Which Top MLB Draft Prospects Improved Their Stock The Most This Season?

Landon Harmon, RHP, East Union HS, Blue Springs, Miss.

• Preseason Rank: 30
• Current Rank: 66
• Areas to improve: Sharpen breaking ball(s)

Harmon has continued to show the same sort of electric arm speed and high-end talent that made him a top prospect in the first place. Scouts have noted that his season has been up-and-down, however. His secondaries have all remained a bit more inconsistent than scouts want them to be.

Brandon Compton, OF, Arizona State

• Preseason Rank: 29
• Current Rank: 42
• Areas to improve: More contact vs. secondaries, production vs. velocity

Compton’s overall production was down in 2025 (.865 OPS) compared to 2024 (1.089 OPS). That’s bad for any hitter, but especially so for a likely corner profile. He had early-season buzz in the teens after a hot start, but fell off as the season progressed. Compton’s 37% miss rate vs. secondaries is a tick worse than his 2024 rate (36%). He did cut down his miss rate vs. 93+ mph pitches (22% in 2025 compared to 36% in 2024), but his overall production vs. those high-end fastballs was down (.530 OPS in 2025 vs. an .812 OPS in 2024).

Henry Ford, OF, Virginia

• Preseason Rank: 28
• Current Rank: 70
• Areas to improve: Prove outfield defense

Ford entered the season as a proven hit/power college bat who was making the move from first base to right field. To his credit, Ford has looked solid in a corner outfield spot. He split time roughly half-and-half with right and first base early in the season before getting a larger share in right field down the stretch. His power production slipped back, though, going from 17 home runs in 2024 to 11 home runs in 2025, with a dip in 90th percentile exit velocity, as well. 

Ethan Petry, OF, South Carolina

• Preseason Rank: 27
• Current Rank: 33
• Areas to improve: Defensive profile and athleticism

Petry has continued to be a rock-solid hitter for South Carolina in his third year with the program. He just finished his third straight 1.000+ OPS season and, despite a lower home run total (10) with just 44 games under his belt, Petry’s underlying batted-ball data is just as good or better than a year ago. He maintains the same defensive and athleticism questions he entered the season with, which puts him roughly in the same spot on the draft board. 

Dean Moss, OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.

• Preseason Rank: 26
• Current Rank: 95
• Areas to improve: Speed and center field profile

Moss has had a solid season with IMG Academy this spring, but his slide on the draft board possibly represents an over-ranking entering the year and continued skepticism about his profile. Scouts still wonder if he’ll be fast enough to stick in center field long term, which adds plenty of pressure to his lefthanded bat. He doesn’t have the size or raw power typical of a corner outfielder, but his pure hitting skills and approach remain impressive. 

Nolan Schubart, 1B/OF, Oklahoma State

• Previous Rank: 25
• Current Rank: 63
• Areas to improve: Contact & athleticism

Schubart is a polarizing player who could still go closer to his preseason ranking than his current ranking of 63, but the industry has continued to express skepticism about the one-dimensional nature of his profile. His production is roughly in line with career norms (though a .300 batting average is a career-low), and he’s maintained the same three true outcomes offensive approach without noticeably upping his contact ability.

Matt Scott, RHP, Stanford

• Preseason Rank: 24
• Current Rank: 102
• Areas to improve: Perform, improve fastball command

Scott backed up across the board this spring. He entered the 2025 season needing some strong performance in a bad way but posted a career-worst 6.02 ERA over 11 starts and 52.1 innings. His fastball velocity backed up a tick and the shape of the pitch (previously one of his carrying traits) also backed up. He threw strikes at a marginally better rate, but nowhere near enough to make up for a fastball, slider and changeup that looked more hittable across the board. 

Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma

• Preseason Rank: 23
• Current Rank: 7
• Areas to improve: Improve control, up changeup frequency

Witherspoon was a far better strike-thrower this spring than he was previously, improving from an 11.2% walk rate to a 5.9% walk rate. We wanted to see increased changeup usage from Witherspoon because in 2024 he threw his fastball and slider a combined 89% of the time. To profile as a starter, teams wanted to see a bit more depth to his arsenal. While he didn’t up his changeup usage, he did add a new cutter and showed a slower curveball, both of which were effective pitches. In total, his fastball/slider usage fell to 60%, and he threw four different pitches at least 10% of the time. That’s just as good as developing the changeup for our purposes, and Witherspoon is now viewed as a top 10 talent in the class.

