Weekend MLB Draft Notes: 3/17/2025

The SEC opened conference play this past weekend and there were a bunch of great matchups. The most surprising result was Tennessee’s sweep of Florida, as both teams entered the series ranked in the top 10. At this point, the Volunteers look like the best team in college baseball. Outside of the SEC, Stanford’s Japanese phenom Rintaro Sasaki hit his first career home run on Saturday, and we saw a four-homer day from Northwestern’s Trent Liolios.

Sticking to the theme of last week, these notes are on draft-eligible players who are not currently listed on The Board, as it’s still too early to rank them, but who nonetheless should hear their names called this July.

Logan Lunceford, RHP, Wake Forest
Weekend Line: 7.0 IP, 8 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER vs. Miami

Wake Forest is home to one of the best pitching labs in the country, and the Demon Deacons coaching staff and pitchers are well versed in analytics. Logan Lunceford fits the archetype of an early era “analytics darling.” His fastball sits at only 90 mph, but it has the shape that Stuff+ models love and plenty of carry, and he throws it at a flat angle. It’s performed well so far this year, generating a 32% whiff rate.

Lunceford’s best pitch is his changeup, which sits in the upper 70s and falls off the table with a tailing shape. It’s his primary offspeed pitch in two-strike counts and is one of the better changeups I’ve seen this year. He also throws a 12-6 curveball, which has depth to it but also tends to be soft and easy to ID out of the hand. Interestingly, he uses it more as a pitch to steal strikes early in counts rather than as a putaway pitch; he throws the curve 12% of the time overall, but 21% of the time in 0-0 counts. This pitch fits well in a starter’s arsenal, but I’d like to see him find a gyro-type slider to add to the repertoire as another offspeed pitch to strike out hitters.

There’s relief risk here given his slight frame and his scattershot command, but he has a starter’s ability to get whiffs with his fastball/changeup combo and steal strikes with his curveball. Lunceford is likely a third- or fourth-round pick who projects as a backend starter or multi-inning reliever depending on the development of his command.

Nate Snead, RHP, Tennessee
Weekend Line: 5.2 IP, 6 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER, 2 SV vs. Florida

Friday’s Tennessee-Florida game featured two of the best pitching prospects in the SEC in Liam Doyle and Liam Peterson, but they weren’t the only pitchers showing loud stuff. Nate Snead finished off the win for Tennessee, going 3 2/3 innings, striking out four, and touching 101.

Snead transferred from Wichita State to Tennessee after his freshman year and has been used almost exclusively in a multi-inning relief role so far during his time in Knoxville. He threw 75 innings in 29 appearances last season and has thrown 17 innings in six appearances this season. Snead was the Sunday starter against Hofstra in the first series of the year, but since then Tennessee has opted to use him in higher-leverage innings.

Standing at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Snead throws across his body from a three-quarters arm slot with a lower release height, which helps him generate an unorthodox angle on his pitches. His sinker averages 96 mph with late arm-side run. Despite its velocity, his sinker hasn’t missed a ton of bats so far in his college career (23% whiff rate), and its shape would need some tweaking to be successful in pro ball. He pairs it with a low-to-mid-80s slider, which is vertically oriented with sharp bite and a bit more depth than the average gyro slider. He’s shown a cutter and changeup on occasion but hasn’t had to use them much out of the bullpen.

Snead’s walk rates indicate he has starter command, though from a visual perspective, it’s more scattershot. A multi-inning relief role fits his skill set the best and likely gets him to the majors the fastest. College relievers are a difficult demographic to guess where they go, but I could see Snead as a fifth-round pick if he continues this level of production.

James Ellwanger, RHP, Dallas Baptist
Weekend Line: 4.2 IP, 5 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER vs. UTSA

Dallas Baptist is a mid-major powerhouse that draft watchers have to pay attention to each year. Even in the NIL/transfer portal era, the program still manages to produce draft-worthy talent, with two top-100 picks in 2024 and eight total players picked in 2023. This year, its top prospect is James Ellwanger, a tall, lanky right-hander with a big fastball. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 209 pounds, Ellwanger sits 93-95 with his fastball, topping out at 99, with carry thrown from a downhill plane. The rest of the repertoire is vertically oriented, with a 12-6 curveball that he spins well with plenty of depth, and a tighter gyro slider that sits in the mid-80s. Both project to be above-average pitches. Ellwanger doesn’t have much feel for his pitches, though, and his command is consistently below average, so he’ll likely end up in a bullpen role as a pro, where the stuff is loud enough to play in high-leverage situations.

Brent Iredale, 3B, Arkansas
Weekend Line: 8 AB, .125, 4 SO, 3 BB vs. Ole Miss

A native of Sydney, Australia, Brent Iredale spent two years at New Mexico Junior College before arriving at Arkansas. He’s off to a great start this year, hitting .397/.562/.847 with seven home runs and more walks than strikeouts.

Iredale has a compact swing with plus speed that’s shown elevated whiff rates (27%) up to this point. He’s upright in his stance, and the operation feels vulnerable to velocity up and breaking balls, which is something to keep an eye on as he sees more SEC pitching. Where Iredale stands out is in the chase and power department. He has a good eye at the plate without being overly passive. Power wise, he’s posted above-average exit velocities (113.7 mph vs. Michigan; you can take 3-4 mph off for the metal-to-wood conversion) and lifts the ball well, allowing his natural raw power to play.

Nothing in particular stands out about his defense at third. He showcases an average arm with decent hands and bend. He’s a fringe average runner presently, and could potentially add some positional versatility by playing corner outfield. Iredale projects as a bench bat with some chance of developing into a low-end regular.

James Quinn-Irons, OF, George Mason
Weekend Line: 11 AB, .091, 2 SO, 2 BB, 1 SB vs. Dayton

Even after a rough series against Dayton, near the top of the college wRC+ leaderboards sits George Mason’s James Quinn-Irons. He has struggled with strikeouts to this point in his career, but in 2025, he’s cut his strikeout rate in half and looks like one of the better hitters in college baseball. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Quinn-Irons stands out due to his raw power, posting exit velocities near 114 mph (about 110 with wood bat). His approach has been similar to his first two years at George Mason, with mid-20% chase rates and a slightly aggressive approach. He’s been whiffing less, specifically against fastballs, but his whiff rates against offspeed are still elevated, and that’s concerning given the weaker competition he’s faced. Defensively, Quinn-Irons projects as a corner outfielder, despite primarily playing center field at George Mason. He has average straight-line speed and can make the easy catches in center, but that’s about it. His arm is above average and fits well in right, but a move to the corners would put more pressure on him to produce at the plate.

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