Final 2025 MLB Draft Rankings: Top 250 Prospects

Several LSU players and current commits were included in ESPN's "Final 2025 MLB draft rankings: Top 250 prospects."

Tigers' ace pitcher Kade Anderson was listed as the top prospect:

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1. Kade Anderson (21.0), LHP, LSU

Fastball: 50/55, Slider: 55/60, Curveball: 45/50, Changeup: 50/55, Command: 45/55

Where he ranks in an MLB top 100 prospects list: 25

If it doesn't work out, what happened? His durability doesn't continue to progress, his stuff and/or command dips below 55-grade and he's a back-end starter.

Anderson had Tommy John surgery in high school that took him off the trajectory he was on as an underclassman, to be a seven-figure prospect out of high school. He's eligible as a sophomore because of his age and showed flashes during the 2024 season as a freshman but threw only 38? innings.

Entering this season, he was seen as a speculative comp/second-round prospect because of his lack of history. Then, he struck out 180 hitters this spring as the ace for national champs, not that far behind Paul Skenes' 209 strikeouts on a similar journey at LSU.

Anderson's elbow surgery and slighter frame make some evaluators hesitate about his long-term ability to post 180-plus innings as a potential frontline starter. The other hesitation is he has more good, above-average stuff than truly standout plus or better stuff. Max Fried is a name that comes up a lot, as a similarly framed lefty who overcame those questions and has a similar ability to create four or more good, distinct shapes and hit spots with some precision.

Given the track record of ACC/SEC aces taken in the top 10 picks rushing to the big leagues of late, Anderson is seen as a likely quick-mover who might need only slight tweaks -- throwing his slider out of the zone more for chases, throwing his curveball a tick or two harder, maybe adding/tweaking his pitch shapes slightly, making a timing tweak or adding muscle to deliver a little more velocity -- to reach his potential.

Chase Burns (No. 2 pick last year) was a better draft prospect, but I think Anderson is right there with Hagen Smith (No. 5 last year) as a draft prospect. I'm not worried Anderson will go down the path of other top-10-pick lefty college starters who became MLB relievers (A.J. Puk, Drew Pomeranz, Andrew Miller) because of his feel to execute. Also, his supinator lean (like Fried) gives him more avenues to find new shapes to attack hitters, while his left-handedness and polish give some margin for error.

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Here's where other LSU players and commits landed in the rankings:

31. Jaden Fauske (18.7), RF, Nazareth Academy HS (IL), LSU commit
36. Quentin Young (18.2), 3B, Oaks Christian HS (CA), LSU commit
45. Anthony Eyanson (20.8), RHP, LSU
68. Chase Shores (21.0), RHP, LSU
73. Briggs McKenzie (18.8), LHP, Corinth Holders HS (NC), LSU commit
74. Dean Moss (19.1), CF, IMG Academy HS (FL), LSU commit
84. Daniel Dickinson (21.5), 2B, LSU
85. Miguel Sime Jr. (18.1), RHP, Poly Prep Country Day HS (NY), LSU commit
108. Marcos Paz (18.7), RHP, Hebron HS (TX), LSU commit
115. Brady Ebel (17.9), 3B, Corona HS (CA), LSU commit
121. Reagan Ricken (18.8), RHP, Great Oak HS (CA), LSU commit
132. Ethan Frey (21.3), RF, LSU
145. William Patrick (19.0), CF, St. Frederick HS (LA), LSU commit
184. River Hamilton (18.8), RHP, Barlow HS (OR), LSU commit
215. Landon Hodge (18.4), C, Crespi Carmelite HS (CA), LSU commit
231. Mason Braun (18.3), LF, Penn HS (IN), LSU commit
241. Zion Theophilus (19.0), RHP, Moeller HS (OH), LSU commit
249. Jared Jones (22.0), 1B, LSU