2025 MLB Draft Day 1 Thread

[Pendleton]

Grabbing the second Parker brother would be awesome, but I find Taitn Gray's profile pretty intriguing. Ranked in the back end of the top 100 on pipeline (#92) but reads like a guy who may be a bit lower simply due to lack of track record (against high quality comp) rather than tools. 

Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Gray offers some of the best high school power in the 2025 class, as well as a tantalizing combination of physicality and athleticism -- and the possibility of catching. A club that believes he can stay behind the plate could pop him as early as the second round, something that hasn't happened to an Iowa prep hitter since Kellen Sweeney in 2010. Gatorade's state high school player of the year, he put on a show during batting practice at the Draft Combine.

A switch-hitter, Gray has a smoother swing as a lefty but crushes balls from both sides. He led Iowa's summer high school league with 14 homers as a junior and produced the highest exit velocity (109 mph) and best maximum (87 mph) and average (83 mph) bat speeds at the Super 60 Showcase in February. While he wasn't a showcase circuit regular and hasn't faced a lot of top competition, he displays some feel to hit and scouts believe he's more than just a masher at the plate.

Gray has surprising speed for a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, clocking plus times in the 60-yard dash and playing as an average runner. The Oregon recruit is raw as a receiver and has average arm strength, though he needs to clean up his footwork and release. If he can't hack it as a catcher, he has the power and athleticism to profile on an outfield corner.

 

 

 

 

 

[Spanky__99]

17 minutes ago, Jimcanuck said:

A's gotta be happy, Arnold is exactly what they need, to add to their group if good young hitters

No doubt, getting him at 11 feels like a coup. 

[Spanky__99]

13 minutes ago, Pendleton said:

Grabbing the second Parker brother would be awesome, but I find Taitn Gray's profile pretty intriguing. Ranked in the back end of the top 100 on pipeline (#92) but reads like a guy who may be a bit lower simply due to lack of track record (against high quality comp) rather than tools. 

Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Gray offers some of the best high school power in the 2025 class, as well as a tantalizing combination of physicality and athleticism -- and the possibility of catching. A club that believes he can stay behind the plate could pop him as early as the second round, something that hasn't happened to an Iowa prep hitter since Kellen Sweeney in 2010. Gatorade's state high school player of the year, he put on a show during batting practice at the Draft Combine.

A switch-hitter, Gray has a smoother swing as a lefty but crushes balls from both sides. He led Iowa's summer high school league with 14 homers as a junior and produced the highest exit velocity (109 mph) and best maximum (87 mph) and average (83 mph) bat speeds at the Super 60 Showcase in February. While he wasn't a showcase circuit regular and hasn't faced a lot of top competition, he displays some feel to hit and scouts believe he's more than just a masher at the plate.

Gray has surprising speed for a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, clocking plus times in the 60-yard dash and playing as an average runner. The Oregon recruit is raw as a receiver and has average arm strength, though he needs to clean up his footwork and release. If he can't hack it as a catcher, he has the power and athleticism to profile on an outfield corner.

 

Sign me up, hahaha... 

 

Quote

83. Taitn Gray

C

Ht: 6'3" | Wt: 215 | B-T: B-B

School: Dallas Center-Grimes Community HS, Dallas Center, Iowa Drafted/Committed: Oregon
Age At Draft: 17.9

BA Grade: 50/Extreme

An Iowa native, Gray is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound switch-hitting catcher with a physical, linebacker-esque build and an impressive track record of impact in the months leading up to the draft. Gray’s 109 mph exit velocity at PBR’s Super 60 Showcase in February topped the event. He won Iowa’s Gatorade player of the year award in the spring, then went to the MLB Draft combine and produced the third-best max exit velocity (114.5 mph) of any hitter—high school or college—to take batting practice at the event. Gray has plus raw power and enough hitting ability to access it in games. His swing features some moving parts, including a moderate leg kick and a slight hand hitch, but he’s an explosive rotator with tons of bat speed. He’s typically more synced up and fluid from the left side compared to the right. Gray has a chance to be an average defender with more work behind the dish. He’s got an average arm and might be able to profile in an outfield corner if he has to move, with some run times early in the 2025 season better than expected given his size—though he should settle in as a below-average runner in the future. An Oregon commit, Gray is young for the class and will be 17 on draft day.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run:40 | Field: 45 | Arm: 50.

