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Rounds 1-3 of the 2025 MLB Draft are complete in Atlanta with the Washington Nationals selecting Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) High School shortstop Eli Willits No. 1 overall.
The Los Angeles Angels shocked observers by taking UC Santa Barbara pitcher Tyler Bremner at No. 2 overall. The Seattle Mariners took LSU left-hander Kade Anderson, who helped his team win the 2025 College World Series, at No. 3 while the Colorado Rockies selected Ethan Holliday, son of former star outfielder Matt Holliday, at No. 4.
Day two of the draft, encompassing Rounds 4 through 20, starts at 11:30 a.m. ET Monday.
Read below for updates expert analysis from The Athletic's team of MLB writers for all 105 picks from the draft's first three rounds Sunday.
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Nationals pick Eli Willits with the No. 1 selection of the 2025 MLB Draft
With their highest first-round draft pick in nearly two decades, the St. Louis Cardinals snagged left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle with the fifth overall selection in MLB’s amateur draft Sunday. In doing so, they acquired one of the most tantalizing arms available — and someone who could impact the major-league club much sooner than later.
Doyle, a 21-year-old out of the University of Tennessee, projects to ascend quickly through the minor leagues. For the Cardinals, who intend to place a heavier emphasis on drafting and developing under their new regime, he represents the ideal selection.
“When we saw that he could be in play as the board unfolded, everyone was excited,” scouting director Randy Flores said.
Read more below.
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Cardinals select flamethrowing left-hander Liam Doyle with No. 5 pick in MLB draft
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The Houston Astros strayed from precedent to pluck one of the most tantalizing prep power hitters available in the MLB Draft.
After selecting college position players with their past five first-round picks, the Astros chose Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School infielder Xavier Neyens with the 21st pick Sunday, supplying the organization with a left-handed bat it believes can one day play in the middle of a major-league order.
“It’s that type of potential,” Astros amateur scouting director Cam Pendino said. “Obviously, it’s a high school bat, but we think with our hitting development, we’re really excited to give this ball of clay in Xavier over to them, and it has a chance to be a special offensive package.”
Read more below.
The San Diego Padres stayed in character Sunday, using their top selection in the MLB Draft on a high school player for a ninth consecutive year. This time, with the 25th pick, they settled on 6-foot-8 left-hander Kruz Schoolcraft.
Schoolcraft, 18, starred as a pitcher and first baseman for Sunset (Ore.) High. His selection comes a year after the Padres took fellow prep lefties Kash Mayfield and Boston Bateman, also listed at 6 feet 8, with their top two picks in the 2024 draft.
Under president of baseball operations A.J. Preller, the Padres have long specialized in pursuing high-risk talent. They struck gold in the 2021 draft, taking high school hitters Jackson Merrill and James Wood with their top two picks. Merrill has since gone to the 2024 All-Star Game and signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension. Wood was a centerpiece of San Diego’s 2022 trade for Juan Soto, and he will represent the Washington Nationals this week in the Home Run Derby and the 2025 All-Star Game.
Read more below.
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Padres draft Kruz Schoolcraft, taking a high schooler in first round for ninth straight year
It wasn’t until about an hour before the start of the MLB Draft that Tyler Bremner started to hear rumblings that the Angels might draft him.
It was a shock, not just to the UC Santa Barbara right-handed pitcher, but to everyone. Coming into Sunday, there was a host of collegiate pitchers projected to go ahead of Bremner. LSU’s Kade Anderson, Tennessee’s Liam Doyle, Florida State’s Jamie Arnold, to name a few.
Bremner was on the radar for a first-round selection, but nowhere near No. 2. And when he was picked, his shocked reaction said it all.
“I don’t think this was something we really thought was a possibility up until really recently,” Bremner said. “It was definitely a shock. I’m just overwhelmed with excitement, and ready to get to the next step.”
Read more about the reasoning for the Angels' bold draft choice below.
