2025 MLB Draft Combine Recap

The 2025 MLB Draft kicks off in less than a month and one of the biggest pre-draft events is the MLB Draft Combine, held for the past three years at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. While the temperatures were soaring outside, so too was the stock of several top high school and college prospects.

Over the course of the week, I had the opportunity to sit down with a number of outstanding players who will soon realize their dreams of playing professional baseball. You can continue to catch those conversations across all our Just Baseball content platforms.

In the meantime, the end of the event allows me to share my thoughts from a scouting lens as the Combine is a unique chance for me to get an up-close look at many players from other areas of the country who I don’t have an opportunity to see during the spring. I’ll go ahead and break down my thoughts between Day 1 and 2, which featured live batting practice, bullpens, fielding drills as well as a high school showcase.

Day 1

Prep bats were the star of the show on Tuesday morning, including work in the cage from the talented twins, shortstop JoJo and outfielder Jacob Parker (Purvis HS, Miss.).

JoJo continues a rapid ascent up draft boards, displaying an outstanding approach and barrel at the plate from the left side that has some scouts throwing a double-plus grade on the hit tool. While there’s not quite as much juice in the bat as his brother, Parker has a solid, athletic frame that should allow him to grow into more power as he physically matures. His actions are plenty good enough on the dirt to handle shortstop in the future.

Meanwhile, brother Jacob continued to show huge bat speed lending itself to double-plus raw power. Jacob’s round in the cage registered a whopping 18 balls with 100+ mph exit velocities, including a max EV of 110.1. His average exit velo of 101.1 was good for seventh-best of the entire field.

JoJo has a number of potential landing spots in the top ten, while Jacob won’t have to wait much longer to hear his own name and could find a fit somewhere early in round two.

The next loud round of BP came courtesy of a talented, switch-hitting catcher from the Midwest: Taitn Gray (Dallas Center-Grimes Community HS, Iowa). At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Gray’s frame oozes power projection and there’s a whole lot of bat speed to go with it.

Gray also happens to be one of the younger players in the class, something that will certainly appeal to model-driven teams. He’ll need to be signed away from an Oregon commitment by any prospective organization but there are too many tools at a premium position for that not to happen.

Sticking with the prep bats – Gavin Fien (Great Oak HS, Calif.) and Tate Southisene (Basic HS, Nev.) were also as good as advertised. There’s not a ton of wasted movement in the former’s swing and should grow into even more power down the line. Fien is a current Texas commit but many find it unlikely that he makes it to campus.

The Combine was my second look of the spring at Southisene, who respected my time by demolishing a home run on the only AB I saw from him at the Boras Classic tournament back in March. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because his brother, Ty Southisene, was a fourth-round selection of the Cubs last year. Tate could go off the board even higher and is an explosive, athletic mover in the box from the right side with consistently high exit velos and an innate ability to drive the ball with authority to all areas of the field.

On the college side, the guy hitting baseballs the farthest distance on day one was also the one who traveled the shortest distance to the stadium. Local Arizona State outfielder Brandon Compton put on a show, registering six of the top ten exit velos in the history of the Combine – good for a whopping 110.1 average EV (116.9 max). Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch Compton up close as I was setting up for my next round of interviews – but I heard his round from all the way up in the press suite.

Compton put up a solid season for the Sun Devils in 2025 and has performed on the Cape previously and this kind of power display could have teams rethinking his power grade. There’s limited value defensively but this is the type of hitter who could move quickly through the right team’s system with tons of offensive impact.

Cal Baptist outfielder Nick Dumesnil also had a nice showing on day one in the cage. Dumesnil features physicality and a well-rounded toolset with experience playing multiple positions in the outfield. I’d expect Dumesnil to hear his name called in rounds two or three.

On the pitching side, prep righty Reid Worley (Cherokee HS, Ga.) spun the absolute heck out of the ball – registering several sliders with spin rates north of 3,000 rpm and good depth out of a three-quarter arm slot. He’s on the older side for the class but there’s still projection left in the body if a team feels they can sign him away from his current commitment to Kennesaw State.

Right-hander Mason Estrada (MIT) – yes, that MIT – continues to trend upward and showed loud stuff in his time on the mound. A current Tennessee commit, Estrada is one of the most fascinating prospects in the class – both off the field and on. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Mason and get his thoughts on pitch design, balancing sports and academics at MIT, and pushing through self-doubt. You can catch the entirety of our conversation below.

In the high school game – uber-projectable right-hander Joe Nottingham (Loyola-Blakefield HS, Md.) opened eyes with a four-seam fastball up to 94 and over 20″ of IVB. Meanwhile, outfielder Bruin Agbayani (St. Louis HS, Hi.) flashed more of the compact, direct swing that combined with his bloodlines and age should make an enticing option for teams in rounds 6-10. Agbayani was electric in my live look during the MLK West tournament down in Phoenix this past January.

Day 2

While day two may not have had quite the firepower offensively as the first, there were still plenty of intriguing bats on display. In the late morning session, two that stuck out for me were outfielders Mason Braun (Penn HS, Ind.) and Brock Ketelsen (Valley Christian Schools, Calif,.). Braun, a current LSU commit, features a compact frame and quick hands that give him an ability to hit gaps with regularity. Ketelsen, another player I saw back at the MLK West tournament in January, oozes projection with a 6-foot-5 frame and very fluid movements in the box from the left side. Expect the power to play up as it already looks like he’s added good weight to his frame since my live look back in January.

Staying in the prep bat lane, Michael Oliveto (Happague HS, N.Y.) offers as complete an offensive package as you’ll find among prep bats. The backstop has quite a few clubs excited about his projection and could land in the first few rounds on draft day. It’s a loose, athletic swing from the left side and Oliveto’s broad-shouldered frame likely means there’s plenty of remaining power projection, as evidenced by his 110.2 max exit velo.

Cincinnati outfielder Landyn Vidourek impressed during his time in the cage, producing the second-best average EV at the Combine behind only the aforementioned Brandon Compton. Also impressing was Penn State outfielder Paxton Kling. The former Nittany Lion is a solid, long-levered athlete who really found a groove late in his BP round with a ton of pull-side juice. Kling is the type of day two money-saver who could wind up as a valuable platoon contributor at the big league level.

Coming from a program that has churned out an endless supply of elite arm talent, Tennessee right-hander Nate Snead lived up to his expectations and was up to 99 with the fastball that featured a ton of arm-side run. Another right-hander, Jayden Stroman (Patchogue-Medford HS, NY) showcased electric stuff on the bump. Stroman is the brother of current Yankee Marcus Stroman and will need to be signed away by any prospective team from a commitment to Duke. Another right-hander from the state of New York, Matt Barr out of Niagra County CC flashed with a bullet slider routinely over 3,000 rpm, showing why these events can be so important for players from smaller schools.

That wraps up my thoughts from the 2025 MLB Draft Combine but make sure to keep your eyes peeled for tons more MLB Draft content from all of us at Just Baseball as we get closer to draft day in Atlanta.