Don’t forget this was a team that had two consecutive 97 win-seasons in 2018 and 2019, and racked up 84 wins post-Covid in 2021. The tanking was truly incredible, going from knocking on the door of a Championship to moving the team out of the city that loved them so much.

As I reminisce on a team I have a strange attachment to, and the one we all love with some help from Moneyball, I can’t help but think about how this A’s squad should have been a dynasty, and still could be for that matter. With potential for at least one World Series ring in the last six years.

Chapter 1: The Great Tanking

It was truly a herculean effort to pull off the tank-job the A’s management did over the last decade, starting all the way back in 2014.

Sure, some of this will be a little dated, and teams are never perfect in terms of trades, or resigning big time players, but when we take a deep look at their body of work and who they got rid of with their return, I can’t help but believe that it was intentional, and this plan has been unfolding for the better part of a decade.

In 2014, the A’s shining star was Josh Donaldson, who had received top 10 MVP votes the year prior, and at just 28-years old in 2014, posted a 6.9 fWAR with 29 home runs and 98 RBI. In November of that season, he would be traded to Toronto, less than a calendar year before winning his first MVP Award.

Surely they must’ve got a hefty return for such a high-ticket player, right? With control through the 2016 season on Donaldson, the A’s returned Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, Franklin Barreto, and most notably, Brett Lawrie, who would be out of baseball after 2016.

So while they may have not gotten an extension done in 2016 like Toronto did through 2018, we can safely assume Donaldson should’ve been in Oakland through the 2016 season, but more than likely the 2018 season. After the Donaldson deal, the A’s went from a 88-89 win team, to a 68-70 win team through the years Donaldson’s contract was still active.

This wasn’t the only questionable trade during this time, as 27-year old Sonny Gray would be moved in 2017 to the Yankees for Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo, and James Kaprielian. Sure, Gray had battled injuries in his tenure in Oakland, but if they just held steady, they could’ve locked up an arm who has withstood the test of time, and received top three Cy Young votes in his age-29 season in 2019, and his age-33 season in 2023.

Gray could’ve easily been an anchor of the 2018 and 2019 seasons to potentially put the A’s in the World Series talk rather than getting bounced in the Wild Card.

There are plenty of other horrible deals that led to the tanking and move to Vegas, those will be highlighted in the next section as it pertains more to the dynasty that could’ve been.

Chapter 2: The Dynasty That Never Was

If we remove Gray and Donaldson from the equation and go slightly more recent, starting with the 2018, 2019, and 2021 seasons where they would win 97 games in ‘18 and ‘19 and 86 in 2021, to all of a sudden being the worst team in the MLB, it was no accident (in my opinion).

Here’s a list of players from the 2018-2021 A’s that would be shipped away for scraps including their age:

Matt Olson (2021) - 27

Sean Murphy (2021) - 26

Matt Chapman (2021) - 28

Ramon Laureano (2021) - 26

Jurickson Profar (2019) - 26

Marcus Semien (2019) - 26

Sean Manea (2021) - 29

Frankie Montas (2021) - 28

Chris Bassitt (2021) - 32

Jesus Luzardo (2021) - 23

Blake Treinen (2019) - 31

Liam Hendriks (2019) - 30

Thinking about how the careers of most of these players panned out, I can’t help but think about the powerhouse the A’s could’ve continued to be through the 2020’s carrying the momentum they had in 2018-2019.

Again, this list is without Josh Donaldson and Sonny Gray who along the way, would’ve made significant impacts.

Chapter 3: The Trades

I’m going to list some trades for the above players and the A’s return, some are much worse than others:

In 2022, Matt Olson would be moved to the Braves for basically just Shea Langeliers, which… hasn’t aged well to this point.

Matt Olson → Braves

Shea Langeliers, Cristian Pache, Joey Estes, Ryan Cusick → A’s

The A’s would also move off of one of the best catchers in the game in Sean Murphy and this one, made me vomit just a little bit:

A’s Receive:

OF Esteury Ruiz from Brewers

C Manny Piña from Braves

LHP Kyle Muller from Braves

RHP Freddy Tarnok from Braves

RHP Royber Salinas from Braves

A’s Send:

C Sean Murphy to Braves

RP Joel Payamps to Brewers

I don’t think I even need to use a BR stat comparison for this one because none of the players the A’s got in this trade play in the MLB, or are no longer in the organization.

Matt Chapman who has aged like fine wine playing some of his best baseball since joining the San Francisco Giants, and the A’s traded him for next to nothing to Toronto, who they let rob them for Josh Donaldson just a few years prior:

Matt Chapman → Blue Jays

Gunnar Hoglund, Kevin Smith, Zach Logue, Kirby Snead → A’s

Again, only one player in the Bigs on this list and I’m not going to bother comparing them because we know who has been better.

Just to prove my point that they didn’t just make out horribly trading superstars, they also did a terrible job trading their mid-tier players that have gone on to have great careers.

Chris Bassitt → Mets

J.T. Ginn, Adam Oller → A’s

I mean…. it genuinely feels like the league was playing MLB The Show with force trades on in 2022 and pillaged the A’s for everything they had leaving them with a 50 win team.

Chapter 4: The Finale

This final part is just my rant on what happened in Oakland, because there is only one of two things that happened.

The ownership was SO bad and dense that they genuinely thought they were making out like bandits, and had maybe the worst hit rate on prospects ever over the course of 10 years of bad trades.

Or (the more likely version), they knew exactly what they were doing and it was all an elaborate plan to get the A’s out of Oakland and into Las Vegas. It’s nearly impossible to move a team with a passionate fan base that wins games and gets into the playoffs, so take that away and you have yourself a case.

This is a team that legitimately could be atop of the American League still to this day, and sure they wouldn’t have the top prospects like Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson, but their draft strategy since the great tanking makes me believe they know how to develop, and develop well, but were intentionally taking on prospects and players they knew would play zero role in their long term success.

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There are many more than just the few on this list, but these guys have already played huge roles in their teams’ success. Let’s dive into a couple of the most impactful transfers of the 2025 college baseball season so far.

Kuhio Aloy: BYU → Arkansas

It’s no surprise there is an Aloy brother on this list, the newly coined “Bash Braddahs” between Arkansas shortstop Wehiwa and his younger brother, Kuhio, who transferred to Fayetteville from BYU, Kuhio.

Since joining the Hogs, Aloy is slashing .419/.509/.838 with seven doubles, eight home runs, 35 RBIs, and just 18 strikeouts to 12 walks. Sure, Aloy has only DH’d this season, but what he has brought to the middle of the Arkansas lineup is unmatched across the country. Would you believe me if I told you he wasn’t in the lineup every day to start the season?

Aloy’s profile has always been a high-ceiling player, but his improvements over the last year have been outstanding. Dropping his strikeout% from 27.6% to 20.7% is a clear improvement, but the quality of contact is what I’ll be focusing on.

In 2024, Aloy had an average exit-velocity of 89.3 where 45.2% of his contact was over 95, while in 2025 his exit-velocity jumped to 93.9 with 60.8% is over 95. The up-tick in barrel% from 17.4% to 27.5% is the main cause of this, clearly finding more quality contact across at-bats.

Hitting more line drives has been the key for Kuhio as he bumped his line drive rate from 17.7% to 25%, and is a huge reason for his 9.25 at-bats to home run ratio which was 24.63 just a year ago.

One major adjustment is his patience at the plate. While the swing-and-miss is still there, Aloy is showing much more patience at the plate bumping up his walk% while lowering the strikeouts.

If these adjustments stay true through the season, and onto his draft year, Kuhio Aloy can be one of the premier bats in the college circuit for the 2026 draft.

Liam Doyle: Ole Miss → Tennessee

I wouldn’t be able to write this article without including arguably the best pitcher in college baseball, Liam Doyle.

After spending his 2023 campaign at Coastal Carolina, then moving to Ole Miss in 2024, Doyle now finds himself in Knoxville with the defending Na

tional Champions and consensus #1 team in the nation. The clear improvement for Doyle comes with his velocity, now sitting 95.1 and topping out at 99 while he averaged just 92.5 and topped out at 95 a year ago in Oxford.

Doyle leads the country in strikeouts with 53, is in the top-10 in ERA and WHIP with a 0.72 and 0.64, surrendering just three extra-base hits to this point, and has opposing batters hitting just .114.

All signs point to Doyle being the 1.01 in the 2025 MLB Draft this summer if this production continues, and based off his start against the #5 Florida Gators last weekend where he punched out six allowing just one run on three hits, one of which being a home run to Blake Cyr, it looks like he’ll continue to roll in SEC play.

Doyle took the mound last night against #8 Alabama in Tuscaloosa against arguably the second best offense in the SEC, and didn’t show what we’ve seen but his stats are not including that start.

Daniel Dickinson: Utah Valley → LSU

Daniel Dickinson was one of the most sought after transfers in the 2024 offseason, and packed his bags heading to Baton Rouge for the 2025 season.

So far, he’s been a huge piece of the Tigers offense slashing .368/.547/.721 with six doubles, six home runs, and 28 RBIs.

Dickinson coming into 2025 was a high-floor player, but some clear changes have been made to fit the LSU offensive approach and it’s already put a jump on his profile. The emphasis on line drives and lifting the ball has shown with his line drive% jumping from 21.1% to 27% while lowering his ground ball%.

The biggest adjustment I’ve seen is that Dicksinson is swinging less (44.7% - 35.8%) with a clear emphasis on walking and he’s bumped up his walk rate from 11.5% to 15.5% while lowering his strikeout rate from 9.5% to 7.2%.

He may not have the highest ceiling in the 2025 draft class, but Daniel Dickinson has become extremely polished already since joining the SEC and could be a mid-first round steal for an organization looking for a pro-ready middle infielder.

Ryland Zaborowski: Miami Ohio → Georgia

After being somewhat a journey-man through his career jumping from junior college, to Grand Canyon, to Miami (OH), and now with the Georgia Bulldogs, Ryland Zaborowski has exploded onto the college baseball scene this year.

Tied as the nation's leader in home runs with 12, second in the country in RBIs with 40, and currently is the leader in slugging percentage with a 1.079. Zaborowski through 20 games is slashing .444/.568/1.079 and his production has been outmatched by very few.

At first glance, there aren’t any massive adjustments made to Zaborowski’s approach between 2024 and 2025, the increase in walk% (16.5% - 17.3%) and decrease in both strikeout% and WHIFF have certainly played a part in what I would classify as a ‘refined approach.’

Flattening out his launch angle slightly has resulted in less pop-outs, less fly balls, and more line drives, paired with a massive increase in exit velocity from 89.7 with only 49% of contact hit 95+ to now an average exit velocity of 96.8 with 66.7% of his contact hit at 95+.

These slight changes paired with some much needed exit velocity boosts have made Ryland Zaborowski one of the premier power threats in college baseball.

