Now that MLB has held the Draft Lottery and we all know which groups are selecting the place, it is time to predict whom they’re going to choose.
The 2026 Draft really will not start till July 11, so we’ve 214 days to determine all of it out. However we will not wait to make our first projections, so we can’t.
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The White Sox secured the No. 1 general choose through the lottery, and we envision them taking UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky. The very best all-around faculty shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki in 2005, Cholowsky can be the prohibitive favourite to turn into the primary alternative regardless of which membership owned the choice.
Shortstops are the power of the 2026 Draft crop, with our forecast beneath having them comprise every of the primary three picks and 9 of the 25 first-rounders. That group contains 13 faculty bats, 5 highschool hitters, 4 faculty arms and three prep pitchers.
1. White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No. 1 on the Draft Prime 100)The consensus nationwide faculty participant of the yr as a sophomore, Cholowsky would have been the highest prospect within the 2025 Draft too as a shortstop with 4 plus instruments, common pace and a excessive baseball IQ.
2. Rays: Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Value (Texas) Christian HS (No. 2)The highest prep prospect, Emerson may grow to be a faster model of Cholowsky.
3. Twins: Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama (No. 3)If Lebron can enhance his method, he may develop right into a shortstop with 5 reliable plus instruments.
4. Giants: Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (No. 5)Burress broke into faculty baseball with 9 homers in his first eight faculty video games and hasn’t stopped slugging whereas displaying he is a middle fielder with at the very least stable instruments throughout the board.
5. Pirates: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep, Miami (No. 4)The son of former huge leaguer George Lombard and brother of high Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. (MLB No. 25), he has much less hitting capacity however possibly extra energy and pace than Emerson.
6. Royals: Carson Bolemon, LHP, Southside Christian HS, Simpsonville, S.C. (No. 7)Bolemon has 4 high quality pitches with management, physicality and make-up to match, which is why he ranks as this Draft’s greatest pitcher — highschool or faculty.
7. Orioles: Derek Curiel, OF, Louisiana State (No. 6)The main hitter on LSU’s 2025 Males’s School World Sequence championship group as a freshman, Curiel may go even larger if he develops extra energy and proves he can deal with middle discipline.
8. Athletics: Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina (No. 9)Flukey ranks as the very best faculty pitching prospect due to his capacity to get misses with a mid-90s fastball and chases with an upper-70s downer curveball.
9. Braves: Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS, Parkland, Fla. (No. 8)Rojas is similar to Bolemon however the latter has a tick higher changeup and command.
10. Rockies: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech (No. 12)Calmly scouted or recruited in highschool, Lackey has blossomed into the Draft’s high catching prospect, an athletic defender with a affected person method.
11. Nationals: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida (No. 13)Some evaluators want Peterson’s barely louder stuff and maybe larger ceiling to Flukey’s superior polish.
12. Angels: Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Texas Christian (No. 10)Strosnider has probably the greatest mixtures of measurement, athleticism and all-around instruments out there.
13. Cardinals: A.J. Gracia, OF, Virginia (No. 15)The primary switch on this checklist, Gracia arrives from Duke as a sophisticated hitter with plus energy and high quality instincts in middle discipline.
14. Marlins: Chris Hacopian, SS, Texas A&M (No. 16)Hacopian is perhaps the very best pure hitter within the faculty ranks, exhibiting superior really feel for the barrel and management of the strike zone.
15. Diamondbacks: Tyler Spangler, SS, De La Salle HS, Harmony, Calif. (No. 11)Spangler’s 6-foot-3 body and his recreation earn comparisons to a lefty-hitting Cal Ripken Jr. and Corey Seager.
16. Rangers: Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 14)Flora has the potential to provide UC Santa Barbara the highest faculty pitcher chosen for the third time in a dozen Drafts following Dillon Tate (2015) and Tyler Bremner (2025).
17. Astros: Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State (No. 18)Reese’s large uncooked energy could depart his hitting capacity a tad underrated, although there are questions on his defensive residence.
18. Reds: Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M (No. 20)Each of Sorrell’s grandfathers (Tom Griffin, Billy Sorrell) performed within the huge leagues and he has the all-around capacity to get there as effectively.
19. Guardians: Eric Becker, SS, Virginia (No. 21)Becker has the same profile to his youthful brother, Nick (SEA No. 12), an offensive-minded center infielder whom the Mariners drafted within the second spherical final July.
20. Purple Sox: Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky (No. 22)The very best unsigned alternative within the 2024 Draft (supplemental second spherical, Rays), Bell profiles as a switch-hitter with 20-homer pop and stable protection at shortstop.
21. Padres: Logan Schmidt, LHP, Ganesha HS, Pomona, Calif. (No. 17)The three greatest prep pitchers, together with Schmidt, are all southpaws who throw strikes with a promising three-pitch combine.
22. Tigers: Rocco Maniscalco, SS, Oxford (Ala.) HS (No. 19)Maniscalco reclassified from the 2027 Draft and shares some similarities to No. 1 general choose Eli Willits (WSH No. 1/MLB No. 15), offering extra energy potential however much less pace.
23. Cubs: Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn (No. 25)Second basemen do not typically get popped within the first spherical, however some evaluators consider Rembert has extra pure hitting capacity than some other collegian within the class.
24. Mariners: Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Arkansas (No. 24)A shorter righty with an electrical arm, à la former Arkansas teammate and 2025 Phillies right-hander Gage Wooden (PHI No. 4), Gaeckle will go sooner than this if he proves he can begin.
25. Brewers: Trevor Condon, OF, Etowah HS, Woodstock, Ga. (No. 32)Condon could have the very best mixture of hitting capacity and pace in the highschool class, drawing comparisons to Lenny Dykstra, Brett Gardner and a stronger model of Sal Frelick.
The Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays and Dodgers had their high picks dropped 10 spots as a penalty for exceeding the $241 million aggressive steadiness tax threshold in 2025 by greater than $40 million. However we will not depart anybody out throughout vacation season, so listed here are predictions for these golf equipment as effectively:
27. Mets: Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No. 29)Helfrick combines the elements of a possible Gold Glover behind the plate with 25-homer upside.
35. Yankees: Will Brick, C, Christian Brothers HS, Memphis, Tenn. (No. 31)Brick starred for Staff USA earlier than reclassifying from the 2027 Draft and stands out together with his rocket arm and stable bat.
36. Phillies: Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas (No. 38)Elbow points restricted Dietz to 1 2/3 innings in his first two faculty seasons however he regarded like a top-10 choose throughout fall observe, so we’ll cut up the distinction for now.
39. Blue Jays: Blake Bowen, OF, JSerra Catholic HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (No. 33)A star huge receiver earlier than giving up soccer, Bowen is a highschool model of Strosnider.
40. Dodgers: Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee (No. 43)The very best sophomore-eligible pitching prospect within the class, Kuhns has a formidable fastball/curveball mixture.
