Written By: Austin Farmer
Follow him on X: @AustinF0421
Follow Prospects Worldwide on X: @ProspectsWorldW
The 2025 MLB Draft has concluded with dozens of prospects out of Texas getting selected. The state produced a lot of college picks, but also had a number of prep players drafted. 46 total prospects were selected this year and the New York Yankees had the most selections out of the state with five.
Both Cleveland and Tampa Bay followed New York with four apiece and both Colorado and Toronto had three each. Baltimore, both Chicago teams, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, San Francisco and St. Louis each drafted a couple apiece. Arizona, Atlanta, Boston, the Angels, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Seattle, Texas and Washington each picked one.
The Yankees made a shocking pick taking former big leaguer Jeff Kent’s son Kaeden with their third round pick. Kent is a good defender and should transition to second base smoothly, and maybe they’re hoping the bat can develop a bit more, but the pick saves them a lot of money. The only other position player they picked was Connor McGinnis out of the University of Houston. McGinnis missed a couple of months of the season, but the pull-side pop is impressive and he can play a good second base.
The first arm they selected was Texas Tech righty Mac Heuer in the eighth round. Heuer stands at a whopping 6’6 265 and boasts a mid-90s heater that’s touched 98 with impressive IVB. He’s also got an above-average slider that can throw hitters off. The Yankees then selected another Red Raider arm in Jack Cebert. Cebert boasts a mid-90s fastball with a breaking ball that can generate some zone expansion and whiff. Their final pick out of Texas was Blinn College righty Hayden Morris. Morris is another giant at 6’7 265 pounds with a mid-90s fastball that generates impressive ride. He pairs it with an above-average slider.
Cleveland follows the Yankees with four picks. They started their draft off with Jace LaViolette, a massive power hitting outfielder who had 1:1 hype entering the 2025 season. His inability to make adjustments to breaking balls and unimproved contact rates caused him to fall into Cleveland’s lap at 27th overall. LaViolette has a Gallo comp as his hit tool lacks, but the power is massive and his athleticism and defense are easy to dream on.
Their next pick out of Texas was another A&M selection in Friday pitcher Ryan Prager. Prager was picked in the third round last year and went to the Guardians in the ninth round this season. His fastball didn’t show any improvement and none of his pitches are really that projectable, but he’s a command guy who can induce some outs.
All of Cleveland’s Texas picks were college guys, as they went with Anthony Silva out of TCU in the 14th round and Zane Petty in the 18th. Silva has a very impressive glove at short, and is a lock to stick at the position, but his bat doesn’t project despite having a great understanding of the zone. Petty pitched some at the Cape this summer and showed an impressive slider there.
Tampa Bay went with four collegiate arms this year out of the state including two Junior College guys. Their first Texas pick was Jacob Kuhn out of Midland College in the seventh round, then went with a Texas Tech arm in Trendan Parish with the 10th round. Luke Jackson of Texas A&M followed Parish with their 11th round pick and Alex Wallace of McLennan CC was their 15th round pick.
Kuhn has sat 93-95 and touched 96 at McLennan and pairs it with a low-80s slider. Kuhn is committed to Texas Tech, but could be a big arm for the Rays. His slider could really turn into something with them. Parish has a bit of funkiness in his delivery, but he’s got promising spin rates with both his heater and slider. His slider has had 3000 RPMs recorded by PBR in the past.
Luke Jackson had entered the portal after finishing his junior campaign with Texas A&M and committed to DBU prior to the draft. His fastball sits 94-96 and he rounds out his arsenal with impressive sliders and changeups. Alex Wallace is another massive right handed arm out of the state standing at 6’9 230 and is signed to play ball at Baylor. The Bears have written that Wallace possesses “polished command.” His mechanics are clean and he owns a low-90s fastball that can play up due to his extension and command.
The Rockies picking Max Belyeu out of the University of Texas in the third round could be a really fun pick. While he struggles against changeups, Belyeu has massive power potential that looked like 25+ home run projection over a full slate. Now that he’s going to the Mile High City that power could now be projectable for 30+ in a season. He’s also good defense in right with an above-average glove.
The Rockies round out their Texas picks with grad student Antoine Jean out of Houston and Brady Parker out of Houston-Victoria. Jean has an impressive slider and was dominant this season for the Cougars. Parker is a D2 pick, so I don’t have information on him. But as a 12th round pick, there could be really good value with this pick.
Toronto had potentially my favorite trio of Texas prospects drafted this year. They started it off with Canadian Micah Bucknam, a DBU arm who’s a great arm with an impressive slider and great athleticism as their fourth round pick. Next, they went with Jared Spencer in the 11th round. Spencer probably would’ve gone much higher had he not missed time this season for the Longhorns. His fastball sits 93-96 and touches 97 while owning a plus slider as well. He’s also learning a changeup, so if the Jays can improve that then he should be a decent mid-rotation arm for them.