The Wolverines averaged 8.75 runs/game while slashing .319/.375/.525 in their first weekend while getting breakout performances from junior outfielder Jonathan Kim, junior two-way Mitch Voit, grad-senior catcher Matt Spear, and grad-senior infielder Jeter Ybarra.

Jonathan Kim: .500/.500/.611, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 2-2 SB

Mitch Voit: .471/.474/1.059, 4 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI

Matt Spear: .357/.438/.571, 1 HR, 6 RBI

Jeter Ybarra: .353/.421/.529, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI

On the pitching side, it was a similar story all weekend, as the Wolverine staff held opposing hitters to a .193 batting average, allowing just six earned runs over 38 IP (1.42 ERA) and punching out 42 while surrendering just 12 walks. Michigan used 14 different pitchers through opening weekend, showing their depth across the board, none of which allowed more than two runs. Gavin DeVooght was the star for the Wolverines, getting the win against Virginia, going 2.1 shutout innings with two strikeouts. He’d back up that performance with a start against Stetson, going five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, surrendering only four hits to the Hatters ’s hot offense.

Gavin DeVooght: 2 APP, 2-0, 7.1 IP, 9 K, 4 H, 0.82 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, .174 b/avg

David Lally Jr: 5.0 IP, 3 K, 1.00 WHIP, .176 b/avg, 0.00 ERA

Kurt Barr: 5.0 IP, 8 K, 0.00 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .158 b/avg

Will Rogers: 4 IP, 3 K, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, .200 b/avg

Dylan Vigue: 5.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 3 K, .286 b/avg

Why do the Wolverines hold their own destiny? After their performance in Week 1, they cracked most Top-25 polls (24 in the Backside GB Poll) and have a serious chance to shock the college baseball world this weekend. They head to Arlington, Texas, where they’ll take on #17 TCU on Friday, Kansas State on Saturday, and #2 Arkansas on Sunday. While they should take care of business against the Wildcats, if they split or even sweep the remainder of the weekend, they should be in the Top 25 for the majority of the season and control their own destiny through Big 10 play.

Their conference schedule, while tough, is balanced enough for a big run if what we saw early on from Tracey Smith’s ballclub is who they are, and I truly believe we could see Ann Arbor as a regional host site for some postseason play. They’ll take on Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State, USC, and Indiana at home, while their road sets will be Oregon, Purdue, Ohio State, and Nebraska. This is a very winnable schedule for the Wolverines, sprinkling in a non-conference series with Long Beach State and Mount Saint Mary’s. The remainder of their non-con schedule is rounded out by Eastern Michigan, UCLA, Toledo, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, and UW Milwaukee.

If the Wolverines find a way to leave Arlington undefeated, 6-1, or even 5-2 (not all losses are created equal), their RPI may be boosted enough to ride them through the 2025 season as long as they don’t stumble. Based on what I have seen so far, I feel very confident in their ability to hang with the top of the conference in Oregon, Nebraska, Indiana, Penn State, and Ohio State.

This is a big statement weekend for Michigan, and they could write their own destiny in a few short days.

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Marek Houston/SS/Wake Forest

As my good friends at Backside Groundballs Media like to put it, many top teams like to ‘get their lineup fat’ on opening weekend. Essentially, scheduling a lesser team early to get your barrels in and get guys feeling good to kick it into gear. Now, this has a downside too when a good team gets slapped with reality early, but this Wake Forest offense ate good this weekend after starting 4-0, outscoring LIU and Marist 63-12.

Houston is known for his defensive prowess, but head coach Tom Walter expressed how impressed he was in the steps he took at the plate over the Fall. This weekend may have been a sign of things to come after going 10/14 (.714) with 3 HR, 1 2B, 13 RBI, and a 2.218 OPS. Yep, you read that right. I anticipate Houston trending this direction all year and is why he’s one of my top shortstops in the 2025 draft class.

Dax Whitney/RHP/Oregon St

I’m not sure you could start your college career better than true freshman Dax Whitney did on Saturday for the Oregon State Beavers. The 6-5 18-year old turn down draft money to go to Corvallis, and took full advantage of his first career start against UNLV, going 5 shutout innings with 8 strikeouts, and surrendering just 4 hits while earning his first victory.

Whitney ran it up to 98 mph with his over-the-top fastball, and flashed a diabolical curveball to match. With a short arm action that is definitely deceptive to hitters, Whitney is going to be a problem for college baseball this season.

Pierce Coppola/LHP/Florida

Heading down south, we saw Pierce Coppola take the bump against Air Force, and put together what was the most dominating performance on the mound in college baseball this weekend. Standing at 6-8, Coppola led the way racking up 12 strikeouts over 5 shutout innings surrendering just 1 lone hit. If Coppola keeps this up, and is the Gators Saturday guy, they can be an awfully dangerous team in SEC play. Not to mention, he brought some of the biggest energy to the bump while flashing multiple pitches for strikes.

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If you weren’t already aware, 2025 happens to fall into the pattern of every 8th year, and the National Champion is a mid-major school. Before you jump on me for my math (I went to school for journalism, not numbers), this excludes the 2020 canceled season.

2008: Fresno State

2016: Coastal Carolina

2025: ???????

Now, I’m not superstitious, but I am a little-status, and I wholeheartedly believe there are a handful of small schools capable of making a lot of noise this year and can keep this newfound trend going. Here are eight things that are going to happen in the 2025 season (in honor of our Omaha 8).

1. Texas A&M Misses the CWS

‘But Will, why say this when the Aggies are involved in every one of your futures cards??’

Because in the back of my head, there’s a little voice of doubt that tells me the expectations in College Station are too high, and first-year coach Michael Earley just can’t get his revenge from 2024. Do I fully believe in this one? Not necessarily, but I’m a sucker for a good storyline, and the Aggies missing Omaha might be an even better story than them taking home the title.

2. Dallas Baptist Wins the Natty

Per the aforementioned trend, and the chance that A&M doesn’t get it done, Dallas Baptist may just be the club to get it done. With tons of returning talent in guys like C Grant Jay, RHP James Ellwanger, IF Chayton Krauss, and RHP Jerrod Jenkins, paired with a veteran coaching staff featuring Dan Heefner as the Skipper, the Patriots are tied for 3rd in the country for most wins/season since 2015 (43).

This high-powered offense will shine in Omaha and become America’s team; they’re nicknamed Dallas Bombers University for a reason.

3. Big 10 Gains National Respect

There’s nobody more disrespectful to the Big 10 than SEC fan-boys. Not all of it is unwarranted; cold weather states tend to lack in baseball due to the delay in being able to play outside, but a power shift is coming, and 2025 might just be the intro to it. Oregon plays a crucial role in this, holding the preseason rank of 13, and being a legitimate CWS threat. It goes way deeper in 2025; both Indiana & Nebraska start their 2025 campaigns in the Top 25 (23,24), and both should be national tournament teams. Penn St is going to be the runaway train nobody saw coming, and ‘juggernauts’ better cross their fingers they don’t see Mike Gambino’s Nittany Lions as a 3-4 Seed in their regional. Both USC and UCLA, who are now in the Big 10, hold some legitimate firepower and could sneak into the National Tournament.

This is potentially a five-bid league, and more in the coming years; respect the Mid-West.

4. ACC Gets More CWS Teams Than SEC

I swear this is not an anti-SEC propaganda blog. Most of my future tickets involve SEC teams, but the ACC is unbelievably high-powered and well-balanced from top to bottom. I see Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, and Florida State as legitimate contenders. If my previous predictions come to life, we’re looking at this one following suit.

POTENTIAL OMAHA 8:

Virginia, North Carolina, Clemson, Dallas Baptist, TCU, Oregon St, Arkansas, Georgia

5. Nolan Schubart Wins Golden Spikes

Read this. Enough said.

6. Tulane Three-Peats the AAC

Nothing like a squad that returns a ton of talent in a conference that got objectively weaker to defend their title. I got to sit down with Head Skipper Jay Uhlman on his outlook for the 2025 season; “We have a hungry group of newcomers that have blended quickly with our battle-tested group of back-to-back AAC champions. The guys are motivated to continue the upward trajectory of the past two seasons and put their own stamp on the standards of the program. It has been a rewarding process for us this fall and we want to stay focused on that process to give us the best chance to get what we want.”

7. Hawai’i Wins the Big West

All of the attention on the West Coast falls on potential 1.01 in 2025 MLB Draft Tyler Bremner and the UCSB Gauchos, but the Rainbow Warriors are coming ready to rumble in 2025. After going 37-16 last year, Rich Hill’s ballclub should take another step in the right direction, and with one of the more high-powered lineups in the Big West, may be able to out-slug the pitching heavy conference. I love seeing new teams in the fold, and I believe the Bows’ time is approaching.

8. Will Takes on Omaha

While I already have my ticket booked to Omaha for what will be five days in my literal Heaven, I just need to put out there how excited I am to have boots on the ground in Omaha for the CWS for the first time in my life. And, of course, it’ll feel nice to see one of these go through the hoop once we hit June. It’s been a life-long dream of mine to cover baseball, and to do it on the biggest stage of my favorite sport literally feels like a dream. Content will go crazy that week, stay tuned.

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Before that, while this list is subjective, I have to lay out my criteria of what makes a good deadline acquisition. While player caliber and talent is a major factor, I’m basing most of this off what these players did for their respective ball clubs to propel them into the playoffs, and in some cases, bring home the Commissioner’s Trophy.

Honorable Mention: Mark Teixeira/2008/LA Angels

It would be unfair to not include a guy that propelled the Angels to the winningest season in franchise history, and the best record in baseball that year. Teixeira played just 54 games with the Halos, accumulated 3.7 bWAR, slashed .358/.449/.632 with 13 HR and 42 RBI. Unfortunately, the Angels would run into the Red Sox in the ALDS where their season would come to a disappointing end. This is my honorable mention because the Angels, even without Teixeira would’ve still more than likely taken the AL West. If they had made a significant postseason run my position may have been swayed, nonetheless, will go down as one of the most impactful trade deadline moves ever.

#3: Aroldis Chapman/2016/Chicago Cubs

Snapping a ringless curse that hovered over the Windy City for 108 years on the backs of prime Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. In trading future Yankee Gleyber Torres, and other prospects, the Cubs would grab renowned flamethrower Aroldis Chapman at the deadline. He would post a 1.2 bWAR, 1.01 ERA, 16 SV, 46 K, 0.825 WHIP, 418 ERA+ over 26.2 IP en-route to a championship.

The reason Chapman cracks this list is his incredible postseason performance where he’d tally 4 saves in 13 appearances with 21 K and a 1.09 WHIP. Could the Cubbies have done the seemingly impossible without Chapman? Maybe, but relief pitchers come at a premium at the deadline and they made one of the best moves in history to secure their reign as World Series Champions. Worth it every time.

