The 2025 MLB Draft season is in full swing, and I've had the opportunity to scout some of the top prospects in the game. While it's currently the heart of draft season, I've been able to catch a few minor-league games featuring several top prospects. Below are my observations and insights on some of the top players I've seen from the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Baltimore Orioles systems.
One player who stood out to me is Dante Nori, the Phillies' first-round pick in 2024. Nori, a high school prospect who was already 19-and-three-quarters at the draft, has shown some real feel to hit. His swing is simple and short, with enough bat speed to swat line drives to the outfield. However, he has fringy power, and I'm not sure how much more he can get to, as he's already 21 and doesn't have a lot of room left to fill out on his smaller frame.
Nori is a 55/60 runner who gets good jumps in the outfield. I can see an upside where he bats low in the order and adds value on defense and with contact skills. However, he's not patient, with a chase rate of 29 percent on the year, because he can get the bat to the ball so easily. He has to show he can focus on swinging at pitches he can hit well and taking more pitches to avoid becoming another Johan Rojas.
Another player who has impressed me is shortstop Bryan Rincon. Rincon has always had elite defense to keep him going as a prospect, but he spent the last two years in the Phillies' system in High A, playing around some injuries, and didn't hit at all, with a .186 average and .308 slugging percentage in those stints. However, he's hitting well this year for Reading, boosted somewhat by the Fightins' hitter-friendly home park, but also looking stronger and healthier maybe for the first time in three years.
Rincon can still really defend and would be the Phillies' best defensive shortstop right now in the majors. For all the years he's been listed in their prospect rankings, he's still only 22, and if the improvements at the plate are real enough to make him a .260-ish hitter with 12-15 homers, that's a regular at short.
I also had the opportunity to see lefty Liam Doyle pitch for the Cardinals. Doyle was the No. 5 pick in the draft last year in large part because his fastball was one of the best in the class, up to 100 with crazy ride that made it almost unhittable when he'd throw it at the top of the zone. However, his command isn't great, and I could see why he was off to a bad start on paper even with this kind of arsenal.
Doyle is still working on multiple new breaking-ball shapes, but his command issues are a concern. I'm still optimistic about him as a long-term rotation guy, but he's a work in progress. Meanwhile, Orioles right field prospect Ike Irish, their first pick in the 2026 draft, looks fantastic right now, hitting .326/.434/.573. He's a plus runner with a plus arm, but the bat is going to carry him.
In conclusion, the 2025 MLB Draft season is shaping up to be an exciting one, with several top prospects showing great potential. However, it's important to remember that these players are still in the early stages of their careers, and there's still a lot of work to be done before they can make an impact at the major league level.
