of the time, and 41 of his 74 hits went for extra bases. He also performed well versus good velocity, posting a .429 average and .914 slugging percentage versus fastballs 93 mph or higher, and .474 with a 1.000 slug versus fastballs 95 or higher.
Sleeper: Sean Episcope, RHP — Princeton, Round 5, No. 155 overall
He missed most of the season (internal brace) and may have been a bit of an under-slot selection here, but Episcope is not without upside and present ability. His fastball reached 97 mph this season, though its shape leaves a lot to be desired, and his two breaking balls project well to pro ball, starting with a slider (81-85) that induced 39% whiff last season.
He also has a 77-80 mph curveball with good shape, and shows enough changeup to believe he can develop a good one. He’s a bit undersized, but the delivery is clean, and he could move fast once he returns.
2. Cincinnati Reds
The Reds went for the downs in this class, going the high school route with their first two pick — SS Steele Hall, RHP Aaron Watson — and got an absolute steal in Round 4 with Oregon OF Mason Neville — assuming he signs, and those reports are coming in hot every single day.
It’s at least three Top 100 talents, and the Reds may see the same in Ole Miss RHP Mason Morris, who was a third-rounder for some and a fifth-round talent for others.
Best Pick: Mason Neville, OF — Oregon, Round 4, No. 114 overall
Assuming signability, Neville gives the Reds a near-consensus Top 50 player in the class — he was a late-first for at least a couple of clubs.
His combo of power, speed, and defense plays into Cincy’s home ballpark, and there’s offensive upside to chase beyond the .240/.320/.500 slash projections attached to some of the player comps.
First to MLB: Mason Morris, RHP — Ole Miss, Round 3, No. 83 overall
Morris limited batters to a .214 average and his fastball was virtually unhittable, generating .45% whiff, and setting up four secondaries,, including a low-90s cutter (54% whiff) and 86-88 mph slider (43% whiff).
It’s 94-98 mph velocity and average control. He may be missing a pitch for left-handed batters in pro ball, but such an issue did not show up in the SEC. In 2025, Morris held lefties to a .216/.266/.392 slash.
Sleeper:Â Justin Henschel, RHP — Florida Gulf Coast, Round 7, No. 204 overall
Henschel touches 95-96 mph and sits 91-94 with a four-seamer showing carry and generating swing-and-miss at the top rail, and his high arm slot helps him generate plane. He then goes power breaker at two varied velocities, and has a changeup with sink.
He’s a good athlete, and there’s physical projection left on his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame.
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
Selecting high (in every round, too) and the extra pick via Competitive Balance (73) gives the Bucs an advantage, but that doesn’t take away from the strong execution of a solid plan in the 2025 Draft by this scouting department and front office.
Seth Hernandez at No. 6 is a no-brainer, but the Pirates added three more Top 100 talents, plus four more generally considered Top 200 players in the class, and that doesn’t include 20th-round pick Nick Frusco, who is likely headed to Clemson instead.
Best Pick: Seth Hernandez, RHP — Corona High School (Calif.), Round 1, No. 6 overall
Sometimes it’s simply about not getting cute. Even in a stretched class like this one, Hernandez stands out with present and projectable velocity, athleticism, and a high-quality four-pitch mix backed up by above-average control.
There’s physical projection in the frame — 6-foot-4, 190 pounds — but the fastball needs shape, rather than more velocity. There’s a chance he adds both in the minors.
Scouts generally laud the delivery and his consistent quality stuff which may lead to a No. 1 or 2 profile.
First to MLB: Murf Gray, 3B — Fresno State, Round Comp B, No. 73 overall
Gray appears to be an under-slot play here, but the power should play early and often in the minors thanks to solid contact ability on the back of an aggressive approach.
Sleeper: Brent Iredale, 3B — Arkansas, Round 7, No. 203 overall
Iredale has plus raw power, and it showed in games in 2025. He’ll need to make better contact on sliders, primarily versus right-handed arms, and it may be a stretch for him to stick at third thanks to limited agility and arm strength.
The Aussie has come a long way to answer questions since high school, but he’s taken a rather enormous step in the right direction in less than a year and a half, suggesting his development path remains one with tons of momentum.
The offensive upside here is significant (Nick Castellanos?), but he may settle in as a Casey Blake, Todd Frazier type, which is a steal at this stage of any draft.
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