Brendan Summerhill, OF, Arizona

• Preseason Rank: 22
• Current Rank: 21
• Areas to improve: Show more impact, prove center field profile

Summerhill fractured his right hand in March, but when he’s been on the field, he’s made his case as the best pure hitter in this year’s college class. Summerhill’s top-end exit velocity numbers aren’t significantly harder than what he managed a year ago, but his average exit velocity is up a few ticks. While his counting stats are down because of playing time, his rate production is better than it’s ever been, with a 1.000+ OPS for the first time in his career as Arizona’s leadoff hitter and everyday right fielder. Summerhill still has some power upside and positional question marks, but he is a well-rounded player who hits. Sometimes it’s as simple as just proving a hit tool.

Wehiwa Aloy, SS, Arkansas

• Preseason Rank: 21
• Current Rank: 17
• Areas to improve: Pitch recognition

Round two in the SEC has been great for Aloy. His 2025 season looks a lot like his excellent 2023 campaign with Sacramento State, but he’s done it against much better competition while hitting a career-best 20 home runs. Zone expansion and swing-and-miss were big questions for Aloy entering the spring, and he’s improved in both areas. His chase rate has gone from 35% to 29%, and his miss rate has gone from 30% to 28%. Those aren’t massive jumps, but he’s moving in the right direction. His swing-and-miss vs. breaking balls is still present, but he’s also upped his production against spin pretty significantly (.864 OPS vs. spin in 2025 compared to a .683 OPS vs. spin in 2024). 

Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest

• Preseason Rank: 20
• Current Rank: 15
• Areas to improve: Show more impact

Houston may have checked this box in the first month of the season. Despite an April slump, Houston has managed a career-best 15 home runs. His previous high was eight last year. He is more physical than he was a year ago and has made progress in both his average and 90th percentile exit velocities. Even if Houston is just going from a 30-grade power projection to a 40 or 45, that’s a nice boost to his overall profile. 

Nick Dumesnil, OF, California Baptist

• Preseason Rank: 19
• Current Rank: 52
• Areas to improve: Cut down chase tendencies, prove center field defense

Dumesnil has played every game in center field this spring while also going from a 36% chase rate in 2024 to a 29% chase rate in 2025. Two easy checks, right? Well, if Dumesnil’s power production and contact remained the same as previously that would be the case, but his improved swing tendencies have also come with worse numbers in overall contact, in-zone contact, exit velocities and performance when it comes to extra-base hits. 

Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina

• Preseason Rank: 18
• Current Rank: 29
• Areas to improve: Righthanded approach

We identified righthanded swing decisions and production vs. breaking balls as an area of improvement for Bodine. He’s remained largely the same hitter year-over-year in this department from the right side. What has changed is Bodine’s over-the-fence power has nearly dried up. He hit 11 home runs as a freshman, then nine home runs as a sophomore and through 60 games in 2025 he’s hit just three. His power seems to track with general NCAA trends at the macro level, but because he’s such a light power hitter, he gets some polarizing reviews from scouts. Great receiving and excellent contact ability could still make him a first-rounder, but that’s less of a guarantee today than it was in February. 

Brady Ebel, SS, Corona (Calif.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 17
• Current Rank: 38
• Areas to improve: Supplemental tools

Ebel’s profile sounds largely the same as it was entering the year: He’s a young-for-the-class hitter with impressive physicality and a polished hit tool. It doesn’t sound like he’s taken a huge step forward in the speed or power departments, and he’s also still viewed as more of a third baseman or second baseman than a shortstop. Because of that, he’s getting more buzz in the comp round than the first. 

Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State

• Preseason Rank: 16
• Current Rank: 4
• Areas to improve: Swing decisions, shortstop defense

It’s been nothing but positive for Arquette all spring. He turned in a career year and is now viewed as the top college hitter in the class with a real shot to be the No. 1 overall pick. While he still might be too big to stick at shortstop long term, he’s done everything he can to give himself the opportunity in pro ball while playing the position every game this spring. He hit a career-high 17 home runs while showing the best plate discipline of his career with a 16.2% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate. His chase rate has gone from 27% in his first two college seasons to 23% in 2025. 

