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With high school seasons ending across the country and college conference tournaments about a week away from beginning, it’s time for a full update on how the 2025 MLB draft is shaping up with a mini-mock draft and a fresh ranking of the top 150 prospects.

I mentioned a month ago in my last rankings update that this is viewed as a weaker draft than the 2024 class and that’s still the case. Last year’s final draft rankings had five players better than a 50 FV and 10 total players at a 50 FV or above. This year, as you can see below, has eight players as a 50 FV or better and no one above that tier. I’ll go into a little more detail about what this means below, but let’s get into the buzz about how the draft will play out with a mock draft.

Jump to: Mini-mock draft | Top 150 prospects


Mini-mock draft: Projecting the first 11 picks

1. Washington Nationals — Ethan Holliday, 3B, Stillwater HS (Oklahoma)

This one is still wide open. Holliday is perceived as the most likely outcome right now from my industry conversations. (Here’s a look at Holliday from when I saw him this spring.) But Eli Willits has some industry buzz here and Seth Hernandez seems to be a real option while Jamie Arnold and Liam Doyle are seen as the two most likely college options should Washington go that route.

These players are all pretty closely packed on my rankings below so the Nats getting into the draft room to hash out which they think is best — along with weighing the asking prices of each prospect — will dictate how Washington plays this one.

2. Los Angeles Angels — Jamie Arnold, LHP, Florida State

This is going to shock you, but the Angels are being tied to college players who can move quickly. Arnold, Doyle, and Arquette are mentioned the most, but any of the college players in the top 12 of my rankings could be the guy with a strong finish and the right price tag.

3. Seattle Mariners — Seth Hernandez, RHP, Corona HS (California)

The M’s are mostly being tied to Willits, Hernandez and Arnold, so I think they’ll end up with one of those three. Hernandez is seen as one of the best prep righties in a while, but that is also the riskiest position demographic in the draft by a mile due to performance and injury risks (think running backs in the NFL draft).

A weaker top of the draft with a rare prospect like Hernandez may be the only time Seattle would consider a prep righty this high, but the Mariners are taking a long look and the positive early returns on Ryan Sloan (a prep righty who was their second-round pick) from last year’s draft may be emboldening them, too. Here’s some video showing what I saw from Hernandez this spring.

4. Colorado Rockies — Liam Doyle, LHP, Tennessee

The Nats and Rockies are widely viewed as the two most likely landing spots for Holliday — meaning he likely stops here if not off the board already on draft day; I’d say it’s a 75% chance he goes first or fourth. The possibility of Colorado floating Holliday an overslot number to get him here may change the math enough to take him out of consideration for the first pick.

The question is who is next on Colorado’s list if the Rockies don’t land Holliday. Teams picking in this area have said with confidence both that it will be whomever is still available of Doyle/Arnold and shortstop Aiva Arquette.

5. St. Louis Cardinals — Kade Anderson, LHP, LSU

The Cards love to take college lefties historically and one of the three elite ones in this class is almost sure to be available here. Similar to Colorado, I think St. Louis takes Holliday if he gets here (though that seems unlikely given the Rockies’ interest), and their mix beyond that is a bit unclear.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates — Billy Carlson, SS, Corona HS (California)

Pittsburgh is believed to be locked in on Carlson (whose range seems to start here) and Aiva Arquette, with some other players also being considered. Carlson (here’s some video I took this spring) has a number of similarities with Konnor Griffin, the Pirates’ first-round pick last year, so the belief in the industry is he’s the pick if he’s here.

7. Miami Marlins — Eli Willits, SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (Oklahoma)

Willits is in consideration at many of the picks above this but likely stops here or the next pick to Toronto. Miami is believed to be leaning toward hitters with a focus on contact ability, so Carlson, Willits and JoJo Parker get mentioned the most. Here’s a look at Willits from when I saw him this spring.

8. Toronto Blue Jays — Aiva Arquette, SS, Oregon State

The Jays are sitting here waiting to see how the potential chaos in front of them will play out and to pick up what’s left. In this scenario it’s Arquette, but his safer player demographic means a lot of teams will be considering him above this pick. My ranking below has a top tier of eight players, and I’d bet only one or two of those players get here because that grouping is pretty consensus within the industry (and even more so if you include a couple from the next tier).

9. Cincinnati Reds — Jace LaViolette, CF, Texas A&M

Seth Hernandez could end up here because isn’t a fit for a number of teams that don’t tend to take pitchers, older high school players or prep righties at high picks. But in this scenario, LaViolette fits the Reds’ history of taking the best player still on the board and is the pick in this scenario.

