Top 5 college hitters in the 2025 MLB Draft class
Jace Laviolette, OF, Texas A&M
Age: 21 (12/04/2003)
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.
2. Aiva Arquette, 2B/SS, Oregon State
Age: 21 (10/17/2003)
Height/Weight: 6’5” 220lbs
Year: Junior
Our second college bat is Aiva Arquette, a junior out of Oregon State. Arquette transferred to OSU following an impressive sophomore campaign for the University of Washington in which he posted a .325/.384/.574 slash line for the Huskies. Arquette was actually an 18th round pick out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but opted to play in college.
Arquette is one of the better all-around talents in this year’s draft as there isn’t much weakness in any area for the middle infielder. The hit tool and raw power are both plus tools and have also seemed to play up a bit thus far in 2025 as Arquette has already hit three home runs in his 34 plate appearances and has gotten on base at a .559 clip. He hits the ball hard consistently to all fields and limits strikeouts as he has a 16.7 K% since the start of 2024. Similarly to Laviolette, Arquette is a very physical athlete which makes generating power come pretty naturally.
While he played the majority of his games defensively at second base in 2024, Arquette has the makings of a shortstop at the next level. He would certainly be one of the tallest shortstops in professional baseball, but has the range and arm to stick around. He played shortstop in 22 of his 31 games in the Cape Cod League last summer, and has exclusively played shortstop thus far in 2025, seven games into the season. It’s a 55 grade glove and a 60 grade arm.
He isn’t special on the bases by any means as he has only stole 15 bases at the collegiate level, but he’s also not a liability on the bases either. You would hope for some more speed from your shortstop, but the bat does enough on its own.
3. Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina
Age: 20 (07/22/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’1” 210 lbs
Year: Sophomore
The catching market has been my favorite market to follow in the MLB draft, and North Carolina’s Luke Stevenson leads the charge this year. Stevenson is a draft-eligible sophomore and will turn 21 shortly after the draft. Stevenson falls within the top 15 on both MLB Pipeline (#13) and Baseball America’s (#11) draft rankings, and is the leading catcher on both as well.
Stevenson earned Freshman All-America First Team honors last year, which was backed by his .284/.420/.535 slash line and 14 home runs. Stevenson has shown a solid ability to consistently get the ball in the air and possesses a lot of pull side power. He’s a power over hit bat as the hit tool is lagging behind, but does display very good plate discipline. He has below average contact rates, but also rarely chases out of the zone, which lead to 48 walks to his 55 strikeouts in 2024. His very patient approach can sometimes be to his detriment as he is consistently in deep counts, so a more aggressive approach in the zone would bode well for the power hitting catcher.
Defensively, Stevenson is above average across the board. His arm behind the plate is the headline of his defensive skills as it is both strong and accurate, and his plus athleticism for a catcher helps him to log very good pop times. His receiving has improved a lot while his blocking has been a solid part of his defensive presence as well. There’s no reason to believe he can’t stick at the position long term.
Stevenson isn’t going to impress anyone with his speed, but that is the last of his concerns as a dual-threat catcher. Either his bat or his defensive ability will get him plenty of reps at the professional level, and if both click, he certainly can be a full time starter at the big league level.
4. Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona
Age: 21 (11/13/2003)
Height/Weight: 6’3” 195 lbs
Year: Junior
Brendan Summerhill comes in as my second highest ranked college outfield draft prospect following a sophomore campaign in which he earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors and a Cape Cod League All-Star nod. MLB Pipeline ranks Summerhill as the tenth best draft prospect this year, while he sneaks onto Baseball America’s top 25 ranking at number 22.
Summerhill doesn’t possess a single elite tool, but he has plus tools across the board. When you have that, you get an elite ballplayer with a high floor. The 21 year old outfielder posted a .324/.399/.500 slash line last year for the Wildcats and has gotten off to a hot start in 2025 with a .996 OPS over 33 plate appearances. He’s a bit of a hit over power type of hitter with some untapped power in the bat. He deploys a bit more aggressive, swing-happy approach which naturally leads to lower exit velocities. However, he makes a ton of contact and walks nearly as much as he strikes out.
Defensively, Summerhill has experience at all three outfield positions, and displays above average athleticism and arm strength. He split time between center and right in his freshman year, and then split time across all three positions last year while spending the majority of his time in center. He exclusively played center on the Cape over the summer and has now exclusively played right thus far in 2025. It’s obvious that he has not found his home in the outfield yet, but his ability to play each position to an above average level only helps his profile.
While his legs have earned a 55 grade run tool, it has yet to show up on the stat sheet as his career high stolen bases at the college level is only twelve. He’s a plus athlete, so I’m sure teams could lean into that tool at the next level and turn him into a true four to five tool talent.
5. Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee
Age: 20 (04/15/2004)
Height/Weight: 6’3” 218 lbs
Year: Sophomore
Dean Curley is another draft-eligible sophomore, and played a big role on the College World Series winning Tennessee team as a freshman just a year ago. His regular season performance earned him SEC All-Freshman Team honors while his performance in the World Series earned him a spot on the All-Tournament team. Now, in a season in which the Volunteers can certainly repeat, Curley is the top draft prospect on his team.
In his freshman campaign, Curley hit 12 home runs on his way to a .285/.386/.502 slash line. He has been one of the best hitters in college baseball thus far in 2025 as those numbers are now sitting at .385/.556/.731, good for a 1.286 OPS over 36 plate appearances. His bat is very well-rounded as he displays an above average feel to hit and can also use his 6’3” frame to tap into a good amount of power. Curley possesses a good combination of plate discipline and contact skills as he doesn’t chase all to often and swings and misses at about an average rate.
Defensively, there’s not much weakness in Curley’s game. He has a 55 grade glove with a 65 grade arm. While he has the tools to stick at shortstop long term and was just the shortstop on a World Series winning team, he probably fits better as a third baseman simply because of his size. Most shortstops his size typically end up in the outfield or at third base, and because of his elite arm, there’s no reason why he can’t play the hot corner.
As it has become a theme with all five of these players, Curley doesn’t stand out on the base paths, but he’s also not a bad baserunner by any means. He’s athletic enough and possesses enough baseball IQ to provide value on the bases, but likely won’t be a 20+ stolen base type of runner. All in all, this is a bat first shortstop with a lot of defensive upside making him one of the better multi-tool, first round potentials in this year’s draft.
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