The college righthander draft class of 2025 boasts front-of-the-rotation type starters in Kyson Witherspoon and Tyler Bremner, as well as power arms with plus secondaries that include Gage Wood, Patrick Forbes and Riley Quick. There’s also starting pitching depth with well-rounded talents like Anthony Eyanson and JB Middleton, as well as high upside arms like AJ Russell and Marcus Phillips. If it’s power you want, the 2025 class has that too with Chase Shores, Malachi Witherspoon, James Ellwanger, Nate Snead, Tanner Franklin, Brian Curley, Christian Foutch, Peyton Prescott, Jacob Mayers, Matthew Hoskins, Ryan Osinski and Jordan Stephens all capable of reaching back for triple-digits (D1 Baseball Final 2025 Heat Sheet). The class potentially could have as many as six selected in the first round, rivaling the 2023 class that saw four righthanders selected in the top 24 picks and the 2024 class with four chosen in the top 26.

Kyson Witherspoon (Oklahoma)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-2, 205 pounds
Scout Talk: Athletic strike-thrower with starter traits and frontline stuff.

Analytics: Power FB averages 96.4 mph (99th percentile) and has a 75th percentile in-zone whiff rate.
 All Pitch Strike%: 66.7% (83rd percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 30% (70th)
 Strikeout rate: 31.8% (98th)
 Walk rate: 5.9% (93rd)

Best Pitch(s): Upper-90s fastball. Three swing/miss secondaries in his slider, curve and cutter.

Comparable: Emmanuel Clase

Summary: The top college righthander in this year’s draft, Witherspoon is athletic and consistently repeats his low effort delivery which allows him to fill up the strike zone with a complete arsenal of five pitches. He profiles as a front-of-the-rotation starter at the ML level and is a likely top ten overall pick.

Tyler Bremner (UC Santa Barbara)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds
Scout Talk: Strike-thrower with plus fastball velo and double plus changeup.

Analytics: Riding FB averages 95.2 mph.
 All Pitch Strike%: 63.5 (67th percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 39.3 (90th)
 Strikeout rate: 35.8% (100th percentile, 5th in all of D1 college baseball)
 Walk rate: 6.1% (92nd)

Best Pitch: Plus-plus changeup with late-bottom action and a 95th percentile in-zone whiff rate of 42%.

Comparable: Michael Wacha

Summary: Although Bremner started the 2025 season slowly, by midseason he had returned to form. Loose and long-limbed with a plus-plus changeup, mid-90s velocity and the projected likelihood for even more, his present stuff reminds of Wacha who was a first round pick (19th overall) out of Texas A&M in 2012. More on Bremner from last summer with the USA CNT when he also showed a turbo breaking ball and scouts also compared him to Aaron Nola.

Gage Wood (Arkansas)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot, 205 pounds
Scout Talk: Undersized, but strong-bodied with power arsenal.

Analytics: Riding FB averages 96.2 mph with 16+” of IVB from a 5-foot (low) release point. Curve is late-actioned with 16“ of VB.
 All Pitch Strike%: 64.3 (72nd percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 40.6 (92nd)
 Strikeout rate: 41% (100th, 3rd in all of college baseball)
 Walk rate: 5.7% (93rd)

Best Pitch: Riding, mid-90s heater thrown to the top of the zone.

Comparable: Craig Kimbrel / Spencer Strider

Summary: Wood has loud stuff that is led by the best 4-seam fastball in college baseball. It’s an electric rider thrown from a lower release point with above average extension out front. He also possesses another difference-maker in his hard-action curve ball. He can also go deeper in his arsenal with an occasional cutter and split changeup. A healthy Gage Wood is a top half of the first round prospect, but past shoulder issues may deflate his draft value a bit.

Patrick Forbes (Louisville)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-3, 220 pounds
Scout Talk: Super athletic with an electric fastball and plenty of projection.

Analytics: High spin FB averages 95.4 mph, excellent carry and a 30.4% whiff rate (94th percentile).
 All Pitch Strike%: 60.6 (49th percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 33.2 (79th)
 Strikeout rate: 36.7% (100th percentile and 4th in all of D1 college baseball)
 Walk rate: 10.7% (60th)

Best Pitch(s): Fastball. Slider will flash plus.

Comparable: Michael Kopech

Summary: Forbes also throws an occasional upper-80s cutter, but primarily pumps a two-pitch mix with an electric fastball and low-80s slider that can change shape into a sweeper when he flies open in his delivery. His fastball is also deceptive with its elite carry at the knees – it stays on plane when most other heaters dip below the zone. Forbes does have some risk to his projection with concern he could become a reliever, but he’ll definitely be drafted and farmed-out as a starter, hoping a “soft” pitch can be developed and his present control is polished into real command.