10. Chicago White Sox — Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma

Chicago has been tied to yet another lower-slot lefty (Hagen Smith and Blake Larson last year, Garrett Crochet and Chris Sale in the past) in high schooler Kruz Schoolcraft at this pick, but he feels like more of a backup option than the primary target.

The White Sox are right at the tail end of having access to a certain tier of player in this class, so I think they’ll be reactive to what’s happening above them. Their return from Boston for Garrett Crochet included Braden Montgomery who was LaViolette’s running mate in the Texas A&M outfield last year and the buzz is the current Aggies star has a landing spot here if he’s on the board.

11. Athletics — JoJo Parker, Purvis HS (Mississippi)

Parker’s name was being whispered earlier this spring as the sneaky fourth-best prep position player in this class at a time that he was perceived as more of a late-first-round talent for most teams. That talk has gotten louder to the point that he seems to be the backup option for a number of teams once you get outside of the top five picks, so Parker is now just seen as the consensus next-best prep hitter, who should go somewhere between No. 5 and No. 15 on draft day. I do think the A’s will scoop him up here if he’s available as he fits their type.

This is where I’ll cut off the mock as the consensus top talents are gone and there are about a dozen players who start to come into play in the next few picks.

I mentioned above that the top of this draft is seen as weaker, though the depth is seen as strong. What this means functionally, in my mind, isn’t that this draft as a whole is bad, because it’s made up of thousands of players and the classes don’t vary that much year-to-year in terms of the number of good players.

A couple of scouts have mentioned the 2016 draft to me as a comp. At the time, the top of the draft was also seen as weaker (Mickey Moniak, Nick Senzel, Ian Anderson were the top three picks) and has played out that way, but the later rounds were so loaded in retrospect that, if those players were evaluated correctly given what we know now and went in the top ten picks, that draft would be seen as one of the better ones in recent memory.

Wondering who those stars later in the 2016 draft were? In the top 29 picks, the best player was either Josh Lowe, A.J. Puk or Gavin Lux. But after that? Cole Ragans and Will Smith went in the 30s, Pete Alonso and Bo Bichette went in the 60s and then the murderers’ row of sleepers went between Picks 83-122: Sean Murphy, Jesus Luzardo, Dustin May, Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes, and Shane Bieber.

I wouldn’t count on that level of impact late in this draft, but we could see something similar as many of those potential stars will go later and are ranked somewhere below now that I’ve expanded it to 150.

I rank players using the FV system so you can see where they’d slot into your team’s prospect list or a full MLB top 100 (more details on the scale are included at that link). The 50 FV tier usually runs from around 45 to about 120 on the overall pro prospects list.

Top 150 MLB draft prospects

50 FV Tier

1. Jamie Arnold (21.2), LHP, Florida State

Arnold has three above-average to plus pitches from a low arm slot in his fastball, sweeper and newly improved changeup. He’s added a shorter cutter-like breaking ball and has two shapes to his fastball, filling out his arsenal.

That was the main concern at this time last year when he was mostly just throwing a fastball and sweeper that moved so much he had trouble keeping them in the zone regularly. The movement his low slot creates is part of what makes his control (throwing it in the strike zone) better than his command (hitting spots), but when your stuff is this lively and angles are working in your favor, that’s workable and also improvable over time.

play

3:20

Which MLB draft prospects could have star potential?

Kiley McDaniels provides some key prospects to look out for in the MLB draft, including Florida State’s Jamie Arnold and Seth Hernandez from Corona High School.

2. Eli Willits (17.6), SS, Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK), Oklahoma commit

Willits is narrowly the best of this class of high school players in my mind. He’s an advanced hitter with a strong track record who is young for the class and regularly faces SEC competition due to his brother and father both being in the Oklahoma program.

He’s also a plus runner and good shortstop, so the lack of impact raw power due to his medium-sized frame doesn’t bother me; this kind of player is often underrated at this stage. Here’s some video from my look this spring and some longer thoughts on Willits.

3. Ethan Holliday (18.3), 3B, Stillwater HS (OK), Oklahoma State commit

Holliday has even stronger bloodlines (brother Jackson, father Matt) than Willits and comes with the conventional size and left-handed raw power that teams like to see with top-of-the-draft prep position players. He’s a solid defender who should be above-average defensively at third base, but he lacks the range/speed to stay at shortstop in pro ball.

The main concerns here are that Holliday’s summer performances have been just OK and he didn’t face much elite velocity this spring, so he may just be a .240ish hitter going forward. The rest of the profile isn’t in dispute, so he could actually be a .240 hitter and still be a really good big leaguer. Here’s some spring video I took and longer form thoughts.

4. Seth Hernandez (19.0), RHP, Corona HS (CA), Vanderbilt commit

Prep righties are the worst player demographic in the draft and some teams approach it with extreme caution; some have told me they won’t take a prep righty in the top 10 picks under any circumstances. Some teams that believe that are picking in the top 10 this year.

