Here is the latest 2025 Draft buzz
Pop-up candidate: Mason McCraine, 1B/LHP, Glenwood Academy (Ala.)
McCraine's name popped up shortly before the Draft as a candidate for a seven-figure bonus from a small group of teams. As a 6-foot-7, 205-pounder with big left-handed power potential, a fastball that reaches 94 mph and athleticism for his size, he draws some parallels to Jac Caglianone. The Auburn recruit led Glenwood Academy -- Tim Hudson's alma mater -- to the Alabama state 3-A title, earning the victory and driving in two runs in the clincher.
Draft withdrawals
Players eligible for the Draft can officially have their names removed from consideration if they don't want to be selected. It's often high school players who have decided they would rather head on to college to try to develop into better prospects two or three years from now. So far, there are six players who have, using the official terminology, "provided the required notification and will be ineligible for selection in the 2025 Draft." This also means they can't be signed post-Draft as a passed-over non-drafted free agent. Four of those players were ranked on MLB Pipeline's Draft Top 250 prospects list.
- Lucas Franco, a Texas prep shortstop, was the highest-ranked player at No. 67, and he'll head to Texas Christian for college.
- RHP Reagan Ricken (No. 156) from Great Oak High School in California will stick with his commitment to Louisiana State.
- Two high school catchers -- Omar Serna (No. 132) from Texas and Brady Dallimore (No. 239) from the Las Vegas area -- also withdrew. Serna will suit up for LSU with Ricken, while Dallimore will become teammates with Franco at TCU.
- RHP John Paone (No. 134) from Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts provided the required notification and will head to Duke.
There are a couple of college players who have also officially withdrawn.
- Tre Phelps (No. 137) was eligible to be drafted as a sophomore but has instead removed his name and will return to the University of Georgia for his junior season. The 21-year-old, who has played the infield and outfield corners for the Bulldogs, began the season as MLB's No. 19 Draft prospect and will look to reestablish his value after posting a 1.140 OPS as a freshman in 2024.
- A pair of University of Texas right-handers -- Ruger Riojas and Max Grubbs -- will return to Austin for their senior seasons. The pitchers finished second and third, respectively, on the Longhorns in innings pitched in 2025, with Grubbs holding a 2.84 ERA, mostly in relief.
- Ben Davis was a two-way player for two years at Itawamba Community College in Mississippi before moving on to be an effective right-hander at Mississippi State, mostly in relief. He opts to spend one more year on the Bulldogs’ staff.
- Jaxon Jelkin, a 6-foot-5 right-hander who last pitched at the University of Houston in 2024, also removed his name. He was supposed to pitch for Kentucky this year but missed the whole season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Orioles grow their bonus pool
Thursday’s announced trade that sent reliever Bryan Baker from the Orioles to the Rays may not have sent shock waves through the baseball world, but it definitely created some buzz in Draft circles. That’s because the return for Baker was the Rays’ pick at No. 37 in this year’s Draft. The selection comes with a slot value of $2,631,400 and gives the O’s the highest bonus pool in this year’s Draft. Their pool of $19,144,500 is the highest allotment since the bonus pool system was instituted in 2012. Baltimore has four selections in the top 37 and seven in the top 93, giving them a total of 14 selections in the top 10 rounds.
Fear not, Rays fans. Even with the loss of the selection, Tampa has five picks on Day 1 (which goes through the third round this year). The Rays have their regular first-round pick at 14, a Competitive Balance Round A pick at No. 42 (from the A’s in the Jefrrey Springs and Jacob Lopez trade), their second-rounder at No. 53, pick No. 67 in the Competitive Balance Round B (compensation for not signing No. 66 overall pick Tyler Bell last year) and their third-round pick at No. 86. Their pool still stands at a robust $14,068,000, good for ninth-largest among all 30 teams.