#2: David Justice/2000/New York Yankees

Repeating a World Series victory is hard enough, but the 2000 Yankees managed to turn that into a 3-peat. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Bronx Bombers that year. Approaching the deadline, it was fairly evident there was a case of ‘World Series Hangover’ as the Yanks found themselves at just three games over .500 when July hit, nearly halfway through the season. In Yankees fashion, they made a big splash in trading for 34-year old David Justice.

Justice would be one of the best bats in the whole lineup in the 78 games he played for the eventual 2000 World Series Champs, slashing .305/.391/.585 with 20 HR (3rd on team), 60 RBI, and a 3.2 bWAR. Justice was truly the spark that sent the Yankees on a tear going 49-39 to cap off the season, earn his right as the ALCS MVP, and take home their 26th World Series Championship. Masterclass.

#1: CC Sabathia/2008/Milwaukee Brewers

You may think to yourself, why is now Hall of Fame southpaw CC Sabathia my #1 when I punished Teixeira for not being on a team that made a deep playoff run, given the fact the Brewers would see their miracle season thwarted by the eventual World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies. Well, the Brewers not only are a small market team without the resources to make giant splashes year to year, but they took their chance in 2008 on CC, and it paid large dividends. By July 7, 2008 when the deal took place, the Brewers were 49-40, just four games back from the eventual divisional winners and cross-state rival Chicago Cubs. But they needed to bolster the team to compete for a Wild Card spot against the Houston Astros.

Sabathia would start 17 games in his Milwaukee tenure, going 11-2 posting a 1.65 ERA, 4.9 bWAR, 128 K, 1.003 WHIP, with 7 complete games, 3 of which came by way of shutout. Pure and utter dominance no matter how you cut it. The Milwaukee faithful still holds this move as their ‘Holy Grail’ of deadline moves, and I can’t help but agree. While they didn’t win the World Series, or even the Divisional Series, CC’s magical three-months in Milwaukee is still in my eyes the best MLB deadline acquisition in MLB History.

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Blake Barthol/2B/Coastal Carolina

Holding down second base for the Chants this season is one of the highest offensive-producing players at the position, Blake Barthol. They started all 61 games in 2024, and slashed .310/.444/.597 with 20 2B, 15 HR, and 61 RBI. I anticipate even more production from Barthol in ‘25, and they can be the force in the middle of the Coastal Carolina lineup. With a quiet and pretty swing from the left side, Barthol has tons of gap-to-gap power and uses the whole very well.

His approach has vastly improved from 2023-2024 despite being a Freshman All-American in ‘23, cutting down on his K% from 33.9% to 29.2% and increasing his BB% from 13.5% to 14.2% while getting significantly more at-bats. I see the approach taking another step this season and we’ll see him produce even more. Barthol shows his ability to play small ball and get jobs done picking up 17 sacrifice hits over his first two season.

Blake Cyr/2B/Florida

After a massive Freshman campaign in 2023 at the University of Miami, where he would just miss out on ACC Freshman of the Year after posing a slash line of .305/.427/.630 with 12 double, 17 bombs, and 63 RBI, Cyr suffered injuries that only allowed him to play in 25 games in his sophomore campaign, where he would still hit seven home runs and drive in 21. Since then, he’s hit the portal and will join the Florida Gators in 2025, and this could be a massive year for him. If you’ve been following me since the OG days, you’ll remember a blog I wrote on Cyr around this time last year, and for good reason.

Cyr has some of the best offensive ability at the position and with plus range, I could see a move to shortstop in the future. Don’t be surprised when his draft stock sky rockets after what can be an explosive season in the SEC.

Tyler Cerny/SS/Indiana

Rounding out the list is one of the best defensive shortstops in all of college baseball, and one of my personal favorite players to watch, Tyler Cerny from Indiana. After spending his freshman season in 2023 at second-base, Cerny made the move to his natural shortstop position look effortless on both sides of the ball, slashing .315/.379/.525 with 10 HR, 24 2B (led B10), and 60 RBI in 2024. With that, he became the first Hoosier since 2008 to record 80+ hits, 60+ RBI, 20+ 2B, and 10+ HR.

Cerny is an extremely fun player watch and has a legitimate chance to be recognized as one of the premier shortstops of college baseball in 2025 and see his draft stock sky rocket. Smooth simple swing, pro frame with room to grow physically, I see a big year coming for both his ballclub, and himself.

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Nick Dumesnil/OF/Cal Baptist

One of the highest upside players in the country comes from mid-major Cal Baptist, Nick Dumesnil has full 5-tool potential, and has the baseball IQ to match. Slashed .362/.440/.702 with 19 HR and 45 RBI in 2024, spent his Summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League where he went 26/27 on stealing bags and led the league in doubles (12). Dumesnil may have some swing-and-miss concern once he hits pro-ball, though his 12.9% K% through 2024 wouldn’t indicate it. That number jumped to 21.7% in the Cape, and he showed some chase out of the zone, specifically on breaking balls.

Dumesnil is held in high regards by those who get eyes on him, and MLB scouts will be chomping at the bit to call his name come draft day. With a very simple swing and extreme bat speed, there is some resemblance of former North Carolina Tar Heel CF and 2024 1st-round pick Vance Honeycutt, with less strikeout concerns. Expect a massive season from him in 2025, and potential for a top-15 pick.

Paxton Kling/OF/Penn St

Paxton Kling started 39 games (61 GP) for the LSU Tigers in 2024 where he spent his freshman and sophomore year winning a National Championship in 2023. Kling slashed .222/.409/.317 with 9 2B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, and went 8-10 on SB in 2024, where he would enter the transfer portal at the conclusion of the season and find his way to Happy Valley with the Penn St Nittany Lions.

Paxton Kling shows plus speed and defense, where he patrolled CF for the Tigers in 61 games, making web-gems left and right. Kling has a quiet swing, especially in the lower half, but produces a lot of thump where he showed it off with multiple 400 foot home runs in his tenure in Baton Rouge. Head Coach Mike Gambino has raved about Kling, and he might just propel himself into the Big-10 and College Baseball spotlight with a full time position.

Cam Maldonado/OF/Northeastern

Cam Maldonado is one of my biggest bounce-back candidates for the 2025 season, and the extremely-toolsy outfielder should catapult his draft stock through the Spring. Led the CAA with 29 bags in 2024 despite having a down year, slashed .265/.411/.469 in 2024 with 6 2B, 8 HR, and 23 RBI, a significant dip from what we saw in his extremely impressive freshman campaign where he gained accolades as CAA Rookie of the Year, and First Team All-Conference.

He spent his Summer in the Cape Cod League with the Harwich Mariners, where he would finish in the top-10 in both RBI and stolen bases. A simple swing with no wasted movement, Maldonado has the pop to go gap-to-gap with ease, and drive the ball out of the yard at times. Could be a guy that sneaks into the 1st-round of the upcoming draft if he can bounce back in the way he’s capable of.

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While the Wave look to replace some key pieces on both the mound (Chandler Welch, Billy Price), and in the lineup (Brady Marget, Colin Tuft, Teo Banks, Marcus Cline), Head Coach Jay Uhlman loves the mix of youth and veteran experience his team will bring into the 2025 season; “We have a hungry group of newcomers that have blended quickly with our battle tested group of back-to-back AAC champions. The guys are motivated to continue the upward trajectory of the past two seasons and put their own stamp on the standards of the program. It has been a rewarding process for us this fall and we want to stay focused on that process to give us the best chance to get what we want.”

Out:

Brady Marget: 62 GS, .331/.427/.524, 14 2B, 10 HR, 59 RBI, 40 BB, 38 K

Colin Tuft: 61 GS, .279/.437/.509, 11 2B, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 13 SB

Teo Banks: 61 GS, .265/.380/.543, 19 2B, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 7 SB

Marcus Cline: 60 GS, .229/.364/.385, 8 2B, 6 HR, 29 RBI

Ben Romano: 33 GP, .278/.381/.500

Nathan Rose: 31 GP/20 GS, .216/.376/.378, 6 2B, 8 RBI

Chandler Welch: 17 GS, 89.0 IP, 4.65 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 88 K, .303 B/AVG

Billy Price: 20 APP, 6 GS, 3.33 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 51.1 IP, .225 B/AVG

Colin Reilly: 4 APP

The Offense:

Despite losing four key starters from the lineup, Tulane brings back eight players that started 20 games or more, four starting 45+ games.

Junior infielder Connor Rasmussen returns, starting 61 games in 2024, slashed .310/.423/.487 with 15 2B, 7 HR, and 51 RBI (T-1 amongst returners). Rasmussen also swiped seven bags in 2024, with a quiet swing and fast hands and solid defense up the middle will be primed for another year of setting the table and driving in runs, as well as utilize the bunt game with a team-leading five SH in 2024.

Senior utility man Gavin Schulz is back in New Orleans after slashing .303/.378/.517 with 13 2B, 11 HR, 51 RBI, and 7 SB in his junior campaign. Started all 62 games for Tulane in 2024, plays great defense across the board. With a big leg kick early in counts that can generate a lot of pop, Schulz does a great job shortening up with two strikes and is willing to get the job done playing small-ball.

Jackson Linn headlines the middle of order after a big junior year where he slashed .299/.351/.658 with 13 2B, 16 HR (led team), 45 RBI, and 7 SB. Not to mentioned the shot heard ‘round the AAC with the walkoff homerun to cap off the AAC tournament run and punch a ticket for the Green Wave to the NCAA playoffs. I anticipate even more power production from Linn in 2025 and will be a great veteran bat in the middle of this Tulane order.

Michael Lombardi will play a pivotal role on the 2025 club as a two-way player, slashed .277/.380/.369, with 7 2B and 26 RBI at the plate while posting a 3.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and a 4-3 record over 41.2 innings of work while racking up 53 strikeouts and a mere .189 B/AVG.

Rounding out the Green Wave lineup of returners are seniors Matthias Haas and Brock Slaton who appeared in 42 and 41 games respectively combining for 35 RBI.

The Returners:

Connor Rasmussen (JR/IF): .310/.423/.487, 15 2B, 7 HR, 51 RBI, 7 SB

Gavin Schulz (SR/UTL): .303/.378/.517, 13 2B, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 7 SB

Jackson Linn (SR/OF): .299/.351/.658, 13 2B, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 7 SB

Michael Lombardi (JR/TWP): .277/.380/.369, 7 2B, 26 RBI - 3.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 53 K, .189 B/AVG

Matthias Haas (SR/UTL): 42 G, .299/.383/.505, 5 2B, 5 HR, 24 RBI

Brock Slaton (SR/OF): 41 G, .235/.333/.412, 5 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI

Luc Fladda (SR/LHP): 15 GS, 83.0 IP, 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 61 K, .281 B/AVG

Jacob Moore (JR/RHP): 26 APP, 42 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 45 K, 6 Saves, .222 B/AVG

Henry Shuffler (SR/RHP): 30 APP, 46 IP, 4.89 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 48 K, .246 B/AVG

Carter Benbrook (GR/LHP): 25 APP, 39.1 IP, 5.49 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 46 K, .286 B/AVG

Blaise Wilcenski (JR/RHP): 21 APP, 43.1 IP, 6.23 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, 41 K, .337 B/AVG

Will Clements (SR/RHP): 14 APP, 9 GS, 34 IP, 6.35 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, 23 K, .293 B/AVG

The Pitching:

While the Green Wave will be replacing their top innings thrower in Chandler Welch, they return more than enough major contributors to the staff that I don’t anticipate them missing a step as we get into the 2025 season.

