2025 MLB Draft | Louisville Preview

At long last, the 2025 MLB Draft is finally here. Mock draft and big board season is now behind us, and soon we will find out where the top talents in college and high school baseball will have the opportunity to start their professional careers.

While the draft is now in its fifth year of being slashed from 40 rounds to 20, the Louisville baseball program still has a few players who will likely hear their name called. In fact, for the first time in a few years, the Cardinals are widely expected to produce a day one draft pick.

Among scouts, league executives and the baseball media, right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes is Louisville's consensus top draft prospect. Ranked as high as the No. 31 overall prospect in the draft (MLB.com), he has a chance to be UofL's first first-round draft pick since Henry Davis went No. 1 overall in 2021.

While his stock dipped some during the middle of the season, scouts love his electric fastball and explosive delivery, which was on full display this past season. Making 15 starts, he posted a 4.42 ERA across 71.1 innings pitched, striking out a whopping 117 batters while issuing only 34 walks.

After Forbes, while there's not a consensus as to who would be the next Cardinal to come off the board, there are four who are regarded by scouts as potential early day two picks. Of this quartet, the one who is most likely to get drafted after Forbes is Matt Klein, who ranks as high as the No. 224 prospect in the draft (MLB.com).

While he spent most of 2025 season injured, scouts love his leadership, as evidenced by the fact that UofL went 25-7 in games where he started at catcher, but just 17-17 when he didn't. In 33 games and 32 starts, Klein hit .310 with five home runs and 31 RBIs, while also posting a .996 fielding percentage with just one error and two passed balls.

That being said, don't be surprised if another pitcher for Louisville is drafted after Forbes. Right-hander Tucker Biven ranks as the No. 219 draft prospect (ESPN), and scouts are big on his pitching versatility plus his deadly fastball/slider one-two-punch. He's coming off of a 2025 campaign where he posted a 3.71 ERA in 18 relief appearances and five starts, striking out 36 and walking 22 over 43.2 total innings.

If scouts were looking at purely hitting potential at the next level, it wouldn't be surprising if third baseman Jake Munroe, who is the No. 182 prospect in this year's draft class (ESPN). The JUCO transfer was one of Louisville's most well-rounded hitters, hitting .346 for 13 home runs, 61 RBIs, 13 double, a team-best four triples and 38 walks. However, he also committed a whopping 13 errors at the hot corner this year, which is why he is regarded by some as an unranked prospect.

Then we have Eddie King Jr., who was unquestionably Louisville's best position player in 2025. He hit .367 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI,19 doubles, a triple and 21 walks; not to mention he was one of the top hitters in this year's NCAA Tournament. That being said, some front office executives are not completely sold on King at the next level. In fact, MLB.com, Baseball America and ESPN have him as an unranked prospect.

Behind these five players, Louisville has a few of prospects that could hear their name called, but are unsure if or when. This includes right-handed pitcher Brennyn Cutts and outfielder Garrett Pike.

Cutts was mainly a reliever at Louisville, finishing with a 4.97 ERA over 38.0 innings and 26 appearances, along with a 46-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. But considering he was the 2024 MVC Pitcher of the Year as a starter at Indiana State, he has potential to be drafted or at least sign somewhere.

Pike might not have had a great showing in the NCAA Tournament, but during the regular season, he flashed some tools that could intrigue some teams. He hit .297 with four homers and 40 RBIs, was Louisville's co-leader in doubles (19), fifth in stolen bases (9) and sixth in total bases (95).

There's also a couple high school commits who could end up choosing the professional route. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Shannon is viewed at the No.129 draft prospect by MLB.com, while fellow righty Peter Kussow is their 201st-ranked prospect. All it takes is for one team to draft them high or give them more money than what their slot value calls for, so this will be something to monitor.

The 2025 MLB Draft will begin with rounds one through three on Sunday, July. 13 at 6:00 p.m. EST. The remainder of the draft will start on Monday, July 14 at 11:30 a.m. EST. Day one will be televised on ESPN and MLB Network, while day two will be streaming on MLB.com