2025 MLB Draft Preview: Brady Ebel scouting report
The 2025 MLB Draft is less than a month away — the first round kicks off on July 13, 2025 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #12, their second round pick is at #52, and their third round pick is at #84.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at California prep infielder Brady Ebel.
Brady Ebel is a 6’3”, 190 lb. left handed hitting infielder who is currently playing third base for Corona High School in Corona, California. Ebel won’t turn 18 until late July. He would be playing shortstop but for the fact that teammate Billy Carlson, a consensus top 10 player in this draft, is the better defender and is playing shortstop for Corona. He is committed to LSU.
Ebel is a quality hitter who is the son of Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel. The reports on him reflect the sort of refined, polished game that one would expect from the son of a coach. He gets good marks for his contact ability and plate discipline with a line-drive swing. There are questions about how much power he projects to have, despite his size, and Keith Law notes that his swing isn’t geared towards power currently.
While Ebel would be playing shortstop on just about any other high school team in the country, rather than third base, there are questions about his ability to play shortstop in the pros, especially as he fills out. He’s not fast and isn’t terribly quick, but is fundamentally sound and has the arm to play third base if he ends up having to move off of shortstop. He earns praise for his instincts and baseball IQ.
Baseball America has Ebel at #42 on their top 500 list. MLB Pipeline’s draft rankings have Ebel at #61. Keith Law’s top 100 list ranks Ebel at #82. Kiley McDaniel’s top 150 list has Ebel at #104. Fangraphs has Ebel at #31 on their board.
Ebel is a relatively advanced player, despite being one of the youngest players in the draft, and that’s going to lead to questions as to how much upside and growth he’s going to have compared to the average player his age. On the other hand, he’s the type of player who is going to be viewed as being likely to maximize his abilities and get the most out of what he has to work with.
Ebel fits the quality hit tool, quality makeup archetype the Rangers look for in their position players. He’s someone who they might look at in the second round, or as an above-slot guy in the third or fourth rounds.
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