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2 Gators signees selected on Day 1 of 2025 MLB Draft

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr07/14/25On3Keith
Florida Gators baseball

The Florida Gators had a pair of baseball commits selected on Day 1 of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft on Sunday. Jordan Yost, a talented shortstop from Tampa (Fla.) Sickles whose brother Hayden plays for Florida, was taken 24th overall by the Detroit Tigers.

Yost committed to UF back on Jan. 18, 2023. He was the No. 50 overall prospect pre-draft by MLB.com. Yost is listed at 6-foot and 170 pounds. He throws right-handed but bats left-handed.

Meanwhile, the Reds drafted another Florida Gators commit, pitcher Aaron Watson of Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian, at No. 51. His approximate pick value is $1.89 million. Watson recently flipped from Virginia to Florida, but he will likely turn pro along with Yost.

Per the Detroit Free Press, “The No. 24 pick comes with a recommended bonus slot value of $3,726,300, though teams can exceed that to sign picks as long as they do not exceed their total bonus pool. If the Tigers sign the No. 24 pick for less than slot, those savings can be applied to picks later in the draft. The Tigers have $10,990,800 to spend on their 21 draft picks this year, the 17th-most in baseball. Teams are allowed to exceed the allotment for picks by 5% before paying a 75% fine on the overage. No MLB team has exceeded the 5% limit since the slots were created.”

Yost batted .412 last season. He had 4 homers, 2 doubles and 26 RBI.

MLB.com’s scouting report on Yost read like this:

Every Draft class has its share of high school pop-up prospects, and Yost might be one of the most interesting ones in 2025. The Florida prepster is a late bloomer who didn’t do much on the summer showcase circuit and wasn’t considered much of a prospect at all until recently. Added physicality in the fall has led to better results in his senior year at Sickles High School in Tampa, leading to teams showing a lot more interest in the early rounds.

A left-handed hitter, Yost has always had a very good feel to hit, with elite contact skills. He has a simple swing and knows the strike zone really well, giving confidence he’ll continue to make sound swing decisions and put the ball in play. What is more in question is his impact. He has gotten stronger, but any thoughts about future pop at the plate is a much deeper projection.

Yost has plus speed and uses his excellent baseball IQ to maximize it on the basepaths and defensively. He plays shortstop without flash, but gets good reads, his hands work well and he has enough arm to stick there. His commitment to Florida, where he’d get to play with his older brother Hayden, might be a tough obstacle, but Yost wasn’t really thought to be the kind of guy who could go in the top two rounds until this spring.

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