It feels good to have completed the new Draft Top 150, and we'll expand the list to 200 by the end of May and 250 by the end of June. Wondering about our first in-season first-round projection? We'll have that for you next Tuesday evening.
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Let's dive into some Draft questions ...
The 2023 and 2024 Drafts were loaded with players who would have been obvious No. 1 pick candidates in most years, while the 2025 crop doesn't feature a slam-dunk top selection. Stillwater (Okla.) HS shortstop Ethan Holliday, Corona (Calif.) HS right-hander Seth Hernandez and Florida State left-hander Jamie Arnold are the leading contenders in this Draft.
Holliday would have ranked behind the top prep position prospects in 2023 (Walker Jenkins, Max Clark) and Hernandez was better than the best high school pitcher that year (Noble Meyer), so that would have landed both of them in the 6-10 range. Paul Skenes was the best college arm in that Draft -- and arguably the best ever -- and Arnold would have been grouped with Rhett Lowder and Chase Dollander, so he might have snuck into the top 10.
No one from 2025 would have ranked among the seven best prospects from 2024: Travis Bazzana, Charlie Condon, Jac Caglianone, J.J. Wetherholt, Hagen Smith, Chase Burns and Nick Kurtz. The best high school position prospect, Konnor Griffin, ranked No. 9 and had more tools but also more questions about his swing compared to Holliday, who could have slid into the 8-10 range. Hernandez and Arnold would have been on the outside looking in.
Padres shortstop Leo De Vries would be the slam-dunk No. 1 overall choice that this Draft lacks, no question. He's tearing up High-A at age 18 and looks like a 30-30 guy with at least solid tools across the board. The Nationals gladly would grab him with the top selection and he'd likely receive the first $10 million bonus in Draft history.
Fellow Padres farmhand and Top 100 Prospect Salas is a tougher call. He's very athletic for a catcher and has shined behind the plate, but he also has struggled offensively this season and last as San Diego has pushed him extremely aggressively. He posted a .599 OPS as an 18-year-old in High-A and had a .544 OPS in Double-A this April before getting sidelined by back spasms.
Even with those struggles, Salas' youth and upside still would make him the best catcher in the 2025 Draft. He'd probably fit in the 6-10 range and almost certainly would go in the upper half of the first round.
Teams usually feel more comfortable paying high school pitchers over-slot bonuses with their second selection rather than taking them with their first, but Schoolcraft's talent does merit top 10 discussion. In fact, the White Sox own the No. 10 choice and have scored with southpaws in the first round of three of the last five Drafts -- Garrett Crochet, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith -- so they're a logical destination for the 6-foot-8 lefty from Sunset HS (Portland, Ore.).
Schoolcraft's velocity has fluctuated at times this spring, which isn't unusual for a prepster, but there also have been outings where he has sat at 94 mph and touched 98 with his fastball. Both his slider and changeup show flashes of becoming plus pitches and he uses his athleticism to provide consistent strikes. He also displays the potential to become a solid hitter with perhaps plus power, though his future definitely is on the mound.
St. Albans HS (Washington, D.C.) right-hander Myles Upchurch was the last guy bumped off the Draft Top 150 when we finalized the list. He's a physical 6-foot-4, 215-pounder with a four-pitch mix highlighted by fastball that reaches 96 mph and a mid-80s slider.
Upchurch hails from Jonathan Mayo's half of the Draft. From my half, I'm wondering if I'm a bit light on St. Frederick HS (Monroe, La.) outfielder William Patrick. He's raw and doesn't face good competition, but he's also 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds with double-plus speed to go with plus bat speed, raw power and arm strength.