Senior left-handed pitcher Luc Fladda will lead the charge after getting the ball in 15 games in 2024, notching a 5-3 record, 4.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 61 K, and a .281 B/AVG. Fladda was named to the All-Corvallis Regional team where Tulane saw their 2024 run end, going 8 strong innings in a win against Nicholls St allowing no runs and fanning one.

Jacob Moore is back after a team-leading 6 saves over 26 appearances and 42 innings. Racked up a 3.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 45 K, and a .222 B/AVG and can be the anchor of this Tulane bullpen. With a short arm action, Moore lives in the low 90’s and brings an unmatched energy to the mound that all clubhouses need in a closer.

2024 appearance leader (30) Henry Shuffler is back after throwing 46 innings to a 4.89 ERA, 1.37 WHIP with 48 K and a .246 B/AVG. Carter Benbrook, Blaise Wilcenski, and Will Clements round out the returners for the Tulane staff combining for 116.2 innings of work and 50 appearences.

With such a veteran staff, and big pieces back on offense, Tulane should be in a great spot to roll in 2025 as they’ll look to three-peat on AAC titles.

Series of Interest:

@ Long Beach St 3/4

v Xavier 3/14 - 3/16

v Wichita St 3/21 - 3/24

@ Southern Miss 4/1 & 4/22

@ East Carolina 4/25 - 4/27

v Charlotte 5/15 - 5/17

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The Chants will look to replace three of their top five hitters (Antonacci, Brown, Bender), and multiple other offensive role players as well as multiple of their top innings throwers from the pitching staff. Known for their high-powered offense in 2024, scoring over eight runs per game, they’ll look to get back to Omaha for the first time since their National Championship in 2016 and have lots of returning bats to lead the charge.

Out:

Sam Antonacci: 61 GS, .367/.523/.504, 13 2B, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 15 SB

Graham Brown: 59 GS, .353/.456/.601, 18 2B, 12 HR, 62 RBI, 10 SB

Derek Bender: 60 GS, .320/.422/.519, 11 HR, 63 RBI

Zack Beach: 60 GS, .262/.387/.556, 17 HR, 56 RBI

Corey Zientek: 53 GS, .232/.402/.427, 17 RBI

Henry Weycker: 25 APP, 7 GS, 3.23 ERA, 55.2 IP, .212 B/AVG, 1.02 WHIP

Parker Cassell: 20 APP, 4.91 ERA, 18.1 IP, .257 B/AVG, 1.36 WHIP

Bryce Shaffer: 25 APP, 59.2 IP, 5.28 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, .282 B/AVG

Alexander Meckley: 21 APP, 9 GS, 52.2 IP, 7.52 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, .262 B/AVG

The Offense:

I anticipate the 2025 Chanticleers to be an extremely high-powered offense yet again. Despite losing some key lineup pieces, they return a lot of firepower. My personal #1 catcher in the 2025 class returns, Junior backstop Caden Bodine. The switch-hitting catcher slashed .324/.405/.519 with 20 2B, 9 HR, and 71 RBI with 30 BB to 23 K in 2024. Bodine shows potential to be the best pure hitter in the class with an 89.1% Contact and goes gap-to-gap extremely well from both sides of the plate. He’s improved defensively year over year, and I anticipate the trend will continue, as he threw out 40.7% of base stealers in 2024.

Holding down second base is one of the highest offensive-producing players at the position, Blake Barthol. Started all 61 games in 2024, slashed .310/.444/.597 with 20 2B, 15 HR and 61 RBI. I anticipate even more production from Barthol in ‘25 and can be the force in the middle of this Chant’s lineup.

Also returning are utility players Jake Books and Dean Mihos, who started 47 and 46 games, respectively. They OPS’d .965 and .782 while combining for 59 RBI. Both will take the step into full-time roles this season. They are a pair of bats that get on base at over a 40% clip and bring plenty of RBI potential.

Rounding out the group of significant returners is infielder Ty Dooley, who started 43 games in 2024 and slashed .213/.331/.333 in 2024.

Returners:

Caden Bodine: .324/.405/.519, 20 2B, 9 HR, 71 RBI

Blake Barthol: 310/.444/.597, 20 2B, 15 HR, 61 RBI

Jake Books: .292/.416/.549, 8 HR, 35 RBI

Dean Mihos: .275/.403/.379, 24 RBI, 7 SB

Ty Dooley: .213/.331/.333, 26 RBI

Sebastian Alexander: 38 GP, .164/.297/.246, 11 RBI, 8 SB

Riley Eikhoff: 16 GS, 6-1, 75.2 IP, 5.00 ERA, .302 B/AVG, 56 K, 1.40 WHIP

Oliver Ellison: 17 APP, 38.1 IP, 7.36 ERA, .323 B/AVG, 21 K, 1.59 WHIP

Dominick Carbone: 24 APP, 37.1 IP, 5.06 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, .210 B/AVG, 35 K

Cameron Flukey: 19 APP, 10 GS, 55 IP 5.73 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, .242 B/AVG, 83 K

The Pitching:

I personally have the most questions about the pitching side for the 2025 Chanticleers. The 2024 staff featured 10 different starting pitchers over the course of the season, but they return some major contributors that we’ll see in the Chants 2025 rotation. I anticipate a similar ‘ride the hot hand’ philosophy with the staff.

Redshirt Junior RHP Riley Eikhoff should hold his own as the Friday night starter, totaling a team high 16 starts for the 2024 Chants and was their rotation anchor. With a short arm action and solid offspeed, Eikhoff has the ability to miss barrels, but classifies mostly as a pitch-to-contact arm. Some strikeout upside: I believe the Junior takes a major step into 2025 and continues to be the big presence of the Chants staff.

Cameron Flukey is another arm I anticipate cracking the Chants 2025 rotation. Standing in at 6-6, the big righty will enter his Sophomore campaign much more polished. Sitting 92-95 with the fastball but definitely plays up in terms of velo, paired with a big curveball at 74-77. He has the biggest upside on this entire staff, racking up 83 punchies of 55 innings of work in 2024, I see a big step inbound for him.

Some major bullpen arms return, including Dominick Carbone and Oliver Ellison, who combined for 41 appearances and 75.2 innings pitched. As both are incoming sophomores, I anticipate their workload and production bumping up in their second year.

My favorite part about this staff is how young they were in 2024. While they struggled mightily at times, especially in conference play, where they allowed nearly seven runs per game, the increased experience and development paired with the innings thrown so early into their careers will reap the rewards for the Chants.

I believe this team is primed for another postseason appearance and will finish much closer to the top of the Sun Belt in 2025. I can’t wait to watch this offense and some big games in Conway!

Series of Interest:

v College of Charleston 2/19

v North Carolina St 2/23

v UNC Wilmington 2/25

@ North Carolina 3/4

@ East Carolina 3/7 - 3/9

v Wake Forest 3/11 & 4/15

@ Campbell 3/18 & 4/1

@ Troy 3/21 - 3/23

@ Clemson 3/25 & 5/6

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The Reds grab a LHH second-baseman in Lux, who was one of the most highly touted prospects in 2019. Since then, his time in the MLB has been rather underwhelming, and filled with injury. Until 2024 that is. Lux had a full breakout in the second half of the season, tallying a 152 wRC+ (13th best in the MLB) with a .899 OPS, increased his Hard-Hit% by 12.2%, clubbed 16 2B, 7 HR, and drove in 26 RBI. This is a clear ‘sell-high’ for the Dodgers who had signed Lux’s replacement just a few days earlier, and the Reds get a guy who may just thrive in Great American Small-Park. Overall, I think this move for the Reds makes sense if there’s any thoughts of moving McClain to the outfield, and if Lux truly found his break out rather than catching lightning in a bottle, could be a spectacular move for a team I’m already extremely high on in 2025.

The Dodgers, well, quite frankly probably won’t miss Lux. The signing of Kim solves a lot of the question marks around the defense side of Lux’s game, and gives some freedom with not having to play Chris Taylor as much. In return, they received a College Baseball darling of mine, Mike Sirota from Northeastern University and a compensation pick (Mikey OC LOVES this). Sirota has the makings of a 5-tool player, but we’ve seen some of the power production dip from his senior year of college. With a lean and athletic build, Sirota has excellent bat-to-ball skills and some of, if not the best plate discipline and approach of the 2024 draft class. Sirota plays a mean Center Field patrolling with plus speed, tallying 19 SB in each of his last two college seasons. His simple swing, freakish bat speed, and big defensive upside, I love this grab for the Dodgers. Tons of college experience, and if they can tap into the power like he showed in his Sophomore year at Northeastern, can be a legit 20-20 guy in the Bigs.

While this might come back to haunt me, and the Dodgers, I think in the long term this can be a steal of a trade with the ceiling Sirota gives. And more draft stock is never a bad thing.

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While the Beavers lost some key pieces like the 1st overall pick in the 2024 draft, Travis Bazzana, their top two innings contributors and closer, they return six position players that started over 20 games in 2024 (Trosky, Hainline, Turley, Macias, Krieg, Weber). I, and fellow Skippers View writer Julian Jacobson, agree that this is a team that is primed to make an Omaha run. While replacing the best player in the country is no small feat, the Beavers return a lot of fire power, and brought in some of the best players the country had to offer via the transfer portal.

Out

Travis Bazzana: .407/.568/.911, 16 2B, 28 HR, 66 RBI, 16 SB, 60 GS

Micah McDowell: .382/.485/.632, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 39 GS

Aiden May: 7-1, 73.2 IP, 84 K, 23 BB, 3.05 ERA, .219 B/AVG

Jacob Kmatz: 7-3, 88.0 IP, 96 K, 22 BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .208 B/AVG

Bridger Holmes: 26 APP, 32.2 IP, 47 K, 1.93 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, .145 B/AVG

Jaren Hunter: 13 APP, 45.1 IP, 4.96 ERA

The Offense

The Beavers 2025 lineup already has a ton of pop, including multiple projected first round picks in Trent Caraway and University of Washington transfer Avia Arquette. While Caraway’s numbers may not jump out, it’s because he battled injury the majority of 2024, but has the makings of a big league third-baseman written all over him. With the glove, and bat, I anticipate near 20 HR for him as long as health is good. Avia Arquette was possibly the biggest grab in the 2024 transfer portal and is already projected as a top-10 pick and first SS taken in the 2025 draft. Stolen from a former conference foe, the former Husky hit .325 with 14 2B, 12 HR, 36 RBI and 6 SB in 2024. He’ll enter his junior season in Corvallis as one of the best defensive shortstops in the country with a massive upside at the plate.

