MLB Draft 2025: Cleveland selects Dean Curley with the No. 64 overall pick

The Volunteer is on his way to Cleveland.

The Cleveland Guardians have selected shortstop Dean Curley out of the University of Tennessee with the No. 64 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft. LaViolette was the 60th ranked prospect in the draft according to MLB Pipeline

Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about him:

“Curley stood out with his physicality and tools as a California high schooler, but not enough for pro teams to lure him away from his Tennessee commitment. The only freshman to earn a spot in the Volunteers’ stacked 2024 lineup, he homered three times in the NCAA tournament and went 6-for-12 in the College World Series finals to help win the program’s first national championship. He’s one off the best sophomore-eligible talents in this year’s Draft, though inconsistency on both sides of the ball may have derailed his chances of going in the first round.

More physical than most shortstops at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, Curley has solid-to-plus raw power and lets it come naturally. He understands the strike zone and works from gap to gap with a quick, controlled right-handed stroke. But he has gotten overly selective at times this spring and hasn’t done as much damage against non-fastballs as he did as a freshman.

Curley possesses average speed and shows good instincts on the bases. Though he doesn’t have typical shortstop quickness, he compensates with good positioning and a finely tuned internal clock, and he possesses one of the strongest infield arms in college baseball. His defensive consistency and throwing accuracy have declined this year, prompting Tennessee to move him around the infield, and his future defensive home is now more uncertain.”

MLB Pipeline grades Curley with a 45 hit tool, 50 power, 50 speed, a 65 arm and 50 for fielding with an overall grade of 50.

For more information about Curley, here’s a video with some of his highlights:

What are your thoughts on the pick? How would you grade it?