2025 MLB Draft Combine: 10 Notable Prospects From Day Two

Statcast Standouts

Bullpen Velocity (mph)

1. Nate Snead, 99.2
2. Zane Taylor, 97.7
3. Jayden Stroman, 97.3
4. Blaine Wynk, 96.8
5. Mason Pike, 96.6

Bullpen IVB (inches)

1. Jayden Stroman, 21
2. Joshua Flores, 20.5
3. Connor Hamilton, 19.9
4. Collin McKinney, 19.7
5. Blaine Wynk, 19.7

Bullpen Spin Rate (rpm)

1. Matt Barr, 3,061 (SL)
2. Matt Barr, 3,010 (CB)
3. Marcos Paz, 2,952 (SL)
4. Ma’Kale Holden, 2,946 (CB)
5. Will Hynes, 2,809 (SL)

Batting Practice Average Exit Velocity (mph)

1. Landyn Vidourek, 103.9
2. Jacob Walsh, 102.8
3. Bruin Agbayani, 102.2
4. Cam Maldonado, 101.5
5. Trevor Cohen, 101.1

Batting Practice Max Exit Velocity (mph)

1. Sebastian Norman, 113.8
2. Landyn Vidourek, 113.4
3. Jacob Walsh, 113.2
4. Sam Parker, 111.5
5. Ty Harvey, 110.5

Batting Practice Max Projected Distance (feet)

1. Mason Braun, 450
2. Trevor Cohen, 431.5
3. Sebastian Norman, 428.4
4. Jacob Walsh, 427.9
5. Gabe Graulau, 427.6

10 Notable Prospects

Marcos Paz, RHP, Hebron HS, Carrollton, Tex.

BA Rank: No. 170

Paz has been a conundrum for teams to deal with in the 2025 class. As an underclassman, he looked like one of the very best pitchers in the prep class thanks to big stuff, a big frame and starter traits. However, he had Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the summer in 2024, which largely put him out of place and out of mind for the scouting community. 

Now back on the mound and healthy, Paz’s day two combine bullpen session was one of the most anticipated of the event. 

He’s a physical righthander listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and works from the middle of the rubber with an easy and repeatable delivery. Paz mixed a three-pitch arsenal in this bullpen session with a fastball in the 92-95 mph range, as well as an 87 mph changeup and a short-breaking 83-86 mph slider. The slider had tight movement but huge spin rates. Paz spun the breaking ball in the 2,800-2,900 rpm range, which was good for the third-highest spin on a breaking ball on the second day, behind only Matt Barr’s slider and curveball. 

His fastball control was more sharp than his secondaries in this brief look. Paz spiked a few of his breaking balls, let a few others pop out of his hand to the arm side and also missed high on one changeup. Ultimately, however, he looks the part of a workhorse starter and is showing the same sort of velocity post-surgery that he showed before it. He’s committed to LSU and could be a tough sign, but he is one of the most fascinating players in the class. 

Tim Piasentin, 3B, Foothills Composite HS, Okotoks, Alberta

BA Rank: No. 121

It’s becoming an annual tradition to have a big-bodied, lefthanded-hitting Canadian slugger put on a show on the second day of the combine. Last year, Nathan Flewelling showed huge raw power. This year, it was Piasentin, who is the top-ranked Canadian prospect in the class and has the impact ability to follow Flewelling as a third-round pick on draft day. 

Piasentin is a physically-advanced hitter with a powerful, 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame. He pairs big strength with big bat speed that led to a handful of towering home runs to the pull side during BP. He sets up with a slightly-open stance featuring a head-high handset and a quiet hand load before firing his hands through the zone with an uphill path and steeper finish. It’s a ready-made swing to drive the ball with authority in the air.

Piasentin has even more room on his frame to add strength and looks like the sort of hitter who could develop double-plus raw power and become a monster in the box in a few years. His hardest ball came off the bat at 110.2 mph, and he averaged a 98 mph exit velocity. Piasentin’s farthest hit ball went a projected 423.5 feet. 

Defensively, he has a good arm for third base that could be a nice tool if he can stick at the position. 

Jayden Stroman, RHP, Patchogue-Medford (N.Y.) HS

BA Rank: No. 167

Stroman is a talented high school shortstop and righthander, but he is more likely to follow in his older brother Marcus’ footsteps as a pitcher at the next level. He’s been getting nationally cross-checked as a pitcher this spring, and his bullpen on Wednesday shows why. 

Jayden is a lot more physical than his older brother. He’s already listed at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and has lots of strength throughout his muscular frame. He works from the first base side of the rubber and features a deeper, plunging arm action and also has a bit of tilt in his leg lift before firing to the plate with a high-three quarters slot and good arm speed. 

Stroman settled in after a high fastball to start things off and showed solid feel for a three-pitch mix. He threw his fastball in the 94-97 mph range and touched that 97 mark multiple times. In addition to big velocity, Stroman gets above-average riding life on the pitch. The fastball averaged 17.7 inches of induced vertical break, and his biggest IVB heater registered 21 inches flat—the hoppiest fastball of the second day. He also showed a solid 84-87 mph changeup and a power curveball in the 83-85 mph range with solid biting action. 

Michael Oliveto, C, Hauppauge (N.Y.) HS

BA Rank: No. 143

Oliveto has one of the smoother lefthanded swings in the prep class, and he has been a big-time helium name from the Northeast region of the country this spring. He’s a projectable hitter with a lean, 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame who sets up with an even stance that features a toe tap and leads to a smooth, level bat path. It’s a line-drive oriented stroke that comes with impressive rhythm, balance and timing. Considering his longer levers, Oliveto did a nice job putting the barrel on the ball consistently and also flashed some pullside home run power when he got fully extended. 