Gavin Turley also returns after starting all 61 games in 2024 for the Beavers, slashing .277/.412/.589 with 19 HR and a team leading 74 RBI. The junior will also be rising up draft boards as we get closer to the summer, and will be a middle of the order bat built to slug, and drive in runs at will. Junior Dallas Macias also returns to Corvallis after starting 52 games in 2024, racking up a .911 OPS with 14 2B. Macias goes gap-to-gap extremely well, and while the power doesn’t result in home runs, he’ll be a big bat towards the bottom of the order in what is shaping up to be a very deep lineup.

Elijah Hainline and Jacob Krieg round out the remainder of the Beavers 2025 lineup starting 59 and 43 games respectively. Hainline racked up 11 HR, 45 RBI, and a .936 OPS in 2024 while Krieg had an OPS of .988 with 40 RBI.

In

Avia Arquette: .325/.384/.574, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 14 2B

Trent Caraway: .339/.431/.516, 2 HR, 10 RBI (62 AB)

Dallas Macias: .315/.389/.521, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 14 2B

Jabin Trosky: .287/.362/.357, 20 RBI

Elijah Hainline: .280/.402/.537, 11 HR, 45 RBI

Jacob Krieg: .278/.453/.535, 10 2B, 9 HR, 40 RBI

Weber Wilson: .276/.380/.569, 7 HR, 22 RBI

The Pitching

As mentioned, the Beavers will be replacing their Friday and Saturday starters, as well as innings leaders in Aiden May and Jacob Kmatz, and closer Bridger Holmes. This is no small obstacle, but I like what the Beavers are cooking on the pitching side coming into 2025. Another underrated piece of the staff is senior catcher Weber Wilson returns to manage the staff, and that veteran presence behind the dish is going to go a long way.

Eric Segura returns after starting 15 games, going 6-1 with a 4.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and a .242 B/AVG. Segura was a very solid Sunday starter as a freshman, and I anticipate him making the jump into a bigger role as a sophomore.

The biggest piece of the puzzle will be LHP Nelson Keljo who was fantastic in a swingman role in 2024 but primarily out of the bullpen fanning 60 over 43.0 innings of work. Reports from fall camp indicate Keljo will be the Friday night starter, and I anticipate him skyrocketing his draft stock.

Freshman Dax Whitney will be an extremely intriguing arm to watch, turned down $1M in the 2024 draft to attend Oregon State, and the 6’5 righty flashes an electric fastball that had scouts drooling to pick up the 18 year old.

Left-handed pitcher Tanner Douglas transfers into Oregon State from the University of Portland after racking up 10 saves for the Pilots over 35 innings of work with 38 strikeouts and a .218 B/AVG. More fall camp reports from Corvallis indicate Douglas will be taking over the closer role for the Beavers in 2025.

This 2025 Beavers club will be one I keep a close eye on and I believe they will be a wagon over the courser of the season and primed to make yet another postseason run.

Series’ of Interest

2/16: v Indiana

2/21: v Virginia

2/22: v Oklahoma

3/1: v Auburn

3/7 - 3/9: v U San Diego

4/4 - 4/6: v UC Irvine

4/25 - 4/27: @ Oregon

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Like every year, the portal is filled up and distributed all over the country, and I’m here to give love to a few of my favorite transfer portal moves, specifically those from mid-major schools, or different divisions heading into the 2025 college baseball season.

Zach Root/LHP/East Carolina → Arkansas

We all knew about Trey Yesavage in 2024, but Zach Root was his counter-punch, and was a huge piece of the Pirates 2024 success. Tallying a 6-2 record over 68.1 innings pitched with 76 K, 21 BB, a .228 B/AVG and a 3.56 ERA. Root has a funky delivery and plus offspeed, he creates a ton of deception that hitters struggle with.

Despite being slightly undersized at 6’1 Root lives in the 91-94 range on his fastball with 97 in the tank, and I believe Arkansas can tap into that velo and we’ll see an uptick there. What gets me fired up is his changeup, with 10+ mph of velocity difference off his fastball, it generated 46% WHIFF% last year and was a nightmare for opposing batters. Adding to his plus offspeed is a curveball that generated a 48% WHIFF%, with an 11-5 shape, it plays off his fastball really well. Root rounds out his arsenal with a slider, I’m curious to see where that falls in his development with the Razorbacks.

Myles Patton/LHP/Long Beach St → Texas A&M

Another southpaw, this time from the Big West. Myles Patton finds himself transferring to the runner-up of the 2024 National Championship, but will most certainly find themselves in the drivers seat to be #1 come preseason polls. Patton racked up 88 strikeouts over 61.2 IP with just 24 BB and a 3.26 ERA in 2024 at Long Beach St.

With a nasty slider in the low 80’s, it disappears on lefty’s and his ability to locate it back-foot to RHH makes it that much more playable. Despite only being 88-91 with the fastball, it gets on hitters quickly due to a short and deceptive arm action. Another guy I anticipate the velocity will increase with the transfer to a major D1 program. Quickly becoming one of my favorite arms of the 2025 Draft Class.

Wyatt Henseler/3B/Penn → Texas A&M

The common trope of college baseball the last few years has been Ivy League grad transfers jumping to Power 5 programs and tearing it up. Duke has perfected this formula in the last two seasons, and I expect Wyatt Henseler will be no different for the Aggies in 2025. A middle of the order bat with a career slash line of .354/.445/.690 with 50 2B, 54 HR and 189 RBI. Henseler held a 1:1 K:BB in 2024 (28:28), and is a big ball-in-play, aggressive approach, player at the dish.

Why I love these types of players so much is that they have years of experience, and the transition into Power 5 ball is much smaller than most people think. While the Aggies lineup is already stacked heading into 2025, watch for this physical bat to be a real difference maker.

Tyson Bass/OF/North Carolina Wesleyan - North Carolina

What would this list be without a D3 grinder? We saw in last years Super Regional, UCONN nearly took a team with 11 former Division 3 players to the promised land of Omaha, but fell just short. At 6’3, 200 lb, Tyson Bass will make the jump from D3 to Chapel Hill. In 2024, Bass hit .369 with 11 doubles, 4 triples, 21 HR, 57 RBI, and 31 stolen bases. With a big frame and clear athletic prowess, Bass will be an immediate impact for the 2025 Tar Heels. Reports from Fall Camp suggest he’s making the transition into Power 5 ball look effortless.

While there’s not a lot of information on him out there, it’s clear he has struck a balance between power and speed, and will be a key piece for a North Carolina ball club looking to get back into the postseason.

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Meet Nolan Schubart. A Junior outfielder at Oklahoma St with a frame built for professional baseball. The 6’5 left-handed slugger slashed .370/.513/.743 (that’s a 1.345 OPS) with 23 HR and 68 RBI in his sophomore campaign in Stillwater. He averaged a homerun every 7.52 at-bats, with a .468 ISO while generating an average exit velocity of 97.6 mph, creates exit velocities over 95mph over 66% of the time, and running it up to 115 mph. Schubart is one of those guys when he hits the ball on the button (he does this a LOT) you drop what you’re doing and think ‘holy cow this kid can mash.’

With the best raw power in college baseball, you’re wondering why a guy who hit .370 in 2024 isn’t already the projected #1 college bat taken next Summer. In fact, he’s projected to go somewhere in the 15-20 range of the 2025 draft. Believe it or not, the hit-tool is what has scouts raising the red flag. There is some strikeout issues in his game (27.8%), but the chase rate is only at 19.3% which is a really good sign. Schubart punishes balls in the zone, especially when he can get his hands extended, and the rarely gets out of his approach with excellent swing decisions.

The struggles coming from breaking pitches and specifically down and away out of the zone is where we see a lot of swing a miss in his game and decline in power production. The main issue is his contact rate of 63.4%. While the quality of his contact is insanely high which allows for him to have such a high average, finding barrels at a 41.9% clip, the hit tool still needs some work. If we see that contact rate get up into the 70-80% range in 2025, I see Schubart catapulting into Top 10 conversations and potential for the Golden Spikes award, and the first college bat off the board.

To me, he profiles really similar to Jac Caglianone, but with far better swing decisions. The WHIFF issues may catch up to him and cause some slower development, but I’m a full believer in what I see, and can easily be one of the more fun power hitters in the MLB down the line.

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The first piece in return for Williams is LHP Nestor Cortes. We all know him for his funky timing games and mustache, but he fits perfectly into what the Brewers look for in budget pitchers; three types of fastballs. Cortes uses a 4-seam, sinker, and cutter 73.6% of the time, and I anticipate the Brewers exploiting his arsenal in their pitching lab. Cortes has had two down years after a monster 2022, but in 2024 he tallied a 9-10 record, 3.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP with 162 strikeouts over 174.1 innings. Cortes fills a big gap in the Brewers rotation and I have a good feeling they’ll get him back to great numbers like what they did with Frankie Montas in the back half of 2024. Cortes also comes with a cheap contract owed just $8.3M in 2025, but will become a UFA in 2026. That’s the biggest issue I have with this deal, only one year of control over Cortes.

If you recall a few years ago, the Brewers traded elite closer Josh Hader in return for Estuery Ruiz, Robert Gasser, Taylor Rogers, and Dinelson Lamet. To me, this is a similar attempt, but with better pieces.

The second piece of the deal is INF Caleb Durbin, who can bounce around anywhere in the infield. With the departure of Willy Adames, and big prospects in Cooper Pratt and Jesus Made not ready for the Pros yet, Durbin fills a much needed role. Joey Ortiz will likely take over shortstop, Durbin can play 3B, and Gold Glove winner Brice Turang will stick at 2B. Rhys Hoskins returns, and I anticipate some playing time between the corners from Tyler Black, although I could see one if not both of them getting moved before the start of the 2025 season. While Durbin is 25 with no MLB experience, he jumped from A-AAA through 2024 slashing .275/.388/.451 with 25 doubles, 10 HR and 60 RBI. He also struck out just 9.9% of the time, and swiped 31 bases. An athletic infielder who is very toolsy across the board with ability to go gap-to-gap. Finally, he lit up the Arizona Fall League this year, racking up a .976 OPS, with 5 doubles, 5 HR, 21 RBI and 29 stolen bases over 21 games, and struck out just 6 times in 117 PA. I really like what I see out of him, and the versatility will be great for the Brewers coming into 2025.

You may ask me; “Will, what are the Brewers going to do about a closer this year?” Well, let introduce you to Craig Yoho aka ‘Devin Williams part 2.’ I’ll do a deep dive on him later, but he’s been one of my favorite pitching prospects in the MLB over the last few seasons.

