Riley Quick Becomes First Alabama Player Selected in 2025 MLB Draft

The first Alabama player selected in the 2025 MLB Draft was starting pitcher Riley Quick. The right-hander only had one full season as a collegiate starter, making it count with an 8-3 record and 3.92 ERA. He was chosen by the Minnesota Twins with the 36th overall pick.

Slot value for selection No. 36 is $2,692,000. Quick fell out of the first round, hearing his name called during the Competitive Balance Round A selections.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2025, Quick managed to make it back to the mound after Tommy John surgery cost him a 2024 campaign where he was expected to feature in the weekend rotation during Rob Vaughn's first season.

The coaching staff ramped him up throughout the spring so that too much strain would not be placed on his pitching arm too early, partly because of the Alabama native's professional future. He topped out at 99 miles per hour this spring.

Quick spent his freshman year in 2023 as a relief pitcher. He was good in that spot, but a natural switch to the starting ranks helped his game elevate against SEC hitters. He led Alabama in strikeouts, notching 70, and made the All-SEC Second Team. The Crimson Tide gave him the ball first in the Hattiesburg Regional against Miami, a game where he to

Expectations about Quick's path forward from the draft have been laid out and largely unchanged since before the 2025 season started. Even though he only had one healthy season as a collegiate starter, his build and plus stuff have made it so that he will sign for an attractive bonus and move on from the college level.

If there were concerns about Quick's durability, he might well have assuaged at least some of them throughout the spring. His 62 innings pitched were the result of the staff wanting to protect him from injury, but towards the end of the year, he had higher pitch counts.