Nationals make surprise pick of Eli Willits first overall in MLB Draft
USA TODAY Sports’ Jesse Yomtov breaks down all the top storylines from the first day of the MLB Draft.
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The Diamondbacks prioritized pitching in the 2025 MLB Draft, selecting 12 pitchers out of 17 picks on Day 2.Brady Counsell, son of former Diamondbacks player and manager Craig Counsell, was drafted in the 10th round.
The Diamondbacks focused on pitching on Day 2 of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft, using 12 of their 17 picks on the day to select pitchers, mostly from the college baseball ranks.
The first pick of the day, in the fourth round, was right-handed pitcher Dean Livingston out of Hebron Christian Academy in Georgia. The 18-year-old is committed to playing at the University of Georgia if he doesn’t sign with the Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks chose seven pitchers between the fourth and 13th rounds.
Livingston had a 1.27 ERA through 44 innings pitched, allowing just 20 hits, and had 89 strikeouts in 10 games as a pitcher. Â
His fastball averages 92 to 94 mph, but he has touched higher than that. Three years ago, that fastball was at 85 mph, he told Baseball Prospect Journal.
“Getting him where we got him, I think was big value,” Diamondbacks director of college scouting Ian Rebhan said moments after the draft on Monday, July 14.
“The body, the frame, he looks like those guys that pitch on TV. And then the pitch arsenal, he’s got a big fastball, he’s got a quality slider, he’s got four pitches, he’s shown the ability to throw strikes. He’s got a pretty advanced feel to pitch for a high school kid. He’s 18 years old, and it’s a long road through the minor leagues, and we know that. But he checks a lot of those boxes of the guys that play out here (in the pros) every day.”
Livingston showed an ability to hit well, too, with a .434 batting average this season and 10 home runs. But the Diamondbacks see him as a future major league starting pitcher at present, and they also view sixth-round pick Sawyer Hawks as a starter.
Seventh-rounder Joe Ariola is being evaluated as a potential reliever in the pros, Rebhan said.
The Diamondbacks’ eighth-round selection was right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez out of Arizona State. Martinez, who spent his senior season in Tempe after transferring from Louisiana, went 6-4 with a 5.47 earned run average in 15 starts this season. But his 97 mph fastball and pitching arsenal attracted scouts, and he was invited to the recent draft combine at Chase Field.
“He started on Saturdays all year long for them (ASU),” Rebhan said of Martinez. “He’s got a plus changeup, he can also spin the breaking ball. But it’s very much a big fastball, quality changeup. … I think you send him out as a starter and he’s had success doing that.”
Infielder Brady Counsell, son of former Diamondbacks star Craig Counsell, was Arizona’s 10th-round pick, the 303rd player chosen overall. The elder Counsell is the manager of the Chicago Cubs and won a World Series with the Diamondbacks as a player in 2001, while the younger Counsell played college baseball at Minnesota and Kansas, winning an NCAA Division I Gold Glove as a third baseman.
Counsell was the only Jayhawk to start every game this season.
“A lot of versatility there,” Rebhan said of Counsell. “You’re buying someone that just has an extreme feel for the game. It’s elite makeup. He grew up in a clubhouse, he grew up around the game. So you’re getting really good instincts and feel for the game there.”
In the 18th round, the Diamondbacks chose former South Mountain Community College (Phoenix) and Arizona Wildcats pitcher Raul Garayzar. He posted a 2.81 ERA in 21 appearances for Arizona in 2025, making eight starts.
“We’re getting really quality pitchers. They’ve all got big arms,” Rebhan said, recognizing the work of the Diamondbacks organization’s area scouts and cross-checkers. “They’ve all got starter upside. Those players being available to us, it was exciting for sure.”
Fourth round, 123rd overall: RHP Dean Livingston, Hebron Christian Academy (HS), Georgia
Fifth round, 153rd overall: OF Nathan Hall, University of South Carolina
Sixth round, 183rd overall: RHP Sawyer Hawks, Vanderbilt
Seventh round: 213th overall: LHP Joe Ariola, Wake Forest
Eighth round, 243rd overall: RHP Jack Martinez, Arizona State
Ninth round, 273rd overall: IF Wallace Clark, Duke
10th round, 303rd overall: IF Brady Counsell, Kansas
11th round, 333rd overall: LHP Luke Dotson, Mississippi State
12th round, 363rd overall: LHP Taylor Montiel, Tulane
13th round, 393rd overall: RHP Alex Galvan, Central Florida
14th round, 423rd overall: OF Blake Fields, The First Academy (HS), Florida
15th round, 453rd overall: RHP Hayden Murphy, Auburn
16th round, 483rd overall: RHP Collin Rothermel, Jacksonville
17th round, 513th overall: RHP Joel Sarver, UNC-Charlotte
18th round, 543rd overall: RHP Raul Garayzar, Arizona
19th round, 573rd overall: OF Jacob Parker, Purvis HS, Mississippi
20th round, 603rd overall: RHP Ethin Bingaman, Corona HS, California
(This story has been updated to add new information.)