 

[Pendleton]

Aiden Stillman jumped out among the prep arms in possible third round range. Pitchability lefties with projection are always a good gamble, his profile made me think of Thomas White from a couple years back, and Johnny King from our own system. 

 

Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Two players have been drafted out of Trinity Prep in Florida over the years, and both made it to the big leagues. Right-hander Slade Cecconi was an 11th-rounder in 2018 who went on to Miami before going No. 33 overall in 2020 and infielder Max Moroff signed as a 16th-round pick in 2012. A big left-hander who was arguably the most effective pitcher on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team that won gold at the World Cup Qualifier in Panama over the summer, Stillman has the chance to easily supplant that pair to become the earliest-drafted product from Trinity Prep.

At 6-foot-3, Stillman has the kind of projectable frame teams look for in high school arms, and when combined with his feel for pitching, it’s easy to see why scouts are excited to see what’s to come from this southpaw. While his fastball is mostly average, up to 94-95 mph, he gets a fair amount of swings-and-misses on the pitch. He combines it with a low-80s slider that he can manipulate into more of a pure curve and he has feel for a low-80s changeup as well.

Stillman’s stuff generally plays up because he tunnels his stuff very well, making it difficult for hitters to pick up his arsenal. He’s always around the zone and has a very good understanding at a young age of how to set up hitters. There is a commitment to Virginia to contend with, but his combination of upside and pitchability will certainly get talked about in Draft rooms.

 

 

[Spanky__99]

Padres took the kid I like, man. 2 way beast.

[Pendleton]

O's got nice value on Bodine at #32, he's a mid first round profile for a college catcher

[GoBlue41]

34 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Padres took the kid I like, man. 2 way beast.

He is a beast for sure! His school is my son's rival school, so my son went against Kruz many times. He's a great pitcher but he is also a fantastic hitter and first baseman as well. Can't teach size. At 6'8" he is intimidating on the mound for sure. Good pick by the Padres. 

[Pendleton]

O's had a huge draft pool so it was going to be a haul, but they are really killing it.

[InsideThePark]

1 hour ago, Pendleton said:

Aiden Stillman jumped out among the prep arms in possible third round range. Pitchability lefties with projection are always a good gamble, his profile made me think of Thomas White from a couple years back, and Johnny King from our own system. 

 

Fastball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Two players have been drafted out of Trinity Prep in Florida over the years, and both made it to the big leagues. Right-hander Slade Cecconi was an 11th-rounder in 2018 who went on to Miami before going No. 33 overall in 2020 and infielder Max Moroff signed as a 16th-round pick in 2012. A big left-hander who was arguably the most effective pitcher on USA Baseball’s 18U National Team that won gold at the World Cup Qualifier in Panama over the summer, Stillman has the chance to easily supplant that pair to become the earliest-drafted product from Trinity Prep.

At 6-foot-3, Stillman has the kind of projectable frame teams look for in high school arms, and when combined with his feel for pitching, it’s easy to see why scouts are excited to see what’s to come from this southpaw. While his fastball is mostly average, up to 94-95 mph, he gets a fair amount of swings-and-misses on the pitch. He combines it with a low-80s slider that he can manipulate into more of a pure curve and he has feel for a low-80s changeup as well.

Stillman’s stuff generally plays up because he tunnels his stuff very well, making it difficult for hitters to pick up his arsenal. He’s always around the zone and has a very good understanding at a young age of how to set up hitters. There is a commitment to Virginia to contend with, but his combination of upside and pitchability will certainly get talked about in Draft rooms.

 

 

 

I scrolled through the prospect list a couple months ago looking for the first HS lefty from Florida and knowing nothing else about him just assumed the jays would draft him in round 3. They seem to like doing that every year.