Oliveto is a hit-over-power offensive player now, but it’s easy to see him packing on more strength and developing solid-or-better power at physical maturity. His 92.7 mph average exit velocity in BP was a modest number for the second day of hitters, but he was also just one of just eight batters to have a max exit velocity north of 110 mph alongside present sluggers like Sebastian Norman, Landyn Vidourek and Jacob Walsh. 

Zane Taylor, RHP, UNC Wilmington

BA Rank: NR

Taylor was slated to land on BA’s senior sign list before the draft, but his 2025 season was so dominant and his stuff so exciting that he warrants a place on the BA 500 on our next draft board update coming next week.

Taylor’s bullpen Wednesday was quick and loud. He threw just 14 pitches but showcased a strong four-pitch arsenal that was led by a hard, upper 90s fastball. He sat in the 95-97 mph range and touched 98, and his 97.7 mph max velocity was good for second best of the day, behind only Tennessee’s Nate Snead (more on him below).

Taylor also showed a hard 88-90 mph cutter with solid movement in that velocity band, an 86-87 mph changeup and a hard spike-grip curveball at 83-85 mph with solid depth. 

Sebastian Norman, 3B, Glendale HS, Springfield, Mo.

BA Rank: No. 296

Norman is a physical righthanded hitter with some of the loudest raw power in the prep class. On the second day of batting practice, his 113.8 mph max EV topped not only all the high school hitters, but all of the college hitters, as well, and showed his impact ability when he made his best contact. 

Norman has a wide stance with a hitch in his load, and he takes a slightly unusual stride to the ball, with a long, level bat path. While Norman’s top-end exit velocities were among the best we saw at the combine, the delta between his max and his average exit velocity (90.8 mph) highlighted some of the questions about the consistency of his contact. At times, he was under the ball too much, which led to some weak pop flies.

Defensively, Norman has a big arm that could be a nice fit at the hot corner, but he’ll need to stay on top of his conditioning, footwork and mobility to stick there. 

Nate Snead, RHP, Tennessee

BA Rank: No. 82

Snead, who ranks as a top 100 draft prospect for 2025, was one of the higher profile pitchers to toe the rubber and throw a bullpen session at this year’s combine. A flamethrowing righthander with some of the best pure velocity in the class, he’s been up into the triple digits with his fastball. On Wednesday he only touched 99.2 mph, which was still good for the day two velocity lead as well as the event’s overall high mark.

Snead works from the first base side of the rubber and features a crossfire landing and three-quarters slot. He averaged 97-98 mph in this bullpen session and gets a lot of armside running life with his sinking fastball. He paired it with a 92-95 mph cutter and a firm, higher-spin changeup at 89-91 mph. He also snapped off a high-spin power curveball in the 82-85 mph range. 

Despite Snead’s loud power stuff, he’s had a sub-20% strikeout rate in each of the past two seasons with Tennessee while pitching out of the bullpen. 

Lorenzo Meola, SS, Stetson

BA Rank: No. 130

Meola is coming off a career-best offensive season with Stetson, which is a nice addition to a profile that’s driven by his glovework at shortstop. He’s got a chance to be an above-average defender at the position and turned in one of the slicker infield sessions of the combine. 

Meola has quick, fluid and graceful actions on the dirt, with deft footwork to go with reliable hands and a fast transfer. He works low to the ground and sees the ball deep into his glove. He displays solid range to both sides and showed a nice ability to cut down ground and take efficient angles to the baseball. Meola’s arm strength isn’t a super loud tool, but it could play up thanks to his quick hand-glove transfer.

Offensively, Meola has a slightly closed-off setup in the box with a simple setup and swing that features an uphill path and fringy raw power. His contact quality in Wednesday’s BP session was solid, and he topped out with a 104.7 mph exit velocity. 

Tyler Baird, RHP, William Amos Hough HS, Cornelius, N.C.

BA Rank: No. 278

Baird has starter traits and a projectable frame to dream on. He wasn’t seen a ton over the 2024 showcase circuit, so his bullpen session on Wednesday was another key data point for teams in the leadup to the draft.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, Baird has a great pitcher’s frame with long levers and plenty of room to add strength. He was impressively synced up and repeated his delivery well, showing an easy operation and a clean, fluid delivery that featured a three-quarters slot and what looks like good extension. 

Baird threw a three-pitch mix that included a 93-95 mph sinking fastball, an 85-89 mph changeup which with he did a nice job throwing strikes and a slower curveball in the upper 70s that has solid pure spin but needs a touch more consistency. Occasionally, Baird’s curveball would hop up out of his hand or back up a bit to the arm side, but it features solid movement vertically and to the glove side in general. 

Joshua Flores, RHP, Lake Central HS, St. John, Ind.

BA Rank: No. 463

Flores is a young-for-the-class righthander with a number of exciting traits to like. He has a strong and stocky build at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, has run his fastball up to 96 mph and also has impressive ability to spin the baseball. Over the 2024 summer, Flores flashed a plus curveball, but in Wednesday’s bullpen session, he showcased a hard mid-80s slider that looked like a potential plus pitch.

Flores works from the first base side and features some tilt in his leg lift with a deep take-back in his arm action and fast arm speed. In this look, he threw his fastball in the 94-95 mph range with solid riding life and also showed an 84-85 mph changeup. His slider looked like the most electric single pitch in his arsenal—a hard 84-87 mph breaking ball with impressive power, bite and tilt.