2025 MLB Draft Report: Updated Top 100 Prospects and Watch Board 3.0

As conference tournament play continues, this weekend has the potential to be dramatic as several programs are sweating about their chances of earning a bid to Regionals. The spotlight will shine on several college hitters who step up and pull through in big moments, much like Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette, who bashed a grand slam against Mississippi State on Wednesday. With dozens of MLB scouts in attendance, it’s just another opportunity for college players to impress and change the minds of front offices. 

The postseason is a good time to update and expand the Sox Machine 2025 MLB Draft Prospect list to 100 players. When it comes to this year’s class, the two strengths are prep infielders and college pitchers. We never saw the preseason top college position players rise to the level of meeting expectations. From a Chicago White Sox’s perspective with the 10th pick, that’s unfortunate.

Holliday, Hernandez, and Willits lead the Top 100 Rankings

What helps is that there are enough prep position players around with a high upside to meet that level of investment. It may seem odd compared to other draft rankings, but the ceilings of Ethan Holliday, Seth Hernandez, and Eli Willits are high enough to rank them as the top three prospects in this draft class. We have been hearing about Holliday for years, and it turns out he is built more like his father than his brother. There’s plus power potential for Holliday. Willits doesn’t have Holliday’s power, but is more all-around with his skill set and is 17 years old. Analytic-driven teams using aging models will consider that a big plus for Willits.

Then Hernandez, despite the overall bad history with prep right-handed pitchers, has premium velocity and a plus changeup in his arsenal. With more coaching, I’m confident that Hernandez can develop his breaking stuff further, allowing him to have three plus pitches. 

While that trio most likely won’t be on the board when the White Sox pick, there’s an intriguing second tier of prep infielders with Billy Carlson, Kayson Cunningham, JoJo Parker, Steele Hall, and Xavier Neyens. If the White Sox scouting teams share the same concerns about how high of a floor some of the college prospects have, then chasing after ceiling with prep players would be a wiser use of a $6 million or more signing bonus. 

At this stage, I expect the White Sox to use their second-round pick to go the high school route. As I told Jim Callis in a recent podcast episode, Mike Shirley and White Sox scouts will spend around $9 million in signing bonuses with the first two picks. I’ll even go prep in the first three rounds if any of their Area Code players are still on the board and willing to forgo NIL opportunities. 

Below is the new Sox Machine 2025 MLB Draft Top 100 with additional positional breakdowns.

SOX MACHINE 2025 MLB DRAFT TOP 100 RANKINGS

Prep Position Breakdown

College Position Breakdown

Watch Board 3.0

Unless a significant injury occurs during NCAA postseason play, Aiva Arquette, Jamie Arnold, Kade Anderson, and Liam Doyle will be off the board by the 10th pick. Add in the top three prep players, and that’s seven prospects I don’t think will be available to the White Sox. It’s a pretty open board with many possibilities at this juncture, but I’m starting Watch Board 3.0 with prep position players. 

1. Billy Carlson, Shortstop, Corona High – Committed to TennesseeThe more film I watch of Billy Carlson, the more I think he could be molded into a Dansby Swanson type of player. Carlson does everything well defensively to the point that some scouts will put a 70 grade on his glove, which would give a prep player a pretty high floor. However, the swing needs to be retooled, and I think this is an excellent opportunity for the White Sox to involve Ryan Fuller. If Fuller watches the film of Carlson, reviews the batted ball data from showcases, and has confidence he can help make the necessary adjustments, then the White Sox could have their future shortstop.
2. Kayson Cunningham, Shortstop, Johnson High – Committed to TexasI’m impressed by the batted-ball data from Kayson Cunningham during last year’s showcases, and he crushed with Team USA. It’s a left-handed line drive hitter that can be 50-grade contact and power. There are comps to Jose Ramirez, but I think that’s more body type. If he wants to stick at shortstop, Cunningham will need to work on his footwork and transitions. Right now, Cunningham looks better at second base.
3. Joseph “JoJo” Parker, Shortstop, Purvis High – Committed to Mississippi StateJoJo Parker has a smooth swing and consistently barrels up pitches during batting practice at showcases. With a good attack angle at pitches that generates loft, I could see where some scouts would like Parker’s power potential to be greater than Cunningham’s. I like Cunningham more because he’s faced stiffer competition, as Parker wasn’t on Team USA last summer.
4. Jace LaViolette, Outfielder, Texas A&MI’ve seen enough Jace LaViolette over the last three seasons to be confident in giving him a 40-contact and 60-power hitting grades. He will probably strike out at least 25 percent of the time, and I worry about his ability to hit premium velocity (greater than 95 mph). But when LaViolette connects, you can squint and see a potential hitter with 30 home runs. It may only come with a .750 OPS, but the power is legit. What impressed me the most about LaViolette this season was his defensive play in center field. He hasn’t looked lost and covers the gaps pretty well, so I think whichever team drafts him may give him some run at that position.
5. Kyson Witherspoon, Right-handed Pitcher, OklahomaI have Kyson Witherspoon as the fifth-best pitcher in this draft class, but I think he’s got the potential to be like Dylan Cease. Witherspoon has no issue going to the slider and cutter when the fastball command is shaky. I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw those pitches more often in pro ball to take advantage of hitters with issues handling horizontal movement. In 2025, Witherspoon saw a significant increase in the strikeout rate (33.2 percent) and a decrease in the walk rate (5.9 percent) from last year. If the prep infielders want more in a signing bonus than slot value, I could see a scenario where the White Sox shift again like last year and go the college pitcher route, especially if scouts are not crazy about LaViolette’s contact ability. 

Bonus: Five-round Mock Draft Simulation

Using the Prospects Live mock draft simulator, here’s how I would pick if running the White Sox draft. 

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