Prospect News: Razz 30 First-Year-Player Draft

The Razz 30 off-season is a tradition like no other. Owners slowly trim their rosters from 50-something players (43 spots with unlimited IL) down to the required 25 total, bartering over mid-round draft picks and borderline droppable players. It’s quite the party, and after a couple hundred trades have been made, we begin the First-Year-Player Draft. 

1. White Sox 3B Munetaka Murakami 

2. Blue Jays 3B Kazuma Okamoto 

3. Astros RHP Tatsuya Imai

4. Mariners LHP Kade Anderson 

I wouldn’t put Murakami in the top group, but he’ll probably go that high in most leagues, and Okamoto will probably go a little lower as people chase upside over present production at the top of their drafts. Likely wouldn’t be picking that high if they had enough right-now juice in the categories to contend. Even in a rebuild, I’d be tempted to take Okamoto. If he hits right away, you can trade him for more or just build around him heading into 2027. I don’t advocate for rebuilds with long tails anyway. I think the goal should be an 18-24 month turnaround, and you have to start stacking functional pieces at some point. Why not start with Okamoto? Well, if he doesn’t hit in his first MLB season, his value will be pretty much shot. There’s some safety in far-away players like Ethan Holliday because he doesn’t have to generate big outcomes to keep his dynasty stock alive for a couple years. Or so goes that theory anyway. Every league is different though. In the Razz 30, a bad 2026 from Holliday could tank his stock just as quickly as a bad 2026 would tank Okamoto’s. 

 

5. Cubs OF Ethan Conrad

Bit of a surprise pick here as Conrad was a question mark during the draft cycle due to a torn labrum and dislocated shoulder that ended his season. If healthy, he likely would’ve gone higher than 17th overall to the Cubbies. I actually like the pick quite a bit in this class as Conrad represents perhaps the best upside among the college hitters. The unique keeper rules of this league means that most teams keep 18 MLB players and seven minor leaguers, so holding a guy like Eli Willits for four seasons while he climbs the ladder doesn’t have as much appeal here as it might in a more traditional dynasty league where you keep pretty much everyone for as long as you want. 

 

6. Cardinals LHP Liam Doyle

7. Pirates RHP Seth Hernandez

The guy who selected Hernandez has a history of taking the best player available and has built a nice core that way. He landed Konnor Griffin at the 12 spot last season. 

 

8. Yankees SS Dax Kilby

This might read as a surprise, too, but I ranked Kilby 72 in my latest Top 100 update, and I suspect he’ll land somewhere around on most public facing lists. The Razz 30 also requires each team to roster three players from their affiliated organization, and the guy who took Kilby runs the Yankees. Three spots out of 43 total doesn’t sound like much, but we used to have six as the minimum, and it really can help a lot to have the real team’s good players on your roster. For example, I’ve had Sal Perez on the Royals since I took over for the guy who bailed mid-draft. It’s nice. Now I have Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr., too. Feels like I’m the Royals. Fun set up, and now I’m not burning roster spots just to tuck Kansas City kids into my minor leagues. 

 

9. Nationals SS Eli Willits

10. Blue Jays SS JoJo Parker

11. Rockies SS Ethan Holliday

12. Giants SS Luis Hernandez

The Rockies traded up to get Ethan Holliday for reasons described in the Kilby blurb. Took all day to make it happen, but I’m sure he’s happy to have one of the Rockies with real dynasty value. Parker feels a little similar to the Konnor Griffin pick in that gave me kind of an uh oh feeling. Good value at ten. 

 

13. Marlins SS Aiva Arquette 

Arquette feels like a steal at 13. I know Miami’s recent history drafting hitters, particularly college hitters like JJ Bleday and Jacob Berry, is not encouraging. This is a new front office though. Feels like there’s a team history penalty and a setting penalty and small sample penalty conspiring to obscure Arquette’s upside. They sent him straight to High-A at season’s end, and while he didn’t set the world on fire (.240 with 1 HR in 27 games), he still showed plate skills and posted a 103 wRC+. He played 92 games total. Pretty good preparation for a full professional season. 

 

14. Athletics LHP Jamie Arnold

15. Astros SS Xavier Neyens 

16. Athletics SS Johenssy Colome 

17. Nationals SS Gavin Fien

I like the Neyens pick. Six-foot-four and 210 pounds from the left side with infield actions, smooth athleticism and double-plus power. Long way off, perhaps, but the topside is tremendous. 

 

18. Red Sox RHP Kyson Witherspoon

Great pick for this league. It’s a six-by-six format with quality starts as the extra category. Pitching can be hard to find.

 

19. Brewers 3B Andrew Fischer

20. Reds SS Steele Hall

Hall feels like a . . . larcenous choice here. 

 

21. Angels RHP Tyler Bremner

22. Royals 3B Josh Hammond

23. White Sox SS Billy Carlson

24. Phillies OF Francisco Renteria

My pick was 26, and I was considering taking Renteria there. Wound up going in the opposite direction after the choice was made for me. 

 

25. Astros OF Ethan Frey

26. Padres 2B Sung-mun Song

I didn’t know a whole lot about Sung-mun Song when the draft began. By the time my turn came around, I was thrilled to select him and got an immediate trade inquiry from the team that won last season. That felt like a good sign. The short version of Song’s story: he was playing in the KBO as a teenager but paused his baseball life to serve his required time in the South Korean military during 2020 and 2021. He wasn’t great until his age 27 season in 2024, when he slashed .340/.409/.518 with just 82 strikeouts in 142 games. Over his last two years, he’s hit 45 home runs and stolen 46 bases in 48 attempts. I’d take that for the Razz 30 Royals. 

 

27. Orioles C Ike Irish

28. Guardians OF Jace LaViolette

Nice value here for a couple college thumpers. 

 

29. Dodgers OF Charles Davalan 

30. Phillies RHP Gage Wood 

Though to go broke betting on the Dodgers to develop their draft picks. As a first-rounder out of Arkansas, Davalan should be able to bully Low-A pitchers, but it’s still impressive to see anyone hit .500 with five extra base hits during his eight-game pro debut. 

Thanks for reading!