Scouting Buzz On Jace LaViolette, Cam Cannarella & 26 More 2025 MLB Draft Hitters

Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M (No. 1) 

.281/.500/.594, 3 HR, 1 2B, 28.3 BB%, 30.4 K%

LaViolette’s No. 1 status on the board is slipping. Scouts have noted he looks less athletic than he did a year ago with worse run times than he’s previously clocked, while his swing-and-miss tendencies haven’t improved. Through his first nine games, LaViolette owns a 38% miss rate. That mark is greater than his 2023-24 miss rate of 29%, and he hasn’t yet gotten into the meat of the schedule. He’s one of just two top-100 ranked college hitters with a strikeout rate north of 30%. 

Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson (No. 6) 

.297/.435/.459, 0 HR, 4 2B, 23.9 K%, 15.2 BB%

Primarily hitting out of the three hole for Clemson this year, Cannarella has shown a bit more swing-and-miss than scouts are accustomed to seeing from him. He owns a 23.9% strikeout rate through 10 games, which is much higher than the 13-16% rate he posted in 2023-24. In his first two seasons with Clemson, Cannarella had an 84% overall contact rate and 92% in-zone contact rate. This season, he owns a 74% overall contact rate and 84% in-zone contact rate.

Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina (No. 11) 

.293/.473/.537, 3 HR, 1 2B, 25.5 BB%, 21.8K%

Stevenson showed solid plate discipline and patience as a freshman in 2024 when he swung the bat 40% of the time and walked at a strong 17.8% clip. Now the focal point of UNC’s offense in the three or two spots of the lineup, Stevenson is seeing fewer strikes than he did a year ago. His strike rate has gone from 56% in 2024 to 49% so far in 2025. Instead of chasing more frequently to do damage, Stevenson has cut his swing rate 10 points to 30% and is chasing out of the zone even less frequently than 2025—which has led to walks in a quarter of his plate appearances so far. 

Ike Irish, C, Auburn (No. 12) 

.304/.411/.413, 1 HR, 0 2B, 12.5 BB%, 16.1 K%

Irish looks like his usual self at the plate, and, in particular, he has done a nice job driving the ball to the opposite field left-center gap. He doesn’t have the sort of extra-base production that many of his peers do just yet, but the swing looks loose, easy and powerful. So far this spring, he’s not been the team’s everyday catcher, instead splitting time behind the dish and in right field.

Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee (No. 14) 

.359/.510/.667, 4 HR, 0 2B, 21.6 BB%, 11.8 K%

Curley has had a tremendous start to the season and is powering a Tennessee lineup that’s one of the best in the country from the leadoff spot. While scouts continue to wonder if he might be better off at second or third in pro ball, many still view him as the top college shortstop in the class. He’s pushing top-10 overall consideration thanks to a well-rounded offensive profile that features tons of contact, power and plate discipline. 

Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana (No. 15) 

.367/.492/.816, 5 HR, 3 2B, 20.6 BB%, 14.3 K%

Taylor posted back-to-back 1.000+ OPS seasons with Indiana that featured 16 or more homers. He looks well on his way to a third season matching those marks and has five home runs in just the first 12 games. Taylor played center field on Sunday against The Mount, but played left field in each of the 11 games before that while hitting either first or second in the lineup. 

Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina (No. 18) 

.347/.429/.490, 2 HR, 1 2B, 7.1 BB%, 14.3 K%

Bodine has hit over .300 in two full seasons with Coastal Carolina and boasts some of the best pure contact skills in the class. Those have been on display early this spring, though his current 14.3% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate are worse than his career norms. One interesting note for Bodine is that he’s consistently been a more patient and selective hitter from the left side compared to the right. That has remained the case early this spring as well. Bodine will face North Carolina and Luke Stevenson on Tuesday in a midweek matchup that features two of the top three catchers in the class.

Nick Dumesnil, OF, California Baptist (No. 19) 

.333/.421/.583, 2 HR, 6 2B, 10.5 BB%, 19.3 K%

The fact that Dumesnil is an everyday center fielder could be a separator for him when compared with some of the other college outfielders around him on the draft board. He’s been aggressive with his swing decisions early this spring, but the performance has followed with a 1.004 OPS, two home runs and six doubles. 

Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest (No. 20) 

.420/.524/.800, 5 HR, 4 2B, 19.0 BB%, 9.5 K%

Houston’s physicality and increased power was an immediate takeaway from the start of college season. He should break his single-season home run high of eight in the near future and currently leads all Wake regulars with a 1.324 OPS while playing a great defensive shortstop. 