At the end of the day, Williams was always going to get moved this Winter, and the Brewers got much better from this trade and addressed some holes in the roster, and I still like this move a lot.

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If you didn’t already know, I specialize in covering college baseball and deem myself an expert on mock-drafts when it comes to college-level players. While there are always prep guys in the mix, whom I don’t typically know that much about, nor will I claim to, I will take any opportunity to make myself look like an idiot selecting draft picks seven months before the draft takes place.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love to dive completely head first into my mock drafts, and keep it strictly to the college players. This will not be that. This is simply a thought exercise for me as I’m starting to prep for the College Baseball season and thinking about team needs for the 2025 MLB Draft. Please don’t come for me in July when 60% of these are wrong.

1. Washington Nationals - Tyler Bremner/RHP/UC Santa Barbara

2. Los Angeles Angels - Jace LaViolette/OF/Texas A&M

3. Seattle Mariners - Ethan Holliday/IF/Stillwater HS

4. Colorado Rockies - Cam Cannarella/OF/Clemson

5. St Louis Cardinals - Jamie Arnold/LHP/Florida St

6. Pittsburgh Pirates - Devin Taylor/OF/Indiana

7. Miami Marlins - Seth Hernandez/RHP/Corona HS

8. Toronto Blue Jays - Trent Caraway/3B/Oregon St

9. Cincinnati Reds - Nolan Schubart/OF/Oklahoma St

10. Chicago White Sox - Ethan Petry/1B-OF/South Carolina

11. A’s - Cam Leiter/RHP/Florida St

12. Texas Rangers - Xavier Neyens/UTL/Mount Vernon HS

13. San Francisco Giants - Ike Irish/C/Auburn

14. Tampa Bay Rays - Caden Bodine/C/Coastal Carolina

15. Boston Red Sox - Tanner Thach/OF-2WP/UNC Wilmington

16. Minnesota Twins - Wehiewa Aloy/SS/Arkansas

17. Chicago Cubs - Brendan Summerhill/OF/Arizona

18. Arizona Diamondbacks - Kruz Schoolkraft/LHP/Sunset HS

19. Baltimore Orioles - Zach Root/LHP/Arkansas

20. Milwaukee Brewers - Marek Houston/SS/Wake Forest

21. Houston Astros - Tre Phelps/3B-OF/Georgia

22. Atlanta Braves - Tyler Cerny/SS/Indiana

23. Kansas City Royals - Nick Dumesnil/OF/Cal Baptist

24. Detroit Tigers - Ethan Conrad/OF/Wake Forest

25. San Diego Padres - Luke Stevenson/C/North Carolina

26. Philadelphia Phillies - Avia Arquette/SS/Oregon St

27. Cleveland Guardians - Gavin Turley/OF/Oregon St

28. New York Mets - Henry Ford/1B-C/Virginia

29. New York Yankees - Cam Maldonado/OF/Northeastern

30. Los Angeles Dodgers - Eli Willits/SS/Ft Cobb-Broxton HS

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Rhett Lowder/RHP/Cincinnati Reds

With the trade of Brady Singer to Cincinnati, I have some questions on what Lowder’s role and workload will look like in 2025, but he has all the makings of an NL ROY candidate similar to his former counterpart, Paul Skenes. In Lowder’s first stint with the Reds, he would throw 30.2 innings over six starts, accumulating a 2-2 record. Lowder threw to a 1.17 ERA and 1.272 WHIP in those innings, with 22 K and 14 BB. While the walk numbers were very uncharacteristic from what we saw at Wake Forest (143 K to 24 BB in 2023 at Wake), he had very few walks in his short run through the minors, and I chalk it up to nibbling/nerves.

Above all else, Lowder misses barrels at an extremely high rate, and if he had played a full season, he would’ve found himself with the best of the best (3.3%). Living with a 3/4 arm action, the Sinker/Changeup combo has been his bread and butter through his college days, and I anticipate it being the majority of what he throws in the pros. He’ll be a groundball machine and can make a serious impact for the Reds, who I’m extremely high on in 2025.

Coby Mayo/3B/Baltimore Orioles

We all know Coby Mayo for being a freak of nature, standing in at 6’5, 230, and being part of what is quite frankly a ‘prospect logjam’ in Baltimore at the moment. While his first taste of MLB action didn’t go as planned (let’s not forget, neither did Jackson Holliday’s), finding four hits over 41 ABs, Mayo has done nothing but mash his way through the minors as he clubbed 25 HR, 73 RBI, and 54 of his 105 hits going for extra bases across two MiLB levels (A+, AAA) in 2024.

I love Mayo’s approach at the plate, and while there is some strikeout concern (28.4%), his physicality and slugging ability are the shining diamond for the 2020 draft product. I can easily see him being a consistent 30 HR player at the Major League level. With plus arm strength and a solid glove at the hot corner, Mayo could be your stereotypical slugging third-baseman.

Jacob Wilson/SS/United States Athletics

I hate that I can’t give the A’s the label of Oakland, and if you’ve been following me for a while, you know I have a soft spot for this team, and see the future vision with what they’re cooking in young talent. While Wilson won’t be the Gunnar Henderson-type shortstop slugging and being flashy, Jacob Wilson has a legitimate 80-grade hit tool. Striking out just 31 times over three seasons (155 games) in his college career at Grand Canyon University. Wilson flashed this in his short stint in the MLB in 2024 before going down with injuries, striking out just 10 times (8 walks) in 91 ABs.

Wilson may just be a refreshed Luis Arraez (but with actually good defense), but definitely can run into some extra base hits. Luckily, with the way the A’s lineup shakes out, he just has to set the table for guys like Shae Langeliers and Lawrence Butler. I can easily see Wilson hitting above the .300 mark with a sub-10 % K% in his first full season, all while locking down one of the most physically demanding positions on the diamond.

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The Rules & Team Philosophy

Similarly to the NHL expansion draft, teams can protect players. There is no technical limit, but there is a threshold to which a team would sacrifice draft picks to protect those players. I believe that number to be 8-9, so that was my baseline when creating the list. Here’s a link to what I think would be the protected players list in this scenario, as I don’t have enough space to do that here, and not everyone is interested in that. Other than the players in that excel sheet, all players (including those in FA this winter) are up for grabs. Don’t come for me, that was all personal opinion of who I think teams value. No, my team does not have unlimited money, and Charlotte would more than likely fall under the “small market” umbrella of the MLB. The MLB average active payroll in 2024 was $104,830,614, however, the median was $171,796,598. To be fair, I’ll split those for my maximum payroll at $138,313,606, which would’ve placed the Aviators as the 18th highest spender in 2024. I will be constructing a 26-man roster since the MLB active payroll is based on that number and not the 40-man.

*Note: All contracts are based on projections and/or www.spotrac.com

Despite being just 26 years of age, I’m an old head when it comes to baseball. It’s part of the reason why I love College Baseball so much. The emphasis on pitching, defense, and small ball is what I’m all about. I’ll be emphasizing pitching while picking hitters that may not be sexy but can sure as hell produce. Without further ado, let’s get right into the squad.

Starting Pitchers

SP 1: Shane Bieber, RHP

29-year-old Shane Bieber will be tasked with being the ace of this new club, and it’s a perfect fit. I’m not overly concerned with the injury trouble the last few years, as he is one of the best and most consistent arms in the league when he’s healthy. In his last full season (2022), he tallied 4.8 fWAR over 200 IP, pitching to a 2.88 ERA with a 25% K% and just a 4.6% BB%. Historically, Bieber has relied heavily on his fastball, despite being below average in velocity at just 91.3 MPH. What I love about Bieber is the upside of his Chase% and WHIFF%, which are consistently above 30%. With a full arsenal of pitches (FB/SL/KNCV/CT/CH), Bieber is able to mix up looks, and while he relies on the FB over 35% of the time, hitters struggle with it due to the RPM (2304) and well above average extension which makes it a ‘heavy fastball’ due to the perceived velocity. Not to mention his ability to land his whole arsenal for a strike, and put-away stuff.

Contract: 3-year, $52.5M, $17.5M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $120,813,606

SP 2: Jack Flaherty, RHP

While Jack Flaherty has had an outstanding year in Detroit and LA, the Dodger's injuries will bring back a slew of arms while Flaherty hits the open market, and the Dodgers may lose the bidding war.. Racking up debatably his career-best year at the age of 29, Flaherty is my #2 SP target. Sure, the injuries have been an issue in the past, and we’ve seen extreme peaks and valleys this season. However, the career low in BB% (5.9%), and near best in ERA (3.17), a career-high in K% (29.9%), and LOB% (80.9%) give me a ton of confidence to throw some money at the big righty and let him go to work. Flaherty is also at a career-best in WHIFF% in the 93% of the MLB, and the increase in both his slider and knuckle-curve usage seems to be the difference in his success, along with getting away from the sinker and replacing it with a 4-seam fastball that he uses nearly 45% of the time.

Contract: 3-years, $65M, $21.6M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $99,213,606

SP 3: Walker Buehler, RHP

Walker Buehler will be hitting the free agent market after missing two straight seasons with Tommy John surgery, and while 2024 didn’t go as planned, he looked great in the playoffs. The biggest note about Buehler coming off so many injuries is that he is still relearning to pitch out of a different arm slot. Understanding this risk means he’ll come with a lower price tag, but high incentive type contract and gives him time to hone in. The swing-and-miss stuff is clearly still there with the slider/curveball, and he spins it about as well as anyone in the league. While he won’t run it up to 98 anymore (his WS performance made me eat my words), the low-mid 90s can play as long as the walks get limited, which was his big issue in 2024. The 5.38 ERA was somewhat deceiving as the xERA was at 4.68, and I anticipate the innings going way up.

Contract: 2-year, $24M, $14M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $85,213,606

SP 4: Reese Olson, RHP

I find myself extremely drawn to Reese Olson and his arsenal of offspeed pitches that makes for a miserable AB. With a Barrel% in the 85th% and 87th% in WHIFF%, Olson uses his changeup and slider for a combined 40% with a B/AVG of .222 and .143 respectively. In Olson’s second MLB season, he racked up 112.1 IP, pitching to a 3.53 ERA (3.51 xERA). While he doesn’t flash overwhelming strikeout numbers, the 7.1% BB% is fantastic, along with the groundball rate in the 86%. Olson holds the capacity to be a fantastic number two as he gets older, and at only 25, he’s just getting going. This would be a great building block for a resignation at the end of 2025.

