ANAHEIM — The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Georgia right-handed pitcher with the No. 92 overall pick in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday.
Arizona started its draft class by taking prep shortstop Kayson Cunningham No. 18 overall. The D-backs then selected Louisville right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes with the No. 29 pick.
The D-backs had a while to wait before picking again with no second-rounder due to the signing of free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes. Arizona also traded a competitive balance round B pick for Josh Naylor.
Curley is a 5-foot-10 pitcher who made 17 appearances (10 starts) for the NCAA Tournament-bound Bulldogs this past season. In 66 innings, he worked a 3.55 ERA with 85 strikeouts and 27 walks.
He moved from a late-inning relief role into the starting rotation and earned All-SEC Second Team honors. He elected to transfer to Georgia after the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him out of VCU in the 16th round of last year’s draft.
“He’s got a big arm, it’s a carry fastball, he’s up to a 100, he’s got a power breaking ball,” D-backs director of amateur scouting Ian Rebhan said.
“We think he’s a starter, as well. He’s thrown strikes. He performed, he punched dudes out in the SEC. That SEC performance, being at Virginia Commonwealth and transferring to the SEC and having success in what we feel is the best league in college baseball pitching on Friday nights, pretty interesting third-round college starter.”
Curley showed the ability to alter his delivery and execute, not dissimilar to Nestor Cortes. He can reach upper 90s mph with his fastball that pairs with a plus slider.
If Nestor Cortes threw 100 mph…
He’d be Brian Curley from UGA. 😳 @briancurley42
97 mph with 22″ of IVB
99 mph with 21″ of IVB
100 mph with 20″ of IVB pic.twitter.com/6kLSzyf6CP
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 18, 2025
Per MLB Pipeline:
Curley not only deals at 94-97 mph and reaches 100 with his fastball, but he also produces high spin rates and difficult carry, and has maintained his velocity through longer outings. He also has shown the ability to miss bats with three different breaking balls, the best of which is a mid-80s slider with impressive depth. … Though he’ll get a chance to prove himself as a starter in pro ball, Curley projects more as a power reliever at the next level. He lacks size and pitches with considerable effort which results in fringy control.
Day 1 of the MLB Draft ended after Round 3, while Rounds 4-20 will pick up on Monday.