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas (No. 21) 

.341/.481/.634, 3 HR, 3 2B, 11.5 BB%, 11.5 K%

Aloy has shown a much more patient and selective approach early in the 2025 season. He’s walked as much as he’s struck out, and his 11.5% strikeout rate is a much lower rate than he managed in 2023 with Sacramento State (16.9%) and in 2024 with Arkansas (20.1%). In 2023-24, he owned a 35% chase rate and 28% miss rate. Through 11 games in 2025, those rates has dropped to 28% and 19%, respectively.

Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona  (No. 22) 

.348/.434/.565, 1 HR, 1 2B, 13.2 BB%, 17.0 K%

Summerhill showed a balanced offensive approach during the first week of the season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. He’s gotten a hit in nine of his first 11 games and is currently making contact at a strong 87% clip. Through the 2023-24 seasons, he managed an 82% overall contact rate.

Nolan Schubart, OF, Oklahoma State (No. 25) 

.361/.500/.500, 1 HR, 2 2B, 21.3 BB%, 27.7 K%

Schubart’s 2025 season is remarkably similar to his first two seasons with Oklahoma State from a pitch selection and contact perspective. While he’s still reasonably selective and takes his walks, he also has a 36% overall miss rate that’s high, but in line with his career norms. However, it took him 10 games to tally his first home run of the season. In 2024, he hit three homers in his first 10 games, and in 2023 he hit four in his first 10 games.  

Ethan Petry, OF, South Carolina (No. 27) 

.415/.538/.756, 3 HR, 3 2B, 15.4 BB%, 11.5 K%

Petry has been red hot to start the season and leads South Carolina with a 1.295 OPS. He has hits in 11 of his first 12 games and so far has shown better contact skills than his first two college seasons. In particular, he’s putting the barrel on fastballs. His 94% contact rate vs. fastballs through his first 11 games is a marked improvement on his 73% fastball contact rate in 2023-24. We’ll keep an eye on that number through SEC play when the fastball velocities begin to heat up. 

Henry Ford, OF/1B, Virginia (No. 28) 

.350/.357/.425, 0 HR, 3 2B, 2.4 BB%, 9.5 K%

Ford was an aggressive hitter as a freshman in 2024 when he swung the bat half the time and walked at just a 10% clip. He’s been even more aggressive in the early going of the 2025 season with a 53% swing rate and just a single walk in 42 plate appearances. He’s been happy to expand the zone on fastballs up and breaking balls down and away and will do so even in hitter’s counts. Ford does have three doubles but is still waiting on his first home run of the season. An everyday first baseman in 2024, Ford has been playing right field this spring and first base when two-way player Chris Arroyo is on the mound. 

Brandon Compton, OF, Arizona State (No. 29) 

.308/.482/.590, 2 HR, 5 2B, 26.8 BB%, 17.9 K%

Compton has been a frequent up-arrow name in the scouting community this spring and seems to fit closer to the middle of the first round than his current ranking suggests. He improved his approach last summer on the Cape, and that’s carried over to his first 12 games this spring, as fewer chases and more contact has led to markedly improved strikeout and walk rates.

Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest (No. 35) 

.333/.475/.646, 3 HR, 6 2B, 19.4 BB%, 12.9 K%

Conrad has seamlessly transitioned from Marist into the three-hole for Wake Forest and is hitting for average, getting on base at a strong clip and hitting for power, with nine extra-base hits in his first 13 games. Conrad’s physicality and athleticism are exciting for many teams, and if he keeps this sort of production going throughout ACC play, he feels like a safe bet to go in the first round. 

Henry Godbout, 2B, Virginia (No. 36) 

.325/.413/.375, 0 HR, 2 2B, 10.4 BB%, 8.3 K%

One of the better pure hitters in the college class, Godbout has hit for average and minimized his strikeouts early this season, but he hasn’t hit for much impact. He has just two extra-base hits in his first 10 games and both are doubles—one of which was a misplayed routine fly ball that should have been an out. The majority of Godbout’s contact so far have been sharp ground balls and low line drives up the middle. He has a 92% overall contact rate with just one fastball whiff on 49 swings. 

Murf Gray, 3B, Fresno State (No. 37) 

.256/.347/.372, 1 HR, 2 2B, 8.2 BB%, 8.2 K%

Gray’s approach has held him back throughout his college career and early in 2025 it seems like it’s more of the same. He’s been far too aggressive on his swing decisions early in the season without the Jac Caglianone-esque contact ability to make that approach work. His 41% chase rate means pitchers don’t need to compete in the zone to get him out right now. 

