What Giants saw in Gavin Kilen, Trevor Cohen, their top two 2025 MLB draft picks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The executive’s suite at Oracle Park was empty Sunday. Buster Posey, Zack Minasian and others were in Arizona to join Michael Holmes and the amateur scouting staff for the first day of the 2025 MLB Draft, which led to an interesting situation.

Because the draft took place in Atlanta, site of the MLB All-Star Game, it started at 3 p.m. on the West Coast. And because the Giants went to extra innings against the Dodgers, their lead executives had one eye on the TV as they watched the first round unfold. 

The Giants ended up making their first selection about 10 minutes after the final pitch at Oracle Park. With both of their picks, they took collegiate hitters who ideally will help prevent some of what happened Sunday, when the lineup twice failed to score a runner from second in extra innings. 

The focus with Sunday’s two picks was on getting players with elite bat-to-ball skills. First-rounder Gavin Kilen has one of the best contact profiles in the draft, and while third-rounder Trevor Cohen was taken earlier than expected, the Giants were drawn to his history of limiting strikeouts and making solid contact at Rutgers. 

“I think it’s always something we desire,” Holmes said. “Look, last year a guy like Dakota Jordan had a little swing-and-miss to his college game, but there were things we believed from a player development perspective that we could help him correct some of that based on his tool set, and we’re really happy with the way he’s playing right now.

“It’s not that we’re afraid to not take a guy, but I think first and foremost (contact hitters are) a type of player that we’re attracted to.”

Kilen, 21, is a left-handed hitter who was named a first-team All-American after batting .357 with 15 homers, a .441 on-base percentage and a .671 slugging percentage. In 53 games, he drew 30 walks to 27 strikeouts, and while some view him as a second baseman, the Giants will initially develop him as a shortstop.

“It’s elite bat-to-ball skills and we’re talking about a career 10 percent strikeout rate for him in his college years and more walks than strikeouts,” Holmes said. “We think that he’s more of a line-drive hitter but he’s a guy that was able to hit 15 home runs this year so we think there’s some power to come. We’re just really excited to have him.” 

Cohen was a three-year starter at Rutgers and struck out just 62 times in 163 games. He hit .387 with a .460 on-base percentage as a junior, although he hit just two homers and had four in college overall. 

The left-handed hitter primarily played right field — Peyton Bonds, the nephew of Barry, was the center fielder — but the Giants believe Cohen can play center field as a professional. Holmes said Cohen blew the Giants away during his interview at the pre-draft combine. 

“(He’s a) guy with a career eight percent strikeout rate. Another guy that touches the baseball, puts it in play, elite contact skills,” Cohen said. “We think he can play center field. We like living in the middle of the diamond and like guys that make elite contact and we think we accomplished both of those with these guys.”

The picks were the first two of the Posey Era, although Holmes has been running the draft since 2019. He said not much has changed in the draft room from previous years.

“He was great, super-supportive of not only myself but my entire draft, asked a lot of good questions and was right there in the room with us and involved with all the conversations,” Holmes said of Posey. “There’s just a real calming presence to him … but as far as the draft mechanics, there was not a lot of change but there was definitely a new presence and it was a lot of fun in our room to have him.”

The Giants did not have a second-round draft pick Sunday because they signed Willy Adames in the offseason after he turned down a qualifying offer. They won’t have a pick in the fifth round when the draft resumes Monday morning, although they’re getting used to drafting this way. They were docked two picks last year after signing Matt Chapman and Blake Snell, but they were able to go over-slot for Jordan, who now is their fifth-ranked prospect. First-rounder James Tibbs III was sent to Boston in the Rafael Devers trade. 

“The worst part of the day was the waiting game between 13 (Kilen) and 85 (Cohen),” Holmes said. “I didn’t think it would ever get there. But (we made) sure that we spent time on the players that we felt fit and identified those. I think we’ve learned from it, and it’s something I thought our guys and our group have done a really good job of.”

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The Dodgers' first two picks in this year’s MLB draft came consecutively at Nos. 40 and 41 overall.