I also feel somewhat strongly about prep righties in general — but for Hernandez specifically — that we may be looking at an exception. His measurable athleticism, standout position-player performances and elite changeup all point to things that the typical prep righty doesn’t possess. Hernandez tickles the triple digits in most outings, his curveball is now flashing above average, and his changeup is plus-plus — have a look at what I saw this spring and some longer thoughts.

5. Billy Carlson (19.0), SS, Corona HS (CA), Tennessee commit

Hernandez’s high school teammate is how you draw up a prep shortstop prospect: solid performances with the bat, above-average to plus bat speed and raw power, a plus defender, an 80-grade arm and clear twitchy athleticism in all aspects (take a look and read longer thoughts).

Carson will need to tone down his swing mechanics a bit in pro ball, but the big hesitation for teams is his age. The track record of prep position players of this age (he turns 19 just after draft day) suggests, in short, that they tend to be overrated at draft time because they’re facing exclusively younger competition at a point when age is very important. On the other hand, Carlson looks like Bobby Witt Jr. if his build and tools were just taken down a notch. In a weaker draft, that upside is very attractive.

6. Liam Doyle (21.0), LHP, Tennessee

7. Kade Anderson (21.0), LHP, LSU

I’ll group these two college lefties together. Both are carving up the SEC but go about it very differently. Doyle offers power stuff and intensity on the mound with some relief risk because of how he does it. Anderson has a much smoother, true starter look with four above-average pitches and above-average command.

Traditionally, scouts prefer the clear starter in this kind of situation at the top of a draft, but Doyle’s pitch data and improvement have some teams thinking he could be a big league starter in short order, with a backup plan of impact reliever, while Anderson likely takes a more conventional path.

8. Aiva Arquette (21.7), SS, Oregon State

Arquette is clearly the best college position player but is generally seen as having a slight contact/approach question and is so big (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) that most evaluators think he’ll slide over to third base as a pro.

He has plus raw power and is performing well (albeit against slightly lesser competition), so he is being mentioned in conversations all over the top 10, but has more in common with Braden Montgomery (12th overall pick last year) or Christian Moore (eighth overall pick) than the top college position players who went in the top seven picks of last year’s draft (Jac Caglianone, Nick Kurtz, Charlie Condon and J.J. Wetherholt).


45+ FV Tier

9. JoJo Parker (18.8), SS, Purvis HS (MS), Mississippi State commit

Parker is seen alongside Willits as the highest probability hitter in the top tier of this year’s prep class, which is driving his rise up the board. He has roughly average raw power and speed and can stick in the infield, but likely isn’t a long-term shortstop. Parker isn’t seen as having a huge upside, but if a year from now he looks like a plus-plus hitter who will hit 15-20 homers while playing a solid second or third base, that concern will seem a little silly. Here’s some video from my spring look at him.

10. Kyson Witherspoon (20.9), RHP, Oklahoma

Witherspoon remade his delivery and is getting Dylan Cease comparisons due to his build, mid-to-upper-90s velocity and three breaking ball shapes. He has pared down his arsenal of late to a four-seamer, cutter and curveball. There are still some questions about his command and if he has a true second plus pitch behind his heater, but on some days both of those concerns seem misguided.

11. Steele Hall (17.9), SS, Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL), Tennessee commit

I’m pretty sure I’ll be the high guy on Hall, but I’m good with that. He’s a plus-plus runner who will stick at shortstop and is somewhere in the Trea Turner/Anthony Volpe/Jett Williams spectrum of smaller shortstops with real speed and real ability to lift the ball to maximize power at a young age. Being among the youngest players in the draft after reclassifying only helps the case here.

12. Jace LaViolette (21.6), CF, Texas A&M

Opinions on LaViolette have been up and down a lot this year, but on the right day scouts see a 6-foot-6 plus runner who can play center field at least for now, has plus-plus raw power and is performing in the SEC. On the other hand, some evaluators see a long-term corner outfield with long arms that make him streaky offensively and will limit him to being a .240 hitter at best — more in line with non-peak Adam Dunn or Joey Gallo. That’s still a good player, but a flawed one.


