The MLB regular season is moving along swiftly, with college baseball in its final few weeks before the postseason arrives. That means the 2025 MLB Draft is almost here, and MLB Pipeline has released its first official mock draft of the cycle.
The strength of this class definitely feels to be high school bats, specificially middle infielders. Of the 27 first-round picks in MLB Pipeline’s mock, 11 are high school bats. The next highest group is college bats (8), followed by college pitchers (6) and high school pitchers (2).
At the top of the class, things are still wide open. Ethan Holliday has long been viewed as a top 2025 prospect, but there doesn’t appear to be a clear-cut answer for the Nationals at No. 1 overall. There are three college pitchers in the top five, with seemingly all of them in play for the top pick as well.
The 2025 MLB Draft will begin on Sunday, July 13 and run through Tuesday, July 15. This year, it will be held in Atlanta.
1. Washington Nationals: Stillwater HS (OK) SS/3B Ethan Holliday (Oklahoma State commit)
If Washington selects Ethan Holliday with the top pick, he’ll be the second member of the Holliday family to go No. 1 in the last four years. His brother, Jackson, was the Orioles’ top pick in 2022.
Holliday brings smooth power to the table from the left side, and profiles best as a power-hitting third baseman. He has some swing and miss in his game, but that won’t stop him from being picked highly during draft weekend.
2. Los Angeles Angels: Tennessee LHP Liam Doyle
Liam Doyle is at this third stop in college baseball, having a career year at Tennessee after stops at Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss. On the season, he’s pitching to a 2.17 ERA with a 0.804 WHIP in 74.2 innings.
Doyle’s strikeout stuff is can’t miss, currently with 127 on the season compared to 23 walks. He’s pitched his way into contention for the top pitcher in this class, and could go No. 1 overall.
3. Seattle Mariners: LSU LHP Kade Anderson
Kade Anderson has 18 appearances with nine starts as a freshman at LSU in 2024, pitching to a 3.99 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 20 walks. This year’s he’s taken his game to another level.
Through his first 70.2 innings pitched in 2025, Anderson is 6-1 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.075 WHIP. He has 114 strikeouts compared to 19 walks, and while he’s allowed 12 home runs, his electrifying stuff will have him taken very highly in the MLB Draft.
4. Colorado Rockies: Coronoa HS (CA) RHP Seth Hernandez (Vanderbilt commit)
If Holliday isn’t taken with the top pick, Hernandez might be next on the Nationals’ list. Instead, he falls to the Rockies at No. 4 here
The power righthander sits in the mid-90s and reaches up to 97-98 mph with his fastball. He also has two plus offspeed pitches, and his overall body of work has him ranked very highly on draft boards around the league.
5. St. Louis Cardinals: Florida State LHP Jamie Arnold
Jamie Arnold has gotten better each of his three years at Florida State, now in line to be taken at the top of the 2025 MLB Draft. In 2024, he got his first taste of being a full-time starter, finishing with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.098 WHIP with 159 strikeouts and 26 walks.
Through 11 starts and 61 innings in 2025, Arnold has been as advertised. He has a 2.21 ERA with 82 strikeouts and 21 walks, with opponents hitting .190 against him.
6. Pittsburgh Pirates: Oregon State SS Aiva Arquette
Aiva Arquette spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Washington, transferring to Oregon State before this season. That move is paying off, as he’s having a career-best year just about everywhere.
Through 48 games, Arquette is hitting .348 with 16 home runs, 57 RBI and a 1.157 OPS. He has struck out 37 times compared to 33 walks, and is a strong option to be the first college bat taken.
7. Miami Marlins: Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK) SS Eli Willits (Oklahoma commit)
The youngest top prospect in the 2025 class, Eli Willits has baseball in his family. His father, Reggie is a former MLB player and coach, and his brother, Jaxon, is currently playing at Oklahoma, where Eli is committed.
Willits is unlikely to make it to campus, though, as the switch-hitter is a great contact hitter with impressive instincts at the plate. MLB Pipeline has compared him to Anthony Volpe.
8. Toronto Blue Jays: Corona HS (CA) SS Billy Carlson (Tennessee commit)
Billy Carlson has improved at the plate over the last year, and has a ton of upside as he develops. His real calling is defensively, though, with Pipeline scaling as a 70 on the fielding scale and 65 with his arm.
Carlson had previously drawn some interest as a two-way prospect, but he profiles best as a five-tool shortstop with a ton of upside at the big league level.
9. Cincinnati Reds: Texas A&M OF Jace LaViolette
Entering this season, Jace LaViolette seemed to be the most likely prospect to push Holliday for the No. 1 pick. After all, he was coming off of a 2024 campaign where he hit .305 with 29 home runs and 78 RBI, with an OPS of 1.175.
This year his production has ticked down, but he’s still hitting .280 with 17 homers, 55 RBI and a 1.059 OPS. It wouldn’t be surprising at all if he ultimately goes higher in the MLB Draft.
10. Chicago White Sox: Johnson HS (TX) SS/2B Kayson Cunningham (Texas commit)
Kayson Cunningham feels to be slightly below the top tier of prep shortstops in this class, but he’s right there. He handles the bat well with very little swing and miss in his game.
Cunningham has good speed and pop at the plate, and might ultimately end up at second base. If he opts to go to Texas, he’ll be draft eligible as a sophomore in 2027.
MLB Pipeline 2025 mock draft: 11-27
11. Athletics: Oklahoma RHP Kyson Witherspoon
12. Texas Rangers: Purvis HS (MS) SS JoJo Parker (Mississippi State commit)
13. San Francisco Giants: Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL) SS Steele Hall (Tennessee commit)
14. Tampa Bay Rays: Mill Creek HS (GA) SS Daniel Pierce (Georgia commit)
15. Boston Red Sox: Great Oak HS (CA) 3B Gavin Fien (Texas commit)
16. Minnesota Twins: North Carolina C Luke Stevenson
17. Chicago Cubs: UC Santa Barbara RHP Tyler Bremner
18. Arizona Diamondbacks: Tennessee 2B Gavin Kilen
19. Baltimore Orioles: Wake Forest SS Marek Houston
20. Milwaukee Brewers: Arizona OF Brendan Summerhill
21. Houston Astros: Auburn OF/C Ike Irish
22. Atlanta Braves: Southern Miss RHP J.B. Middleton
23. Kansas City Royals: Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) 3B Josh Hammond (Wake Forest commit)
24. Detroit Tigers: Summit HS (OR) OF Slater de Brun (Vanderbilt commit)
25. San Diego Padres: Sunset HS (OR) LHP Kruz Schoolcraft (Tennessee commit)
26. Philadelphia Phillies: Mount Vernon HS (WA) 3B Xavier Neyens (Oregon State commit)
27. Cleveland Guardians: Wake Forest OF Ethan Conrad
MLB Pipeline’s five other players to watch for 2025 MLB Draft
IMG Academy (FL) 2B/OF Sean Gamble (Vanderbilt commit)
Indiana OF Devin Taylor
Arkansas SS Wehiwa Aloy
Lincoln-Way East HS (IL) LHP Jack Bauer (Virginia commit)
Tennessee 1B/3B Andrew Fischer
