2025 MLB Draft Profile: Jace LaViolette
NAME: Jace LaViolette
SCHOOL: Texas A&M
POSITION: OF
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’6”, 230 lbs
B/T: L/L
D.O.B.: 12/4/2003
PREVIOUSLY DRAFTED: No
Draft Scouting Report
Jace LaViolette was ranked as the #186 overall prospect in the 2022 draft class coming out of Obra Tompkins High School near Houston. He was seen as a very physical, athlete but the swing and miss concerns led him to Texas A&M rather than turning professional at the time. LaViolette was ranked as the #7 overall player in the state of Texas according to Perfect Game USA.
Tompkins High School opened in 2013 in Fort Bend County near Katy; close to the Houston area. It’s part of the Katy Independent School District. The school was named after a long-serving educator in the Katy School District and it’s home to over 3,000 students. Women’s professional soccer player Bárbara Olivieri and current Seattle Seahawks quarterback Jalen Milroe are famous alumni.
LaViolette is the ninth ranked player in the draft class at Baseball America and he checks in at #7 overall for MLB Pipeline. The swing and miss concerns are still prevalent but the outfielder is one of the better college prospects in the class. Coming into the season, the 21-year-old was seen as a potential #1 overall selection. LaViolette possesses massive raw power with a quick left-handed swing.
The player is a bit of a conundrum because he makes solid swing decisions but there are lots of swings and misses within his profile and the in zone contact rate has become an issue as well. The 6-6, 230 pounder plays center field now but likely profiles in right field down the road.
LaViolette stands upright in the box with a completely open front side. There isn’t much load or stride in his hitting mechanics and his exit velocities rank in the 90th percentile with an average of 109 mph. The max exit velocity has been a stellar 116. Baseball America noted that he has “double plus power to all fields” with a 70-grade on the scouting scale while MLB Pipeline puts a 65-grade on the power.
In 2023, the left-handed hitter slashed .287/.414/.632 as a freshman with a 17% walk rate and 27% strikeout rate. With 64 games played, LaViolette smashed 21 homers and was named a First Team All American for Texas A&M. He played 64 more games in 2024 and clubbed 28 homers with 77 RBI in the SEC. LaViolette hit .311/.454/.746 with a 19% walk rate and 24% strikeout rate.
In 2023, LaViolette also posted a .929 OPS in a small sample in the Cape Cod League with the Falmouth Commodores. It all led to 2025 where the outfielder hit .258/.427/.576 in 56 games with 18 homers. He also produced a 25% strikeout rate with a 22% walk rate.
LaViolette also broke his hand late in the year, had surgery and still played in the next game that Texas A&M was scheduled to play. It was a pretty miraculous feat and it shows that the outfielder just loves to play and wants to be the best that he can be for his teammates and coaches.
Why Would the White Sox Draft Jace LaViolette?
The White Sox had been linked to Jace LaViolette for a brief period and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN noted in a previous mock draft that the outfielder wouldn’t fall further than #10 overall. The White Sox have been linked more heavily to the prep infielders of late but the slugger from Texas A&M remains a legitimate option in the process. The system needs an infusion of power and LaViolette would provide something that is a weak point in a pretty solid system.
The presence of Ryan Fuller makes the possibility more real than it otherwise might’ve been. The White Sox have a legitimate top down hitting approach in regards to player development for the first time in maybe ever. There have already been success stories noted throughout the season with the organization’s new hitting infrastructure helping to turn players around.
LaViolette would also line up with the club’s current core. The White Sox should take the best player available at #10 overall and this shouldn’t be the reason to select a player but he could be in the big leagues fairly quickly with some swing and approach improvements. LaViolette could join a young core that potentially includes Miguel Vargas, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, Chase Meidroth and possibly Colson Montgomery. They should also have a center field opening fairly soon.
Mike Shirley will be overseeing his sixth draft as the scouting director of the White Sox. Every season, the veteran decision maker joins the media after each day of the draft. Last year’s meeting was informative after the scout answered a question about 6th round catcher Jackson Appel. Shirley noted that he’s had a long-term relationship with Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley from Indiana. The White Sox did a ton of work on Braden Montgomery and they’ve secured him now as well.
Mock Draft Outcomes
In my Mock Draft 1.0 here at FutureSox, I predicted that Jace LaViolette would fall to the Baltimore Orioles with the 19th overall pick. In his latest version at Baseball America, Carlos Collazo also mocked the outfielder to the Orioles but he noted that the White Sox are one team that could “take a shot” on LaViolette with the 10th overall pick. JJ Cooper of Baseball America wrote a piece as well detailing the player’s low batting average and comparing it to historical trends.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN also linked the White Sox to Jace LaViolette but he ultimately mocked the A&M slugger to the Minnesota Twins at #16 overall. The veteran prospect writer and former front office executive noted that “scouts were unsure what to make of his swing” and some called it stiff and mechanical but with massive tools. The swing and contact issues cause some uncertainty for clubs.
Keith Law of The Atletic sent LaViolette to the Athletics with the 11th overall pick in his first mock draft. Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline sent the outfielder to the Milwaukee Brewers with the 20th overall selection and his colleague Jonathan Mayo called him “one of the tougher college bats to place” while settling as on the San Francisco Giants at #13 as the ultimate destination.