Tre Phelps, OF, Georgia (No. 39) 

.296/.426/.500, 3 HR, 2 2B, 13.2 BB%, 17.6 K%

Expected to be the main event in Georgia’s lineup this spring in the absence of Charlie Condon and Corey Collins, Phelps started the season in the three-hole but has slid down in the lineup in recent games. He’s played right field, left field, first base, third base and DH, and his defensive profile questions mean he’ll need to start mashing to get into the first round. He’s trending more towards the second currently. 

Mason White, SS, Arizona (No. 43) 

.256/.333/.535, 3 HR, 3 2B, 8.3 BB%, 37.5 K%

White’s 37.5% strikeout rate is the most egregious of our currently ranked top-100 college hitters. Sliders have been worse than kryptonite against him. Through his first nine, games he’s swung at 20 sliders and missed on 14 of them—a 70% miss rate.

Max Belyeu, OF, Texas (No. 46) 

.477/.540/.750, 2 HR, 6 2B, 10.0 BB%, 16.0 K%

Belyeu has looked to swing the bat early and often this season. He’s swinging 50% of the time and chasing on pitches out of the zone at a 32% clip. His aggressive approach has worked to the tune of a .477 average with two home runs and six doubles. Through 10 games, he has a 1.394 OPS on pitches in the strike zone and a 1.083 OPS on pitches out of the strike zone. 

Andrew Fischer, 1B/3B, Tennessee (No. 48) 

.267/.542/.533, 2 HR, 2 2B, 31.3 BB%, 10.4 K%

There was some thought that Fischer could take over the hot corner for Billy Amick this offseason, but he has primarily played first base on a Tennessee team loaded with more athletic infielders. He’s been extraordinarily patient at the plate in his first 11 games, rarely expanding the zone, swinging only about a third of the time and walking at a 31.3% clip because of it. When he does swing, Fischer can drive the ball hard and in the air down the right-field line. 

Trent Caraway, 3B, Oregon State (No. 51) 

.386/.440/.500, 0 HR, 5 2B, 8.0 BB%, 24.0 K%

Caraway is a leadoff hitter who makes life uncomfortable for pitchers. He’s aggressive, will expand the zone early in the count and has the contact ability to make that approach work—which is what he’s done early in the season. Caraway has sprayed the ball all around the field through his first 10 games. He’s already tallied a trio of three-hit games and is riding a 10-game hitting streak. 

Gavin Turley, OF, Oregon State (No. 62) 

.297/.413/.541, 3 HR, 0 2B, 15.2 BB%, 28.3 K%

The early book on Turley: Don’t throw him fastballs. Against heaters, Turley is hitting .368/.480/.842 with all three of his home runs. Against all other pitch types, he’s slashing just .222/.333/.222 with a 49% miss rate. He’s already seeing fastballs at just a 47% clip, and if he doesn’t make some adjustments, I’d expect that number to fall further. 

Tanner Thach, 1B, UNCW (No. 63) 

.265/.321/.388, 2 HR, 0 2B, 5.7 BB%, 24.5 K%

Thach has a .324 BABIP through his first 12 games of the season, but has seen his strikeout rate jump from the 17-19% range to a 24.5% clip, leading to just a .265 average overall. He has a 13:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Daniel Dickinson, 2B, LSU (No. 69) 

.366/.519/.683, 3 HR, 4 2B, 10.7 BB%, 7.1 K%

Dickinson ranked behind only Aiva Arquette on our 2024 transfer portal rankings. After mashing for Utah Valley for two seasons, he’s looked right at home in the middle of LSU’s lineup. He leads the Tigers with three home runs in 12 games and is third behind Derek Curiel and Jared Jones with a .366 average.

Easton Carmichael, C, Oklahoma (No. 81) 

.275/.400/.675, 3 HR, 3 2B, 16.0 BB%, 16.0 K%

Carmichael is hitting for plenty of impact early in the 2025 season. He already has eight extra-base hits in 11 games, including three home runs, which is tied for the most of any Sooners hitter and already nearly halfway to his 2024 total of seven. His thump has come with some miss tendencies that aren’t fully captured in a solid 16% strikeout rate, but overall, he’s looked good in the box. 

Max Williams, OF, Florida State (No. 95)

.279/.367/.512, 3 HR, 1 2B, 6.1 BB%, 12.2 K%

The No. 3 hitter and center fielder for an undefeated Florida State team, Williams has performed at a reasonable clip thanks to his pullside power and three home runs. He’s a pull-oriented hitter and has always shown an extremely-aggressive approach in college. That’s been no different early in 2025. His 41% chase rate is among the most aggressive of currently ranked top-100 bats, and he continues to show real questions with his ability to recognize and hold back on secondaries out of the zone.