The Rockies’ 2025 draft class brought a little bit of everything, and the headliners at the top set the tone. Colorado’s crop includes a polished switch-hitting shortstop, two college catchers with real pop, and a pair of arms whose best pitches already jump off the page.
Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell went first in the class, and Baseball America pegged him as the club’s best pure hitter and best defensive player. Bell doesn’t own elite contact skills, but he does bring a sharp batting eye that helps him reach base at a strong clip.
At the plate, the profile is built around patience and selectivity from both sides. In the field, he stands out for his movement, his middle infield actions and an above-average throwing arm.
The report card says he could grow into an above-average shortstop defender, with the versatility to handle all over the infield and do it at a high level.
Colorado also used early picks on Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson and Cincinnati catcher Jack Natili, and both show up in the power discussion. Jackson, the Rockies’ first-round compensation pick, is coming off a 32-homer season and brings obvious strength with plus raw power.
Natili, taken in the third round, added 19 home runs this spring and hit the ball just as hard as Jackson. Pittsburgh outfielder Lorenzo Carrier, a 14th-round pick, also earned a mention for exceptional raw power and elite college exit-velocity data.
On the pitching side, the class has some real juice. Mississippi State right-hander Ben Davis owns a fastball that can sit in the mid-90s and climb to 99-100 mph with plenty of running action from a low three-quarters slot.
Missouri prep righty Tyler Putnam may have the more conventional heater, but it might be the better one; he’s already reached 97 mph and has the kind of whippy arm speed that could eventually carry him to triple digits. UCLA right-hander Logan Reddemann, the club’s second-round pick, got the nod for best secondary pitch thanks to a changeup many scouts view as plus.
He throws it in the mid-80s and isn’t shy about using it against hitters on either side of the plate.
Speed also has a place in this class. Puerto Rican outfielder Juriel Collazo, a 13th-round pick, was one of the faster runners in the prep group and consistently posted 70-grade run times.
Baseball America noted that kind of speed is unlikely to back up much as he nears physical maturity. Bell, meanwhile, took best athlete honors thanks to the full package: speed, switch-hitting ability and infield defense.
A few players already made noise once they turned pro. Carrier and Jackson both posted OPS marks above 1.000 in their debuts.
Carrier went straight to High-A Spokane and, in just four games, hit .474/.474/.684 with four doubles. Jackson spent 22 games with Low-A Fresno and put up a .309/.408/.593 line with six homers and five doubles.
On the mound, TCU right-hander Tanner Sagouspe struck out 11 and walked two over seven innings with Low-A Fresno.
The class also includes some notable backstories. Carrier was once a high-profile prep prospect, ranked as the top player in Delaware with upside as both a hitter and a pitcher.
He withdrew from the 2021 class, got to Miami, shifted to a full-time hitting role and didn’t truly break out until his grad season at Pittsburgh this spring. Stanford outfielder Cort MacDonald, taken in the 19th round, is the son of Chad MacDonald, the Rockies’ senior director of player personnel.
His brother, Caden, played three seasons at Princeton and now works in scouting and operations with the Tigers.
As for who could move quickest, Bell and Reddemann were the clear names. Both have the polished college backgrounds that can speed a player along, and Reddemann in particular stands out because of his strike-throwing and his developed, effective starter’s arsenal.
The best value beyond the top 10 rounds came from Illinois prep right-hander Gavin Swartz, the 11th-round pick who signed for $997,500. At 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, he’s a young, highly projectable arm with a fastball that’s already touching 96 and trending in the right direction.
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