The Cleveland Guardians selected Arizona outfielder and former Brentwood star Aaron Walton No. 66 overall in the 2025 MLB Draft on July 13.
Walton went a little earlier than anticipated. He went in ranked as the No. 161 prospect in the draft, according to MLB Pipeline. The pick’s slot value is $1.32 million.
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Walton, a 2022 Brentwood graduate, was a star football and baseball player for the Bruins. As a receiver, he helped lead Brentwood to the 2020 Class 6A TSSAA football state championship game. He was a Tennessean All-Midstate baseball selection in 2022, batting .476 with six home runs, 11 doubles, 16 stolen bases and 42 RBIs. He played two seasons for Samford before transferring to Arizona.
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The 6-foot-3, 219-pound junior helped lead Arizona to a 44-21 record and a berth in the College World Series. He batted .320 with 81 hits, 14 home runs, 22 doubles and 71 runs scored for the Wildcats.
Brentwood’s Aaron Walton (11) catches the ball to score a touchdown as Oakland’s Dylan King (6) tackles him during the first quarter of the Class 6A BlueCross Bowl Football Championship game at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020.
“Walton runs well and showed this fall he can play a solid center field . . . with a decent arm to boot,” MLB.com wrote in a scouting report. “It’s an intriguing profile with strength and athleticism, and a team that thinks it can tease a little more consistency at the plate from Walton will take him on Day 2 of the Draft, perhaps seeing a Harrison Bader-type career in the future.”
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Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for him? Reach Tyler at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
He also writes The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Arizona OF Aaron Walton No. 66 pick by Cleveland Guardians in 2025 MLB Draft