45 FV Tier

13. Gavin Fien (18.2), 3B, Great Oak HS (CA), Texas commit
14. Wehiwa Aloy (21.4), SS, Arkansas
15. Marek Houston (21.2), SS, Wake Forest
16. Slater de Brun (18.1), CF, Summit HS (OR), Vanderbilt commit
17. Kayson Cunningham (19.0), SS, Johnson HS (TX), Texas commit
18. Josh Hammond (18.8), 3B, Wesleyan Christian HS (NC), Wake Forest commit
19. Xavier Neyens (18.7), 3B, Mount Vernon HS (WA), Oregon State commit
20. Daniel Pierce (18.9), SS, Mill Creek HS (GA), Georgia commit
21. Gage Wood (21.5), RHP, Arkansas
22. Tate Southisene (18.8), SS, Basic HS (NV), USC commit
23. Sean Gamble (18.9), 2B, IMG Academy HS (FL), Vanderbilt commit
24. Gavin Kilen (21.2), SS, Tennessee
25. Ethan Conrad (21.0), RF, Wake Forest
26. Ike Irish (21.6), C, Auburn
27. Brendan Summerhill (21.7), CF, Arizona
28. Tyler Bremner (21.2), RHP, UC Santa Barbara
29. Jordan Yost (18.5), SS, Sickles HS (FL), Florida commit
30. Luke Stevenson (21.0), C, North Carolina
31. Mason Neville (21.5), CF, Oregon
32. Cam Appenzeller (18.5), LHP, Glenwood HS (IL), Tennessee commit
33. Kruz Schoolcraft (18.2), LHP, Sunset HS (OR), Tennessee commit
34. Cam Cannarella (21.8), CF, Clemson

I’ll stay as the high guy on Fien as I believe in what I saw last summer (above-average-to-plus hitter, plus power, great performances, decent shot to stick at third base), despite a tough spring. Aloy and Houston are the rare college true shortstops, but Aloy has real contact/chase questions while Houston can look like Dansby Swanson at times but his offensive upside is in question. Among college hitters, Irish and Neville are rising while Kilen is getting a shot to play shortstop now for the Volunteers.

The real intrigue in this pack, as it was during the loaded 2023 draft, is the prep position players — mostly infielders. There is probably a star or two in this group, though I said that for the 2023 draft and there may be more in that group. De Brun has some Corbin Carroll elements to his game, Hammond looks like the Blue Jays’ version of Josh Donaldson and Cunningham may be the best pure hitter in the whole draft and he’s a plus runner who can play the infield. Neyens may have the most raw power in the whole draft. Pierce is a scout favorite for his athleticism, makeup and defense, while Southisene and Gamble have big upside but contact questions.


40+ FV Tier

35. Caden Bodine (21.6), C, Coastal Carolina
36. Aaron Watson (18.5), RHP, Trinity Christian HS (FL), Virginia commit
37. Marcus Phillips (21.0), RHP, Tennessee
38. Zach Root (21.4), LHP, Arkansas
39. Alex Lodise (21.4), SS, Florida State
40. Matthew Fisher (19.3), RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (IN), Indiana commit
41. Landon Harmon (18.8), RHP, East Union HS (MS), Mississippi State commit
42. Cade Obermueller (22.0), LHP, Iowa
43. Patrick Forbes (20.9), RHP, Louisville
44. Brock Sell (18.7), CF, Tokay HS (CA), Stanford commit
45. Nick Becker (18.6), SS, Don Bosco HS (NJ), Virginia commit
46. Riley Quick (21.1), RHP, Alabama
47. Alec Blair (18.7), CF, De La Salle HS (CA), Oklahoma commit
48. Max Belyeu (21.5), RF, Texas
49. Anthony Eyanson (20.8), RHP, LSU
50. J.B. Middleton (21.6), RHP, Southern Miss
51. Dax Kilby (18.6), SS, Newnan HS (GA), Clemson commit

Watson is the most complete and advanced prep pitcher in the class behind Hernandez. Fisher offers a nice mix of polish and stuff while Harmon offers high-octane stuff with less feel. Phillips has an iffy arm action but extremely lively stuff. Sell is probably unsignable, but top 100 hoops recruit Blair might be signable for the right price with some Cody Bellinger vibes to his game. Quick was a four-star offensive tackle recruit in high school and has plus stuff but below-average feel. Eyanson and Middleton are rising college starters while Kilby could sneak into the top 30-40 picks due to a great swing and strong athletic testing.

In the 40 FV tier below, keep an eye on low-slot lefty Fernsler as a rising prep prospect who could sneak into the top 40 picks.


