As the college baseball season comes to a close, the MLB draft season begins to gain momentum. While the official drafting process will not occur until mid-July, many of the leading prospects are about to engage in critical evaluations during their forthcoming conference tournaments. Performing well in these high-stakes contests can significantly influence their positions on draft boards.

Currently, analysts such as McDaniel have provided insights through updated mock drafts and prospect rankings. In a recent mini-mock draft projecting the first 14 picks, McDaniel highlighted that the top selections lean heavily towards high school athletes, with four of the initial seven picks being prep players. The mock draft commenced with Ethan Holliday, a third baseman from Stillwater High School in Oklahoma and the son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday. Following Holliday, Jamie Arnold, a left-handed pitcher from Florida State, and Seth Hernandez, a right-handed pitcher from Corona High School in California, were noted.

Further selections included college pitchers Liam Doyle from Tennessee and Kade Anderson from LSU, alongside high school talents like Billy Carlson and Eli Willits. College position players Aiva Arquette from Oregon State and Jace LaViolette from Texas A&M made their appearances in the draft, followed by Oklahoma's Kyson Witherspoon. The mini-mock concluded with another prep shortstop, JoJo Parker from Purvis High School in Mississippi. Notably, Mayo's mock draft extended to 27 players and similarly focused on college pitchers and high school infielders at the forefront, with minimal variation compared to McDaniel's version, where the first 11 picks mirrored one another in different sequences.