Riley Quick (Alabama)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-6, 255 pounds
Scout Talk: Strong, big-bodied power arm with plus slider.

Analytics: Sinking FB averages 96.7 mph with an 89th percentile chase rate.
 All Pitch Strike%: 61.8 (56th percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 30.5 (71st)
 Strikeout rate: 25.9% (85th)
 Walk rate: 8.9% (75th)

Best Pitch(s): Fastball. Plus slider.

Comparable: Michael Soroka

Summary: After suffering an injury during the first start of his sophomore season, Quick missed the remainder of the 2024 season. He returned in less than 12 months from surgery and produced a 3.92 ERA in 62 innings. With primarily a power sinker/slider mix Quick doesn’t miss as many bats as pitching analysts would like to see, but he does check a lot of boxes with two present plus pitches and a third effective offering in his upper-80s changeup. Combined with strong control and the ability to hold his velocity throughout his starts, Quick projects as a starting pitcher and is likely to be chosen within the top 30 picks.

Anthony Eyanson (LSU)

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-2, 205 pounds
Scout Talk: Spins two distinct breaking balls to go along with above average fastball velocity. 

Analytics: FB averages 93.0 mph with below average metrics and a common spin rate in the 2200s. All three of his secondaries have whiff rates greater than 38%, led by his changeup at 68.2% (100th percentile).
 All Pitch Strike%: 64.6 (73rd percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 35.1 (83rd)
 Strikeout rate: 35.0% (100th percentile and 8th in all of D1 college baseball)
 Walk rate: 8.6% (80th)

Best Pitch(s): Two distinct breakers in a curve and a bullet-spin slider. Both are plus pitches with the slider a 97th percentile weapon that has produced a 52.4% whiff rate.

Comparable: Jose Urena

Summary: Like Bremner, Eyanson showed-out big time with the USA CNT last summer. He didn’t fulfill the high expectations of further improvement this spring, but he’s a loose-armed, strike-thrower with a starter profile as a pro. He also has a high level track record of performance during all three seasons of his collegiate career, posting a 3.09 ERA over 209 innings over his two seasons at UC San Diego and the current one in Baton Rouge. Eyanson may fall short of the first round, but healthy starting pitchers with plus stuff and plus control don't typically get past the top 40 picks, and Eyanson will be no exception.

Marcus Phillips (Tennessee):

Ht/Wt: 6-foot-4, 245 pounds
Scout Talk: Durable-bodied power arm with limited experience and a hard to find combination of size, stuff and athleticism.

Analytics: FB averages 95.8 mph 
 All Pitch Strike%: 64.1 (71st percentile)
 All Pitch Whiff%: 31.7 (75th)
 Strikeout rate: 27.2% (91st)
 Walk rate: 9.4% (70th)

Best Pitch: Upper 90s fastball that lacks the best shape, but it has some carry from a lower (5-foot-4) release height and he holds his velo deep into games.

Comparable: Hunter Greene

Summary: Phillips has thrown just 103 innings during his collegiate career that started at Iowa Western CC his freshman year. But with a present fastball up to 100 mph, an 86-88 mph sweeper/slider and firm, sinking changeup, Phillips has a present three-pitch arsenal that has scouts dreaming. He’s a top 50 overall pick.

Wild Card: AJ Russell (Tennessee) returned from surgery on February 25, but was shut down shortly after his initial 2025 season debut. He returned on April 1 and was limited to just two to three innings in each of his eleven appearances over the remainder of the season, finishing with a 3.55 ERA in 25.1 innings. He struck out 36 against 11 walks. Russell is a strike-thrower with a chance for three plus pitches in his riding fastball, slider and changeup. Standing 6-foot-6, 225 pounds, he reminds of Charlie Morton and when fully healthy he’s a top half of the first round prospect.

Additional college righthanders with top three round potential include JB Middleton (Southern Mississippi), James Ellwanger (DBU), Jacob Morrison (Coastal Carolina), Aiden Jimenez (Arkansas), Chase Shores (LSU), Malachi Witherspoon (Oklahoma), Nate Snead (Tennessee), Cam Leiter (Florida State), Gabe Davis (Oklahoma State), Ethan Young (East Carolina), Michael Lombardi (Tulane), Tanner Franklin (Tennessee), Mason Morris (Ole Miss), Brian Curley (Georgia), Peyton Prescott (Florida State).