On 12-5-24, MLB.com posted their top 100 prospects in the
upcoming draft. Beginning 2-2-25, we will post it in backward order, ending
with the pick for 1.1
https://www.mlb.com/prospects/2025/draft/ -
#16 Marek Houston
SS Wake Forest
20/years old
6' 3" 185
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 |
Field: 60 | Overall: 55
Houston wasn't a high-profile recruit but won Wake Forest's
shortstop role as a freshman in 2023 and helped the Demon Deacons finish third
at the Men's College World Series. A Cape Cod League All-Star last summer, he
has developed into arguably the best defensive shortstop in the Draft. He
overhauled his offensive approach in fall practice and scouts are curious to
see how that works during his junior season.
Houston earns solid-to-plus grades for his quickness and arm
strength, and some evaluators will go even higher than that on his ability to
play shortstop. He has smooth actions and plenty of range to both sides and
should be a high-quality defender at the big league level. Should he not hit
enough to merit an everyday role, he has the tools to play almost anywhere on
the diamond as a utilityman.
In his first two college seasons, the righty-swinging Houston
had a contact-over-impact mentality and projected as an average hitter with
below-average power. He added muscle and sold out for power more during the
fall and may find 12-15 homers per season while providing less in the way of
batting average. His speed plays better in the field than it does on the bases.
2-26-25 –
MLB mock draft 2025: Projecting first round for 2025 MLB
Draft
https://sportsnaut.com/mlb/mlb-analysis/lists/mlb-mock-draft-2025/
8. Toronto Blue Jays: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
Marek Houston could be a potential riser in 2025, with ESPN’s
Kiley McDaniels among those noting the improvements he’s made with his swing
mechanics. A step forward with the bat would be huge for a 21-year-old with
‘plus’ tools defensively and the ability to play just about anywhere on the
infield. If Houston’s added strength and tweaked mechanics lead to a boost in
power, the Toronto Blue Jays could have their shortstop of the future.
Marek Houston stats (2024): .326/.434/.516, .949 OPS, 8 home
runs, 16 doubles
2-10-25
FLO Baseball - 2025 MLB Mock Draft 1.0-
https://www.flobaseball.tv/articles/13555752-2025-mlb-mock-draft-10-nats-stunner-with-the-no-1-pick
No. 25 San Diego Padres, Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
Baseball
Houston hit .326/.434/.516 for Wake Forest in 2024 with 25
extra base hits and is a plus defender.
The Padres love taking high school players in the first
round, so watch for Brock Sell, Lucas Franco and Landon Harmon here, as well.
1-28-25 –
MLB 2025 Mock Draft 2.0: Predictions for Every 1st-Round Pick
12. Texas Rangers: SS Marek Houston, Wake Forest
Houston was a surprise winner of Vanderbilt's starting
shortstop job as a true freshman in 2023 on the strength of his defensive
tools, and he has steadily developed an offensive game to match. He hit
.326/.434/.516 with 25 extra-base hits in 54 games last season, and he followed
that up with a .465 on-base percentage and more walks (26) than strikeouts (21)
over 114 plate appearances in the Cape Cod League. His glove is good enough
that even average offensive tools would make him an everyday shortstop.
1-22-25 –
Just Baseball: 2025 MLB Draft – Top 80 College Prospects
https://www.justbaseball.com/college/mlb-draft-top-college-prospects/?s=03
14. Marek Houston – SS
HT/WT: 6’3/200 | Bat/Throw: R/R | School: Wake Forest | Age:
21.2
Houston turned a corner in 2024, becoming one of the most
improved bats in the entire class. After enduring some struggles as a freshman,
Houston became a leadoff sparkplug for Wake Forest, slashing .326/.434/.516 and
recording more walks than strikeouts.
His plate discipline is pristine and features little warts.
He has some of the best contact rates in the class and he stays inside the
zone, slapping the ball to the all fields.
Houaron will utilize his fantastic speed on the basepaths, as
well, as he’s recorded times to first base around 4.15 seconds. He’s a surefire
shortstop at the next level, too. He has a great internal clock with excellent
range and motions, as well as a strong arm.
The biggest complaint last year was the lack of power in the
profile, though Houston has added more mass to his frame and began to show more
pop in fall scrimmages. If he achieves 40-grade power in 2025, it’ll be a big
boost to his profile. It’s a well-rounded profile with fun tools throughout.
1-16-25 -
An Early Look at the Top 30 Prospects for the 2025 MLB Draft
https://lastwordonsports.com/baseball/2025/01/15/top-30-prospects-2025-mlb-draft/#google_vignette
13. Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
The best defensive shortstop in the college ranks, and maybe
in the draft, has excellent range and instincts at SS with the ability and arm
to throw off-platform a nd from deep in the hole. The bat is a bit light but he
has displayed a solid contact rate. He has a frame to add some size and
strength to possibly tap into more power.