40 FV Tier

52. Charles Davalan (21.6), LF, Arkansas
53. Andrew Fischer (21.0), 3B, Tennessee
54. Jack Bauer (18.5), LHP, Lincoln Way East HS (IL), Virginia commit
55. Jaden Fauske (18.7), RF, Nazareth Academy HS (IL), LSU commit
56. Uli Fernsler (17.9), LHP, Novi HS (MI), TCU commit
57. Devin Taylor (21.5), LF, Indiana
58. Mason Pike (18.9), RHP/SS, Puyallup HS (WA), Oregon State commit
59. J.D. Thompson (21.8), LHP, Vanderbilt
60. Korbyn Dickerson (21.7), CF, Indiana
61. Taitn Gray (17.8), C, Grimes Community HS (IA), Oregon commit
62. Angel Cervantes (17.8), RHP, Warren HS (CA), UCLA commit
63. Ethan Petry (21.0), 1B, South Carolina
64. Dean Curley (21.1), 3B, Tennessee
65. Daniel Dickinson (21.5), 2B, LSU
66. Mitch Voit (20.9), 2B, Michigan
67. Drew Faurot (21.7), 2B, Florida State
68. Dean Moss (19.1), CF, IMG Academy HS (FL), LSU commit
69. Easton Carmichael (21.7), C, Oklahoma
70. Kyle Lodise (21.8), SS, Georgia Tech
71. Kane Kepley (21.3), CF, North Carolina
72. R.J. Austin (21.6), CF, Vanderbilt
73. Malachi Witherspoon (20.9), RHP, Oklahoma
74. Joseph Dzierwa (21.1), LHP, Michigan State
75. Brian Curley (22.0), RHP, Georgia
76. Cade Crossland (21.4), LHP, Oklahoma
77. Michael Lombardi (21.9), RHP, Tulane
78. Lucas Franco (18.1), SS, Cinco Ranch HS (TX), TCU commit
79. Briggs McKenzie (18.8), LHP, Corinth Holders HS (NC), LSU commit
80. A.J. Russell (21.0), RHP, Tennessee
81. Ben Jacobs (21.1), LHP, Arizona State
82. Henry Godbout (21.7), 2B, Virginia
83. Aiden Stillman (18.6), LHP, Trinity Prep HS (FL), Virginia commit
84. Rory Fox (21.4), RHP, Notre Dame
85. Ethan Moore (18.8), SS, Oak Park & River Forest HS (IL), Tennessee commit
86. Trent Caraway (21.2), 3B, Oregon State
87. Shane Sdao (21.8), LHP, Texas A&M
88. Brandon Compton (21.7), LF, Arizona State
89. Michael Oliveto (18.4), C, Hauppauge HS (NY), Yale commit
90. Max Williams (20.9), RF, Florida State
91. Tanner Franklin (21.0), RHP, Tennessee
92. Jared Spencer (22.0), LHP, Texas
93. Sean Youngerman (21.0), RHP, Oklahoma State
94. Sam Horn (21.8), RHP, Missouri
95. Nelson Keljo (21.9), LHP, Oregon State
96. Gustavo Melendez (17.8), SS, Colegio La Merced HS (PR), Wake Forest commit
97. Mason Morris (21.9), RHP, Ole Miss
98. Jason Reitz (21.0), RHP, Oregon
99. Griffin Hugus (21.4), RHP, Miami
100. Kaleb Wing (18.5), RHP, Scotts Valley HS (CA), Loyola Marymount commit
101. Quentin Young (18.2), 3B, Oaks Christian HS (CA), LSU commit
102. Cam Leiter (21.4), RHP, Florida State
103. Micah Bucknam (21.9), RHP, Dallas Baptist
104. Brady Ebel (17.9), 3B, Corona HS (CA), LSU commit
105. Johnny Slawinski (18.3), LHP, Johnson City HS (TX), Texas A&M commit
106. Brayden Jaksa (18.4), C, Irvington HS (CA), Oregon commit
107. Ben Abeldt (21.6), LHP, TCU
108. Josiah Hartshorn (18.4), LF, Orange Lutheran HS (CA), Texas A&M commit
109. J.T. Quinn (21.1), RHP, Georgia
110. James Ellwanger (21.0), RHP, Dallas Baptist
111. Chase Shores (21.0), RHP, LSU
112. Marcos Paz (18.7), RHP, Hebron HS (TX), LSU commit
113. Kade Elam (19.0), 3B, Corbin HS (KY), Louisville commit
114. Nathan Hall (21.9), CF, South Carolina
115. Cooper Flemming (18.9), SS, Aliso Niguel HS (CA), Vanderbilt commit
116. Aidan West (18.1), SS, Long Reach HS (MD), North Carolina State commit
117. Nico Partida (18.7), SS/RHP, Pearland HS (TX), Texas A&M commit
118. Cam Tilly (21.0), RHP, Auburn
119. Matt Barr (19.5), RHP, Niagara County JC (NY), Uncommitted
120. Jayden Stroman (18.1), RHP, Patchogue-Medford HS (NY), Duke commit
121. Kaeden Kent (21.9), SS, Texas A&M
122. Henry Ford (21.0), LF, Virginia
123. Griffin Enis (18.8), CF, Corinth HS (MS), Duke commit
124. Reagan Ricken (18.8), RHP, Great Oak HS (CA), LSU commit
125. Cooper Underwood (18.5), LHP, Allatoona HS (GA), Georgia Tech commit
126. Brock Ketelsen (18.0), CF, Valley Christian HS (CA), Stanford commit
127. Ethan Frey (21.3), C, LSU
128. Omar Serna (18.4), C, Lutheran South Academy HS (TX), LSU commit
129. Antonio Jimenez (21.1), SS, UCF
130. Ryan Weingartner (21.0), SS, Penn State
131. Cade Kurland (21.3), 2B, Florida
132. Colin Yeaman (21.2), SS, UC Irvine
133. Chris Arroyo (20.9), 1B, Virginia
134. Xavier Mitchell (19.0), LHP, Prestonwood Christian HS (TX), Texas commit
135. Brent Iredale (22.0), 3B, Arkansas


