SHORT NOTICE

Exploring the reasons why MLB teams draft shortstops in the first round like never before

- by CARLOS COLLAZO

Stock for shortstops is trending up.

Since the first draft in 1965, there have been five years when eight or more shortstops were drafted inside the first 30 picks. All but one of those years has come in the last six drafts.

Most shortstops drafted among top 30 picks

10: 2021 and 2023 drafts

9: 2019 draft

8: 1971 and 2022 drafts

That run on shortstops should only continue in a 2025 draft that is loaded at the position—perhaps historically so.

In the Baseball America ranking of draft prospects, 13 players in the top 30 either play shortstop regularly now or have decent odds to be drafted at the position.

That starts with the top two high school prospects in the class, both from Oklahoma: No. 1 prospect Ethan Holliday, the High School Player of the Year who plays shortstop for Stillwater but could slide to third base as a pro; and No. 3 prospect Eli Willits of Fort Cobb-Broxton, who lacks Holliday's power but is more of a pure shortstop.

The position's depth in the 2025 draft extends to slick-fielding shortstop locks such as Wake Forest's Marek Houston (No. 15), Corona High's Billy Carlson (No. 10) and Mill Creek High's Daniel Pierce (No. 23), to tweener infield profiles who have played shortstop and other positions, such as Tennessee's Gavin Kilen (No. 25).

13 shortstops rank among top 30 draft prospects

1 Ethan Holliday Stillwater HS (OK)

3 Eli Willits Fort Cobb-Broxton HS (OK)

4 Aiva Arquette Oregon State

10 Billy Carlson Corona HS (CA)

11 Jojo Parker Purvis HS (MS)

12 Kayson Cunningham Johnson HS (TX)

15 Marek Houston Wake Forest

16 Steele Hall Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL)

17 Wehiwa Aloy Arkansas

18 Xavier Neyens Mount Vernon HS (WA)

23 Daniel Pierce Mill Creek HS (GA)

25 Gavin Kilen Tennessee

26 Alex Lodise Florida State