This is my sense of who each team will pick, not who I would select. Guys like Cameron Appenzeller didn’t make it in the mock, I expect Tennessee to put the full press on to get him to campus once Schoolcraft gets selected. So, here we go:
First Round
| 1 | Washington Nationals | Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU | Report | Changes at GM make this one a mystery, but Anderson feels like the pick |
| 2 | Los Angeles Angels | Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee | Report | Angels like quick moving college players, there is some question about rotaion vs. bullpen long term, but Doyle can pitch in their pen today. |
| 3 | Seattle Mariners | Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (CA) | Report | Best player on my board, scouts in Seattle love him, great fit. |
| 4 | Colorado Rockies | Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater (OK) | Report | Legacy player as dad Matt Holliday was a star here, plus many have Ethan at the top of their boards |
| 5 | St. Louis Cardinals | Eli Willits, FortCobb-Broxton (OK) | Report | Likely to be the youngest player selected, ton of projection, should stick at short. |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State | Report | Pirates need bats that can help their big league club soon, Arquette is that guy. |
| 7 | Miami Marlins | Billy Carlson, SS, Corona (CA) | Report | Best defensive player in the draft, maybe the best defensive HS shorstop we have see, and has started to answer questions surrounding the hit tool. |
| 8 | Toronto Blue Jays | Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State | Report | A team that could use arms in the near future, Arnold isn’t just a need pick, he was a real 1-1 candidate for a good chunk of the year. |
| 9 | Cincinnati Reds | Ike Irish, C/OF, Auburn | Report | Wouldn’t be surprised if they go pitching here, but they are going to go best available, and my sense is Irish would be the top of their boad at this point even if he is much further down my board. |
| 10 | Chicago White Sox | JoJo Parker, SS, Purvis (MS) | Report | Sense is the White Sox will go prep here, more specifically prep shortsop, so I expect it to be Carlson if he falls or JoJo. Only JoJo is on the board here, so easy choice for them. |
| 11 | Athletics | Tyler Bremner, RHP, UCSB | Report | Don’t let the “slide” fool you, while he did not have the start of the year the sumer had us expecting, there is incredible polish here and Bremner could easily see himself in the rotation early next year. |
| 12 | Texas Rangers | Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas | Report | Woudln’t be surprised to see them go Witherspoon here, but every sense is they are going bat. While I have three prep bats ahead of him, this is predicting what they do and my sense is Aloy is their highest ranked bat here. |
| 13 | San Francisco Giants | Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma | Report | The Giants would certainly be celebrating if the board falls this way, a widely thought of top 10 guy falling to them makes it an easy choice. |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Rays | Steele Hall, SS, Hewitt-Trussville (AL) | Report | The second reclass from 2026 off my board, the other being Willits, Hall was well thought of when he reclassified in the Fall, but he has an incredible year and has been rising ever since. |
| 15 | Boston Red Sox | Gavin Kilen, 2B, Tennessee | Report | They drafted him coming our of HS but Kilen chose to go to Louisville before transferring to Tennessee. He made a good choice, Red Sox still get their guy, just at a higher dollar value. |
| 16 | Minnesota Twins | Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona | Report | I was 50/50 between Summerhill and Houston here, but ultimately I am hearing a little more Summerhill and slot him to the Twins. |
| 17 | Chicago Cubs | Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M | Report | The favorite to go number one at the beginning of the year, LaViolette has fallen down boards, but the upside and pure power makes it a risk worth taking for the Cubs. |
| 18 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson (TX) | Report | There is a ton of talk of Cunningham falling, which makes no sense to be as he is the best pure hit tool in the draft, and the D-Backs have had success with prep bats in recent years. |
| 19 | Baltimore Orioles | Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana | Report | One of the better hit/power combos in the draft, a guy with an established college track record but with defensive question marks. The O’s have quality CF options, so a LF only guy is ok given the bat. |
| 20 | Milwaukee Brewers | Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest | Report | I expect the Brewers to go college bat here and aim to go a little under slot while targetting an upside prep arm at their second pick, foreshadowing here, and they love shortstops. No better college defender at the position than Houston. |
| 21 | Houston Astros | Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon (WA) | Report | The number of different names I have heard thrown out here is insane, meaning it is the first pick I really don’t have much of a feel for. The massive power here just seems too good to pass up for the Astros. |
| 22 | Atlanta Braves | Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas | Report | I have been hearing college arms here and I believe the top college arm at this point is Wood. |
| 23 | Kansas City Royals | Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP, Sunset (OR) | Report | A big lefty with feel to spin and plenty of projection left. Royals likely sprint to get this pick in. |
