Liam Doyle is MLB Pipeline’s No. 8-ranked prospect for the 2025 Draft. Here is everything you need to know about Doyle.
FAST FACTS
MLB Pipeline ranking: No. 8
Position: LHP
Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 220 lbs.
Throws: L
Age: 21 (Born June 3, 2004)
School: University of Tennessee
MLB PIPELINE SCOUTING GRADES (20-to-80 scale)
Fastball: 75
Slider: 55
Cutter: 55
Splitter: 55
Control: 50
Overall: 55
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. He's a strikeout machine
Doyle was college baseball’s foremost strikeout artist in 2025, leading all qualified Division I pitchers in strikeout rate (15.5 K/9). Only LSU’s Kade Anderson notched more strikeouts than Doyle (164), who shattered Tennessee’s single-season strikeout record. He surpassed the 154-strikeout mark held by Luke Hochevar, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 Draft.
Doyle’s knack for strikeouts has only grown over time. He posted an 11.0 K/9 ratio as a freshman at Coastal Carolina, then a 13.7 K/9 ratio as a sophomore with Ole Miss.
2. His fastball has evolved
Doyle’s calling card is his four-seam fastball, a 70-grade pitch that roars through the zone and overwhelms hitters. These days, it sits comfortably in the mid-90s and often touches 99 mph, an elite weapon for the southpaw.
But Doyle didn’t always light up the radar gun. For one, he arrived at Coastal Carolina without a standard four-seam grip. Even with Ole Miss, Doyle averaged just 93.5 mph on his four-seamer. But he experienced a significant velocity bump entering his junior year, and he took full advantage, throwing the pitch two-thirds of the time.
3. He just had a career-best season
Doyle established himself as one of the best pitchers -- if not the best -- in college baseball. A consensus first-team All-American, Doyle earned Pitcher of the Year honors from Perfect Game. He posted a 3.20 ERA in 95 2/3 innings, notching 164 strikeouts while holding the opposition to a .184 batting average.
It was a meteoric rise for Doyle who, just a year earlier, pitched to a 5.73 ERA with Ole Miss. With the Volunteers, he became the third player in program history to win SEC Pitcher of the Year honors, joining Hochevar and Chase Dollander.
4. He's the latest high-end pitcher out of Tennessee
First-round picks are becoming the norm for Tennessee under head coach Tony Vitello, who has signed and developed six first-round picks since the beginning of his tenure in 2018. Tennessee has had multiple first-round picks in two of the previous three drafts.
Doyle looks to become the third pitcher out of Tennessee to be selected in the first round in the last six years. The White Sox nabbed left-hander Garrett Crochet with the 11th overall pick in the 2020 Draft; in 2023, right-hander Chase Dollander was selected 9th overall by the Rockies.
5. He helped make history -- twice
Doyle racked up a number of individual accolades in his lone season at Tennessee. But he also helped steer the Volunteers to a few special achievements, too.
On March 7, Doyle and four other pitchers combined to throw the ninth no-hitter in Tennessee history and the first for the Volunteers since 2002. Doyle started the contest and struck out 13 across 5 2/3 hitless innings.
Then, on April 4, Doyle and Dylan Loy combined for a no-hitter in a seven-inning run-rule victory. Doyle once again handled the bulk of the game, tossing six no-hit innings.