Diamondbacks select Kayson Cunningham with No. 18 overall pick in 2025 MLB Draft

ANAHEIM — The Arizona Diamondbacks selected shortstop Kayson Cunningham out of Lady Bird Johnson High School (Texas) with the No. 18 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday.

Cunningham is a 19-year-old, 5-foot-10 infielder who is committed to Texas.

The left-handed hitter has plus hit and run tools, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, and he hit .509 during his senior season. He won the 2024-25 Gatorade Texas Baseball Player of the Year and the USA Baseball Player of the Year.

Per MLB Pipeline:

“You watch him play, he’s got really good hands, he’s athletic, he’s one of the best hitters in the class,” D-backs director of amateur scouting Ian Rebhan said.

“We think there’s budding power in there, as well. He came here and hit for us at Chase Field. He’s shown power at the PBR All-American game where he won the MVP. We think you’re getting a bat-and-power future shortstop that just has a really good feel for the game.”

The D-backs entered the draft with two top-30 picks, also selecting at No. 29 as compensation for Christian Walker declining his qualifying offer and signing a $60 million deal with the Houston Astros last winter.

Arizona used its second pick of Day 1 on Louisville right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes.

The Diamondbacks will not make a second-round pick after forfeiting their selection by signing free agent pitcher Corbin Burnes to a team-record $210 million contract before he went down with Tommy John surgery. They also traded a competitive balance round B selection to Cleveland to acquire first baseman Josh Naylor last offseason.

Arizona has leaned into taking prep bats in the first round over the past half-decade, doing so now in four of the last five drafts.

In 2021, the D-backs picked prep infielder Jordan Lawlar with the sixth pick. They grabbed prep outfielder Druw Jones second overall in 2022, Stanford infielder Tommy Troy 12th overall in 2023 and prep outfielder Slade Caldwell with the No. 29 pick a year ago. The last pitcher they took first was Bryce Jarvis out of Duke with the 18th pick in 2020.

“One of my good buddies is Slade Caldwell, and so I knew that they took him with their first-round pick last year,” Cunningham said. “So that kind of gives me a good feeling that I’m gonna be with Slade, two undersized players that just play with a lot of energy and passion.”

Let's get to work, @KaysonCunningha. pic.twitter.com/tVX9XICipE

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 14, 2025

Last year, the D-backs made three picks within the first 35, taking Caldwell, Kentucky outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 31) and prep infielder JD Dix (No. 35).

The MLB Draft is split between two days this year, as the first three rounds are on Sunday and 4-20 on Monday.

The Washington Nationals kicked off the draft by taking prep shortstop Eli Willits with the No. 1 overall pick. The Los Angeles Angels followed by taking UC Santa Barbara right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremner, and the Seattle Mariners rounded out the top three with LSU left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson.

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