[Eat My Shatkins]

6 more picks to 81, Jacob Parker still on the board

[Pendleton]

2 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Sign me up, hahaha... 

 

 

Fingers crossed that's the pick here

[hanton]

2 hours ago, Pendleton said:

 

Corey Seager

that's not an actual comp is it?

[Eat My Shatkins]

Jays are up

[Laika]

Really interesting pick!

[Eat My Shatkins]

Jake Cook

 

Two way player, has a 96mph FB and also plays OF

[Pendleton]

80 grade runner at 6'3 with hit tools, so tantalizing

[Eat My Shatkins]

Jake Cook

 

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 30 | Run: 80 | Arm: 60 | Field: 65 | Overall: 45

Cook may have the biggest dichotomy between tools and track record of any position player in the Draft. Recruited as a two-way player by Southern Mississippi, he focused on pitching and reached 96 mph with his fastball, but his inability to throw strikes led to him redshirting in 2023 and working just two innings last year. Converted to a center fielder this spring, he batted .350 with a 7 percent strikeout rate and displayed some of the best speed and outfield range in college baseball.

Cook didn't look like a hitter who hadn't faced live pitching in an official game for two years, using a disciplined approach to consistently put the ball in play to all fields. He has a slappy left-handed stroke and generates a lot of his contact on the ground and to the left side, which yields infield hits but not much power. He has some strength in his 6-foot-1 frame but will have to rework his swing path to do damage at the next level.

A legitimate top-of-the-scale runner, Cook can get from home to first in less than 3.8 seconds and turned in the best 30-yard dash (3.51 seconds) and long jump (10 feet, 8.25 inches) of all players who participated in athletic testing at the Draft Combine. He has yet to develop any basestealing acumen, swiping just three bags in eight attempts this spring. His quickness plays much better in center, where he covers both gaps with ease and has a stronger arm than most at the position.

[John_Havok]

Slappy LH hitting with limited power (for now), but has all the other tools. 

Easy to see why they like him, gonna be a lab experiment to unlock power

[Pendleton]

10 minutes ago, hanton said:

that's not an actual comp is it?

 

It's the easy/lazy comp for any large SS prospect with elite hitting potential. Law did say his bat has the potential to be top 3 in this class with the right development 

[Spanky__99]

15 minutes ago, Laika said:

Really interesting pick!

Who is this dude? Taken like over a 100 spots ahead of his ranking.

 

Quote

211. Jake Cook

OF

Ht: 6'1" | Wt: 185 | B-T: L-L

School: Southern Miss Drafted/Committed: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 22.0

Cook is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound outfielder who has a light college track record but some of the better athleticism in the draft. After pitching as a reliever in a limited capacity for Southern Miss in 2024, he focused on hitting full-time in 2025 and broke out. He worked his way into the leadoff spot and slashed .350/.436/.468 with three home runs, a 6.7% strikeout rate and a 10.9% walk rate. Cook is a contact hitter who rarely swings and misses and almost never misses a fastball. He slaps the ball around to all fields but has well below-average raw power— though he does have a solid frame that could add more strength in the future. Cook is a double-plus runner who turned in the best 30-yard dash and long jump at the MLB Draft combine’s athletic testing. He has a chance to be an above-average defender in center field, where he also has an above-average arm. Despite his speed, Cook went just 3-for-8 (37.5%) on the bases. He has an up-the-middle profile with loud supplemental tools, though his scarce collegiate track record might be enough to concern some clubs.

 

[saskjayfan]

10 minutes ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Jake Cook

 

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 30 | Run: 80 | Arm: 60 | Field: 65 | Overall: 45

Cook may have the biggest dichotomy between tools and track record of any position player in the Draft. Recruited as a two-way player by Southern Mississippi, he focused on pitching and reached 96 mph with his fastball, but his inability to throw strikes led to him redshirting in 2023 and working just two innings last year. Converted to a center fielder this spring, he batted .350 with a 7 percent strikeout rate and displayed some of the best speed and outfield range in college baseball.

