Thomas O’Connell

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #268 prospect in 2025 draft
  School: Salisbury (Conn.) HS Drafted/Committed: Virginia
  Age At Draft: 18.7
  
  O’Connell is a lefthanded-hitting prep catcher with a prototype build for the position. He has a filled-out and strong, 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame. O’Connell doesn’t have super loud tools, but he does a lot of things well on both sides of the ball. He has a strong track record of making contact with an extra-high handset in his setup that leads into a steep—sometimes overly steep—bat path. O’Connell can get pull-happy with his swing at times, but with some tweaks could easily be the sort of player who hits for both average and pull-side power. Defensively, O’Connell looks the part. He’s a reliable receiver with strong, confident hands and quick actions on his throws to second base. He has better quickness and footwork than pure arm strength, but his rapid exchange and anticipation leads to above-average and plus pop times either way. O’Connell needs to get a bit more consistent with his blocking and lateral mobility, but there’s nothing he does currently that makes scouts think he will need to move off the position. He’s committed to Virginia, where he will have an opportunity to boost his draft stock significantly by hitting in the ACC.