Major League Baseball’s amateur draft got underway on Sunday night, with the Washington Nationals selecting Oklahoma prep shortstop Eli Willits with the third No. 1 pick in franchise history. (The Nationals had previously chosen ace Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper atop the 2009 and 2010 drafts.) The league as a whole then made 104 more picks on Sunday night before pausing for the evening.
Unlike past editions, this year’s draft will last only two days instead of three. Nonetheless, we here at CBS Sports are keeping with tradition by highlighting a handful of the best players remaining on the board heading into the second day. Got it? Good. Let’s proceed.
2025 MLB Draft winners and losers: Eli Willits, surprise Angels pick, Rockies social media and more from Day 1
Mike Axisa
1. Mason Neville, OF, Oregon
Neville had a massive season for the Ducks, hitting .290/.429/.724 with 26 home runs and 16 doubles in 57 games. Add in that he’s an above-average athlete who spent the season in center field, and you might wonder why he’s still on the board. Ostensibly because teams have concerns about his swing-and-miss tendencies, which fueled a 33.5% strikeout rate in 2024 and a 23.6% mark this year. It probably didn’t help that Neville’s stint in the Cape Cod League, while brief, saw him punch out 19 times in 32 at-bats. He still ought to come off the board fairly early on Day 2.
2. Jack Bauer, LHP, Lincoln Way East HS (IL)
Bauer is one of the internet’s favorite remaining prospects on account of his name and the fact he was clocked up to 102 mph in an appearance earlier this year. He needs to greatly improve his consistency, with both his location and his quality of stuff. That established, some team might be tempted to take him early on Day 2 because left-handers with this kind of raw velocity are tough to find.
3. Cameron Appenzeller, LHP, Glenwood HS (IL)
Appenzeller is a large lefty who seemed to take a massive step forward last season. Unfortunately, the gains (specifically with his velocity) didn’t stick this spring, causing him to lose his first-round grade in the process. Appenzeller has a projectable frame and has shown enough flashes that a team might still take him early on Day 2 and try wooing him away from his Tennessee commitment.
4. Nick Dumesnil, OF, California Baptist University
Here’s what we wrote about Dumesnil when we labeled him a faller heading into the draft: “I don’t think I’m breaking news here by writing that smaller-school players are always working with tighter margins than their power-school counterparts. That includes Dumesnil, who just couldn’t match his 2024 efforts, when he had one of the most productive individual seasons in the sport between the regular season and Cape Cod League. Dumesnil saw his OPS and power output decline year to year, all the while his strikeout rate ticked up from 12.9% to 19.8%. To be clear: those are his overall numbers, and not just those compiled during conference play. I’m not sure if Dumesnil will slide all the way to the third round like Mike Sirota did last summer, but I have a hard time imagining he’ll go in the top 50 picks.”
5. Sam Horn, RHP, Missouri
Horn, who also plays quarterback for the Missouri football team, threw all of 15 innings for the Tigers during his college baseball career. Blame that on the Tommy John surgery he underwent back in 2023 that caused him to miss the entire 2024 campaign. Even so, he’s an intriguing upside play who possesses some important traits — size, arm strength, and above-average athleticism.