2025 MLB Draft Thread

[Tryptamine]

2 hours ago, Outshined_One said:

USA Today mock, for what it's worth.

I can't complain, but I'm getting kind of tired of seeing this pick again and again and again and again.

I can't recall a draft recently where so many people were all in the Cubs with the same pick, and the closer we get to draft day the number continues to increase. The FO deserves the benefit of the doubt if they go this way, but Aloy really isn't my preference. 

[Outshined_One]

18 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I can't recall a draft recently where so many people were all in the Cubs with the same pick, and the closer we get to draft day the number continues to increase. The FO deserves the benefit of the doubt if they go this way, but Aloy really isn't my preference. 

He's one of the few guys in this draft who fits their 1st round hitter profile, who makes sense at 17, and who should be available. Up the middle position player who should stick, good production in college and the Cape, enough power potential to be a middle of the order type, but enough present production that he'd still be useful even if the home runs don't pan out.

It makes a ton of sense from an outside perspective. But I'm also waiting patiently for the Friday/Saturday rumors to start coming out, since we normally start to hear about underslot deals and guys who are making huge demands. Aloy seems like an easy overslot candidate for a team in the Top 10.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

58 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I can't recall a draft recently where so many people were all in the Cubs with the same pick, and the closer we get to draft day the number continues to increase. The FO deserves the benefit of the doubt if they go this way, but Aloy really isn't my preference. 

It's very odd because 17 is far too low for a mock pick to be consensus.

[Tryptamine]

11 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

It's very odd because 17 is far too low for a mock pick to be consensus.

This is kind of what I was alluding to. Like @Outshined_One mentioned, the vast majority of Aloy's profile fits what the Cubs like. Exit velocity, success in the cape with wood bats, etc. The significant swing and miss issues are a bit unusual, but outside of that he has a lot of the traits the Cubs typically like. However,  by 17 there's likely a number of unexpected if not borderline crazy things that will happen. A team might pop Laviolette early tempted by the power, a top 10 might pop Gage Wood and his upside while trying to get some slot savings. The mocks almost feel more like prospect rankings than any kind of actual mock. 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Tryptamine]

If by some fluke Gage Wood makes it to the 2nd round because of injury concerns I pray the Cubs figure out some voodoo cap magic to fit him 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Jason Ross]

12 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

Summerhill is classic Cub. Up the middle, Cape performer, good in zone contact, maybe a little aggressive here or there on swing choices, strong on the bases...

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Bertz]

On the one hand I'm not feeling any of the high school bats in our range this year

On the other hand, the Myrtle Beach lineup has been horrific, so it's hard to argue against the idea that in terms of organizational depth teenage hitters who can actually hit is a pressing area of need.

[JBears79]

Cooper Flemming would be a great 2nd round pick. I do wonder if he's signable though. Especially as a vandy commit

[CaliforniaRaisin]

14 minutes ago, Bertz said:

On the one hand I'm not feeling any of the high school bats in our range this year

On the other hand, the Myrtle Beach lineup has been horrific, so it's hard to argue against the idea that in terms of organizational depth teenage hitters who can actually hit is a pressing area of need.

Heh, I don’t care for the college bats in the area except for Aloy (not a big fan of Summerhill, Houston or Kilen).

Hoping someone better falls like the last two years or they go prep.

[Jason Ross]

35 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Heh, I don’t care for the college bats in the area except for Aloy (not a big fan of Summerhill, Houston or Kilen).

Hoping someone better falls like the last two years or they go prep.

Probably where I am at. The more I dig into Kayson Cunningham, I'd be pretty excited if he could find his way to 17. Most of the mocks feel like he's going to go before us, but he's got a really fun profile. At this point I'm kind of sitting at a group of like:

Kyson Witherspoon, Gage Wood, Kayson Cunningham, Steel Hall, Wehwa Aloy, Daniel Pierce as my group of "dudes". Less excited about Bremmer than some others, but he'd probably be cool too. Would rather pass on Summerhill, Houston and Kilen, though if push comes to shove you an probably get me into the pick. 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

4 hours ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

Just realized this was a 2-round mock. The Cubs take: Josiah Hartshorn, LF, Orange Lutheran HS (CA) at 56. Cooper Flemming went one pick earlier to the Cardinals.

