MLB Draft Combine: Kayson Cunningham eager to compete; Bruin Agbayani flashes speed, hit tool

New York Times

18-06-2025

PHOENIX — One of the best pure hitters among the high school prospects in the 2025 draft class, Kayson Cunningham came to the MLB Draft Combine with very little to prove to evaluators. But don't tell him that.
The 5-foot-10, 170 pound shortstop out of Johnson High School in San Antonio is currently ranked as the No. 20 prospect in the class by The Athletic's Keith Law. He and Purvis (Miss.) High School shortstop JoJo Parker were the only two top-25 prospects on Law's list to perform in the on-field workouts on Day 1 of the combine. With one of the best hit tools in the class, Cunningham put on a show in batting practice, posting an exit velocity of 99 mph or higher on 14 of his 27 hits. He topped out at 107.2.
Advertisement
The scouting consensus is that Cunningham will hit as a pro. The Texas Gatorade Player of the Year hit .509 as a senior. The biggest question is whether he will be able to generate any power from his smaller, though well built, frame. Cunningham hit two balls in BP over 400 feet, including a 420-foot blast.
The session was impressive but probably didn't show scouts anything they didn't already know about Cunningham based on his high school track record. So why did Cunningham feel it was necessary to compete in on-field workouts, something many of the top prospects opt out of?
'I'm a ballplayer,' he said.
His mom, Olivia, noted that her son had been antsy since his season ended and that getting back out on the field was like a lifeline for him. The family is planning a vacation for after the combine and Cunningham was already asking where he could do baseball workouts on the trip.
Not surprisingly, Cunningham plans to put himself to the test again later in the combine when he runs the 30-yard dash.
Bruin Agbayani, a shortstop from St. Louis High School in Honolulu and son of longtime big-leaguer Benny Agbayani, starred in the high school game that took place at the end of Day 1 of the combine. He showed plus speed on a triple and excellent at-bats overall.
Agbayani hit .365 as a senior and also competed in the MLB Draft League for Frederick earlier this summer, collecting six hits in 35 at-bats as one of the youngest players in the league. He's committed to Michigan.
Agbayani wasn't the only familiar name among the combine participants. Carsten Sabathia III, son of newly elected Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, had a solid round of batting practice. Sabathia, a junior first baseman from the University of Houston, hit one ball 420 feet and maxed out at 109.2 with his exit velocity. He hit .235/.333/.370 with two homers in 27 games for Houston this season. He also competed in the Draft League, hitting .171/.302/.304 for Trenton.
Advertisement
Manny Ramirez, Jr. (guess whose son he is) hit a 410-foot blast and maxed out at 104.8 with his exit velocity during his session. Ramirez hit .299/.435/,495 as a freshman for East Los Angeles Junior College this season.
Perhaps the most intriguing 'bloodlines' prospect to participate in Day 1 of the combine was Quentin Young, nephew of former MLB outfielders Delmon and Dmitri Young. Young, who ranked 52nd in Law's latest ranking, hit 18 balls 100 mph or harder, maxing out at 115.4 mph. One drive went 426 feet.
Quentin Young — nephew of Dmitri and Delmon — has the best hair at this Combine so far. Some BP from him:
[image or embed]
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard.bsky.social) June 17, 2025 at 10:13 AM
— Arizona State outfielder Brandon Compton generated significant buzz, hitting every ball except one at least 101 mph. His longest hit was 460 feet. Compton hit .271/.379/.486 with nine homers in 59 games for the Sun Devils this season. He had a .903 OPS in the Cape Cod League last summer. He was ranked 68th on Law's latest ranking.
— Shortstop JoJo Parker hit back-to-back with his twin brother Jacob in batting practice. JoJo, who projects as a potential top-10 pick, hit all of his non-bunts at least 90 mph and topped out at 105.2 exit velocity. Jacob, a center fielder, is known more for his in-game power than his brother, who has one of the top hit tools in the class. Jacob hit all of his non-bunts 95 mph or higher except for one. He hit one ball 416 feet and topped out at 110.1 mph.
— Switch-hitting catcher Taitn Gray, a high school prospect from Dallas-Center Grimes High School in Iowa who has been gaining helium leading into the draft, had an impressive batting practice from both sides of the plate. The 6-4, 220 pound slugger hit nine balls 110 mph or higher and had six home runs further than 400 feet. He's ranked 58th on Law's list.
— The only home run hit in the high school game on Tuesday night was off the bat of Nathan Eisfelder, a product of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., who is committed to Tennessee.
(Photo of Cunningham: Tracy Proffitt / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)