Top 5 college pitchers in the 2025 MLB Draft class
Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State
Age: 20 (03/21/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’1” 188 lbs
Year: Junior
At the top of my list is Jamie Arnold, the funky lefty out of Florida State. Arnold is coming off of a strong sophomore campaign in which he earned First Team All-ACC and First Team All-American honors by multiple outlets. 2024 was Arnold’s first season as a full time starter as he worked as both a starter and a reliever as a freshman in 2023. In his 105.2 innings of work last year, he posted a 2.98 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 29.6 K-BB%, proving not only that he can handle a bigger workload, but that he also has the attributes of a valuable starting pitcher.
Arnold features a three pitch mix, and all three pitches are plus offerings. He throws a four-seam fastball, slider, and a changeup. His fastball and slider are both 60 grade pitches, while his changeup is a 50 grade pitch.
Although it’s a 60 grade offering, his fastball isn’t overpowering by any means. It’s the characteristics of the pitch that make it unique. It sits around 93 mph and tops out at 96 mph, which is still above average at the college level, but doesn’t compare with the top pitching prospects from last year’s draft such as Chase Burns and Hagen Smith who were pumping triple digits at times. However, Arnold has a deceptive delivery and comes from a lower release point which produces a -4.4 VAA (vertical approach angle). Because of his arm slot, the pitch comes in at a much flatter angle, making it difficult for opposing hitters to get the bat on plane with the pitch. On top of that, it also has a ton of arm-side run, producing 16.8 inches of horizontal break. For reference, the MLB average horizontal break on four-seam fastballs in 2024 was 7.7 inches and only seven pitchers had more movement on their fastballs than Arnold.
He uses his slider roughly the same amount as his fastball and it comes in anywhere from 83 to 86 mph. It’s less of a traditional slider and more like a sweeper, producing a minimal amount of vertical break and a lot of horizontal break (-13.8), which is a nightmare specifically for left handed hitters. He consistently gets whiffs at nearly a 50% clip on the pitch.
Although the changeup is just a 50 grade offering, it is quite the outlier in terms of characteristics. It comes in nearly at the same speed as the slider, so roughly 10 mph off the fastball as is usually the goal, but produces way more drop than your typical changeup. It has -8.5 inches of vertical break compared to the MLB average of 5.3. With the arm-side run, it almost works as a curveball moving in the opposite direction, which certainly serves as an equalizer for right handed batters. He has used a sinker as well, but it doesn’t get too much separation off the fastball. However, it can be developed into a solid bridge between the fastball and changeup.
Paired with his control and command that yielded just a 5.8 BB% in 2024, his unique arsenal and ability to handle longer outings makes Arnold the best college pitching prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft class. He couldn't have asked for a better start to his junior campaign thus far as he has thrown 11 scoreless innings while allowing just three baserunners.
2. Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
Age: 20 (04/20/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’2” 190 lbs
Year: Junior
Coming in right behind Jamie Arnold is Tyler Bremner - UC Santa Barbara’s newest ace after his recent transition to full time starting. Similar to Jamie Arnold’s freshman year, Bremner logged appearances both as a starter and a reliever during his sophomore campaign. Between 2023 and 2024, 17 of Bremner’s 36 appearances came as a starter. Now in 2025, Bremner has transitioned to starting full time in hopes of being the first pitcher off the board this July.
In his 88.2 innings last year, Bremner posted a 2.54 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 24.1 K-BB% on his way to a First Team All-Big West selection. In his first two starts in 2025, he only threw six total innings as he was being ramped up, but just recently threw a season-high seven innings in his most recent start. His adjustment into a bigger workload throughout the season might be the biggest focal point for Bremner as nearly everything else checks out on the 20 year old right hander.
He has a pretty repeatable delivery with a more conventional arm slot, and creates a lot of power downhill with a big leg kick. At 6’2” 190 pounds, there’s reason to believe he can add more power to his current frame.
Bremner features a four pitch mix - a four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, and a sweeper. His fastball has a ton of life and is currently sitting anywhere from 95 to 97 mph and has topped out at 99 mph. It has plenty of vertical break and arm-side run, averaging 16.8 inches of IVB and 12.4 inches of HB. It’s a 65 grade offering as it gets a ton of success, yielding plenty of called strikes and whiffs.