Turns out, their two selections came from the same school, as well, with the team taking left-handed pitcher Zach Root and contact-hitting outfielder Charles Davalan out of the University of Arkansas.

Root, a junior for the Razorbacks this year, went at No. 40. A transfer from East Carolina, he had a 3.62 earned-run average this season with 126 strikeouts in 99⅓ innings. Scouting reports lauded his versatile pitch mix, which includes a slider, curveball and changeup from a funky low arm-slot delivery.

Read more:Dodgers cap uneven, yet ultimately successful first half with win over Giants

Davalan, a sophomore who was draft-eligible, also transferred into Arkansas last year after one season at Florida Gulf Coast. He hit .346 for the Razorbacks with 14 home runs, 60 RBIs and more walks (35) than strikeouts (27).

Both players were part of an Arkansas team that won 50 games and reached the College World Series.

Both figure to be key pieces of the Dodgers’ future, as well.

Though the Dodgers once again were boxed out of a high draft pick — picking outside the top 30 for the third time in the last four years because of competitive balance tax penalties — the team did acquire an extra selection in what is known as “Competitive Balance Round A,” securing the No. 41 overall selection as part of the trade that sent Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds.

That meant, for the first time since 2019, the Dodgers made two top-50 selections.

And when their selections were on the clock, they identified the pair of Southeastern Conference teammates.

Read more:Shaikin: Why it makes sense the Angels picked Tyler Bremner at No. 2 in MLB draft

Root is a Fort Myers, Fla., native who was the No. 31-ranked recruit in the state coming out of high school, according to Perfect Game.

After starting his college career at East Carolina, where he had a 9-5 record and 4.43 ERA in two seasons, he found immediate success upon joining Arkansas, earning first-team All-SEC honors and second- and third-team All-American nods.

Though he grew up in Florida, Root said he was a childhood Dodgers fan — thanks in large part to another certain left-handed pitcher.

"Growing up, my dad always made me watch [Clayton] Kershaw and learn to pitch like him,” Root said. “So I've just been watching Dodger baseball ever since I can remember, because of Kershaw."

Davalan took a decidedly more circuitous route to the Dodgers.

Originally a childhood hockey player from Quebec, Canada, Davalan moved to Florida when he was in high school during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrolling in a specialized high school that allowed him to spend much of his days training as a baseball player.

“With COVID, a lot got shut down in Canada,” Davalan said. “So decided to go live in Florida, where the restrictions [weren't there] and you could play 12 months of the year.”

From there, the undersized Davalan — who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds — got one D-I offer from FGCU, impressed enough there to transfer to Arkansas, and then blossomed into “one of the best hitters in the draft class, I think,” Root said of his teammate. “Getting him at pick 41 is just a big steal for the Dodgers."

Davalan offered similar praise about Root, calling him “kind of an old-school pitcher” who “really filled the zones up good, but can still get his punchouts when he needs to get out of the jam.”

“Old-school” was also an adjective Davalan used to describe himself.

Read more:Futures Game MVP Josue De Paula wants to be a Dodger 'for a very long time'

“I like to win. I like to play hard,” he said. “So that's what I'm going to try to do. And I'm sure that knowing the organization, it's filled of players like that, so I'm super excited just to get to meet new people.”

And, of course, be reacquainted with one from his recent past.

“He's one of my best friends because of Arkansas,” Root said. “He's a really great dude.”

“I guess I'm going to have to live with him in a couple more years,” Davalan joked. “He's awesome.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees picked Texas A&M shortstop Kaeden Kent with the 103rd overall selection in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kent, the son of former big leaguer Jeff, played three seasons with the Aggies. In 56 games last year, he had 13 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, and 49 RBI with a .279/.398/.544 slash for a .943 OPS while going down on strikes 35 times to 37 walks.

“He’s a left-handed hitter, athletic, and can really play shortstop, which he showed us this past year,” Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said in a team release. “Growing up around his father, Kaeden has experienced elite baseball, so he knows what it takes and has seen what his dad had to do to be a successful ballplayer. For us, Kaeden has made a name for himself.”