[Bertz]

The Cespedes BBQ guys wrote up the draft.  Obviously not as insightful as a lot of other sources but they're good writers so it's also not as dry if you're just jumping in this weekend and trying to catch up.

 

[Bertz]

Quote

 

17 Daniel Pierce

School: Mill Creek HS (Hoschton, Ga.), Bats: R, Throws: R

This pick is going to be whoever the draft model selects — although, to be fair to the model’s feelings, its past few first-round picks all look pretty good right now. I think this run from 15-19 or so has teams on very similar players, primarily hitters with excellent batted-ball characteristics and good swings.

 

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Klaw can’t help but write that way, can he?

[Donzo]

On 7/10/2025 at 10:43 PM, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

 

If they know they're trading Cassie, Summerhill would be an ideal pick. LaViolette would work, too.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

43 minutes ago, Donzo said:

 

If they know they're trading Cassie, Summerhill would be an ideal pick. LaViolette would work, too.

I’m worried Summerhill is a tweener: Won’t play center in the bigs, not enough power for a corner position?

Admittedly that describes Ian Happ and he’s been fantastic value at a pick higher than 17.

[Donzo]

35 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

I’m worried Summerhill is a tweener: Won’t play center in the bigs, not enough power for a corner position?

Yeah, he improved his power last year, but didn't build on that this year. I think he has the physical tools to develop power as he matures.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-mlb-draft-buzz-what-were-hearing-ahead-of-the-first-round/

[Jason Ross]

34 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2025-mlb-draft-buzz-what-were-hearing-ahead-of-the-first-round/

I feel like Conrad could be a sneaky fun underslot. Had clear 1st round grades before his injury. Has CF upside. He would be a bit riskier based on position and some of his aggressive swings, but I think the real strength of this draft is prep mid-rounds. Been talk from Joe Doyle that freshman have bigger reasons than ever to sign and go-pro. 

 

Conrad+extra overslots could be a creative way to add a lot of upside into a system that will have (likely) lost a good deal of talent by August.

 

This is starting to feel a bit like the 2022 Horton./Ferris draft where the smoke started to billow towards underslotting.

[nochiinchamp]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I feel like Conrad could be a sneaky fun underslot. Had clear 1st round grades before his injury. Has CF upside. He would be a bit riskier based on position and some of his aggressive swings, but I think the real strength of this draft is prep mid-rounds. Been talk from Joe Doyle that freshman have bigger reasons than ever to sign and go-pro. 

 

Conrad+extra overslots could be a creative way to add a lot of upside into a system that will have (likely) lost a good deal of talent by August.

 

This is starting to feel a bit like the 2022 Horton./Ferris draft where the smoke started to billow towards underslotting.

Taylor is fun in his own right. No defensive value, but he hits everywhere. He's absolutely on my radar as a pick people are upset by but produces 2-3 WAR per year for a half decade and helps them float down a prep.

Edited July 13, 2025 by nochiinchamp
Didn't like redundancy

[nochiinchamp]

On 7/10/2025 at 12:00 PM, Tryptamine said:

I can't recall a draft recently where so many people were all in the Cubs with the same pick, and the closer we get to draft day the number continues to increase. The FO deserves the benefit of the doubt if they go this way, but Aloy really isn't my preference. 

I think it's as simple as not knowing where to put Aloy and matching him with a team that has gone for his demo the last two years. I think they may be overlooking that Aloy had more contact issues than either Shaw or Smith. 

Honestly, if the Cubs are as model heavy as is being hyped, I think they might go for the 17 year old shortstop being picked one spot behind them in this scenario.

[CaliforniaRaisin]