While the West Virginia University baseball team heads on to the NCAA Tournament, scouts will have their eyes on some of their players the rest of the way through the season. Read below: Top WVU Baseball Prospects for the 2025 MLB Draft: Scouting Reports and Pro Projections
The Mountaineers have a long tradition of getting players drafted, including last year’s No. 7 overall pick JJ Wetherholt, 2019 first rounder Alex Manaoah, 2019 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up John Means, current St. Louis Cardinals starting center fielder Victor Scott and long-time big leaguer Jedd Gyorko, who currently serves as a Special Assistant to head coach Steve Sabins. Overall since WVU hired Randy Mazey and transitioned to the Big 12 Conference for 2013, 41 Mountaineers have heard their name called.
So who will add to that total this July? Let’s examine the strength and weakness of WVU’s draft prospects, and take a guess at who might go where.
Locks
Jr. 2B Sam White
Perhaps the biggest lock to be drafted of any Mountaineer, the junior second baseman set the Big 12 alight this season, hitting .353/.420/.512 for a .932 OPS, the second-best batting average among second baseman in the Big 12 and 46th among all power conference hitters nationally. The Canadian’s highlight of the season came in a win over Arizona on March 22nd, when he went 3-5 with two doubles, driving in five runs.
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White is considered a competent but not special fielder, with experience at second base, third base, first base, left field and catcher during his time in Morgantown, in addition to extended time as WVU’s designated hitter after returning from a shoulder dislocation. White seems likely to settle in at second or third in the pro’s, but his ability to play other spots won’t hurt him.
Projection: Rounds 5-20.
Jr. CF Skylar King
A Randy Mazey player at heart, Skylar King has followed in the footsteps of other past Mountaineer outfielders such as Scott, combining the ability to hit with athletic defensive ability. The Columbia, S.C. native broke out into a starting role as WVU’s center fielder, and improved more as a junior to hit .310/.428/.422 for a .850 OPS, along with 13 stolen bases. King excels even better with the glove, ranking fifth among all power conference center fielders with 8.23 defensive runs saved. According to PrepBaseball, King is also among just 21 draft-eligible players who have a 85th percentile Z-Contact (swing at pitches inside the zone), and a maximum exit velocity (for balls hit) of over 107 mph+, while also having a strikeout rate below 17% and a walk rate above 10%. Simply put, King is an analytics darling and will go higher in the draft than he may have 15 or 20 years ago. But all this sounds great. What’s the catch?
Shouldn’t he be a first round pick with such two-way prowess?
Well, King is a good hitter, not a great one. While his batting average and on base percentage are stellar, a slugging percentage of .422 at the college level is less so. King only has three homers on the year, though his two triples and good maximum exit velocity show he has the capability of hitting the ball hard, he just needs to do so more consistently. Additionally, King’s .850 OPS ranks him 39th among 57 power conference center fielders. Scott was drafted in the fifth round by the Cardinals with an .850 OPS in 2022, but was also a much more potent threat on the basepaths, stealing three times as many bases as King.
Overall, King’s tools may make him an enticing prospect for some teams, while his production and power numbers not being elite may scare others off.
Projection: Rounds 8-20.
Jr. C Logan Sauve
This isn’t Sauve’s first rodeo with the draft, as the then older sophomore was draft eligible after 2022, with some thinking him to be a top 10 rounds prospect. However, the Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania native pulled out of the draft after falling out of this range, looking to come back and improve his draft stock in 2025. Sabins commented on the return by remarking that it was “probably the biggest return from a draft perspective we’ve had in 10 years here.”
Did this draft stock improvement happen?
Not quite… but he definitely didn’t get worse either.
Sauve hit .308/.379/.484 with a .862 OPS in 2024, and in his junior campaign hit .285/.401/.473 for an OPS of .874. While the on-base percentage jump is good, scouts may have also liked to have seen his average and slugging increase.
Behind the plate there are doubts about his ability to stick behind the plate at the major league level, as his pop time isn’t great, though Sabins says that he’s not ”not flashy but he can catch”. It remains to be seen if a team would take him to catch or move him to another position. That said, Sauve’s OPS does rank fourth among 14 Big 12 catchers, so some teams may like him as a bat-first catcher.
Projection: Rounds 10-20.
These three names are commonly discussed as Mountaineers who may hear their name called in July.
But there is another one who’s a dark horse candidate
Jr. RHP Robby Porco
Six foot eight. Touches 97 mph. Great fastball and slider. Tons of upside. Robby Porco is the stuff scouts dream of. Sabins even said that he’s “projectable as a draft prospect as just about anyone on our team.”
Breaking onto the scene as a freshman in 2023 by striking out twelve batters in six one-run innings in his first collegiate start against Kansas, Porco flashed but struggled to put it together as an underclassman, posting ERA’s of 7.50 and 8.71, with an abysmal 2.613 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) as a sophomore, though he was fourth on the team with 11 strikeouts per nine innings as a freshman.
While Porco hasn’t been a go to guy for Sabins this season, he’s finally started to put the results together, with a 3.60 ERA over 20 innings this season, starting three of the 11 games he’s appeared in. The highlight of his season was once again against the Jayhawks, striking out five batters over four scoreless innings in relief against KU on May 16.
Porco recently received some internet fame for his offering on WVU’s NIL platform “The Mountaineer Exchange”… by saying he will charge $1.00 to “come chill”.
Porco said he had forgotten about the offer to hang out with fans for around 18 months until it started gaining traction online. “We were sitting in a meeting with an influencer and I was bored. I went on and made a listing. It was actually about a year and a half ago, so I forgot about it. It popped back up recently. It’s funny.”
