(Cover photo: soonersports.com)

The 2025 MLB Draft is fast approaching. The draft will be 20 rounds over 3 days and starts on Sunday, July 13.

It will be a part of the MLB All Star Game festivities in Atlanta with the first 3 rounds on Sunday, July 13, starting at 5:00 p.m. (CDT) and can be seen on both the MLB Network and ESPN. Rounds 4-20 will begin on Monday, July 14, at 10:30 a.m. and will be streamed on MLB.com.

Just like previous years, the Sooner State will be well represented and this year it should be represented early. A total of 3 Sooner State alums are expected to go no later than the first 15 pick with 2 of them possibly going in the top 5 with some “experts” projecting either of those 2 going number 1.

Leading up the the draft, we will take a look at a total of 10 players projected to go in the draft from the state of Oklahoma, but expect more names from the Sooner State to be called over the 2 days. (Caden Powell was not talked about by anyone last year and he was taken in the 6th round by the Astros.)

Today’s player: Malachi Witherspoon

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Along with his twin, Kyson, Malachi had been a staple on the mound for the Sooners the last 2 seasons. Malachi came out of the pen in late game situations in 2024 before moving into the starting rotation in 2025.

While he is not as highly rated as Kyson, Malachi still has similar electric stuff and could go as high as the 3rd round depending on which team takes him.

OU head coach, Skip Johnson, has said that Malachi has “top 2 rounds” stuff and he could have just as good pro career as anyone. His stuff is that good.

Witherspoon struck out 91 batters over 74.1 innings pitched in 2025 and he struck out at total of 120 batters in 96.2 innings pitched in his 2 years in Norman.

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Prospect Rankings

*Prospect Ranking: MLB Top 250 (MLB), ESPN Top 150 (ESPN), Keith Law Top 100 (Law)

• MLB: 121
• ESPN: 73
• Law:

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Scouting Grades Reports

*When looking at the scouting grades, MLB uses a “20-80” system: 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average, 70-80 is well above average.

MLB Pipeline

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

While his twin brother, Kyson, will likely be the first college right-hander drafted in July, Witherspoon was a higher-rated prospect in high school and turned down an over-slot offer from the Diamondbacks as a 12th-rounder in 2022. The siblings have similar arsenals, but Kyson harnesses his much better and has outperformed Malachi at Northwest Florida State JC and Oklahoma. The latter could still go as early as the third round to a team that believes it can add polish to his overpowering stuff.

Though Witherspoon parks at 95-97 mph and peaks at 99 with his fastball, it lacks life and gets pounded because he doesn’t locate it well. His most effective pitch is a low-80s curveball with depth, though scouts believe his tighter slider in the upper 80s will be his best option in the long run. He can throw a decent upper-80s changeup with fade but doesn’t have much faith in it.

Witherspoon adds deception to his power stuff with his low three-quarters arm slot, flat approach angle and quality extension. But working exclusively out of the stretch still leaves him with fringy control and below-average command because he doesn’t repeat his mechanics. He’ll probably get the opportunity to start at the next level, but he’ll need to remake his fastball shape and may be a reliever in the long run.

Keith Law

N/A

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Outlook

As stated above, Malachi has electric stuff that is “top 2 rounds” quality. There were times the radar in Norman said 100 mph when he pitched in 2025. Regardless it that is to the mph accurate, you get the point on how hard he can throw.

The question for Malachi is control. It is not fair that he is compared to his brother, Kyson, but that is really the difference between the two. Don’t be surprised to see a club think they can help Malachi with his control and take him earlier than expected.

Regardless of where he is taken in the draft (it should not be lower than the 5th-6th rounds), look for Malachi to have a long, solid pitching career in professional baseball.

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