Top 50 college baseball prospects for 2025 MLB draft, per
D1Baseball
14 Marek
Houston SS Wake Forest
12-10-24 –
Here's Pipeline's first full 2025 mock draft
https://www.mlb.com/news/first-full-2025-mlb-mock-draft?partnerID=web_article-share –
15. Red Sox: Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest (No. 16)
Arguably the best defensive shortstop available, Houston has
gotten stronger and overhauled his offensive approach, which could result in
increased power.
9/8/24 - 2025 Draft - B/R's Way-Too-Early 2025 MLB Mock Draft
29. Cleveland Guardians: SS Marek Houston, Wake Forest
After hitting just .220 as a freshman, Houston put together a
breakout sophomore season as the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter for Wake
Forest.
He hit .326/.434/.516 with 25 extra-base hits and 57 runs
scored in 54 games while solidifying his status as a sure-fire shortstop at the
next level.
Houston doesn't offer much in the way of over-the-fence
power, but his contact skills, athleticism and defense give him a high floor.
Marek Houston, SS - wake forest
Prospects Live Ranking - #21
Marek Houston was one of the standout offensive breakouts
this past season, establishing himself as one of the most refined bats in the
2025 class. As the leadoff man for Wake,
Houston displays a plus eye at the plate with the ability to spray the ball to
all fields. His whiff rates dropped
significantly from his freshman to sophomore season, and he posted one of the
nation's top zone contact rates at 93%.
Perhaps the best aspect of his game is his defense. Houston has a plus arm and great range for
the position that will keep him at shortstop come pro ball. Over the recent summer, he played for Bourne
in the Cape Cod League, where he stood out with a .306 batting average across
27 games and earned a spot as an All-Star.
His power is below average, though with adding roughly 10 pounds of
weight, expect to see a jump in the extra base hits this coming season.
https://godeacs.com/sports/baseball/roster/marek-houston/8070 -
Sophomore (2024)
Third Team All-ACC Selection... Appeared in 54 games with 53
starts at shortstop... Led the team with a .326 batting average... Recorded 72
hits, 39 RBIs, and eight home runs... Ranked second on the team in doubles
(16)... Recorded two RBI singles against Fordham (Feb. 16) and Akron (Feb. 18)
during opening weekend... Notched five hits and four RBIs in the series against
Dayton (Feb. 23-25)... Hit a grand slam in the first game of the doubleheader
against Binghamton (March 2)... Recorded a nine game hit streak (March 15-April
5) with six multi-hit games during that streak... Hit an RBI single as part of
a four-hit performance at Liberty (March 26)... Recorded four RBIs, five hits
and a home run in the series against North Carolina (March 29-31)... Tallied three
hits, including a two-run home run, against UNCG (April 2)... Notched two
doubles and a home run in a seven-hit series at Boston College... Recorded an
11-game hit streak (April 30-May 17) and drove in a run in five consecutive
games (May 1-9)... Hit a triple and a grand slam to help earn the sweep against
Clemson (May 12)... Hit a home run in back-to-back games at the ACC Tournament
against Pitt (May 22) and North Carolina (May 24) to help the Demon Deacons
advance to the ACC semifinals... Recorded an RBI single in the NCAA Regional
against hosts East Carolina (June 1).
Cape Numbers: .306/.465/.329 (.794), 2 2B, 8 RBIs, 17 Rs, 7
SB, 26 BB (22.8 BB%), 21 K
(18.4 K%)
Switz’s Notes: From the first time I watched Bourne over the summer,
my eyes were glued to watching Houston in the field. He is a natural athlete on
the diamond and is one of the guys who has a higher ceiling than most in the
2025 draft. This year, he was a key contributor for the Bourne franchise to
make another appearance in the Cape Cod Championship game with his
run-producing abilities at leadoff and stellar defense. Nightly, over the
summer, Houston produced web gem-after-web gem defensive plays that showed that
he can stay on the left side of the diamond for the next level. Many other
talking heads will criticize his bat for the next level due to it not producing
the batted ball metrics that the new-age fans and gurus want to see. However, it isn’t as bad as this crowd wants
to voice as he displayed a good feel for the zone and protects anything inside
his hands (a skill many hitters over the summer seemed to lack that is desired
by scouts). Further, he showed good abilities to hit to all fields and not let
the Cape’s BABIP inflation dictate his hitting abilities while taking walks and
not forcing a play to be made when nothing was there. To quote Aaron Rodgers,
the new age fans and gurus need to “relax” regarding Houston’s bat profile
because Houston has advanced intangibles that metrics cannot measure and should
be alright.
When drawing up a projection on Houston, it is tough to
forecast what he will become. At first, I thought he might be a glove-first
dude with below-average pop that he currently shows and could build into being
a Dansby Swanson-like SS. However, when watching him play and looking at his
build, there is more growth left in him as he has an unorthodox build of a
large upper body frame and a smaller lower half. Between working on his
mechanics in rookie development to add bat speed and going to the weight room
for him to add muscle, I think there's a chance he could surpass the average 15
- 20 HRs (which is upside 45 FV and fringy 50 FV grades that vary based on
organization grading and modeling) that Swanson averages each year (I know that
Swanson crushed over that between 2021 - 2024 but, I see that as a too small of
a sample size to call Swanson a genuine 55-60 grade power guy).
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