Contract (from DET): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $84,413,606

SP 5: Patrick Sandoval, LHP

I know, this one isn’t sexy. Sandoval has struggled the last few years, but I’m airing on the side of blaming his situation. Despite the 5.08 ERA, his xERA was nearly a full point less at 4.25. Sandoval dealt with injuries through his 2024 campaign and finished his season with a 22.9% K% and a 9.9% BB%. He scored out really well in terms of limiting barrels (88%), and his breaking balls and offspeed still provide a lot of value. Sandoval’s sinker was the trouble pitch in which opposing batters accumulated an average slug of .413/.534. It's not pretty, but I’d suggest he uses the pitch less, similar to 2022 and 2021, where he put up fantastic numbers and relied more on his slider to play off of his changeup and curve, which are by far the best pitches in his arsenal. I believe a change of scenery is just what Sandoval needs, and at just 28 years old, they can be an anchor for the bottom of the order.

Contract (from LAA): 1-year, $6.3M, $6.3M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $78,113,606

Swingman: Mitch Spence, RHP

Mitch Spence showed a lot of great flashes in his first full MLB season with the Oakland A’s. Racking up 151.1 IP to a 4.58 ERA (4.11 xERA) and a 1.38 WHIP. While the strikeout stuff didn’t show, he limited walks well staying under 7%, and was in the 81% of GB%. Spence also found huge success with Chase% thanks to his cutter/slider combo that gets used 72% of the time. He did suffer giving up hard contact, but I see that more as growing pains for a rookie than a long-term issue, given the movement he gets throughout his arsenal. The 26-year-old is certainly a guy that can swing between the rotation and bullpen and can easily find success in year two.

Contract (from OAK): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $77,313,606

Bullpen

RP 1: Orion Kerkering, RHP

Orion Kerkering busted onto the scene for Philly in 2024, accumulating a 1.5fWAR, a 2.29 ERA, and a 1.08 WHIP with 10.57 K/9 over 63 IP. The 23-year-old flashes a sweeper that is used 55.7% of the time with a 31.1% WHIFF%. He does everything well, from limiting hard contact (86%) to inducing groundballs (93%), and racks up non-contact outs, a bullpens dream.

Contract (from PHI): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $76,513,606

RP 2: Ryan Walker, RHP

Ryan Walker quietly threw to a 1.91 ERA over 80 IP for the Giants in 2024. Racking up 11.03 K/9 with just a 5.8% BB%. Walker is a true two-pitch pitcher, going sinker/slider that has opposing batters hitting .217 and .173 respectively. With a 0.78 WHIP, Walker makes for a brutal at-bat, and limits hard contact about as well as anyone in the MLB (98%).

Contract (from SF): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $75,713,606

RP 3: Lucas Erceg, RHP

29-year-old Lucas Erceg really found his stride in 2024 after a rocky 2023 rookie campaign. Lowering his ERA from a 4.75-3.36 and xERA from 3.69-3.17 while cutting his walk numbers by 8%. Averaging 98.9 mph on the fastball, Erceg makes for a tough AB with his FB/SL/SNK/CH arsenal, all of which get used at very similar rates. This is what stands out to me because he isn’t a matchup merchant, he throws the FB/SL almost evenly between RHH and LHH with the difference being the third pitch where he relies on the sinker to RHH and the changeup to LHH. Gets a lot of WHIFFs (31%) with a 28.5% K%. Hitters struggled mightily with Erceg all season in his time in both Oakland and Kansas City. Was Mr. Reliable all year, racking up 61.2 IP in 61 APP.

Contract (from KC): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $74,913,606

RP 4: Alex Vesia, LHP

A bit of a homer pick, but not without good reason. Vesia flashed the best fastball of the 2024 Postseason despite only averaging 93.4 mph. With 21.6” IVB (leads MLB LHP), opposing batters hit just .148 against his 4-seamer. With +20 run value on his fastball, Vesia has one of the best in the game, and he’s a lefty.

Contract (from LAD): 1-year, $2.2M, $2.2M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $72,713,606

RP 5: Gabe Speier, LHP

Sticking with another lefty, Gabe Speier was one of the best relievers in the MLB in 2023 racking up 54.2 IP. He battled injuries through 2024 and only had 23.2 IP, so I’ll be using his 2023 data to justify this. Was on of the best in Chase% with a 39.7 largely due to his FB/SL combo that generated a 45.7% and 35.7% WHIFF% and had opposing batters hitting just .215 and .186 against. Despite averaging just 94.5 with the fastball, the stuff has off-the-charts potential and is worth a shot on a bounce back in 2025.

Contract (from SEA): 1-year $900K, $900K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $71,813,606

RP 6: Garrett Cleavinger, LHP

Garrett Cleavinger is coming off a career high in appearances (68) and innings (60), while tallying a 3.75 ERA and 10.65 K/9. What I like so much about Cleavinger, similar to Vesia, is the 4-seam fastball. Through 2024, opposing batters hit just .089 with a .200 SLG against the pitch, that he used 24.8% of the time, largely due to his 16.6” IVB and average of 96.3 MPH. The Cutter was the pitch that got Cleavinger into the most trouble, while the FB/SL combo was his bread and butter. Another solid lefty to add to the pen that can be an appearance merchant.

Contract (from TB): 1-year $1.1M, $1.1M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $70,713,606

CP: Trevor Megill, RHP

Every good club needs a lights-out closer, and Trevor Megill and his 98.8 MPH Fastball is just the guy. Megill racked up 46.1 IP in 48 appearances, and 21 saves while filling in for Devin Williams while he was on the shelf. With a career best in BB/9 (2.72), LOB% (75.5%), ERA (2.72), and WAR 1.0. While he might be prone to hard contact and flashes just a two-pitch arsenal (4-Seam, CB), opposing hitters had an xBA of just .213 against the 6’8 righty. Despite using the fastball 71.3% of the time, opposing batters struggled to see any type of success off it hitting .209 with a .279 SLG. He has become accustomed to the big moment and is a guy I want with the ball late in games.

Contract: 1-year, $2.125M, $2.125M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $68,588,606

Catcher

Jake Rogers

This team will rely heavily on catching by committee, mostly because any catcher with a lot of value would almost certainly be protected. Jake Rogers was putrid at the plate in 2024 slashing .197/.255/.352 with just 43 RBI, but finds himself in the upper echelon of defensive catchers with a +12 Feilding Run Value, and is fantastic in nearly every defensive metric. I believe in Rogers’ hitting ability more than what he showed in 2024 and I believe he can get back to a 20+ home run player. I’ll take the great defense, knowing he isn’t playing every game.

Contract (from DET): 1-year, $2.23M, $2.23M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $66,358,606

Ben Rortvedt

Sticking with another defensive-heavy catcher, Ben Rortvedt does more than his part behind the dish and offers enough offensively to get the job done as a platoon catcher. Slashed a career-best .228/.317/.303 in 2024, tallying a 1.4 fWAR. What I like about Rortvedt is he walks. A lot. 10.4% in 2024. Yes, there is a lot of swing and miss in his game, but at the very least, this squad will thrive defensively behind the plate.

Contract (from TB): 1-year, $1M, $1M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $65,358,606

First Base

Spencer Torkelson

I may be the one person on Planet Earth that still believes in the bat of Spencer Torkelson. Despite coming off of what was debatably his worst MLB season where he would slash .219/.295/.319 in 92 games while also being sent down for a stretch, I still see the vision. In what was a sub-par 2023, he still managed to club 31 dingers with 94 RBI. It’s still in the tank. While there is a concerning amount of swing-and-miss in his game (27.6% K%), he still has a good approach, hardly chasing outside the zone (23.2%), the results just haven’t been there. The decline in barrels (14.1% - 6.4%), average EV (91.8 - 89.0), and hard-hit% (50.9% - 39.7%) from 2023-2024 is a massive red flag, and I believe a simple change in scenery can be the solution, and if not, it’s his last chance.

Contract (from DET): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $800,000

Jonah Bride

After getting his first (longer) stint in the MLB at the age of 28, Jonah Bride made a splash in Miami slashing .276/.357/.461 with 11 HR and 39 RBI in just 71 games. Complete confidence in a 30 HR season, Bride walks at a career 10.6% clip while striking out less than 20% of the time. Someone that can platoon with Tork, and if he doesn’t work out, I love this option. With a wRC+ of 123 in 2024, I see him taking a huge stride into 2024, and with very little swing-and-miss in his game, it gives a low-risk high-reward feeling.

Contract (from MIA): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $63,758,606

Second Base

Jonathan India

Jonathan India will lock down 2B, as he took some massive strides in his age 27 season in Cincinnati. Being at the top of the league in BB% (12.65%), India was an on-base machine slashing .248/.357/.392 in 2024. Another guy with hardly any swing-and-miss in his game, and just a 18.4% Chase%, one of the best in the league. He’s above average on the bases and defensively, and still see potential for a 20 SB season. Coming off a near career best 2.8 fWAR, India has appeared to continually refine his approach.

Contract (from CIN): 2-year, $8.8M, $4.4M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $59,358,606

Shortstop

Tommy Edman

Tommy Edman will be ‘Mr. Do-It-All for this club, and will play a multitude of positions, at a platinum glove level. He, like many others on this squad, is year-over-year, one of the best in the league in terms of not striking out (16.6%) and Chase% (16.1%). In his last full season (2023), he slashed .237/.294/.417 and accumulated 2.4 fWAR. Truly one of the most versatile players in the MLB, and sticking him on an expansion team feels like the perfect move and he’ll bounce between IF and OF.

Contract (from STL/LAD): 2-year, $16.5M, $8.25M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $51,108,606

Ha-Seong Kim

While he doesn’t offer a ton of power upside, Kim is a perfect infielder for this squad as he can play at any position needed, and well with 4OAA in 2024. After his 2024 campaign where he racked up 2.6 fWAR, Kim slashed .233/.330/.370 with 11 HR, 60 RBI, and 22 SB. The biggest green flag with Kim is his feel for the strike zone. With one of the best BB% in the League (12.3%), Kim is also one of the best at not coming out of his approach with a Chase% of 18.6% and WHIFF% of 15.9%. I love the multi-year deal for Kim to secure an on-base machine and versatile glove.

Contract: 2-year, $24M, $12M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $39,108,606

Third Base

Josh H. Smith

Josh H. Smith showed flashes of a breakout in his first full season in the MLB, playing in 149 games, slashing .258/.337/.394 with 13 HR and 62 RBI. While his BB% dropped from his first few stints in the MLB, the K% has slowly dropped year to year, and the Hard Hit% has risen every year. Everything points to Smith continuing to make strides as a legitimate contributor.

Contract (from TEX): 1-year, $2.6M, $2.6M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $36,508,606

Left Field

Tyler O’Neill

Tyler O’Neill is coming off a near career year offensively after getting a much needed change of scenery from St Louis. Crushing 31 HR, 61 RBI with a .847 OPS and 131 wRC+ in his first year in Boston, this is the big ticket slugger of free agency. While there is a good chunk of strikeout in his game (33.6%), he still walks at a 11.2% clip, and so much of this lineup has been built around good approach and on base, it’s time to add the big bat. In 2024, he was on of the best in terms of xSLG (.491), Barrel% (17.3%), and Hard-Hit% (48.8%), all pointing towards the fact the extra base hits and home runs will continue to flood into his age 30 season. 