The six-foot-two infielder has experience all over the diamond. While Kent appeared solely as a shortstop in 2025, he saw time at every infield position during the 2024 season, and played 11 of 28 games in the outfield in 2023.

In limited at-bats during the 2024 season, Kent had 36 hits in 110 times up (.327) with 10 extra-base hits (four home runs) and 28 RBI with a .905 OPS. He batted .265 with a .703 OPS in his first taste of collegiate action over 83 at-bats.

In six games during the 2024 College World Series, Kent went 10-for-24 (.417) with a home run and six RBI and was named to the CWS All-Tournament Team.

Kent spent two summers playing ball in the Cape Cod League, where he was a two-time All-Star and batted .299 with a .763 OPS in 254 at-bats. He had 15 extra-base his (three homers) and 35 RBI while striking out 44 times to 30 walks.

The No. 103 selection carries a slot value of $744,400. The Yanks entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at just $5,383,600.

The Yanks took infielder Dax Kilby with the No. 39 overall pick in the first round.

The Mets selected Central Florida shortstop Antonio Jimenez with the 102nd overall pick (Round 3) in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Jimenez, 21, played 55 games last season for UCF after transferring from Miami. The 6-foot-1 infielder had 14 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, and 51 RBI while slashing .329/.407/.575 with a .982 OPS in 207 at-bats. He was struck out 46 times to 25 walks and added 11 steals on 14 attempts.

Mets director of amateur scouting Drew Toussaint said the club believes Jimenez has the “chance to be an above-average defender” and liked what they saw from his bat this past season.

“He has a couple of pluses,” Toussaint said in a news conference after the third round on Sunday. “Plus power, raw power, plus arm strength. He really improved offensively this year, made a ton of improvements making contact, and had a really good year overall.”

In his lone season with the Knights, the right-handed swinging shortstop had 18 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games while posting a 24-game on-base streak and a 12-game hitting streak. Jimenez was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team.

The Hialeah native began his college career with the Hurricanes in 2024, appearing in 45 games, but struggled at the plate. Jimenez had just 18 hits in 99 at-bats (.182) with seven doubles and two home runs for a .313 slugging percentage and .613 OPS. That summer, he went to the Cape Cod League and in 39 games had 12 extra-base hits (five home runs) while batting .203 with a .705 OPS while striking out 38 times to 19 walks.

The No. 102 selection carries a slot value of $752,000. The Mets entered the draft with the second-lowest bonus pool in the sport at $5,465,900.

The Mets did not pick between the Competitive Balance Round A and late in the third round due to signing Juan Soto, who was a free agent who received a qualifying offer. (The signing also meant New York forfeited their second-and fifth-highest selections and $1 million from their 2026 international bonus pool.)

Earlier on Sunday, the Mets took another infielder in Michigan second baseman Mitch Voit with their first pick of the draft at No. 38 overall.

The name was a surprise, but the pick should not have been.

The bromide about teams picking the best available player rather than drafting for need does not apply to the Angels, at least not in the Perry Minasian era. The Angels’ front office must try to win now, with an ownership that does not believe in rebuilding, and without huge investments in major league free agency, international scouting or player development.

The Angels needed pitching. They drafted a college pitcher Sunday, in line with their no-margin-for-error strategy of selecting top college players and pushing them into the major leagues.

Their pick: Tyler Bremner of UC Santa Barbara.

Read more:MLB draft: Nationals select Eli Willits with No. 1 pick; Angels surprise at No. 2

It’s been an emotional year for Bremner, who lost his mother to breast cancer in June.

On the day after she died, he saluted her in a long Instagram post that started this way: “Saying goodbye to you has been the hardest thing I have had to go through in my life. Why did this evil disease have to come into the life of such a pure hearted soul. Somehow through all this pain, darkness, and suffering there is light.”

The last four words: “rest easy my angel”

When his name was called Sunday, Bremner thought of his mother.

“I went to the Angels,” he said. “It’s weird how life works.”

