Winners and Losers From the 2025 MLB Draft

The 2025 MLB draft has come and gone, and it’s an event that always sparks some of baseball’s most exciting dialogue.

Which teams walked away with the best class of the draft? Who stood out as some of the best value picks when all was said and done? These are just a couple of questions that have been circulating the baseball world since the draft took place.

Today, we will further the conversation by looking at a few of the biggest winners and losers from the 2025 MLB draft. Ranging from individual players to organizations as a whole, there were plenty of takeaways from this year’s MLB draft.

2025 MLB Draft Winners

Eli Willits

Until draft day, almost all the talk was Kade Anderson versus Ethan Holliday for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. We know better. We know the only thing you can expect in the MLB Draft is the unexpected.

As draft day wore on, chatter started to surface about the Nationals, with their front office in transition, going under slot for Willits. So they did, inking the Oklahoma prepster to an $8.2 million dollar deal that saved them close to $2.9 against the slot for the No. 1 overall pick.

The Nationals were able to reel in some serious talent in doing so, adding prep flamethrowers Landon Harmon (80th overall) and Miguel Sime (111th overall) in addition to North Carolina prep shortstop Coy James (142nd overall). That’s a haul. Willits won’t mind. His bonus makes him the highest paid prep prospect in the history of the draft.

Prep Infielders

We knew the prep infield group was loaded heading into this draft. Boy, did that play out in round one

After Willits, prep infielders were selected at No. 4 (Ethan Holliday), No. 8 (JoJo Parker), No. 9 (Steele Hall), No. 10 (Billy Carlson), No. 12 (Gavin Fien), and No. 14 (Daniel Pierce). That’s seven prep infelders in the first 15 picks and 12 in the first round overall. Sheesh.

For the sake of comparison, there were four prep infielders taken in the first round in 2024. Typically, if the prep talent in a draft class is good, it’s a solid indicator. Time will tell, but the first round in 2025 couldn’t have offered a more stark contrast to the same round a year ago.

College Pitching

After prep infielders, this was the demographic of strength in the class, with a mix of diverse left and right-handed profiles. While the order they were selected may have been a surprise, the number selected was not.

The Angels took UC Santa Barbara righty Tyler Bremner second overall, leaving Seattle one of their dream scenarios: landing LSU lefty Kade Anderson third overall. Liam Doyle, Jamie Arnold, and Kyson Witherspoon all followed within the first 15 picks, with Patrick Forbes, Marcus Phillps, and Riley Quick coming off the board before pick 40.

Baltimore Orioles

I am loath to praise the Orioles given how their 2025 season has gone — in particular, the construction of their rotation. But I’m always a fan of a team acquiring extra draft capital. Outside of international free-agent signings, there is no more efficient way to get talent into your MLB organization.

After snagging Ike Irish at pick No. 11, Baltimore scooped up College World Series star catcher Caden Bodine and toolsy shortstop Wehiwa Aloy at 30th and 31st, respectively. After nabbing compact prep outfielder Slater De Brun in Comp A, the Birds came back with Michigan State lefty Joseph Dzierwa in round two and Georgia right-hander J.T. Quinn in Comp B.

It’s not every day a team’s draft bonus pool is north of $19 million, so the Orioles better make it count.

2025 MLB Draft Losers

LSU’s Recruiting Class

As you might expect, LSU recruits were favorite targets for drafting teams. The Tigers had eight signees drafted overall, seven in the first four rounds. This group included Brady Ebel (Brewers), Quentin Young (Twins), Dean Moss (Tampa Bay), Jaden Fauske (White Sox), Miguel Sime (Nationals), and River Hamilton (Tigers).

What the actual damage will look like when the deadline to sign players passes on July 28 remains to be seen. No one will shed a tear for the talented defending National Champions, and they’ve already pivoted to secure some big names in the portal, but it’s undeniably a blow.

College Outfielders

The first college outfielder to be drafted, Ethan Conrad, came off the board to the Cubs at No. 17 overall. The second, preseason favorite to be drafted No. 1 overall, Jace Laviolette, was the last pick of the first round at No. 27 overall. The third, Charles Davalan, went at No. 41. You get the idea. There were eight college outfielders selected in the first 42 picks in 2024. Quite the difference.

Brendan Summerhill

Speaking of slighted college outfielders, I was a bit surprised at the fall of Arizona center fielder Brendan Summerhill. He was faded considerably on several boards late in the process, falling as far as 80th overall in the final board at The Athletic.

I get the concerns; he was hurt off and on in 2025, and he didn’t put concerns about a lack of extra-base impact in the rear view mirror. There are doubts whether he can stick in center field long-term, too.

Still, it’s a 137 wRC+ in 2025 with a 17.4% BB% and a 11.6% K%. Summerhill has his warts as a prospect, but I think the Rays got tremendous value at No. 42 overall.

The Sleep Cycles of Draft Fans and Analysts

The schedule for the draft was altered this year. Day one was expanded to encompass rounds 1-3, totaling 105 picks. A newly-expanded marathon day two took us from the fourth round all the way through the twentieth and final round. I gotta say, I didn’t love the format.

As someone trying to both keep up with and cover the event, it was a tough task. I’ll be interested to hear how organization’s draft rooms experienced it in the coming weeks. The format seems locked in for the time being, so, can we at least bump the draft up to June? A guy can dream.