Blaine Bullard was the Jays final pick out of Texas this year. He hails from Klein Cain HS in the Houston area and I was convinced he was set on going to Texas A&M, but he had announced that he’s going to sign with the Jays. He’s a plus athlete who’s got very projectable pop at the plate. The Jays getting him in the 12th round could be a really good get for them.
The White Sox went with three picks this year, going with one prepster and a couple of collegiate prospects. Matthew Boughton was their first pick in the 11th round. Boughton comes from Covenant Christian Academy with a bit of raw pop and athleticism. Right now he has a high leg kick that he’ll need to tone down and he can roll on his ankle a little when he plants his foot. If he can fix those, he could be a decent power/speed guy for the Sox.
Rylan Galvan follows in the 13th round out of the University of Texas. Galvan won the Buster Posey Award this year and possesses some raw power at the plate. Caedmon Parker follows Galvan to round out their Texas picks and comes from TCU. He’s got a five pitch mix that includes a fastball that sits at 91-95 and an above-average slider.
Baltimore went the college route out of the state and went with JUCO arm Daniel Lopez and TCU pitcher Braeden Sloan. Lopez is a freshman arm out of Odessa College. His fastball sits 93-96 and has reached 98. He hides the ball well and repeats his mechanics. He’s uncommitted so he should be signing with Baltimore.
Braeden Sloan worked as a long reliever for the Horned Frogs this season and had a strikeout rate of 11.7 K/9 this season. His best pitch is his changeup that possesses a lot of drop to it. He’s gotten a ton of whiff on it and he’s got easy arm action from a ¾ slot. Sloan has also shown the ability to use a submarine delivery at last year’s Cape, so there’s a good chance he could be a really crafty arm out of the pen for the Os.
The Cubs went with a pair of really nice mid-major arms that included Dominick Reid out of Abilene Christian and Riely Hunsaker out of Lamar. Reid’s fastball has reached 95 this season, and his changeup is his best pitch that he uses more as he gets deeper into his outing. There is some starter upside with Reid, and he probably should’ve been higher on my top 20 list.
Riely Hunsaker is an arm out of Lamar who’s got some travel experience. He started his college career at Crowder College in Missouri before heading to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. After a year in Corpus, he entered the portal and found himself with the Cardinals. He possesses a five pitch mix that includes a mid-90s heater. His curve produces over 20 inches of vertical break and 2500+ RPMs. There might be some upside for Hunsaker to stick in a rotation at least through his development.
The Astros took a prep kid and a Longhorn with their two Texans. Elijah Farley hails from Navarro HS who served as a two-way guy for them. He’s been up to 94 on the mound but he’s going to be an outfielder at the next level. At the plate he’s got a quick swing that’s controlled through the zone. Farley is still on the leaner side and looks like he can add another 20 pounds to his frame. If he’s able to do that, it might not be unrealistic to see him hit 20+ home runs over a full season.
Grayson Saunier is a Texas Longhorn prospect who was a bullpen arm for them, but has starter experience being a weekend guy for two seasons at Mississippi before he transferred. His slider sits in the upper-70s and is well north of 2500 RPMs for his spin rate. It will be interesting to see what role he’s developed as for the Astros.
The Royals went with an arm and a smaller infielder out of the state this year. Justin Lamkin doesn’t have anything that’s going to overpower anyone, but he’s got plus command and knows how to get outs. His slider plays very well off of his fastball, and he’s got good deception on the mound.
Tyriq Kemp is an interesting prospect as he’s only 5’7 155 but he’s had a very successful career at Baylor. This past season he had a bit of a surge at the plate and walked more times than he struck out. Defensively, he’s got some flashiness at short and has good range laterally. His arm might get him to shift to second, but he should be an incredible second baseman if he’s moved there.
Miami is the next team that took a pair of Texans this year. They took two college relievers with Kaiden Wilson in the ninth round out of A&M and Carson Laws out of Texas State in the 14th round. Wilson is a lefty who has been up to 97 this year and has a bit of funkiness in his mechanics. Laws sits mid-90s with nearly 20 inches of IVB and while the walk numbers out of relief are very worrisome, he posted an impressive 12.5 K/9.
The Giants took a pair of Texans in the later rounds with Damian Bravo out of Texas Tech in the 15th round and Braydon Risley out of Grayson College in the 19th round. Bravo is a good athlete who’s a plus runner, has 20+ home run potential and has a strong arm in right. His big issue is that he struggles to lay off sliders low and away.
Risley is another JUCO arm with an upper-70s arm with spin rates north of 2500+ RPM. The fastball only tops out at 91, but the changeup is his bread and butter pitch. There’s really good dive that’s late, getting hitters to hit the ball into the dirt. Since the heater is below-average, I wonder if being a 19th rounder entices him to honor his commitment to Campbell.
