Minnesota Twins Select Merit Jones In 2025 MLB Draft
Jul 14, 2025, 4:08 PM | Updated: Jul 15, 2025, 9:28 am
Utah starter Merit Jones prepares to deliver a pitfch during the 2025 season. The Minnesota Twins selected Jones is the 14th round of the 2025 MLB draft. (Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics)
(Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – For the second consecutive season, the Minnesota Twins selected University of Utah starting pitcher Merit Jones in the later rounds of the MLB draft.
Minnesota called Jones’ name six rounds earlier this season, taking him in the 14th round (419th overall). Jones was a 20th-round pick of the Twins in 2024.
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Congrats to @MeritJones3 on his selection by the @Twins in the 14th round 👏👏
📰 https://t.co/30Pxypuadf pic.twitter.com/MVLj5nzMrb
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) July 14, 2025
Jones is sixth in program history with 40 starts and sits tenth on the school’s all-time strikeout list.
About Merit Jones
Highly decorated out of Idaho Falls High School in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Jones was the 2022 5A All-Idaho Player of the Year, 2022 Gatorade Idaho Player of the Year, and a 2022 Perfect Game Preseason All-American while playing for head coach Trent Johnson.
Rated the No. 1 right-handed pitcher in Idaho by Perfect Game and the second-ranked player in the state, Jones went 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA and 71 punchouts over 53.1 innings as a senior. He was 9-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 64 strikeouts as a prep junior.
Merit Jones ➡️ #MNTwins
The @Twins have selected RHP Merit Jones (@crosscutters '25) with the 419th pick (14th rd) in the @MLBDraft!
8 G, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 33 K, 0.81 WHIP, 14.1 K/9 pic.twitter.com/9u6pPZ5fhE
— MLB Draft League (@mlbdraftleague) July 14, 2025
Jones made a team-high 13 starts as a freshman for Utah, finishing with a 2-4 record in 60 innings of work. He ended the year third on the team with 49 strikeouts.
He started 13 of the 14 games he appeared in as a sophomore. Jones ended 2024 with a 3-5 record and 5.66 ERA in 68.1 innings. He ended the season earning his first career save in a Pac-12 Tournament pool play win over Oregon.
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Utah head coach Gary Henderson entrusted Jones with the Friday night starter job as a junior in 2025.
Jones threw 79 innings, going 4-6 in 15 games (14 starts) with a 6.95 ERA. His four quality starts are probably a better indicator of Jones’ talent than his numbers last season.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
