Age: 21 (12/04/2003)

Birthplace: Pensacola, FL

High School: Tompkins HS - Katy, TX

Height/Weight: 6’6” 230 lbs

Year: Junior

Jace Laviolette is the pretty clear frontrunner for college bats in this draft and has a real shot at going first overall this July. The big, left hand hitting slugger is the number one ranked collegiate draft prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline at the moment.

Laviolette is coming off of a very strong sophomore campaign in which he posted a slash line of .305/.449/.726, good for a 1.175 OPS and First Team All-SEC honors. Laviolette possesses some of the best raw power in the draft (65 grade), which is highlighted by the 50 home runs he has hit in his first two seasons at Texas A&M. He already has three more thus far in 2025 in just 32 plate appearances. He’s obviously a physical specimen, standing in at 6’6” and 230 pounds, which is why he’s able to access so much power.

The concern for Laviolette is the hit tool as he does have some swing and miss in his game, but it isn’t enough of a glaring weakness to lead people to believe he can’t tap into his power at the next level. He strikes out at an above average rate, but his patient approach does allow him to draw enough walks to combat the strikeouts. It’s your pretty typical high-end power profile coming out of college.

Defensively, Laviolette has moved to center field, but projects as a right fielder long term. Despite his size, he moves very well and can get around in center. But because of the size, it’s unlikely he does it for a long time. He has a plus arm that will serve well in right field and may still have some defensive upside in center field later on in his career to plug in if needed (think Aaron Judge). He’s a plus runner as well, which was highlighted by his 18 steals to four caught stealings in his freshman year, but as is with the defense, I wouldn’t expect him to be an elite baserunner at the next level. I’d imagine his ceiling would be 15-20 steals in the big leagues.