Contract: 4-year, $72M, $18M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $18,508,606

Brendan Donovan

Brendan Donovan had probably the sneakiest year of anyone in 2024, clubbing 14 HR, 73 RBI with a 115 wRC+ and career best 3.2 fWAR. With nearly a 1-1 K/BB ratio, Donovan gets fanned only 12.4% of the time (8th in MLB), while still walking at a 7.2% clip. Donovan provides more defensive versatility bouncing between LF and 2B, and while the power upside isn’t crazy, he’s one of the best in Square-Up% at 35.2%, and with hardly any swing-and-miss in his game, this is a great grab.

Contract (From STL): 1-year, $4M, $4M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $14,508,606

Center Field

Parker Meadows

Parker Meadows got his 2nd cup of tea in the Big Leagues in 2024 racking up 298 PA where he’d slash .244/.310/.433 with a 111 wRC+ and a 2.1 fWAR. While nothing statistically jumps off the page, I’m a full blown believer in the 25-year old. I love the tools and his 6’4 frame, and despite the 25.5% K%, the Chase% is pretty solid at 25.8%. Meadows classified as a burner with one of the best sprint speeds in the League, and has potential for Gold Glove defense with +6 Fielding Run Value and 7 OAA. Fully believe 20/30 is in the tank if the OBP can get where it needs to be. 

Contract: 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $13,708,606

Right Field

Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto put up a sneaky good 2023 in San Francisco, slashing .237/.309/.450 with 20 HR and 66 RBI, accounting for a 1.3 fWAR over 130 games played. Conforto unlocked something at the plate we hadn’t seen since 2020, with an xSLG of .488 and 11.8% Barrel% accounting for a Hard-Hit% of 46%; I believe he has found his swing again. He is not horrible in the strikeout or walk category, but he provides some more thump to this lineup for a fairly cheap price tag out of free agency heading into his age-32 season.

Contract: 2-year, $9.6M, $4.8M AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $8,908,606

Blake Perkins

Rounding out Charlotte Aviators is who I believe to be the best “4th outfielder” in the MLB, picking him from Milwaukee Blake Perkins. As one of the best defensive outfielders in the league in terms of Feilding Run-Value (+9), OAA (11), Arm Strength (87th%), and, of course, Sprint Speed (97th%). The offensive upside is still there despite the slash line of .240/.316/.332, Perkins walked at a 9.7% clip and swiped 23 bags in 121 games in 2024. His Squared-Up% (30.6%) points to excellent barrel control, and as long as he can continue to get on at a .320+ clip, his speed can take over, and he can be a huge piece of this club playing any outfield position at an extremely high level.

Contract (from MIL): 1-year, $800K, $800K AAV

Salary Remaining for 2025: $8,108,606

Wrap-Up

I fully believe in the team I constructed, you may hate it but I believe this team would a potential playoff team in year one, and would have a ton of room to grow through seasons. Stay tuned for part two as I build this team into popular baseball simulator, Out of the Park Baseball 25 and dive into the full results of how this team would perform over the course of a season.

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Clearly, Game 4 was a disaster and Jack Flaherty’s meltdown early in Game 5 had me prepping for Friday and scrap this one. Thanks to what was quite possibly the worst defensive inning I’ve ever seen from a Major League Baseball team, the Dodgers crawled back into it and took the cake after finally getting through Gerrit Cole. Chasing Kahnle loading the bases against Luke Weaver down a run in the 8th, with a spectacular at bat by Gavin Lux resulting in a game-tying sacrifice fly. Catchers interference to reload the bases… and Mookie Betts DELIVERS with a sac-fly to take the lead. Blake Treinen showed nothing but heart with that outing, the most pitches he’s thrown all season with 40+ to cap off a strikeout against Rizzo with the tying run on second. My favorite player, Walker Buehler slams the door on one days rest after his Game 3 start, enough to make a grown man cry.

Back to the celebration because HOLY SHIT THE DODGERS WON THE WORLD SERIES! Not only is this one incredibly sweet, but it’s the first (real) World Series win of my life time.

This is my second full season covering the MLB, the first with the Skippers View, and I got to write about my favorite team all season through the playoffs and watch them dogpile as the last team standing. This goes deeper than just one year of being a “journalist” for my favorite team, I’ve been a diehard baseball and Dodgers fan since I could walk. I remember my dad teaching me about who Vin Scully was as we’d listen to every Dodger game possible in the car driving to baseball games, rooting for guys like Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Rafael Furcal, Chad Billingsly, and so many more. I grew up on it. My entire life has revolved around baseball from entering this world with a bat and glove, to playing through college. I live and breath those 108 stitches. I’ve never seen a team of mine win a championship, and to experience the first one at 26, while pursuing my passion of sports writing though the whole year with them? Feels like a movie.

Freddie Freeman clearly deserves every bit of the World Series MVP for a diabolical performance in hitting not only the biggest postseason home run in Dodgers history (move aside Gibby), but proceeding to leave the yard in four of give games of the series, on a bum ankle. He is truly one of the most likable guys in the League, watching him celebrate with his dad after the walkoff, it was all so surreal. As much as it must hurt Braves fan, he’ll go into the Hall a Dodger.

The pitching couldn’t have been any better, Flaherty was electric in Game 1 and gave a ton of length, Yamamoto gave a masterclass to prove he’s worth every bit of that $325M contract, and Walker Buehler looked like vintage Walker. Legit made me want to shed a tear, after all the hate my favorite player in baseball has gotten all season coming off of not one, but two Tommy John surgeries, and to give length with the best stuff he’s shown since 2022. AND slammed the door on the World Series on just one days rest to commence the dogpile of all dogpiles. Poetic. Please resign him as soon as this is over.

The bullpen was spectacular too. Treinen, Kopech, Vesia, masterclasses all series. Even Honeywell and Knack eating quality innings in Game 4 to save the bullpen was incredible. All you non-Dodgers fans may complain about buying talent, and building a superteam while not acknowledging how much homegrown talent they have, and have had over the last 10 years, I’ll reference the tweet below after the dominant performance ALL POSTSEASON from the bullpen.

While Ohtani was more or less a non-factor no thanks to the shoulder injury, the rest of the depth picked up so much slack not only at the plate, but in the field. Tommy Edman was a ball magnet all series and was spectacular defensively and stayed hot after taking home the NLCS MVP. Let me remind you, he didn’t play a single game this season until AUGUST. That’s a gamer. Kike Hernandez could hit .100 for the remainder of his regular season career and as long as he shows up in October he’ll always have a spot on the roster, he’s as clutch as it gets in this League.

At the end of the day, the Boys in Blue performed on the biggest stage, and I couldn’t be more proud, or happier about it. Feels surreal watching your favorite team win the whole damn thing, and covering it as a self proclaimed “journalist.” As always, I’ll be covering Dodgers baseball all offseason, I’m gonna enjoy this one for a while. GO BLUE!

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MLB Podcast with Sam & myself:

We finally got a pitching duel, masterclasses from both Jack Flaherty and Gerrit Cole, going 5+ and 6+ innings respectively. Flaherty was fantastic, the pitch sequencing to Soto and Judge was perfect. He made one mistake to Giancarlo Stanton to deposited a 417 foot HR into LF. Flaherty had it all working, the velocity was up, he spun it really well, and kept hitters guessing all night. Just what the Dodgers needed. Cole came out ready to match him, and was about as efficient as it gets, rolling through the first three innings on 35 pitches. The contact vs Cole was loud all night, but the inability to score with RISP tonight was the Dodgers kryptonite. But it was no match for FREDDIE FREEMAN in the clutch. I couldn’t be more ecstatic right now, what a win in game 1.

Kike Hernandez got the scoring started with a 1-out triple in the 5th and Will Smith was able to drive him in on a sac-fly. The Yankees of course wouldn’t go down easy, and postseason star Giancarlo Stanton blasted a 2-run bomb in the 6th to regain the Yankees lead on a curveball down after Flaherty had him against the ropes. Tommy Edman continues to be a difference maker, despite the error in the 1st, he would be involved all night defensively and saved a massive run in this inning with a diving stop up the middle to prevent Jazz Chisholm from scoring, and allow Anthony Banda to strand the bases loaded.

Brusdar Graterol, who hadn’t pitched in a game since September 24 until tonight, was set to face the Yankees top of the order. He would retire Torres, Soto, and struck out Stanton with a 99mph demon sinker on the outside black. As good as they come when he’s healthy.

Kike Hernandez would continue to be clutch with a perfect sac bunt to set up runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out in the 7th, but Will Smith and Gavin Lux couldn’t get it done, as the Dodgers conitnued to leave runners in scoring position.

After an electric 8th from Alex Vesia, who I couldn’t be happier is healthy and back on the postseason roster. Vesia showcases the best fastball of any postseason pitcher in 2024. Yes, you read that right. Below is a fantastic thread by Adam Naliwajko, I encourage you to read it here.

Shohei Ohtani would hit a laser double off the top of the wall, that all of LA, including myself thought was leaving the yard. A throwing blunder would allow the ball to scoot away and Ohtani advanced to 3rd where Mookie Betts would drive him in on yet another sac fly to tie the game at 2.

Michael Kopech took the mound in the 9th, who is arguably the best pickup at the deadline. After getting two quick outs, fan interference occurs on what would’ve been a game changing solo HR from Gleyber Torres. Dave Roberts elects to IBB Soto, and face Aaron Judge with two on, two outs. Roberts would go back to the pen for Blake Treinen, where he would retire him on an infield pop fly.

The Hollywood ending was set. An emotional pregame ceremony to honor the late Fernando Valenzuela, to the bottom of the 9th we went with the heart of the Dodger order due up against breakout star Luke Weaver. Max Muncy missed the hanging changeup from Weaver which easily could’ve been deposited into the LA skies, and extra innings would ensue.

Treinen remained in the game after a short appearance, and after a Jazz Chisholm walk and two stolen bases, and a Rizzo IBB, the Yankees would find more runners on with less than two outs. With infield in, a diving stop from Tommy Edman was unable to cut down the run, or turn two and Chisholm would score the go-ahead run.

Bottom 10 with Game 1 on the line, the Dodgers would need a miracle ending only Hollywood could write to go home victorious. Gavin Lux would draw a one out walk and be followed by a Tommy Edman single to bring up Shohei Ohtani with the winning run on first against Nestor Cortes who hadn’t pitched since September 18. Ohtani would foul out to Alex Verdugo diving over the wall but advanced both runners as the ball would go out of play, an IBB of Mookie Betts later, Freddie Freeman enters the scene with the winning run on 2nd and two outs. FREDDIE WALKS EM OFF ON A GRAND SLAM. DODGERS TAKE GAME 1!

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