The Angels invited him to Anaheim for a private workout last week. In a draft in which the hype around college pitchers focused on three left-handers from the Southeastern Conference, Bremner said his advisers told him about an hour before the draft started that the Angels might pick him.

And, after the Washington Nationals took high school shortstop Eli Willits — the son of former Angels outfielder Reggie Willits — with the No. 1 pick, the Angels were on the clock.

Read more:José Soriano and Angels can't complete the sweep in loss to Diamondbacks

They had their pick of any pitcher in the country. They could have grabbed one of the SEC pitchers, or Corona High phenom Seth Hernandez. They went with the big right-hander from the Big West, with a fastball and a changeup that might already be ready for Anaheim.

The immediate expectation was that the Angels would cut a discount deal with Bremner, enabling him to collect a seven-figure bonus while enabling them to allocate more of their draft pool to swipe talented lower-round players away from college commitments. Bremner and Tim McIlvaine, the Angels’ scouting director, danced around that topic on Sunday.

But, if you’re the Angels, none of that scheming really matters if you don’t hit on the second overall pick of the draft.

McIlvaine said Bremner’s changeup gives him a go-to pitch, with a slider under development and a body that has yet to fill out.

“There’s a lot you can really dream on,” McIlvaine said.

The Angels need him to be right, and they need Bremner as a starter. A two-pitch pitcher would make a fine major league reliever, and don’t be surprised to see the Angels consider launching his major league career in that role later this season, if they stay afloat in the wild-card race. That could give them nine of their first-round picks on their active roster.

But you don’t use a first-round pick on a setup man. The Angels drafted two other pitchers among the top 10 overall picks within the past five years, and Reid Detmers and Sam Bachman now are setup men. Under Minasian, who was hired after the 2020 season, the Angels have drafted one pitcher that has delivered more than 1.0 WAR: Ben Joyce, a potential closer but now an injured setup man.

Read more:Shaikin: The NFL has committed players to the L.A. Olympics. So why hasn't MLB?

And the Angels’ second-round pick Sunday: an actual reliever, from the SEC. He is Chase Shores, who closed the College World Series clincher for Louisiana State and threw 47 pitches clocked at 100 mph or harder during the NCAA tournament.

As Bremner said, life works in weird ways.

“If you look at his second half of the year,” McIlvaine said, “I’d put it up against anybody in the country.”

In the second half of the season, his mother was dying.

“She came out to all the games,” he said, “all the way to the point where her body wouldn’t let her any more.”

In his last two games, weeks before she died, he gave up one run in 13-⅓ innings, walking two and striking out 23. That resilience was not lost on the Angels.

“I think, funny enough, as she got worse, that’s when I got stronger on the field,” Bremner said. “I feel I did a very good job of using that kind of negative energy and challenging it into pitching.

“Pitching angry, or pitching for her, or pitching for something bigger than myself, I feel like, in a way, it helped me on the field. But it’s not easy mentally to wrap my head around what’s going on off the field while trying to compete at a high level.”

Read more:MLB draft: Pitcher Seth Hernandez goes No. 6 to the Pittsburgh Pirates

That made Sunday a very different, and entirely memorable, mother’s day.

“I know she is watching over me,” he said, “and I know she is so proud of me.”

His mother, Jen, was born in Canada. The Canadians already are calling for him to represent her home country in the World Baseball Classic next spring, to honor her memory after losing her to cancer. Another pretty good ballplayer plays for Team Canada for the same reason, so you never know: Bremner could be teammates with Freddie Freeman next spring and Mike Trout next summer.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees selected shortstop Dax Kilby with the No. 39 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Kilby, 18, is No. 62 in MLB.com's prospect rankings after he hit .495 with 11 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 42 RBI as a senior at Newnan High School in Georgia. He led Newman to the Class 5A championship, the school's first since 1991, and was named tournament MVP.

“Dax is a strong-bodied and athletic left-handed hitting shortstop,” Damon Oppenheimer, Yankees vice president of domestic amateur scouting, said in a team release. “We really like his potential and ability to swing the bat, plus, he’s an excellent runner.