Cook didn't look like a hitter who hadn't faced live pitching in an official game for two years, using a disciplined approach to consistently put the ball in play to all fields. He has a slappy left-handed stroke and generates a lot of his contact on the ground and to the left side, which yields infield hits but not much power. He has some strength in his 6-foot-1 frame but will have to rework his swing path to do damage at the next level.

A legitimate top-of-the-scale runner, Cook can get from home to first in less than 3.8 seconds and turned in the best 30-yard dash (3.51 seconds) and long jump (10 feet, 8.25 inches) of all players who participated in athletic testing at the Draft Combine. He has yet to develop any basestealing acumen, swiping just three bags in eight attempts this spring. His quickness plays much better in center, where he covers both gaps with ease and has a stronger arm than most at the position.

Sounds like a freak athlete.  We'll have him hitting bombs and striking out batters in no time.  

[Eat My Shatkins]

Just now, saskjayfan said:

Sounds like a freak athlete.  We'll have him hitting bombs and striking out batters in no time.  

Jake Ohtani

[Pendleton]

7 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Who is this dude? Taken like over a 100 spots ahead of his ranking.

 

 

Let him Cook 

 

(Pipeline had him at #106 FWIW)

[Pendleton]

Go high ceiling prep lefty next. Stillman as previously mentioned or Cameron Appenzeller 

[saskjayfan]

6 minutes ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Jake Ohtani

Yeah, but he's not a wimp like Ohtani.  He'll pitch and play the outfield.  No DHing for our Jake Ohtani. 

[Angrioter]

9 hours ago, Pendleton said:

80 grade runner at 6'3 with hit tools, so tantalizing

Anthony Gose 

[Pendleton]

18 minutes ago, Angrioter said:

Anthony Gose 

Could be, it's a gamble worth taking though IMO. I was just hearing on one of the broadcasts yesterday that CF offense is down across the league as teams are putting more emphasis on defense. There might be a lower bar for an elite CF defender to be an every day bat. This guy was listed as one of three HMs for best defender in the draft class, behind Billy Carlson who some say is the best HS shortstop they've ever seen 

[Laika]

They probably think they can coach more power out of Cook.
He doesn't look like a twig. I don't think this is a Billy Hamilton or Chandler Simpson thing. 

Get him in the gym. Ten, twenty more pounds of muscle in the next couple of years. Fix the stance and swing; get him more upright. Forget about the bunts for now. Weighted bats, damage - see what happens. 

[Laika]

I asked ChatGPT how good his broad jump is: 

how good would a 10 foot 8 inch broad jump be by professional athletic standards

ChatGPT said:

A 10-foot 8-inch broad jump (128 inches) is a very impressive result by professional athletic standards — particularly in sports that test explosiveness, such as football, track & field, and basketball. Here's how it stacks up:

---

🔹 NFL Combine Comparison (Standing Broad Jump)

The standing broad jump is a key test at the NFL Combine, especially for positions requiring explosive lower-body power (e.g., defensive backs, wide receivers, linebackers).

• Average by position:

  • Defensive backs: ~10'2"

  • Wide receivers: ~10'1"

  • Running backs: ~9'11"

  • Linebackers: ~9'9"

• Elite scores: Anything 10'6" and up is considered excellent — top 10-15% at the combine.

✅ So 10'8" would be an elite-level score — often recorded by some of the most explosive athletes in the NFL Combine.

---

🔹 Track & Field (Running Long Jump vs. Standing)

• Track & field athletes jump much farther, but that's with a run-up (not a standing start).

• Standing broad jump isn't a standard event, but elite jumpers still typically hit 10–11 feet, so a 10'8" jump is strong even among track athletes, especially for a football-style test.

---

🔹 Summary

10'8" broad jump = elite-level explosiveness, particularly for:

• NFL hopefuls or pro football players

• High-level sprinters

• Olympic-level athletes (in explosive disciplines)

It's well above average and indicates excellent lower-body power and explosiveness.

[hanton]

12 hours ago, Pendleton said:

 

It's the easy/lazy comp for any large SS prospect with elite hitting potential. Law did say his bat has the potential to be top 3 in this class with the right development 

fun to dream, let's wait until he reaches AA