CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The MLB Draft has come and gone, and seven Cavaliers were taken off the board to continue their Baseball careers in the Minor Leagues.  A great many factors determine a player’s ability to navigate the MLB farm system and make their way to the first team, reaching that moment every young ballplayer dreams of, their Major League debut.  Everything from coaching at the various levels, to competition at the various levels, and the needs at the Major League level for each organization can play a role.  Here is what each player’s path to the big leagues may look like. 

Henry Godbout: Boston Red Sox (Round 2 Pick 75): The Red Sox take another Virginia hitter in the early rounds (Kyle Teel in 2023).  Godbout joins Arizona shortstop Mason White as the two middle infielders that will now enter a system stacked in that particular department.  Assuming The Sox like his tools, maturity, and Baseball IQ, he will be headed to A+ ball in Greenville, or even AA Portland to begin his career.  

In Greenville, he will be competing for time with the younger but talented Franklin Arias (#2 in the Sox system).  Arias is developing mostly as a shortstop however, so if the scouts’ evaluation of Godbout impacts his development plan, his “limited” range will open him up to specialize at second base.  That could prove vital as he’ll have less competition at that position.  

Henry will profile similarly to Mikey Romero (#11 in the pipeline) at AA Portland, who is expected to debut last year, but Romero is also a shortstop primarily.  From Portland, should he play second base only, the path would be clear through the ranks of the Sox top 30, and the only one standing in his way from there would be Kristian Campbell on the Major League team.  2025 rookie Campbell has shown some upside but has struggled mightily at the plate in his debut season, slashing only .225 before the all-star break.  He also splits time in centerfield with fellow youngster Cedanne Rafaela.  Campbell’s positional development will likely dictate a portion of Godbout’s speed through the system assuming Henry starts his professional action where he left off in Charlottesville.   

Chris Arroyo: Miami Marlins (Round 5 Pick 139): Arroyo is a little more complicated due to his two-way status.    Arroyo threw limited action under Brian O’Connor in his one spring in Charlottesville. However, he showcased his bat all-season long, leading the team in homeruns with 11, and can hit for contact too, slashing .291.    Graded on the 20-80 scale, his strongest tools are his power at 55 and his arm at 60.  

He could develop quite well as either a first baseman or even a corner outfielder.  There are some strong outfielders in the Marlins system but not many first basemen.  He does not have much notable competition there until he gets to AAA with Deyvison De Los Santos, who has him beat by 5 in the power department according to most recent evaluations, and equals him on arm strength.   Arroyo is the better defender on the 20-80 scale though.  With reps under his belt in right or left, assuming he makes his way to the Majors, he’ll have to tangle with a trio of younger hitters on the depth chart, none of whom have locked the position down yet, in Eric Wagaman, Graham Pauley, and Liam Hicks.  

The biggest thing Arroyo will have going for him though is the DNA of the organization being so tied to the Caribbean, with strong pipelines from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and his native Puerto Rico being represented well in the Marlins’ system.   

Jack O’Connor: Los Angeles Dodgers (Round 8 Pick 255): And now we get to the pitchers.  O’Connor is an interesting case. Coming off UCL internal brace repair last month and facing a host of injuries over the course of his sophomore and junior seasons, one may think that most of the attention O’Connor gained was for his freshman season, a year that saw him strike out 64 batters and pitch to a 3.86 ERA.

The Dodgers have a knack for developing pitching at all levels, and there is a log jam in front of Jack to reach the Bigs, but the scouts have seen the upside.  He will be low in the system too, likely beginning his career in A-ball.  He can either try and develop his endurance and stuff while building up to form spending a few years in the lower divisions before making a run at the big time, come back for one more go-around in College Baseball to see if he gets drafted higher, or stay in the Dodgers’ system, hone lights out stuff, and stay a reliever in his development, hopefully getting the call one September to shine a lightning-in-a-bottle moment.  

Jay Woolfolk: Atlanta Braves (Round 12 Pick 367): Sadly, for Woolfolk, his Virginia swan song did not go as planned, and he had a year that was middle-of-the-road compared to his other stints pitching in Charlottesville.  His pitch mix, endurance, and maturity are naturally assets for him, but in a loaded Braves system in the pitching department, he will have a long way to go to force himself into the conversation.  Pitchers are more likely to get the call in the lower levels though than position players are, so if he finds a way to make himself stand out in A-ball or A+-ball alongside top prospects Adam Maier (#26), Herick Hernandez (#21), Luke Sinnard (#19), and Cade Kuehler (#18), then we may yet see Jay at Truist Park.   

Luke Hanson: Texas Rangers (Round 15 Pick 445): Virginia’s final drafted hitter in 2025 also has the option to return should he want it.  In the Rangers’ system, he’ll be battling Sebastian Walcott (#1) and Major League third baseman Josh Jung for the spotlight, but he will enter a strong farm system to develop himself should he decide to stay. He peaked at 100 mph exit velocity in high school; he has since eclipsed that mark under Brian O’Connor in Charlottesville.  Should he return to play for Chris Pollard, he will most likely improve his draft stock especially after a better season than the down-year just concluded (.240 average).  

Matt Lanzendorfer: Los Angeles Dodgers (Round 15 Pick 465): Lanzendorfer was UVA’s best reliever in 2025, pitching in a myriad of high leverage situations for the Hoos to varying levels of success.  Out of eligibility however and facing the same mountain climb as Jack O’Connor in a loaded Dodgers system, the Pennsylvania lefthander will have to be patient if he wants to make his big-league dreams come true.   

Ryan Osinski: New York Yankees (Round 17 Pick 524): Finally is the Bucknell transfer Ryan Osinski, who saw time in the closer role for the 2025 Hoos, strong earlier in the year, but struggled with confidence and composure midway through it.  He saw little of the mound afterward, despite having a blistering fastball.  The good news for Osinski however, is that the Yankees do not have a strong, standout pitcher in AAA Scranton now, and Osinski will have a chance to separate himself from the pack early on, which he has the capability to do.  Osinski has also seen time starting games across his collegiate career and does have endurance on which to build himself into either a starter or a strong closer depending on which role he is needed for.  His draft stock would likely have been higher if not for a downturn in 2025.