"As a high schooler, Dax has already shown an accomplished bat, a great feel to hit, and on top of that, some pop, which is exciting for us.”

At June's MLB Draft Combine, he was clocked at 3.55 in the 30-yard dash, good for the fourth-fastest time.

Kilby signed with Clemson University's 2025 recruiting class before the Yanks took him with their first selection of the draft in the Competitive Balance Round A. The 103rd pick carries a $2,509,500 slot value. New York entered the draft with the smallest bonus pool at $5,383,600.

At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, he was described as one of the more polished high school bats in the draft.

"Kilby has a track record of producing against quality competition on the showcase circuit," said MLB.com's scouting report of Kilby. "There are questions about his long-term defensive home, but his hitting ability could land him as high as the second round if he's signable away from a Clemson commitment.

"... Kilby has a quick and relatively compact left-handed stroke and a mature approach. He doesn't stray from the strike zone too often and makes consistent contact while looking to drive the ball from gap to gap. He has plenty of room to add strength to his projectable 6-foot-2 frame and should grow into at least average power.

"Though Kilby has plus straight-line speed, he plays as more of an average to solid runner. Bothered by shoulder issues early in his high school career, he has a funky arm action and can't make all the throws necessary from shortstop. He'll get a look at second base and also could wind up in left field, though he still may provide enough offense to profile at the less challenging position."

The Yanks later grabbed Texas A&M infielder Kaeden Kent with the 103rd overall pick.

The Mets have selected two-way player Mitch Voit with the 38th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Voit, 20, pitched and played second base for three years with the Big Ten school, but he didn't pitch last season after undergoing internal brace surgery on his throwing arm in July 2024.

In 56 games last season with the Wolverines, Voit had 17 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, and 60 RBI with a .346/.471/.668 slash line for a 1.140 OPS. He walked 40 times to 34 strikeouts.

In 2024, his last year pitching and hitting, the right-hander had a 5.49 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in 62.1 innings over 10 starts, with 41 strikeouts to 16 walks. That year at the plate, he had 20 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs with 46 RBI and a .292/.373/.572 slash line with a .945 OPS. He struck out 61 times to 23 walks.

Overall, Voit batted .303 with a .962 OPS in 631 at-bats over 169 games with Michigan with 46 doubles, seven triples, 35 home runs, and 138 RBI. He also spent time all around the diamond during his time in college, playing 51 games at third base in 2023, 33 games at first, and 22 in the outfield in 2024, before appearing in 56 games at second in his final season.

As a pitcher, he posted a 4.67 ERA and 1.332 WHIP over 98.1 innings and 29 games (11 starts) with 66 strikeouts to 28 walks.

There are questions about whether Voit will continue pitching in the big league ranks, but he was announced as a two-way player. Of course, when the Mets selected Carson Benge in last year's draft, he was announced as a two-way player, but the 19th overall pick has been converted to just a position player.

New York's first pick came at No. 38 in the Competitive Balance Round A, as their first selection dropped 10 spots due to exceeding the luxury tax threshold by $40 million or more last season, picking ahead of the Yankees (No. 39) and Dodgers (No. 40), who fell that far for the same reason.

The Mets don't pick again until No. 102 due to signing Juan Soto, who was a free agent who received a qualifying offer. (The signing also meant New York forfeited their second-and fifth-highest selections and $1 million from their 2026 international bonus pool.)

Joe DeMayo's Reaction...

Voit, a former two-way player, is likely to be deployed as just a hitter in pro ball. He has excellent bat speed and in-zone contact rates. His swing is natural at lofting the ball in the air, with a preference to the pull side, where he posts above-average exit velocities.

He is a plus athlete who acclimated himself well to second base, but with a healthy arm after he underwent internal brace surgery as a sophomore, Voit should have enough arm strength for third base if the Mets want to try him there.

I look at Voit as more of a high-floor type of player rather than a big ceiling. As a college junior, he has a chance to be a relatively quick riser through the minors.