Taking a look at potential Texas Rangers draft pick Ike Irish
2025 MLB Draft Preview: Ike Irish scouting report
The 2025 MLB Draft is a little over a month away — the first round kicks off on July 13, 2025 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #12, their second round pick is at #52, and their third round pick is at #84.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at Auburn catcher/outfielder Ike Irish.
Ike Irish is a lefthanded hitter for Auburn University who has primarily been a catcher until this season, when, after returning from a broken scapula, he has played mostly outfield. He was teammates in high school with Brock Porter, and was ranked the #173 prospect coming out of high school in 2022, though he went undrafted. He is listed at 6’2”, 190 lbs.
Irish has been a bat-first guy dating back to high school. He gets good reviews for his ability to handle velocity and use all fields at the plate. While coming out of high school he was more of a power-over-hit guy, his hit tool has improved, and he puts up quality exit velocities. MLB Pipeline notes that there are some scouts who have concerns about how much power he will end up displaying once he moves to the pros and starts using wood bats.
There are questions about Irish defense behind the plate and whether he will be able to stick there, though if there weren’t, he would be off the board well before Texas picks at #12. He has a very good arm, but is lacking in the other aspects of catching — between not playing much behind the plate as a freshman and spending most of 2025 post-injury in right field, he’s only had 40 games behind the plate for Auburn, plus 27 games in summer leagues. If he can’t stay behind the plate he would likely end up in right field, where his arm would play and where he has enough speed to cover ground competently out there.
Irish has been a three year starter for Auburn and has hit well all three years. After slashing 361/.429/.546 as a freshman, he put up a .319/.403/.627 line as a sophomore. This year, he’s slashed .362/.464/.700 in 248 plate appearances, with 30 walks against 36 Ks. Despite not being fast, he’s also gone 11 for 12 on the basepaths.
Baseball America has Irish ranked #13 on their top 500 list. MLB Pipeline’s draft rankings have Irish at #21. Keith Law’s top 100 list has Irish checking in at #12. Kiley McDaniel’s top 150 list has Irish at #26. Fangraphs has Irish at #34 on their board.
In his mock draft from late May, Kiley McDaniel has Irish going to the Kansas City Royals at #23. Baseball American’s most recent mock has Irish going to the Minnesota Twins at #16. Keith Law’s mock draft also has Irish going at #16 to the Twins, though he says he could also fit at #15 with Boston. Jim Callis’s mock draft from the end of May has Irish going to the Giants at #13, and also mentions him in connection with the A’s at #11, the Twins at #16, and the Chicago Cubs at #17. Jonathan Mayo’s mid-May mock draft has Irish going to Arizona at #18.
I had Irish pegged a little while back as my “way too early guess as to who the Rangers take in the first round” guy. He may well get picked by someone ahead of the Rangers — Auburn, the #4 overall seed in the College World Series, is playing Coastal Carolina in the Super Regional this weekend to see which of them advances to Omaha, and Irish could raise his stock rise if he mashes. Moreover, a team that is bullish on his ability to stay behind the plate would be justified in grabbing him in the 6-11 range. McDaniel mentions Irish as being someone whose stock has gone up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he, as well as MLB Pipeline, end up having him higher on their final boards.
The Rangers picked SEC players with their first overall pick from 2020-23, as well as Big 12 in 2019 and Pac-Whatever in 2024. Irish would fit that predilection for players who have performed at the highest levels in college, as well as having the sort of hitting profile the Rangers tend to look for. I imagine there would be grousing from some corners about taking a catcher first overall two years in a row, but you can never have too many catchers in your system, and both guys are bat-first players who could end up moving off the position anyway.
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