Top-5 prospects to watch in 2025 MLB Draft
The Southwest Times Record’s Jackson Fuller shares his top MLB draft prospects who could hear their names called early.
Though plenty of Oregon State Beavers are expected to hear their names called during the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft Sunday through Monday, one name stands out above the rest after a terrific 2025 campaign.
For the second straight season, a Beaver is expected to hear his name called within the first 10 picks in Aiva Arquette, who played just one season in Corvallis after transferring from Washington. Arquette would be the second-consecutive Beaver selected among the first 10 picks after Travis Bazzana went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Guardians in 2024.
A 6-foot-5, 220-pound infielder from Hawaii, Arquette was named a second team All-American by Perfect Game and Baseball America and earned third team All-America honors from NCBWA and D1 Baseball. The junior led the Beavers with a .354 batting average and finished second on the team with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs to go along with 73 runs scored and 17 doubles.
Track every pick in the MLB draft here
Along with Arquette, several Beavers are expected to be in the mix throughout the 615-pick draft, including Gavin Turley, Trent Caraway and Nelson Keljo.
The first three rounds, along with compensatory and competitive balance picks, will take place on July 13 beginning at 3 p.m. PT (ESPN). The rest of the draft will begin at 8:30 a.m. PT on July 14 and air on MLB.com.
Follow along throughout the course of the draft to find out which pro organizations select Oregon State’s stars.
Oregon State players taken in the MLB draft
Rounds 1-3 of the 2025 MLB Draft have wrapped up and rounds 4-20 will be held Monday.
Follow along beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday PT as Beavers Gavin Turley, Trent Caraway, Nelson Keljo and some Oregon State commits wait to hear their names called.
Xavier Neyens, SS/3B
Selected by the Houston Astros with the No. 21 overall pick
The recent high school grad and Oregon State signee is off the board and now has a decision to make. Will Neyens go pro, or will he elect to join the Beavers in Corvallis?
Neyens was the state of Washington’s No. 1 overall prospect and Perfect Game’s No. 5 high school prospect nationally, and signed with the Beavers back in November. He was rated the No. 25 overall prospect in the MLB Draft and reads similar to Arquette in terms of what makes him stand out as a prospect.
In 2024, the No. 21 overall pick in the draft held a pick value of $3,934,400 and agreed to a signing bonus of the same number. This year, the pick value raised to $4,122,500.
Drafted players typically have around two weeks to sign their contracts and make decisions about their futures. Oregon State fans will be keeping a close eye on what that decision is.
Aiva Arquette, SS
Selected by the Miami Marlins with the No. 7 overall pick
Arquette has become Oregon State’s fourth player to be drafted in the top 10 of the draft since 2018. He joins an impressive list with Nick Madrigal, Adley Rutschman and Travis Bazzana.
The 21-year-old Hawaiian is touted as a versatile and confident left-sided infielder with a well-established presence at the plate. He was rated MLB.com’s No. 6 overall prospect coming into the draft with the help of his powerful upside with a bat and high-rated arm from the infield.
Arquette joins a team whose farm system includes the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A), Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A), Beloit Sky Carp, (High-A) and Jupiter Hammerheads (Single-A).
Individually, Arquette will find competition in the Marlins’ farm system with a handful of positional rivals. That includes Marlins No. 2 prospect and MLB Top 100 prospect, 19-year-old Starlyn Caba.
Landon Bartlett covers high schools and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at lbartlett@salem.gannett.com or on X and Instagram @bartlelo.
