12 MLB Draft Picks Who Could Pitch In The Majors In 2025

Chris Cortez, RHP, Angels 

A strikeout machine at Texas A&M in 2024, Cortez was selected by the Angels in the second round this summer and looks like yet another LA prospect who could move quickly. Cortez sits 97-99 mph and was up to 101 on his sinker. His slider sits 87-88 mph with nearly 10 inches of sweep, pairing nicely with his sinker. Cortez has two pitches that move in opposite directions, making it hard to sit on either. While he’ll mix in changeup, he’s primarily a two-pitch guy. Cortez should move fast and could join Ben Joyce in the Angels bullpen early in 2025. 

Ryan Johnson, RHP, Angels

One of the more unusual deliveries you’ll see paired with a high-intensity mound presence, Johnson could also find himself streamlined into the Angels bullpen in 2025. Johnson was primarily a starter at Dallas Baptist and still has a chance to start thanks to swing-and-miss stuff and command. His primary pitch is a low-80s slider with ride and sweep that sees more than double the usage of his primary fastball, which is a sinker. If his slider-first approach doesn’t work as a starter in pro ball, it could push him to the bullpen at some point in 2025. 

Hunter Cranton, RHP, Mariners 

A relief-only prospect, Cranton debuted with Low-A Modesto post-draft and put together a solid showing across nine appearances. He mixes two pitches: an upper-90s fastball and an upper-80s slider. Cranton’s fastball is easily a plus pitch. It sits 96-98 mph with 18-19 inches of IVB from a 5-foot-6 release and has high spin efficiency that creates a sub-four degree vertical approach angle. Cranton pairs it with a gyro-cut slider, giving him a nasty one-two punch that could see him advance rapidly. 

Rafe Schlesinger, LHP, Guardians 

After spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Miami working out of the bullpen, Schlesinger made the jump to the rotation as a junior. He is a low-slot lefthander that delivers the ball from a 5-foot-2 release height, and he mixes two pitches in a fastball at 93-94 mph with heavy arm-side run and a gyro slider at 85-87 mph. With his unusual arm slot, history of working as a reliever and good two-pitch combination, he has a clear path to progress quickly as a reliever. 

Tyson Neighbors, RHP, Padres 

When polling front office and amateur evaluators in preparation for this article, Neighbors was the most-recommended name. The 21-year-old righthander spent three seasons with Kansas State working entirely out of the bullpen. He debuted for Low-A Lake Elsinore post-draft, making four appearances. Neighbors mixes a four-seam fastball, curveball and cutter, all of which have good traits that could help him move quickly. His fastball sits 94-96 mph with 18-19 inches of IVB, which he pairs primarily with a mid-80s curveball that has downer shape. His low-90s cutter gives him a third pitch shape with more horizontal break than his curveball. Neighbors should move quickly and could be bullpen reinforcement for the Padres at some point in 2025. 

Nate Knowles, RHP, Rays 

One of the younger draft-eligible college starters, Knowles won’t turn 21 until September 21. Knowles mixes four pitches in a four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup. While his fastball sits just 91-93 mph, he generates elite induced vertical break numbers, giving him the pitch shape to work out of the pen effectively. Knowles’ primary secondary is a upper-80s cutter whose shape he can manipulate, while hile his curveball and changeup give him offerings to neutralize lefthanded hitters. After three years of starting with William & Mary, it’s likely he remains a starter. But if the Rays do move him to the pen, he has traits that could succeed in the role.  

Chase Allsup, RHP, Orioles 

Over three seasons with Auburn, Allsup did not experience much success, working primarily as a starter over the second half of his collegiate career. Despite the lack of production, he could be fast-tracked as a reliever by the Orioles in 2025. Allsup shows five different pitch shapes and has well above-average stuff. Allsup’s fastball sits 95-96 mph and has been up to 100 mph with 18-19 inches of induced vertical break. Those kind of numbers give Allsup a pitch that could dominate out of the bullpen, particularly if he’s working more upper-90s as a reliever than mid-90s. His primary secondary is a mid-80s slider with 4-5 inches of sweep, giving him a formidable combination of bat-missing shapes. While strikes had been a problem for Allsup over his first two collegiate seasons, he showed a drastic improvement in his command in 2024. He will likely be deployed as a starter early in his professional debut in 2025, but could be moved to the bullpen where he might progress rapidly. 

Sam Stuhr, RHP, Athletics 

A fifth-round pick of the Athletics, Stuhr spent time at three different colleges before matriculating to pro ball. In his 2024 season with Portland, he showed four different pitch shapes with good underlying stuff. His fastball sits 94-95 mph, touching 98 mph at peak with heavy bore and above-average spin efficiency. His primary secondary is a mid-80s gyro slider with tight bullet-spin break. He’ll mix in a low-80s curveball with two-plane break and a changeup, too, giving Stuhr a pair of shapes to neutralize lefthanded hitters. He worked exclusively as a starter in 2024, but could see better results if moved to a full-time, one-inning relief role. 

LeBarron Johnson, RHP, Rockies 

Johnson is a tall, powerful righthander with an extreme vertical arm slot reminiscent of the Rays’ Pete Fairbanks. He spent his final two seasons with Texas working as a starter but projects best as a reliever as a professional. His nearly-seven-foot release height creates a steep plane to the plate on a four-seam fastball that has above-average induced vertical break numbers. Johnson mixes a slider and changeup, too, but the latter is hardly used. His slider sits 85-87 mph with a cutter shape, giving Johnson a high-powered one-two punch that could excel in a relief role. 

Charlie Beilenson, RHP, Mariners 

Arguably the best reliever in all of college baseball in 2024, Beilenson joins a Mariners organization known for getting the most out of its pitching prospects. At 24, Beilenson is an older prospect, meaning he could be fast-tracked to the major leagues. He spent parts of four seasons with Ivy League Brown before spending his final two seasons of eligibility at Duke. The righthander mixes a four-seam fastball, a sweeper slider and a changeup, and he shows the ability to land all of his pitches for strikes. Beilenson’s fastball shape and velocity are just okay, but his low-to-mid-80s slider is a true swing-and-miss pitch with over 10 inches of sweep on average. If he leans into the quality of his slider more as a professional, Beilenson could move quickly. 

Dennis Colleran, RHP, Royals 

Colleran was a high-octane prep prospect that ended up on campus at Northeastern, a school under an hour from his hometown of North Attleborough, Massachusetts. Colleran struggled over his two healthy seasons with the Huskies, but has the stuff and potential to develop into a high-leverage reliever. He missed all of the 2023 collegiate season recovering from Tommy John surgery and showed a lack of command in 2024. If he can hone his strike-throwing, Colleran mixes impressive stuff in a mid-to-high-90s fastball and an upper-80s cut slider. He will show a changeup, but his primary combination of fastball and slider has the potential to work out of a bullpen and see him ascend to the majors quickly. 

Brock Moore, RHP, Mariners 

In Eli Ben-Porat’s post-draft article about picks with interesting Statcast data, he raved about Moore’s stuff, and for good reason. While Porat highlighted Moore’s chances of starting at the time, he’s far more likely to move quickly as a reliever, as his advanced age (24) and history of command issues make him a perfect fit for the bullpen long-term. Moore mixes a mid-to-high-90s four-seam fastball that’s been up to 100 mph with a low-80s sweeper that has a foot-and-a-half of horizontal break and a changeup. Moore’s fastball/slider combination gives him the look of a fast-moving, relief-only prospect with a pair of major league quality movement profiles. If he can hone his command to the point that strike-throwing is not an issue, Moore could be yet another Mariners pitching development success story.