Twins Select Matt Barr in the 5th round of the 2025 MLB Draft

[Jeremy Nygaard]

5 (149) - Matt Barr, RHP, SUNY Niagara CC (NY)
19 years old. 6-6, 195. #151 on the Consensus Board

Niagara County Community College, now known as SUNY Niagara, has had 10 players drafted from the program, including two pitchers in the 2023 class led by Brewers third-rounder Ryan Birchard. Barr has the chance to join Birchard as just the second Thunderwolves player to go in the top five rounds after vaulting to the top of junior college prospects lists this spring and making scouts log the miles up close to Lake Ontario to check him out. At 6-foot-6, the long-limbed Barr oozes projection from the mound, and he already has some pretty exciting now stuff. He throws everything with a ton of spin, including a fastball he can crank up to 97 mph with good life. Both his slider and curve register elite-level spin rates and help him miss a ton of bats at the NJCAA DIII level. Barr's control will need refinement; he's shown he can be around the strike zone, but his command can be scattered. There's conviction among scouts that, given the ease of operation and the loose and athletic delivery, he'll be a decent strike-thrower in time. He's a bit raw, but the ingredients are all there, including the ability to add strength, to make him an intriguing early-round possibility. - MLB.com