Top Texas high school baseball prospects to watch in the 2025 MLB Draft

Kayson Cunnigham projected to be a first-round pick when draft starts July 13

Dripping Springs pitcher Cooper Rummel pitches in the first inning as the Tigers take on the San Antonio Clark Cougars in the first game of the Class 6A Division II area round playoff series, May 8, 2025. Rummel could be picked in the MLB Draft, which runs July 13-14. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A host of Texas high school baseball players will hear their name called by a Major League Baseball organization soon.

MLB’s July Amateur Draft is set to run July 13–14 at Coca-Cola Roxy in Cumberland, Georgia, where amateur players from across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico will be eligible to hear their name called. As is the case most years, players from the Lone Star State have risen to the top of pre-draft rankings and mock drafts from a slew of media outlets.

The Washington Nationals hold the first pick in the draft - which will span 615 total selections across 20 rounds, after winning the MLB Draft lottery, which sets the first six selections in the first round.

Last year, the first eight picks were college products, but Texas prep products Braylon Payne from Lawrence E. Elkins High School went No. 17 to Milwaukee and Theo Gillen from Austin Westlake was the next pick to Tampa Bay.

Five prep players were taken last year. Here's a list of this year's top players to keep an eye out for to be taken.

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Blaine Bullard, OF, Spring Klein Cain 

A switch-hitting center fielder, Bullard has been rising up the prospect board after being named the MVP of the 2024 AABC Don Mattingly World Series last July. MLB ranks him just outside the top 100 prospects, highlighting his plus speed and a 6-foot-2 frame that could turn into a 15 15-homer-a-year type player. He’s signed with Texas A&M.

Kayson Cunningham, SS, San Antonio Johnson 

He’s had the pedigree that most first-round picks in recent years has with success at the national level with USA Baseball. He hit .417 last year at the 18U World Cup qualifier in Panama and was the USA Baseball Player of the Year Richard W. “Dick” Case Player of the Year in 2024. This year, he was the Gatorade High School Player of the Year.  Expect him to go high in the draft and he will have to decide between pro baseball or playing for Texas. ESPN projects him to go No. 29 to Arizona, while Prep Baseball Report picks him to go No. 9 to Cincinnati. 

Lucas Franco, SS, Katy Cinco Ranch 

The left-handed hitting shortstop is considered one of the top defensive players in the class, according to MLB.com, where he is ranked No. 67 out of the top 250 draft prospects. Prep Baseball Report tabs Franco as the No. 44 recruit and No. 49 by Perfect Game, meaning he could be picked in the first three rounds. The TCU signee hit .430 with 13 extra base hits and 26 RBI, according to online stats. 

Xavier Mitchell, LHP, Plano Prestonwood Christian 

The 6-foot-3 lefty was on the 2024 USA 18U National Team last summer. He struck out 13 and gave up only one hit in 6 innings last summer for USA. Mitchell missed most of the high school season in 2025 with shoulder fatigue. How that will impact his draft stock will be seen, but he has signed with Texas. 

Nico Partida, SS, Pearland

The Oilers had one of the best players in the state in Partida, who entered this year ranked as the 4th best player in Texas by Prep Baseball Report. He lived up to that by hitting .480 with 8 HRs and a perfect 22-for-22 on stolen bases, while also going 4-1 with a 0.70 ERA. The Texas A&M signee was named the district MVP and to the Class 6A All-State team.

Marcos Paz, RHP, Carrollton Hebron

He’s one of the fastest risers in the draft, according to Prep Baseball Report. He was ranked 47th in the most recent draft projection, moving up nearly 40 spots. MLB.com has him at 103rd overall in the 250 rankings. The LSU pledge — since Sept. 2023 — had the projection to be a first-round pick but had Tommy John surgery in July 2024 and missed this past high school season. A bullpen session in May seemed to have gotten a lot of attention and he competed at the Draft Combine as well.

Cooper Rummel, RHP, Dripping Springs

The hurler was listed as the No. 79-ranked prospect in the country by Perfect Game and pitched in their 2024 All-American Classic. The Texas signee has something that almost every MLB team wants — a fastball that is in the mid-90s already. The 6-foot-3 went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA with 2 saves last summer for the USA 18U National Team.

Omar Serna, C, Houston Lutheran South 

In a June 27 post on X, Serna tweeted a photo of himself in a LSU uniform, saying, “Decision made, see you in Baton Rouge.” That follows what MLB.com said that Serna removed himself from the draft, but that doesn’t mean a team won’t take a flyer on the power hitter. Just look back at 2011 when Josh Bell from Dallas Jesuit said he would go to Texas and did not want to be drafted, but Pittsburgh took him in the second round and signed him before the deadline. Serna hit .491 with 8 HR and 56 RBI this spring for the TAPPS Division II state champs. 

Johnny Slawinski, LHP, Johnson City LBJ 

A well-rounded athlete, he’s played baseball, football, basketball and track and field for the Eagles. The 6-foot-3 southpaw is a Texas A&M signee who could be a top 60 pick. He throws between 90 to 93 and has a curveball and slider that have worked well. He’s regarded as one of the top left-handed prep hurlers in the country. 

LBJ Johnson City Eagles wide receiver Johnny Slawinski (3) catches the pass during a Bi-district 2A Div. 1 football playoff on Nov 10, 2022, at Hutto High School in Hutto, Texas. Slawinski is one of the top baseball prospects in the 2025 MLB Draft. / John Gutierrez/Special to American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Taylor Tracey, LHP, Dripping Springs

He was named the Austin American-Statesman Player of the Year after helping the Tigers reach the Class 6A Division II semifinals. He was 10-0 with a 0.38 ERA with also hitting .445 with 22 RBI. He announced his college choice — Tennessee — back in April 2022. His dad, Kevin, went 18-8 as a pitcher for Texas Tech in 1999-2000 and earned All-Big 12 honors. 

Others to keep an eye on (with college commitment listed)

Ethan Baiotto, LHP, Southlake Carroll (Tennessee)

Matthew Boughton, SS, Colleyville Covenant Christian (Texas A&M)

Brody Walls, RHP, McKinney Boyd (Texas)

Luke Billings, RHP/OF, Prosper (Texas A&M)

The college guys

There are a lot of college connections to Texas high school baseball as well and two guys that stayed in-state are projected to be first- or second-round picks.

Texas A&M’s Jace LaViolette is ranked No. 19 on MLB.com and No. 20 on ESPN's rankings. A product of Obra D. Tompkins in Katy, the outfielder has been an All-American and played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.  

Another outfielder that could go high is Texas’ Max Belyeu. A graduate of Aledo, he was also on the USA Baseball National Team last year and was the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2024. Baseball America projects Belyeu — who hit .303 this spring for Texas — to go No. 38 to the Mets in a mock draft released July 9. 

Texas A&M Aggies right fielder Jace LaViolette (17) dives and misses a fly ball during the sixth inning against the Tennessee Volunteers at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. LaViolette will be a high draft pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images