| 24 | Detroit Tigers | Daniel Pierce, SS, Miill Creek (GA) | Report | Pierce was option two for many teams in the the teens, but the board just didn’t fall his way in this exercise. I expect the Tigers to go with a prep bat, this feels like the right one for them. |
| 25 | San Diego Padres | Slater de Brun, OF, Summit (OR) | Report | Death, taxes, and the Padres going prep for their first pick. They have the third lowest bonus pool so they need to make a swing, with some hope of an underslot deal with plenty of upside, not sure how much underslot they can go here, but the upside fits. |
| 26 | Philadelphia Phillies | Gavin Fien, 3B, Great Oak (CA) | Report | A player with big time hit/power tools, there are some unorthodox aspects to his swing, but there is no arguing with the results. |
| 27 | Cleveland Guardians | Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina | Report | Best hit tool in the college crop, one of the best receivers to come out in a few years, switch hitting catcher. All pros, the cons? Lacks power projection, arm is fringy (but accurate). |
PPI Pick
| 28 | Kansas City Royals | Josh Hammond, SS, Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) | Report | Yes, I am removing the RHP here as he will be selected as a shorstop. Is his future there? In another org, possibly, but the Royals have a guy named Bobby Witt Jr. (his ROY the reason they have this pick coincidentally) so Hammond will likely move to third in time. |
Compensatory Round
| 29 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Andrew Fischer, 1B, Tennessee | Report | They went prep bat with their first pick, now a college bat who could be a quick mover. |
| 30 | Baltimore Orioles | Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest | Report | Conrad is a guy who woulda been a first rounder had he not missed much of the season due to injury, value for the Orioles here. |
| 31 | Baltimore Orioles | Sean Gamble, UTIL, IMG Academy (FL) | Report | Where he will play is a question, but Gamble can hit. I considered him all the way up at 19, they certainly wouldn’t complain to see him fall here. |
| 32 | Milwaukee Brewers | Jack Bauer, LHP, Lincoln-Way East (IL) | Report | The hardest fastball ever recorded by a prep lefty, 102, a big spin slider, ease mechanics and projection left. AKA an ideal Brewers guy. |
Competitive Balance Round A
| 33 | Boston Red Sox | Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina | Report | They traded away their catcher of the future to get Garrett Crochet, Stevenson is a quality defender with plenty of pop, although there are hit tool questions. |
| 34 | Detroit Tigers | Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson | Report | Ridiculous athlete and arguably the best defensive outfielder in the class. I think there is more pop here than most, a 1-1 candidate after his freshman season. |
| 35 | Seattle Mariners | Brady Ebel, SS, Corona (CA) | Report | Nobody has more money to spend in the draft than the Mariners, so I expect them to take some swings. This is more of a safe pick, but it would mean the first two picks are HS teammates. |
| 36 | Minnesota Twins | Zach Root, LHP, Arkansas | Report | He is in a decent sized grouping of college arms all similarly thought of, but he is the top of that group. |
| 37 | Baltimore Orioles | Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Corinth Holders (NC) | Report | The Orioles just got this pick from the Rays on Thursday, I expect it to be an arm, and the extra bonus pool money screams prep arm. McKenzie offers them plenty of upside here. |
| 38 | New York Mets | Anthony Eyanson, RHP, LSU | Report | With their first pick coming all the way down at 38 and the second lowest bonus pool, they need to get a win here. Eyanson is polished and has a high floor, making him a good fit |
| 39 | New York Yankees | Brandon Compton, OF, Arizona State | Report | The only team with a lower bonus pool than the Mets is the cross town Yankees. Unlike the Mets, I expect the Yanks to take a swing, so why not get a guy with a big swing. High risk high reward here. |
| 40 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Cam Leiter, RHP, Florida State | Report | I would not love the pick, last thing the Dodgers need is another injury prone arm, but Leiter. has some of the best pure stuff in the class and could represent a massive value here. |
| 41 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Quentin Young, 3B, Oaks Christian (CA) | Report | Don’t be shocked to hear him actually announced as a shortstop, Young hasa cannon of an arm and a ridiculous raw power. The upside is too good for the Dodgers to pass up here. |
| 42 | Tampa Bay Rays | AJ Russell, RHP, Tennessee | Report | Yes, there is injury risk here and a good chance he is purely a reliever, but the fastball metrics are unlike anyone in the class and a perfect fit for the Rays. |
| 43 | Miami Marlins | Angel Cervantes, RHP, Warren (CA) | Report | The Marlins have had plenty of success with prep arms, Cervantes has the upside of still being 17 on draft day with the polish that gives him better pitchability than most college arms. |
Shaun Kernahan is the founder and lead writer of Three Quarter Slot, where he blends scouting precision with a storyteller’s eye for the human side of the game. Based in Parker, Colorado, he has covered baseball prospects at every level since 2013, delivering in-depth evaluations, draft analysis, and developmental insight. Over the years, he has built Three Quarter Slot into a trusted home for thoughtful prospect coverage, detailed scouting reports, and a grounded look at how talent evolves
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