Devin Taylor, OF, Indiana

• Preseason Rank: 15
• Current Rank: 34
• Areas to improve: Improve defensive skills, up production vs. breaking balls

Taylor is one of the hitters we’re most intrigued with in the class. Given his extensive track record of performance and well-rounded underlying batted ball data, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to go in the first round. Still, he continues to get criticism for his secondary tools and defensive profile across the board and has slid back on the rankings because of that. While the defensive ability seems unchanged, he did perform much better against breaking balls this spring with a 1.051 OPS vs. spin compared to a 2024 mark of .809.

Dean Curley, SS, Tennessee

• Preseason Rank: 14
• Current Rank: 36
• Areas to improve: Shortstop profile

This one has not come to fruition. Curley started the season as Tennessee’s shortstop, but in the second half of the year, he started bouncing around between third base and second base. Throwing issues crept up in a big way late in the season, which led to a number of costly errors for Curley and have begun to cement the idea that he’s not a middle infielder and might need to stick at third base. He’s continued to hit well with a strong offensive skill set.

Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton (Okla.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 13
• Current Rank: 3
• Areas to improve: Add power and strength

Willits has not radically transformed his body this spring, and is still a bit smaller than some of his more physical (and older) shortstop peers like Ethan Holliday, Jojo Parker and Xavier Neyens. Still, he has earned positive feedback on his physicality and impact potential this spring, even if most scouts are putting solid-average power grades on him. That creates one of the most well-rounded profiles in the class and, when paired with his switch-hitting ability, shortstop defense and speed, it pushes him into the top three talents in the class. He’s in running for the first-overall pick.

Ike Irish, C, Auburn

• Preseason Rank: 12
• Current Rank: 13
• Areas to improve: Defensive profile

Irish only caught 10 games this spring, as a majority of his playing time has come as a right fielder. For those who entered the spring thinking he would have to move off the position, that remains the case. For those highest on his chances to catch, however, his athleticism and arm strength still makes that a defensible position. With no real clarity gained on his defensive profile, Irish has maintained his draft status by raking. He hit .362/.464/.700 with a career-best 18 home runs. His 1.332 SEC OPS is good for second in the conference.

Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina

• Preseason Rank: 11
• Current Rank: 24
• Areas to improve: Left-on-left breaking balls

Stevenson has been nearly as productive in 2025 as he was in 2024, but he’s also lost about 30 points in batting average, and his strikeout rate has gone from 20.4% to 24.1%. He has general swing-and-miss questions across the board, but his miss tendencies vs. lefthanded breaking balls remain a question, with a 35% miss rate on that pitch type. Stevenson’s overall miss rate is roughly the same year over year, with a 28% miss rate in 2025 compared to a 27% miss rate in 2024. 

Billy Carlson, SS/RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 10
• Current Rank: 10
• Areas to improve: Show more power, speed

It’s been mostly status quo for Carlson this spring, and he stays in the exact same spot in our rankings today compared to our preseason board. Carlson still mostly turns in average run times, though his speed plays up with advanced baseball instincts, and scouts will need to project on his power more than they will see it in person today. His excellent glove and contact ability still has him positioned to be a top 10 pick.

Kayson Cunningham, SS, Johnson HS, San Antonio

• Preseason Rank: 9
• Current Rank: 12
• Areas to improve: Show game power, add twitch to defensive profile

Cunningham has had solid performance this spring in Texas, but his profile sounds much the same today as it did entering the year. Teams will still be buying a hit tool first, one that might be the best in the class. He’s a tweener middle infielder who’s still a risk to slide off shortstop but should earn an opportunity to stick there. Some scouts have wondered if he could move to center field. We’ve heard nothing to change our understanding of his power potential, and he remains a rock-solid, middle-of-the-first-round prospect. 

Kruz Schoolcraft, LHP/1B, Sunset HS, Portland, Ore.

• Preseason Rank: 8
• Current Rank: 20
• Areas to improve: Slider command, secondary sharpening

Schoolcraft has been an impressive performer on both sides of the ball this spring, but there have been some inconsistencies from outing to outing on the mound. Early in the year, he was a bit more scattered than scouts wanted to see, and his slider usage was limited enough that scouts had to circle back to later outings just to get a feel for his breaking ball quality. He still does things you can’t teach and has exciting upside and first-round potential, but he has not slammed the door on top 10 status.

Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 7
• Current Rank: 18
• Areas to improve: More aggressive approach, improve defense

Neyens feels like one of the more polarizing profiles in the class. Those who like him compare him to Ethan Holliday and say his overall profile isn’t all that different. Those more skeptical are sure he’s going to play a corner and aren’t quite as sold on his pure hitting ability. We’ve heard split opinions on his defensive progress this spring, with some scouts saying he looks better physically and is moving well with a chance to start his career at shortstop and others commenting that he looks slower than last summer and is now more likely to be a corner infielder. Ultimately, he’s been passed over by a few other high school shortstops more likely to stick at the position, but he still fits as a first-round talent given his toolset and huge power. 

Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson

• Preseason Rank: 6
• Current Rank: 27
• Areas to improve: Show healthy arm, add strength

Cannarella’s two biggest questions remain his throwing and his power. He’s not looked fully healthy all year when it comes to outfield throws, and because of that, scouts have no idea what to project for him moving forward. Additionally, he’s not taken a step in the power department, and his home run production has regressed, going from 11 home runs in 2024 to just five in 2025. Cannarella’s exit velocity data remains quite similar to what it was a year ago, though his contact numbers (both overall and in-zone) have backed up.

Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona (Calif.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 5
• Current Rank: 2
• Areas to improve: Add consistency to breaking balls

Hernandez has done exactly you want from a high school pitcher to maintain his stock at the top of the draft: post week after week with great stuff. Hernandez, himself, has felt his spike-curveball has been his most consistent offering this spring. While neither his curveball or slider get the same grades as his lethal changeup, he’s shown more than enough with both pitches to comfortably project an effective four-pitch mix. Hernandez has a chance to be the first high school righthander drafted first overall. 

Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

• Preseason Rank: 4
• Current Rank: 14
• Areas to improve: Full season as starter, more consistency with slider

Bremner has fallen more into the middle of the first round after an inconsistent start to the season, but a strong finish could have him pushing back into the top 10. He gets points for starting more games than he has previously in a single season (14), but he loses some because his slider hasn’t taken the step forward that scouts would have liked to see. Opposing batters managed a .928 OPS vs. the slider this spring (up significantly from the .693 OPS in 2024), and he pulled back its usage from 26% to 16% while also getting significantly less chase with it out of the zone. 

Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State

• Preseason Rank: 3
• Current Rank: 5
• Areas to improve: Develop changeup

Arnold briefly entered No. 1 prospect status on our in-season draft updates, but he’s settled into a mix of college arms battling for the top spot. We still lean Arnold narrowly, but his 2025 season hasn’t been quite as loud as his 2024 season was. He’s shown progress with his changeup, which has excellent movement traits and above-average potential, though his command of the offering is still coming along. Arnold’s control has backed up slightly, going from a 5.8% walk rate to an 8.0% walk rate, and his fastball hasn’t been quite as dynamic. Still, all of the pieces to his game that made him exciting in February are in place today.

Ethan Holliday, SS, Stillwater (Okla.) HS

• Preseason Rank: 2
• Current Rank: 1
• Areas to improve: Show more contact, improve athleticism & defense

Making contact in the spring high school season is a lot different than making contact on the travel circuit, but Holliday deserves credit for going out and dominating his competition. He’s hit a bunch of home runs and scouts have spoken positively about how he’s looked as a shortstop defender. Even if Holliday is still unlikely to stick at shortstop, his progress this spring might have teams more confident he’ll be a reliable third baseman. That, paired with his offensive upside, is a compelling package and good for the No. 1 spot on the current draft board. 

Jace LaViolette, OF, Texas A&M

• Preseason Rank: 1
• Current Rank: 9
• Areas to improve: Make more contact

LaViolette entered the year with one clear and obvious hole in his profile, and he’s leaving it with the same question mark: How much is he going to hit and make contact? His .258 draft year batting average would be one of the lowest ever for a first-round college hitter. His contact and hitting numbers over the course of his career also don’t stack up with recent 1-1 college bats: 

• Travis Bazzana: .360, 16% miss
• Henry Davis: .337, 16% miss
• Spencer Torkelson: .337, 22% miss
• Adley Rutschman: .353, 15% miss
• Jace LaViolette: .285, 29% miss

LaViolette hasn’t been getting much 1-1 discussion in recent weeks, and he could be slipping out of the first 10 picks entirely. However, his power, on-base ability and athleticism should still keep him inside the first round.