ASU’s Brandon Compton taken top 50 in MLB Draft, 8 other former Sun Devils hear name called

Arizona State outfielder Brandon Compton was picked in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft, going 46th overall to the Miami Marlins.

Left-handed pitcher Ben Jacobs was ASU’s next player to come off the board at No. 98 to the Detroit Tigers, where he joins fellow former Sun Devil Spencer Torkelson.

Compton was an impactful slugger for the Sun Devils the last two years after redshirting his first season due to Tommy John surgery.

He had three RBIs and two walks during the Los Angeles Regional, including two RBIs in the season-ending loss. It punctuated an ASU career where he slashed .310/.401/.568 over 403 at-bats with 23 home runs and 105 RBIs.

Jacobs struck out 120 batters last season, good for 10th in the nation. Six of those came in a five-inning, two-earned run start in the L.A. Regional. He had a 4.95 ERA in his first season as a full-time starter and as ASU’s ace.

Here are the seven Sun Devils selected over Day 2 of the draft:

• RHP Lucas Kelly – picked 182nd (sixth round) by Seattle Mariners
• OF Isaiah Jackson – picked 229th (eighth round) by Los Angeles Angels
• RHP Jack Martinez – picked 243rd (eighth round) by Arizona Diamondbacks
• INF Kyle Walker – picked 246th (eighth round) by Houston Astros
• OF Kien Vu – picked 264th (ninth round) by Cincinnati Reds
• RHP Will Koger – picked 280th (ninth round) by San Diego Padres
• SS Matt King – picked 293rd (10th round) by Pittsburgh Pirates

Brandon Compton’s MLB Draft Combine record

Compton brought his power slugging to Chase Field for the MLB Draft Combine in June, where he recorded the three hardest hit balls in Combine history with shots of 116.9, 116.6 and 116.4 mph during his batting practice round. Two more of his knocks were in the top seven since the event began in 2021.

Top 50 Draft prospect Brandon Compton put up NUMBERS on Tuesday 😯

The @ASU_Baseball star crushed 12 balls over 112 mph and had the top 3 — and 5 of the top 7 — exit velos ever recorded at the Combine.@JesseABorek has more: https://t.co/3hkF6EyXdN pic.twitter.com/kkQyFYOY7i

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 19, 2025

His average exit velocity during the event was 110.1 mph, 6.2 mph better than the next best hitter, per Baseball America.

Compton was MLB Pipeline’s No. 47 overall prospect in the class, with a .903 OPS in the Cape Cod League in 2024 and a comparison to a fellow former Sun Devil being big reasons why.

Strong and thick, Compton can really impact the baseball from the left side of the plate, reminding some of former Sun Devils standout Kole Calhoun. In his first season with ASU, he showed the ability to drive the ball to all fields, with most of his over-the-fence pop showing up more to his pull side. His swing-and-miss and tendency to chase, especially against softer stuff, was a bit of a concern. He tightened that up on the Cape, cutting his strikeout rate and drawing more walks, making him a much more dangerous hitter overall.

The slugger also tuned up his patience last season, upping his walk-to-strikeout ratio from 23-54 the previous season to 40-55 as a redshirt sophomore.

His future in the majors is very reliant on his hitting translating, according to MLB Pipeline.

Compton is going to have to hit because his other tools grade out as fringe average. He’s not a runner and while he’s an acceptable defender in the outfield, he’s likely limited to left field because he doesn’t have the kind of arm most teams like to see from their right fielder. If his offensive game continues on an upward trajectory, he still is the kind of college performer who’ll go in the early rounds.

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