With the 2025 MiLB season winding down, we can now take a look at how the newest Minor Leaguers did during their first pro campaigns. Many of the players taken in the first round this past July made their pro debuts. However, many won’t until 2026.
A Look at the Stats
Here’s a look at the numbers on every single first-rounder from this past July:
PickNameTeamPosition2025 Stats1Eli Willits
SS.300/.397/.360, 0 HR & 2 XBH over 15 GP (A)2Tyler Bremner
PDid not play3Kade Anderson
PDid not play4Ethan Holliday
SS.239/.357/.380, 2 HR & 6 XBH over 18 GP (A)5Liam Doyle
P2.45 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB over 3.2 IP (A and AA)6Seth Hernandez
PDid not play7Aiva Arquette
INF.242/.350/.323, 1 HR & 6 XBH over 27 GP (A+)8JoJo Parker
SSDid not play9Steele Hall
SSDid not play10Billy Carlson
SSDid not play11Jamie Arnold
PDid not play12Gavin Fien
SS.220/.267/.341, 0 HR & 4 XBH over 10 GP (A)13Gavin Kilen
INF.205/.279/.282, 0 HR & 2 XBH over 10 GP (A)14Daniel Pierce
SSDid not play15Kyson Witherspoon
PDid not play16Marek Houston
SS.270/.330/.350, 1 HR & 6 XBH over 24 GP (A and A+)17Ethan Conrad
1B/OFDid not play18Kayson Cunningham
SS.255/.308/.277, 0 HR & 1 XBH over 11 GP (A)19Ike Irish
C/OF.230/.296/.297, 1 HR & 3 XBH over 20 GP (A)20Andrew Fischer
1B/3B.311/.402/.446, 1 HR & 7 XBH over 19 GP (A+)21Xavier Neyens
SSDid not play22Tate Southisene
SS.219/.242/.297, 0 HR & 4 XBH over 15 GP (A)23Sean Gamble
OFDid not play24Jordan Yost
SSDid not play25Kruz Schoolcraft
P10.80 ERA, 4 K, 3 BB over 1.2 IP (A)26Gage Wood
P4.50 ERA, 5 K, 2 BB over 2 IP (A)27Jace LaViolette
OFDid not play28Josh HammondSSDid not play29Patrick ForbesPDid not play30Caden BodineC.326/.408/.349, 0 HR & 1 XBH over 11 GP (A)31Wehiwa AloySS.288/.356/.500, 2 HR & 12 XBH over 20 GP (A)32Brady Ebel3B.241/.333/.259, 0 HR & 1 XBH over 16 GP (A)33Marcus PhillipsPDid not play34Michael OlivetoCDid not play35Luke StevensonC.280/.460/.400, 1 HR & 6 XBH over 22 GP (A)36Riley QuickPDid not play37Slater de BrunOFDid not play38Mitch Voit
2B.235/.343/.294, 1 HR & 3 XBH over 22 GP (A)39Dax Kilby
SS.353/.457/.441, 0 HR & 4 XBH over 18 GP (A)40Zachary Root
PDid not play41Charles DavalanOF.500/.541/.735, 1 HR & 5 XBH over 8 GP (A)42Brendan SummerhillOF.333/.429/.444, 0 HR & 3 XBH over 5 GP (A)43Cam CannarellaOF.284/.333/.375, 0 HR & 7 XBH over 22 GP (A+)
All stats are regular-season only.
Notes
Last year, 14 of the 39 first-rounders (35.9%) did not play a single game during their draft year. This year, 21 of 43 (48.8%) did not play.
Some of that is based upon circumstance. Many teams, over the years, have been very careful with high-end college pitching prospects due to the sheer volume of innings thrown. Kade Anderson threw 119 innings for LSU’s title team before being drafted. Zachary Root (99.1 IP), Kyson Witherspoon (95 IP), and Jamie Arnold (84.2 IP) all logged significant innings, as well.
None of those pitchers played in 2025 professionally.
On top of those names, there were injuries. Jace LaViolette had hand surgery. Ethan Conrad hasn’t played since early 2025 thanks to shoulder surgery.
But getting back to those who did play, there were highlights — even though only one first-rounder made it as high as Double-A, compared to three in 2024.
The top pick, Eli Willits, hit .300 for Low-A Fredericksburg, which made the Carolina League playoffs. As for Ethan Holliday, who received a lot of hype alongside his former high school rival Willits, he, too, played in Low-A. Holliday cracked six extra-base hits with Fresno (A) but struck out a lot in his first taste of pro ball.
He struck out 33 times across 18 games with the Grizzlies. Across the last three walks of the season in that circuit, his 37.7% K% (23 K over 61 PA) was second-worst.
The other top-five pick to see action was Liam Doyle, the Cardinals’ first-rounder. Doyle made two regular-season appearances, one in Low-A and one in Double-A. In his first start, Doyle hit as high as 98 MPH but sat more in the 95-97 MPH range, a tick below where he was in college.
And that’s not surprising. Paul Skenes, for example, can gas it up when need be now but regularly hit 101-102 MPH as a pitcher with LSU when he pitched once a week.
Still, his fastball played up well, especially in that second start. He also mixed in a curveball, changeup, and slider.
Getting back to some of the other bats, Caden Bodine and Wehiwa Aloy produced in their first pro action. Aloy, the 2025 Golden Spikes winner, smacked 12 extra-base hits for Delmarva across 20 games. Bodine, meanwhile, posted a .408 on-base percentage, in line with his reputation from college.
Charles Davalan, Aloy’s teammate with Arkansas, picked up five extra-base hits across eight games with Rancho Cucamonga.
Dax Kilby, meanwhile, hit .353 and walked more (13) than he struck out (11). The 18-year-old proved to be a demon on the basepaths, as he stole 16 bases across 18 games for Tampa. However, the wiry shortstop didn’t hit for a ton of power (2.5% Barrel/PA)
Check out more of our Minor League coverage.
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