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Why the Angels shocked the sport by selecting Tyler Bremner with the No. 2 pick in MLB Draft
We'll start back up with Round 4 of the 2025 MLB Draft at 11:30 ET tomorrow. We'll have that covered right here on The Athletic, along with the Home Run Derby later that evening as All-Star Week gets fully underway!
Mason Neville (Oregon), Henry Ford (Virginia), Matthew Fisher (Evansville HS (Ind.) among other notable names still available. Keith will have a complete look later tonight.
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Thanks for joining us here at The Athletic. We'll have some more reaction coming shortly, and we'll be covering the later rounds of the draft tomorrow right here as well!
Antonio Jimenez struggled badly on the Cape last summer, but after transferring from Miami to UCF, he had a huge breakout year (against weaker competition), hitting .329/.407/.575 with a ton of very hard contact, almost all to the pull side. He almost never misses in zone but does chase way too often. He’s an average runner with a hose of an arm, probably moving to third base in time.
So we had a set of twins go but not the Parkers, as Jacob Parker remains on the board after JoJo was selected No. 8 overall.
Landon Vidourek’s high strikeout rate (26.7%) masks a decent approach; his chase rate was only 17% on the year, but it jumps to 30% with two strikes. His hard-hit rate was in the top 10% of all Division 1 hitters, and his 90th percentile EV was in the top 2%. He’s a plus runner and hits the ball in the air a ton, all of which should help him somewhat with teams heavy on the data side. He struggled badly in a short stint on the Cape last year and hit a combined .247 his first two years as a Bearcat, so there’s plenty of concern about the hit tool. I thought he'd go on day two.
Former Texas A&M shortstop Kaeden Kent is the son of Jeff Kent, a longtime MLB second baseman who played for six different teams — but never the Yankees, who Kaeden now joins.
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The Guardians drafted Oklahoma State OF Nolan Schubart No. 101 overall.
The Mets drafted UCF SS Antonio Jimenez No. 102 overall.
The Yankees drafted Texas A&M SS Kaeden Kent No. 103 overall.
The Dodgers drafted Landyn Vidourek No. 104 overall.
The Angels drafted Tennessee RHP Nate Snead No. 105 overall.
The Braves selected East Tennessee State SS Cody Miller No. 96 overall.
The Royals selected Alhambra HS (Calif.) RHP Cameron Millar No. 97 overall.
The Tigers selected Arizona State LHP Ben Jacobs No. 98 overall.
The Padres selected Western Kentucky OF Ryan Wideman No. 99 overall.
The Phillies selected Vanderbilt RHP Cody Bowker No. 100 overall.
RJ Austin goes to the Orioles, where he'll join Enrique Bradfield, Jr. as a top defensive center fielder in the same system. Austin is an Atlanta native. Great speed and great glove but questions about the bat.
The Mariners drafted Miami RHP Griffin Hugus No. 91 overall.
The Diamondbacks drafted Georgia RHP Brian Curley No. 92 overall.
The Orioles drafted Vanderbilt OF RJ Austin No. 93 overall.
The Brewers drafted Coastal Carolina RHP Jacob Morrison No. 94 overall.
The Astros drafted LSU OF Ethan Frey No. 95 overall.
Anthony Eyanson, who had some first-round buzz, goes to the Red Sox in the third round.
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The Red Sox selected LSU RHP Anthony Eyanson No. 87 overall.
The Twins selected Dallas Baptist RHP James Ellwanger No. 88 overall.
The Cardinals selected University of San Diego 1B Jack Gurevitch No. 89 overall.
The Cubs selected Abilene Christian (Tex.) RHP Dominick Reid No. 90 overall.
Taitn Gray goes to the Rays at pick 86. He also had a really impressive batting practice at the Combine. Huge frame. Not sure he can stay at catcher but he can hit.
The Reds drafted Ole Miss RHP Mason Morris No. 83 overall.
The Ranegrs drafted Providence Academy (Tenn.) two-way player Josh Owens No. 84 overall.
The Giants drafted Rutgers OF Trevor Cohen No. 85 overall.
The Rays drafted Dallas Center-Grimes HS (Ia.) C Taitn Gray No. 86 overall.
