2025 MLB Draft: Rays select OF Brendan Summerhill No. 42 overall

$2.33 million slot value.

The Tampa Bay Rays have lucked out in their second selection of the first round, snagging Arizona OF Brendan Summerhill at No. 42 overall. This is great value at the end of the Competitive Balance A round, as he was ranked No. 22 at Baseball America.

MLB Pipeline:

The University of Arizona has had a hitter taken in the first round in three of the last five Drafts, with Chase Davis repped the school in the 2023 first round, Daniel Susac in 2022 and Austin Wells in 2020, but the Wildcats were shut out in 2024. Summerhill has the chance to get the program back into the opening round after he earned all Pac-12 honors and led the team in average, on-base percentage and extra base hits as a sophomore in 2024, then turned in an All-Star performance in the Cape Cod League, though a broken hand cost him over a month and then he pulled a hamstring in his second game back to force him to the sidelines again.

Considered by many to be the best player in the four corners region when healthy, Summerhill is a strong and athletic left-handed hitter who has the chance to be a dynamic player on both sides of the ball. He’s shown a very good approach at the plate, walking nearly as often as he struck out in 2024 and limiting the swing-and-miss that some area scouts saw from him during his time in the Chicago high school ranks. Still, he’ll have to work on his tendency to chase at the next level. He’s just starting to tap into his raw power and it’s showing up right now mostly to his pull side.

Summerhill spent the fall playing right field for the Wildcats. He has the arm and run production potential to profile there, but while he’s seen time at all three outfield spots, he might have more value in center field, where he played exclusively on the Cape. That would put a little less pressure on the power to come, but regardless of where he is on the grass, he has the chance to be an everyday outfielder at the next level with a Jake McCarthy-like profile.

Baseball America:

BA Grade: 50/High

Summerhill is a sweet-swinging lefthanded hitter and outfielder who has one of the more well-rounded profiles in the 2025 college class. With a 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame, he still has some physical projection remaining in his frame and has built up a solid track record as an advanced hitter, including a strong 2024 season in the Cape Cod League and a career .330/.434/.552 slash line with Arizona.

Summerhill missed some time during his 2025 draft season with a fractured right hand, but when he was healthy he looked like perhaps the best college hitter in the class. He stands tall in the box with a high handset before getting into his legs with a toe tap and leg kick, and he has both a strong batting eye and great contact ability. He’s a selective hitter who knows when to pull the trigger, with a 90% in-zone contact rate and very little swing-and-miss to speak of against any pitch type—with sliders being the one exception.

While Summerhill has a chance to be an above-average pure hitter, his power is more modest and could settle into average home run production that mostly comes to his pull side. Summerhill’s secondary tools are all solid as well. He’s an average to above-average runner who has some experience in center field, though he was Arizona’s everyday right fielder in 2025. Summerhill is a fine defender with an average arm. He should be a first-rounder on the strength of his bat but could take a leap if he adds strength.

Scouting Grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run:55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 50.