His changeup is his other 65 grade offering and is arguably his best pitch as it plays off of his fastball very well and is thrown in any situation to both right handed and left handed hitters. It gets a lot of induced vertical break as well as arm side run, almost mimicking a typical two-seam fastball, but it comes in 13 mph slower than his four-seamer, averaging 83.1 mph. There isn’t anything quite like it in baseball, let alone just the college level.
Bremner’s combination of his slider and sweeper really completes his arsenal. His slider is more of a gyro slider and pairs well with his sweeper as both are sort of on the opposite sides of the “slider-spectrum.” The sweeper of course has a ton of glove side break while the slider has more depth than anything. It’s certainly a plus arsenal with room to add as he has also played with a sinker and primarily uses just his fastball, changeup, and slider.
If not for Arnold’s early dominance thus far in 2025 and the uncertainty around Bremner’s durability, Bremner could definitely be the definitive top pitcher in this class. A whole lot can change between now and July, and I expect Bremner to stick around in this conversation.
3. Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma
Age: 20 (08/12/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’2” 206 lbs
Year: Junior
Kyson Witherspoon comes in as my third best college pitching prospect in this year’s coming draft as he’s also ranked 26th overall by MLB Pipeline. The 6’2” right hander kicked off his college career with an impressive freshman year at Northwest Florida State before transferring to Oklahoma for his sophomore season. Witherspoon is another guy that worked both in the bullpen and in the rotation in 2024, logging 11 starts as a starter in his 17 total appearances. In his 80 innings last year, Witherspoon posted a 3.71 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a 14.0 K-BB%. The numbers don’t pop off the page by any means, but the tools that Witherspoon brings to the table are what makes him a potential first round pick in July.
Witherspoon is a very projectable athlete that moves very comfortably on the mound, generating upper-end velocity without too much effort. He has seemed to simplify his delivery over the past two seasons into a much more compact operation with minimal arm action.
Witherspoon features a three pitch mix, primarily focusing on his four-seam fastball and slider. He can run his fastball up as high as 99 mph while it typically averages 96 mph. It gets a ton of life through the zone, averaging nearly 20 inches of IVB and a -4.5 VAA. His command and control have been his biggest weakness, so if he can develop that aspect of his game, his fastball can be a truly elite offering. He has already shown some improvement in that department, with the fastball yielding a 69.4 zone% in a recent seven inning outing.
His slider is his go-to secondary, but what makes it unique is his ability to manipulate its shape, turning it into a cutter at times. His main slider, along with his fastball, is a 60 grade offering, which he throws in the mid-80s. When he throws it with a cutter shape, he runs it up closer to the low-90s with more ride and nearly the same amount of horizontal break (-5.0) as the traditional slider (-5.9). The slider is his put-away pitch while the cutter is more of an equalizer and a pitch that misses barrels.
His changeup is a work in progress as it’s only a 45 grade offering, but he seems to be working on a sinker that he has flashed a few times in recent starts. Another arm side pitch to complement his fastball would really complete his arsenal as his fastball is definitely more of a north-south pitch than an east-west pitch. Such pitch types work well to keep left handed sluggers in check.
Although the command has been the biggest question mark surrounding Witherspoon’s profile entering the season, he has seemingly made strides in that department, walking just three batters over his 18 innings of work in his three starts thus far. His BB% has dipped all the way down to 4.4%, while he has struck out 28 of the 68 batters he has faced, yielding a 41.2 K% which is good for a 36.8 K-BB% - well over double his number from 2024. With all that being said, Witherspoon appears to be a big league starter in the making and has the potential to be the best college pitching prospect in the draft by the end of the college season.
4. Chase Shores, RHP, LSU
Age: (05/21/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’8” 245 lbs
Year: Junior
If it’s worth anything, Chase Shores is certainly the most imposing figure on this list, standing in at 6’8” and 245 pounds. He’s also a risky selection at the moment, having just come off of Tommy John surgery. Shores’s freshman year was cut short due to the injury after he delivered just 18.1 innings over four starts and seven total appearances. He showed a lot of promise early on, posting a 1.96 ERA. Prior to making it to campus at LSU, Shores was the top high school pitching prospect in his home state of Texas in 2022. Now as a junior, Shores has returned to the mound in hopes of being a day-one selection in the draft this July.