35+ FV Tier

136. Josh Owens (18.5), SS, Providence Academy HS (TN), Georgia Southern commit
137. Ethan Grim (18.0), RHP, Governor Mifflin HS (PA), Virginia Tech commit
138. Jaiden LoRe (18.4), SS, Corona Del Sol HS (AZ), BYU commit
139. Dom Fritton (22.2), LHP, North Carolina State
140. Coy James (18.3), SS, Davie County HS (NC), Ole Miss commit
141. Tim Piasentin (18.3), 3B, Foothills Composite HS (CAN), Miami commit
142. Tre Phelps (21.0), RF, Georgia
143. Jordan Martin (18.5), RHP, Jefferson City HS (MO), Arkansas commit
144. Ryan Mitchell (18.5), SS, Houston HS (TN), Georgia Tech commit
145. William Patrick (19.0), CF, St. Frederick HS (LA), LSU commit
146. Michael Winter (18.0), RHP, Shawnee Mission East HS (KS), Dartmouth commit
147. Colby Shelton (22.6), SS, Florida
148. Ty Harvey (19.0), C, Inspiration Academy HS (FL), Florida State commit
149. Brett Crossland (18.9), RHP, Corona Del Sol HS (AZ), Texas commit
150. Nick Dumesnil (21.3), CF, Cal Baptist

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Remembering Ruffian 50 years after her breakdown at Belmont

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Remembering Ruffian 50 years after her breakdown at Belmont

Thoroughbred racing suffered its most ignominious, industry-deflating moment 50 years ago today with the breakdown of Ruffian, an undefeated filly running against Foolish Pleasure in a highly promoted match race at Belmont Park. Her tragic end on July 6, 1975, was a catastrophe for the sport, and observers say racing has never truly recovered.

Two years earlier, during the rise of second-wave feminism, the nation had been mesmerized by a “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King’s win became a rallying cry for women everywhere. The New York Racing Association, eager to boost daily racing crowds in the mid-1970s, proposed a competition similar to that of King and Riggs. They created a match race between Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian, the undefeated filly who had dominated all 10 of her starts, leading gate to wire.

“In any sport, human or equine, it’s really impossible to say who was the greatest,” said outgoing Jockey Club chairman Stuart Janney III, whose parents, Stuart and Barbara, owned Ruffian. “But I’m always comfortable thinking of Ruffian as being among the four to five greatest horses of all time.”

Ruffian, nearly jet black in color and massive, was the equine version of a Greek goddess. At the age of 2, her girth — the measurement of the strap that secures the saddle — was just over 75 inches. Comparatively, racing legend Secretariat, a male, had a 76-inch girth when he was fully developed at the age of 4.

Her name also added to the aura. “‘Ruffian’ was a little bit of a stretch because it tended to be what you’d name a colt, but it turned out to be an appropriate name,” Janney said.

On May 22, 1974, Ruffian equaled a Belmont Park track record, set by a male, in her debut at age 2, winning by 15 lengths. She set a stakes record later that summer at Saratoga in the Spinaway, the most prestigious race of the year for 2-year-old fillies. The next spring, she blew through races at longer distances, including the three races that made up the so-called Filly Triple Crown.

Some in the media speculated that she had run out of female competition.

Foolish Pleasure had meanwhile ripped through an undefeated 2-year-old season with championship year-end honors. However, after starting his sophomore campaign with a win, he finished third in the Florida Derby. He also had recovered from injuries to his front feet to win the Wood Memorial and then the Kentucky Derby.

Second-place finishes in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes left most observers with the idea that Foolish Pleasure was the best 3-year-old male in the business.

Following the Belmont Stakes, New York officials wanted to test the best filly against the best colt.

