BOSTON — Continuing a recent trend of selecting high school hitters in the first round, the Rays on Sunday selected shortstop Daniel Pierce from Mill Creek (Ga.) High School with the No. 14 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Pierce, MLB Pipeline’s No. 13 prospect, is the top-ranked player from Georgia and the No. 6 prep shortstop. A right-handed hitter and thrower, the 18-year-old has modeled his game after Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr., especially his speed, grit and hustle.
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Speed is indeed Pierce’s best tool, with a 60 rating on the 20-80 scouting scale, according to MLB Pipeline. His defense is close behind, as the Georgia commit’s fielding and throwing also received above-average grades. He’s also considered an above-average hitter with emerging raw power, rounding out a balanced profile.
This was the Rays’ highest first-round pick since they took Brendan McKay fourth overall in 2017.
Scouts expect Pierce to get the most out of his ability, fitting the classic profile of a coach’s son. Because, yes, Pierce played for his dad, Paul Pierce (not the former NBA star), at Mill Creek High. Paul was an assistant for three years before becoming the head coach.
“We’re always talking about baseball whether it was good or bad, and I think he kind of understands the game a little bit more, so he knows this is hard and when I struggle, he doesn’t try to say a whole lot,” Daniel Pierce told MLB.com this month about playing for his dad.
This is the fourth time in the past five years the Rays have used their top pick on a high school position player. They did so last year, selecting outfielder Theo Gillen 18th overall. They also went with a prep hitter in 2022 (first baseman Xavier Isaac) and ‘21 (Carson Williams).
The No. 14 pick comes with an assigned slot value of $5,313,100, a significant chunk of Tampa Bay’s overall bonus pool of $14,068,800, the ninth-largest pool in this year’s Draft.
COMPLETE RAYS PROSPECT COVERAGE
As a senior, the 6-foot, 185-pound Pierce slashed .451/.605/.939 with eight home runs, 10 doubles, 18 steals and 33 walks compared to nine strikeouts. A late bloomer physically who continued to add muscle in high school, Pierce could develop into a 15-homer threat.
Pierce is the sixth shortstop the Rays have taken in the first round and the third in the past five years, joining B.J. Upton (2002), Tim Beckham (‘08), Greg Jones (‘19), Williams (‘21) and Brayden Taylor (‘23).
With the 42nd overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A, the Rays selected Arizona outfielder Brendan Summerhill, MLB Pipeline’s No. 16 Draft prospect.
Summerhill missed a month of his junior season due to a right hand fracture and later was briefly hampered by a left hamstring issue. Neither injury, however, did much to hurt his Draft stock.
A year after he led the Wildcats in average, on-base percentage and extra base hits — as a sophomore, no less — the Chicago native slashed .343/.459/.556 (1.015 OPS) in 2025 with his walks (36) significantly outnumbering his strikeouts (24).