Despite the injury, Shores has seemingly picked right back up where he left off as a freshman in 2023. He’s thrown ten innings over two starts thus far in 2025, and has allowed just one run along the way with 13 strikeouts and just two walks - good for a 29.7 K-BB%. He now has a total of just 28.1 innings of college ball under his belt at this point, so workload will definitely be the biggest question mark for Shores for the remainder of the season.
What makes Shores special is his fastball/slider combination. His fastball is one of the best in college baseball as it has received a 70 grade, but believe it or not, it has room to improve further. The velocity on the pitch is what makes it great as he has ran it up as high as 100 mph, and averages anywhere between 95 to 98 mph. Shores comes from a three quarters arm slot, and paired with his natural above-average extension due to his height, the fastball plays up without the elite velocity. It has room to improve because of its shape as it doesn’t produce much IVB or HB. However, there was a similar draft prospect a few years ago that had the same concerns about his fastball - that pitcher just happened to be fellow LSU Tiger, Paul Skenes.
The slider is a 55 grade offering but has definitely played up thus far in 2025 as it has yielded great results. It works in the mid-80s and has a lot of sweeping action and depth. In his first outing of the season, it produced whiffs at a 71.4% rate. I believe he would benefit from the pitch even more if he brought it’s usage% to the same level of his fastball. He currently is throwing his fastball roughly 60% of the time while his slider comes in about 25% of the time. Throwing both pitches about 40% of the time while flashing an arm side pitch would definitely make hitting off of Shores much more of a challenge.
Similar to Witherspoon, Shores is working on a sinker and changeup as his other secondary pitch. The sinker comes in just a tick slower than his fastball, while the changeup sits in the upper-80s and produces nearly 20 inches of HB at times. Both can certainly be plus pitches with more refinement.
The stuff for Shores is without a doubt first round stuff, and if he seems to adjust to a starter’s workload coming off of Tommy John surgery, his name is definitely one that can be called pretty early on in this year’s draft.
5. AJ Russell, RHP, Tennessee
Age: 20 (06/29/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’6” 223 lbs
Year: Junior
AJ Russell is another recent victim of Tommy John surgery but surprisingly made a very quick return to action compared to the typical 12-18 moth rehab and recovery period. The last pitch he threw before hitting the injured list came on May 26, 2024 and he just made his return in a one inning stint on February 25th. He seemingly picked up right where he left off as well, striking out all three batters he faced.
Russell burst onto the scene in 2023 as a freshman where he posted a dominant 0.89 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, and a 38.1 K-BB% over 30.1 innings exclusively as a reliever. That performance leveraged Russell into a starting role prior to the injury in his sophomore season.
There isn’t a whole lot of recent data on Russell due to him having only logged one inning of work thus far, but what we can gather from the data is that Russell is still one of the nastiest pitchers in college baseball. Despite standing in at 6’6”, Russell has a pretty low release height as he really sinks into his delivery which grants him more access to power through his lower body. Russell also releases the ball from a three quarters arm slot which seems to have become the norm for high profile pitching prospects. I find his delivery to draw a lot of similarities to Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies.
He features a three pitch mix which is primarily headlined by his 70 grade fastball that rivals Chase Shores’s fastball for the best pitch in baseball, and a 60 grade slider. In his brief one inning stint earlier this week, Russell averaged 95 mph on his fastball and topped out at 97 mph. Prior to the injury, he ran it up to 98 mph, so it’s safe to say his velocity has returned. The offering averages 16 inches of IVB and 14 inches of HB, making it a true outlier fastball in terms of movement. Paired with his lower release height and velocity, the VAA on the pitch is -4.1, the best mark among the five pitchers on this list. If he’s consistenly locating it at the top of the zone, it can be a real nightmare for both right handed and left handed hitters.
His slider sits in the mid-80s and reaches the upper-80s from time to time. It’s another high spin pitch and produces more horizontal break than depth. It’s his pitch to induce chases out of the zone, but it finds success in the zone as well.
His changeup is a work in progress, as seems to be the case with multiple pitchers on this list, but his fastball/slider combination may have the type of upside to where he can ditch the changeup and exclusively throw those two pitches. There have been some durability concerns dating back to his freshman year, so if he can’t adjust to a starter’s workload, he certainly has the makings of a back-end, high profile reliever.
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