The original thought was to include the Preakness winner, Master Derby, in the Great Match Race, but the team of Foolish Pleasure’s owner, trainer and rider didn’t want a three-horse race. Since New York racing had guaranteed $50,000 to the last-place horse, they paid Master Derby’s connections $50,000 not to race. Thus, the stage was set for an equine morality play.

“[Ruffian’s] abilities gave her the advantage in the match race,” Janney said. “If she could do what she did in full fields [by getting the early lead], then it was probably going to be even more effective in a match.”

Several ballyhooed match races in sports history had captured the world’s attention without incident — Seabiscuit vs. Triple Crown winner War Admiral in 1938, Alsab vs. Triple Crown winner Whirlaway in 1942, and Nashua vs. Swaps in 1955. None of those races, though, had the gender divide “it” factor.

The Great Match Race attracted 50,000 live attendees and more than 18 million TV viewers on CBS, comparable to the Grammy Awards and a pair of NFL “Sunday Night Football” games in 2024.

Prominent New York sportswriter Dick Young wrote at the time that, for women, “Ruffian was a way of getting even.”

“I can remember driving up the New Jersey Turnpike, and the lady that took the toll in one of those booths was wearing a button that said, ‘I’m for her,’ meaning Ruffian,” Janney said.

As the day approached, Ruffian’s rider, Jacinto Vasquez, who also was the regular rider of Foolish Pleasure including at the Kentucky Derby, had to choose whom to ride for the match race.

“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure, and I knew what he could do,” Vasquez told ESPN. “But I didn’t think he could beat the filly. He didn’t have the speed or stamina.”

Braulio Baeza, who had ridden Foolish Pleasure to victory in the previous year’s premier 2-year-old race, Hopeful Stakes, was chosen to ride Foolish Pleasure.

“I had ridden Foolish Pleasure and ridden against Ruffian,” Baeza said, with language assistance from his wife, Janice Blake. “I thought Foolish Pleasure was better than Ruffian. She just needed [early race] pressure because no one had ever pressured her.”

The 1⅛ mile race began at the start of the Belmont Park backstretch in the chute. In an ESPN documentary from 2000, Jack Whitaker, who hosted the race telecast for CBS, noted that the atmosphere turned eerie with dark thunderclouds approaching before the race.

Ruffian hit the side of the gate when the doors opened but straightened herself out quickly and assumed the lead. “The whole world, including me, thought that Ruffian was going to run off the screen and add to her legacy,” said longtime New York trainer Gary Contessa, who was a teenager when Ruffian ruled the racing world.

However, about ⅛ of a mile into the race, the force of Ruffian’s mighty strides snapped two bones in her front right leg.

“When she broke her leg, it sounded like a broken stick,” Vasquez said. “She broke her leg between her foot and her ankle. When I pulled up, the bone was shattered above the ankle. She couldn’t use that leg at all.”

It took Ruffian a few moments to realize what had happened to her, so she continued to run. Vasquez eventually hopped off and kept his shoulder leaning against her for support.

“You see it, but you don’t want to believe it,” Janney said.

Baeza had no choice but to have Foolish Pleasure finish the race in what became a macabre paid workout. The TV cameras followed him, but the eyes of everyone at the track were on the filly, who looked frightened as she was taken back to the barn area.

“When Ruffian broke down, time stood still that day,” Contessa said. Yet time was of the essence in an attempt to save her life.

Janney said that Dr. Frank Stinchfield — who was the doctor for the New York Yankees then and was “ahead of his time in fixing people’s bones” — called racing officials to see whether there was anything he could do to help with Ruffian.

New York veterinarian Dr. Manny Gilman managed to sedate Ruffian, performed surgery on her leg and, with Stinchfield’s help, secured her leg in an inflatable cast. When Ruffian woke up in the middle of the night, though, she started fighting and shattered her bones irreparably. Her team had no choice but to euthanize her at approximately 2:20 a.m. on July 7.

“She was going full bore trying to get in front of [Foolish Pleasure] out of the gate,” Baeza said. “She gave everything there. She gave her life.”

Contessa described the time after as a “stilled hush over the world.”

“When we got the word that she had rebroken her leg, the whole world was crying,” Contessa said. “I can’t reproduce the feeling that I had the day after.”

The Janneys soon flew to Maine for the summer, and they received a round of applause when the pilot announced their presence. At the cottage, they were met by thousands of well-wishing letters.

“We all sat there, after dinner every night, and we wrote every one of them back,” Janney said. “It was pretty overwhelming, and that didn’t stop for a long time. I still get letters.”

Equine fatalities have been part of the business since its inception, like the Triple Crown races and Breeders’ Cup. Some have generated headlines by coming in clusters, such as Santa Anita in 2019 and Churchill Downs in 2023. However, breakdowns are not the only factor, and likely not the most influential one, in the gradual decline of horse racing’s popularity in this country.

