Six weeks away from the 2025 MLB Draft, the experts continue to analyze the draft class. And mock draft season, of course, is underway.
MLB.com conducted its latest live mock draft Thursday night, with the indications apparently clear which way the Chicago White Sox are leaning as they prepare to take the No. 10 overall pick.
To the left side of the infield.
High school shortstop/third baseman Ethan Holliday – the younger brother of the Baltimore Orioles’ Jackson Holliday – is the top prospect in the draft and expected to be selected first by the Washington Nationals.
MOCK DRAFT TIME https://t.co/QDLwPAdgwQ
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 29, 2025
The MLB live draft echoes the projection that Ethan Holliday will join his brother as a No. 1 overall pick, and also predict the Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners and Colorado Rockies will follow by taking left-handed college pitchers.
Then begins a run on shortstops, according to the live draft: high schooler Eli Willits at No. 5 to the St. Louis Cardinals; Oregon State shortstop Aiva Arquette to the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 6; and California high school shortstop Billy Carlson at No. 7 to the Miami Marlins.
MLB.com projects the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds will follow by each selecting a right-handed pitcher, with the White Sox next on the clock.
With that No. 10 pick, shortstop JoJo Parker of Purvis (Miss.) High School, is the prediction.
Here is what MLB.com has to say about the selection:
“Barring someone surprising falling in their laps, the White Sox seem destined for a prep shortstop. With Willits and Carlson gone, that still leaves them Parker, [Steele] Hall, Kayson Cunningham and Daniel Pierce. If they want a college hitter, Tennessee second baseman Gavin Kilen could be their guy.”
Hall, Cunningham and Pierce are among the seven high school shortstops ranked in the Top18 of MLB.com’s prospect list in what evidently is a very shortstop-rich class. There also are two college shortstops in that group.
As for the 18-year-old Parker, he’s ranked No. 10 overall. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound player is a twin, with his brother, Jacob, an outfielder, ranked No. 107.
Here is the take on JoJo Parker from MLB.com:
“Parker has a chance to be a plus hitter with average power. He has a sound left-handed swing, manages the strike zone well and employs a gap-to-gap approach. He shows some feel for driving balls in the air and is posting more impressive exit velocities as he continues to gain muscle.
“While Parker will get the chance to play shortstop at the next level and his solid arm strength, his actions and quickness are just average. That likely will dictate a move to second or third base in the future, though he should provide enough offense to profile at either position. The twins are committed to playing together at Mississippi State if they don't turn pro.”
The White Sox had an MLB record-worst 121 losses last season. So why don’t they have the No. 1 overall selection?
That’s because they had a lottery pick in 2024 and since they are a team that pays out revenue-sharing money, they are ineligible for lottery picks in back-to-back seasons. Their top pick last season came at No. 5, with the White Sox selecting Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith.
Smith is assigned to Double-A Birmingham.
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