2025 MLB Draft Preview: Cade Obermueller 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 University of Iowa pitcher Cade Obermueller.

Cade Obermueller is a lefthanded pitcher listed at 6’, 170 lbs., though Baseball America lists him at 5’11”. Either way, he’s a small lefty who just finished his junior season at the University of Iowa. The son of former major league pitcher Wes Obermueller, Cade was ranked as the #236 prospect on the Baseball America board in 2022 out of Iowa City High School, but went undrafted. He ranked #176 on the BA board as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024, and was drafted by the Rangers in the 19th round, but went unsigned.

Obermueller is primarily a sinker/slider pitcher. His sinker sits in the low-90s, though he apparently can hit 98 with it. His slider is his best pitch, with a lot of horizontal movement, and it has apparently been effective against both lefthanders and righthanders. He also has a changeup, but it is used sparingly and isn’t a very good pitch at this point.

Obermueller throws from a low slot which, combined with his sinker/slider repertoire, means he generates a ton of ground balls. MLB Pipeline mentions that the metrics on his sinker and slider are “outstanding,” making him a more likely candidate for one of the more data-driven teams. He improved his control significantly this year, which should result in his stock rising compared to last year. However, his small size and lack of a quality third pitch means there’s a great deal of reliever risk.

Obermueller was used sparingly as a freshman, putting up a 4.91 ERA in 22 innings in two starts and 13 relief appearances. He joined the Hawkeyes rotation as a sophomore and in 13 starts had a 3.92 ERA, with 41 walks and 16 hit batsmen in 59.2 IP, with 73 Ks and 10 wild pitches. In the season just finished, he improved significantly, cutting his walk total to 32 in 83.1 IP over 15 starts, with 16 HBPs and 4 wild pitches along with 117 Ks and a 3.02 ERA.

Baseball America has Obermueller ranked #184 on their top 500 list. MLB Pipeline’s draft rankings have Obermueller at #51. Keith Law’s top 100 list hasObermueller checking in at #96. Kiley McDaniel’s top 150 list has Obermueller at #42. Fangraphs does not have Obermueller on their board.

The Rangers clearly have interest in Obermueller, given that they drafted him in 2024, and one can reasonably presume that they have him on their board for 2025. There’s a wide spread in his rankings, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he moves higher on BA’s draft board as we get closer to draft day.

The reliever risk is such that I’m not sure the Rangers would take him in the second round, unless it is on an under-slot deal. As a third or fourth round pick, even if he seems like a clear reliever, he would seemingly be an option — Texas took Justin Slaten, who was seen as a likely reliever, in the third round in 2019, and Skylar Hales, a pure reliever, in the fourth round in 2023. That said, one would expect that, should the Rangers draft Obermueller, he’d be used at least initially as a starter, as was the case with Slaten.

Previously:

Nick Dumesnil

Ike Irish

Jojo Parker