But the impact from the day of Ruffian’s death, and that moment, has been ongoing for horse racing.

“There are people who witnessed the breakdown and never came back,” Contessa said.

Said Janney: “At about that time, racing started to disappear from the national consciousness. The average person knows about the Kentucky Derby, and that’s about it.”

Equine racing today is a safer sport now than it was 50 years ago. The Equine Injury Database, launched by the Jockey Club in 2008, says the fatality rate nationally in 2024 was just over half of what it was at its launch.

“We finally have protocols that probably should have been in effect far sooner than this,” Contessa said. “But the protocols have made this a safer game.”

Said Vasquez: “There are a lot of nice horses today, but to have a horse like Ruffian, it’s unbelievable. Nobody could compare to Ruffian.”

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Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

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Volpe toss hits Judge as sloppy Yanks fall again

NEW YORK — A blunder that typifies the current state of the New York Yankees, who find themselves in the midst of their second six-game losing streak in three weeks, happened in front of 41,401 fans at Citi Field on Saturday, and almost nobody noticed.

The Yankees were jogging off the field after securing the third out of the fourth inning of their 12-6 loss to the Mets when shortstop Anthony Volpe, as is standard for teams across baseball at the end of innings, threw the ball to right fielder Aaron Judge as he crossed into the infield from right field.

Only Judge wasn’t looking, and the ball nailed him in the head, knocking his sunglasses off and leaving a small cut near his right eye. The wound required a bandage to stop the bleeding, but Judge stayed in the game.

“Confusion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I didn’t know what happened initially. [It just] felt like something happened. Of course I was a little concerned.”

Avoiding an injury to the best player in baseball was on the Yankees’ very short list of positives in another sloppy, draining defeat to their crosstown rivals. With the loss, the Yankees, who held a three-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings entering June 30, find themselves tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for second place three games behind the Blue Jays heading into Sunday’s Subway Series finale.

The nosedive has been fueled by messy defense and a depleted pitching staff that has encountered a wall.

“It’s been a terrible week,” said Boone, who before the game announced starter Clarke Schmidt will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

For the second straight day, the Mets capitalized on mistakes and cracked timely home runs. After slugging three homers in Friday’s series opener, the Mets hit three more Saturday — a grand slam in the first inning from Brandon Nimmo to take a 4-0 lead and two home runs from Pete Alonso to widen the gap.

Nimmo’s blast — his second grand slam in four days — came after Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez misplayed a ball hit by the Mets’ leadoff hitter in the first inning. On Friday, he misread Nimmo’s line drive and watched it sail over his head for a double. On Saturday, he was slow to react to Starling Marte’s flyball in the left-center field gap and braked without catching or stopping it, allowing Marte to advance to second for a double. Yankees starter Carlos Rodon then walked two batters to load the bases for Nimmo, who yanked a mistake, a 1-2 slider over the wall.

“That slider probably needs to be down,” said Rodon, who allowed seven runs (six earned) over five innings. “A lot of misses today and they punished them.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s throwing woes at third base — a position the Yankees have asked him to play to accommodate DJ LeMahieu at second base — continued in the second inning when he fielded Tyrone Taylor’s groundball and sailed a toss over first baseman Cody Bellinger’s head. Taylor was given second base and scored moments later on Marte’s RBI single.

The Yankees were charged with their second error in the Mets’ four-run seventh inning when center fielder Trent Grisham charged Francisco Lindor’s single up the middle and had it bounce off the heel of his glove.

The mistake allowed a run to score from second base without a throw, extending the Mets lead back to three runs after the Yankees had chipped their deficit, and allowed a heads-up Lindor to advance to second base. Lindor later scored on Alonso’s second home run, a three-run blast off left-hander Jayvien Sandridge in the pitcher’s major league debut.

“Just got to play better,” Judge said. “That’s what it comes down to. It’s fundamentals. Making a routine play, routine. It’s just the little things. That’s what it kind of comes down to. But every good team goes through a couple bumps in the road.”

This six-game losing skid has looked very different from the Yankees’ first. That rough patch, consisting of losses to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels, was propelled by offensive troubles. The Yankees scored six runs in the six games and gave up just 16. This time, run prevention is the issue; the Yankees have scored 34 runs and surrendered 54 in four games against the Blue Jays in Toronto and two in Queens.

“The offense is starting to swing the bat, put some runs on the board,” Boone said. “The pitching, which has kind of carried us a lot this season, has really, really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as I think we should.

“So, look, when you live it and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts. But you got to be able to handle it. You got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to weather it and come out of this and grow.”

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

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Former White Sox pitcher, world champ Jenks dies

Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.

Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.

“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”

After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.

In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”

In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.

“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”

A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.

Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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