A well-rounded catcher with plus skills both offensively and defensively are tough to come by, which makes Luke Stevenson the top catching prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft class.
He is the clear-cut favorite to be the first catcher off the board this July, and has a shot at within the top ten. The draft-eligible sophomore was named to the Freshman All-American First Team by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game a year ago, and was also selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team.
Previous Scouting Reports:
Luke Stevenson Scouting Report: Bio and Tools
Age on draft day (birthday) | 20 (07/22/2004) |
|---|---|
HT/WT | 6'1"/200 lbs |
Bats/Throws | L/R |
Position | C |
Year | Sophomore |
High School | Wake Forest HS - Wake Forest, NC |
Tool | Grade |
|---|---|
Hit | 45 |
Power | 55 |
Run | 30 |
Arm | 60 |
Field | 55 |
Overall | 55 |
Stevenson is a draft-eligible sophomore, which gives him an edge over plenty of other college prospects. He's going to enter professional baseball when he's supposed to be entering the peak of his college career, while also being roughly a year younger than the majority of the college class. In only his second season of college baseball, he's already looking more advanced than plenty of juniors that will be selected in the draft.
Stevenson certainly has the tools to stick behind the plate long-term, which is highlighted by his plus-arm. He's not a great athlete in the raw sense, but has really improved his conditioning and moves well behind the plate, which has led to improved blocking and receiving skills. If he continues to produce at a high level offensively, he won't have to lean on his defense behind the plate as the determining factor in how fast he moves through a farm system.
What will determine what kind of success Stevenson finds in the professional ranks is his 45-grade hit tool. He's a power-over-contact bat that projects as your typical average power hitter. He has a solid frame and does a good job of using all of it to get to the natural power in his swing.
He possesses a patient approach that helps maximize his production through pitch selection, but is also not quite aggressive enough in the zone for how often he whiffs. However, when he is getting the bat to the ball, he generates consistent hard contact, primarily to the pull side in the air, which leads to plenty of long balls. He has already surpassed his home run total from last year by the start of May. Stevenson has also walked more than he has struck out thus far in 2025, something he nearly did as a freshman as well.
He does more of his damage against fastballs, while breaking and off-speed offerings give him trouble — which might actually give the hit tool a higher floor at the next level, given that he doesn't chase outside of the zone too often. Pitchers will have to primarily challenge him in the zone with fastballs. The development of the hit tool is really what will be the difference in him being the next Cal Raleigh or the next Austin Barnes.
Luke Stevenson 2025 MLB Draft Outlook
Stevenson has been heating up as the season has progressed, and his numbers have paced well in conference play. His stock should only continue to rise as he continues to play well in front of higher levels of competition on the bigger stages in the postseason.
My most recent mock draft has Stevenson falling to the Giants at 13th overall. With Buster Posey at the helm for his rookie season as the Giants President of Baseball Operations, it only feels right that he selects Stevenson with his first draft pick.
Since 2018, the Giants have used their first pick to draft a collegiate catcher twice, both of which have provided vastly different results. Joey Bart was the second overall pick in the 2018 draft and ended up being nothing short of a bust for the Giants, while Patrick Bailey, their 2020 first-round pick, has developed into the best defensive catcher in the sport.
Regardless of where Stevenson ends up, he can fall anywhere between Joey Bart and Patrick Bailey, and, perhaps with the right mentor, could even potentially reach the heights of Buster Posey.