Dax Whitney

Whitney turned down a significant amount of money in the 2024 MLB Draft, instead electing to bet on himself and head to Corvallis. As soon as he got on campus, Whitney was one of the top arms in the country. He was the center piece of an Oregon State pitching staff that ended up making it to Omaha, and performed in seemingly every single big game situation he was thrust into. He capped off his 2025 campaign as a near unanimous first team freshman All American, as well as with a Team USA Collegiate National Team selection.

While widely viewed as the top arm in this class for quite some time, Whitney kicked it into another gear this spring. He’s getting labeled as the best pitching prospect to come through college baseball since Paul Skenes, and it’s well deserved.

Whitney has touched 101 mph with his fastball and is sitting in the upper 90s regularly. Whitney has a short, tight, over-the-top arm action that generates a difficult, down-hill look for hitters. Whitney’s fastball consistently has plus carry, and can at times get up to 23 inches of induced vertical break. What makes the offering even more exciting is that it’s essentially a cutter. Whitney’s horizontal break on the pitch hovers right around 0 on trackman. The shape is comparable to what Cincinnati Reds right-hander Chase Burns used to throw in college. A cut-ride monster that feeds at the top of the zone, except Whitney's is better. The offering garnered a 36.7% whiff rate in 2026. A 33.2% whiff rate inside the zone to match, both astounding marks. Whitney has the makings of a 70-grade heater, but that’s far from all that makes him so intriguing.

Whitney could have a trio of plus secondaries, too. The best is a mid-to-upper-80s slider that he’s added some power to this year with sharp, sweeping shape. The pitch holds vert well, regularly with 15+ inches of sweep to pair. Hitters whiffed at a 52.4% clip in 2026.

A bigger upper 70s curveball was Whitney’s best performing breaking ball in 2025, and though it has become secondary to the slider, it’s still a filthy offering in of itself. The pitch has hammer qualities with huge depth and spin rates that can at times approach 3000 rpms. Probably his biggest area of growth this year, Whitney’s changeup is starting to flash as another potential plus offering. The pitch gets exceptional vertical separation of his high riding heater, with some arm-side fade, something no other pitch in Whitney’s arsenal really has.

This is as complete of an arsenal as you’ll find out of any college arm in the country, and Whitney has the performance to back up the pro-ready stuff.

Whitney unfortanetely underwent surgery for a torn UCL in May of 2026. He's expected to be out for 12+ months, so there is the chance that Whitney may not throw another collegiate pitch, bearing on how he progresses through rehab. Given his track-record of success and electric pitch mix, Whitney could still go inside the top 3 picks, heck even number 1, without pitching between now and the 2027 MLB Draft. He's got a chance to be one of the more complete college pitching prospects in recent memory.