St. Louis is the last team to take two or more prospects out of Texas this year. They went with a pair of college position players with Michael Dattalo out of DBU in the ninth round and Jalin Flores out of Texas in the 14th round. Dattalo lacks power at the plate, and his hit tool regressed some this year, but he’s got a good eye at the plate and has a plan. He’s able to use the whole field as well.
Jalin Flores was draft eligible last season but went unpicked as a sophomore. While the power at the plate is nice and he’s put up good data in the past, I believe most of his success at the plate has been off of bad pitching, and he’s really going to have to show that he can make adjustments at the plate moving forward. Defensively, I like him at short and think he’s above-average there, but scouts and evaluators seem to be split on whether he shifts to second or stays at short.
The rest of the teams in this recap only picked one Texan. Arizona got the best prospect out of the state in prep MIF Kayson Cunningham. Cunningham by far has the best hit tool of any Texan with the ability to use the entire field. His arm will ultimately be what shifts him away from short, but the glove is good enough that he could stick there through development.
Atlanta went with right Zach Royse out of UTSA. While he lacks command, his fastball sits 92-96 and his slider shows good whiff potential. Don’t let Royse’s surface numbers prevent you from looking into this arm, because he’s very projectable.
Boston’s pick was Myles Patton, an A&M lefty who they spent their seventh round pick on. Patton spent his first two seasons at Long Beach State before he transferred. He’s a really interesting profile because his fastball only tops out at 92 but with incredible life and deception, and he’s got a five pitch mix. Personally I think both his curveball and changeup really need to be ditched, because they don’t project to be anything better than below-average pitches.
The Angels went with prep righty Johnny Slawinski, who is the top prep pitcher out of the state. The heater tops out at 94 and it’s possible that there’s more in the tank. His secondaries are both above-average, and his changeup is definitely a quality one.
Another UTSA Roadrunner arm went to Milwaukee with Braylon Owens in the 10th round. Owens helped his team reach the Super Regionals this year and made noise there. His heater has been up to 96 and his overall arsenal produces good spin rates.
The Twins got a power arm early in day two with DBU’s James Ellwanger in the fourth round. His fastball was consistently in the upper-90s during the season and he reached 100 during the postseason. His slider is also impressive as he can get both whiffs and groundballs with it.
The Phillies went with a really interesting arm out of Baylor with Gabe Craig in the fifth round. Craig is already 24, and he should be a great sign for them at that slot. Craig’s fastball has reached 97 this season, and he had a monster year as the Bear’s closer this year. Normally I am anti stats, but seeing an ERA under 1 while only walking three batters versus 51 strikeouts over 32 innings while keeping his H/9 under 4 is very, very impressive. Minimally Craig should at least reach AA/AAA and could spend a bit of times with a big league club if he hangs around.
Seattle took mid-major catcher Grant Jay out of DBU in the 12th round. Jay’s defense has improved the last 12 months and should be an average catcher. His power is his calling card and he looks like a potential 25+ home run bat. Seattle will really need to work on his immense whiff concerns though for him to really be a big-league caliber player.
In my opinion, the Rangers perhaps got one of the biggest steals in the draft. They took TCU southpaw Ben Abeldt with their fifth round selection. Abeldt would’ve been the number one pitcher on my list this year had he not been injured. His slider has incredible spin rates on it and I personally think he has immense SP upside that could see him be a potential #4 arm in a rotation.
I know this recap has been very, very long as we’ve just covered 45 prospects. The final one will be Wyatt Henseler out of Texas A&M who went to the Nats in the ninth round. Henseler is already 24, so he will most likely just be an org filler at this point but he really knows how to hit. He’s one of the very few bats on this class’s board who I gave a 55 hit. While he’s not a big time masher, he’s got a great approach and uses the entire field incredibly well.
This draft was an interesting one as most bats didn’t have a hit tool, but offered something else. It overall lacked depth, but there still should be a few guys out of the great state of Texas who could become big-league regulars or better. There’s just so much risk with this year’s class.
There are a few names who I believed would get picked this year that didn’t. Cade Climie (Houston), Weston Moss (Texas A&M), Tracer Lopez (Texas Tech), Tye Briscoe (Abilene Wylie HS), Ryan Peterson (Sam Houston) and Ryan Dollar (Houston). It will be interesting to see where these college guys fall in next year’s class, as 2026 is an insanely deep class with potentially a dozen day 1 prospects. Arms like Shane Sdao should still crack the top 20 list for both the preseason and final, and there still should be more portal noise over the summer.
Thank you to anyone who got through this entire article and absorbed this information. These last seven months have been incredibly busy and I am looking for this next calendar year to unfold as I am super excited to get 2026 coverage underway.
Follow us on X: @ProspectsWorldW
SUBSCRIBE To our YouTube channel! For amateur and Minor League prospects