Despite the tantalizing upside, Porco does have some factors working against him. Number one is the production. The righty got hit hard his first two years and while he did better this season, he only pitched 20 innings.
Secondly, Porco has struggled massively with control problems. In his three college seasons, he’s walked 7.3, 14.8 and 7.2 batters per nine innings. For comparison, 2024’s MLB leader in walks given up, Luis Gil of the New York Yankees gave up 4.6 walks per nine.
Will teams fall in love with Porco’s projectability and upside? Or will his control issues and lack of production scare them off?
Only time will tell.
Projection: Round 8-undrafted, returns for senior season.
Probably drafted
Sr. corner OF/DH Kyle West
There’s no question about who West Virginia’s best hitter has been. Kyle West has been a welcome addition in Morgantown the past two seasons after spending his freshman and sophomore years playing just over two hours south for Division II’s University of Charleston.
As a senior West hit .354/.500/.628 for a 1.128 OPS, the third-best OPS in all of the Big 12, earning him All-Big 12 Second Team honors. West had expected to be drafted following his junior campaign, working out in front of pro scouts including at Citi Field for the New York Mets
What may be working against him?
Well especially this time around, age. Fair or unfair, seniors and grad students are judged more harshly in the eyes of draft scouts, with younger players being perceived as having more room to grow, and thus having more upside. But in all fairness to West, he did just that. His average went from .260 to .354, his on-base percentage increased from .344 and his slugging went from .536 to .628. The only stat he declined in was going from 14 homers to 10.
Additionally, West may not have the defensive profile teams desire. A corner outfielder only, West started 31 games there and 23 as designated hitter. West also does have experience at first-base, but that will not really do much to change the fact that he is a bat-first prospect with minimal defensive value.
Overall though, hitting is such a key part of the game that it is hard to imagine all 30 teams passing up on West 20 times.
Projection: Rounds 15-20
Fifth-year Sr. LHP Griffin Kirn
Last year it was Derek Clark. This year it’s Griffin Kirn. In successive years, the Mountaineers have grabbed a Division II fifth-year lefty from the midwest that became WVU’s ace. Kirn has been a godsend for the Mountaineers from Quincy University.
The fifth-year senior has made 15 starts for the Mountaineers, throwung 86.2 innings with a 3.32 ERA, earning him All-Big 12 First Team honors. Kirn recently shined in the Big 12 Tournament, throwing a complete game in a 10-3 win over Cincinnati
But as mentioned before, age may be a factor against him. Clark overcame it to be drafted in the ninth round, but he was more of a workhorse than Kirn.
Projection: Rounds 15-20
Ones to watch out for
Senior corner OF/DH Jace Rinehart
A similar profile to West, the West Virginia native grew up coming to WVU baseball camps but spent three seasons at USC Upstate. Rinehart is mainly a corner outfielder or designated hitter, though he has experience at catcher. While he is a worse hitter but better fielder than West, both are similar types of players.
The Mannington native’s only season back in his home state has come with a .324/.399/.570 slash line, good for a team second-best .969.
However his age and defensive profile may work against him here. Still, a team may buy into the bat.
Projection: Round 18-undrafted free agent deal
Sixth-year Sr. RHP Jack Kartsonas
The sixth-year righty pitcher has transitioned from a reliever to a starter as the season has gone on, and the Kent State transfer has been nothing short of excellent, pitching to a 2.90 ERA in 59 innings. Kartsonas made 11 appearances in relief before starting his last seven games. Unlike some would expect, Kartsonas lowered his ERA after moving to a starter’s role, with a 3.12 ERA in relief and a 2.81 ERA as a starter.
The production is great, but being a sixth year senior will probably be too much to overcome in terms of getting drafted.
Projection: Round 18-undrafted free agent deal
Unlikely, but possible
Sr. 1B Grant Hussey
The Parkersburg, West Virginia native is wrapping up his fourth and final year in Morgantown, and became the Mountaineers all-time leader in home runs earlier this season. There’s no doubt about his power abilities, but his overall production (.277/.361/.461, .821 OPS) hasn’t progressed enough since his sophomore year, and questions remain about his ability to hit breaking balls. And historically, senior first basemen (especially ones that can’t play other positions) have not been MLB front office’s favorite types of players to draft.
Projection: undrafted free agent deal or signs with an indy ball team
JR RHP Carson Estridge
The 6’7 junior would’ve been a lot higher up a few weeks back, as the Haymarket, Virginia native had a 3.16 ERA a few weeks ago. But in the final weeks of the season Estridge has suffered multiple implosions, with fourteen runs in 4 1/3 innings ballooning his season ERA up to 5.55.
Teams may like the projectable righty, who has a fastball that touches 94, with a curveball in the low 70’s and a cutter in the low to mid 80’s. An excellent late season pitching run may improve his draft stock. On the other hand, late season woes may lead him to come back and try for a better senior season
Projection: gets drafted in the later rounds or comes back for his senior season.
Sr. RHP Reese Bassinger
The senior transfer from Tarleton State has produced well for WVU (3.88 in 55.2 innings across 26 games), being an important go-to guy for Steve Sabins out of his bullpen. Bassinger exemplified exquisite control by having the fewest walks per nine innings (1.6) on the West Virginia pitching staff. But being a senior righty that doesn’t throw hard or strike guys out will likely keep him from being drafted.
Projection: undrafted free agent deal or signs with an indy ball team
Probably not on any draft radars, but you never know
- Sr. RHP Tyler Hutson
- Sr. SS Brodie Kresser*
- Jr. 3B Chase Swain
*Kresser has another year of eligibility at WVU as a fifth year senior due to one year at JUCO.
Top WVU Baseball Prospects for the 2025 MLB Draft: Scouting Reports and Pro Projections
