Bonds, Thome among Draft picks with famous family ties

The MLB Draft is an exciting time for amateur players who have their names called, but also for teams, fans and family members of those selected. And each year, the family connections for certain Draft picks are notable because of relatives who have played, managed or coached in the Majors or even other professional sports.

Here's a look at this year's Draft picks with notable family ties:

Day 1 (Saturday)

Player: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No. 2 prospect)
Drafted: 1st overall, White Sox
Relative: Dan Cholowsky (father, 8 pro seasons)
Dan Cholowsky was the 39th overall pick in the 1991 Draft by the Cardinals and reached Triple-A over eight seasons in the Minors. He’s now a scout for the Reds.

Player: Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (No. 7 prospect)
Drafted: 8th overall, Athletics
Relative: Andy Burress (father)
Andy was chosen by the Reds in the sixth round of the 1995 Draft and spent seven seasons in the Minors. He is the owner of 5 Star National Baseball, a travel baseball organization that operates from coast to coast.

Player: Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M (No. 14 prospect)
Drafted: 11th overall, Nationals
Relative: Derek Hacopian (father)
Derek was a 23rd-round Draft pick by Cleveland in 1992 after being named the ACC Player of the Year at Maryland. He batted .492 with 23 home runs and 83 RBIs, leading the conference in all three categories.

Player: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep (Fla.) (No. 5 prospect)
Drafted: 14th overall, Marlins
Relatives: George Lombard (father); George Lombard Jr. (brother)
George Lombard played in 144 big league games over six seasons and is currently the Tigers bench coach. George Lombard Jr. was the 26th overall pick in the 2023 Draft out of Gulliver Prep and is MLB Pipeline’s No. 20 prospect.

Player: Trey Ebel, SS, Corona (Calif.) (No. 107 prospect)
Drafted: 25th overall, Brewers
Relatives: Dino Ebel (father), Brady Ebel (brother)
Dino is the longtime Dodgers third base coach and spent six years in the Minor Leagues as a pro. Brady went 32nd overall a year ago, also to the Brewers. Currently with Single-A Wilson, he’s ranked as Milwaukee’s No. 13 prospect.

Player: Carson Wiggins, RHP, Arkansas (No. 88 prospect)
Drafted: 27th overall, Mets
Relative: Jaxon Wiggins (brother)
Jaxon was the 68th overall pick in 2023 to the Cubs and is currently MLB Pipeline’s No. 90 overall prospect. Jaxon, who also played at Arkansas, has yet to make his MLB debut but could do so in 2026, as he’s with Triple-A Iowa and working back from an early-season injury.

Player: Taj Marchand, SS, James Island HS (SC) (No. 37 prospect)
Drafted: 33rd overall, Rays
Relative: Hugo Marchand (father)
Hugo was a seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997 and spent nine seasons playing minor league hockey.

Player: Landon Thome, 2B/3B, Nazareth Academy (IL) (No. 34 prospect)
Drafted: 34th overall, White Sox
Relative: Jim Thome (father)
While Landon is a hyped prospect, Jim was a mere 13th-round pick by Cleveland in the 1989 Draft out of Illinois Central College. From those humble origins, though, he developed into a first-ballot Hall of Famer (2018) who ranks eighth on the all-time home run list with 612. The five-time All-Star ultimately spent 22 seasons in the big leagues for six teams, with 13 of those coming with Cleveland.

Player: Cole Prosek, 3B/C, Magnolia Heights School (Miss.) (No. 27 prospect)
Drafted: 41st overall, White Sox
Relative: Matt Erickson (uncle)
Erickson is currently the Brewers’ third-base coach. He played four Major League games with Milwaukee in 2004, going 1-for-6 with the lone hit coming against Greg Maddux.

Player: Aiden Ruiz, SS, The Stony Brook School (N.Y.) (No. 32 prospect)
Drafted: 44th overall, Pirates
Relative: Samuel Ruiz (father)
Samuel Ruiz played two seasons of pro ball after he was selected by the White Sox in the 20th round of the 1985 Draft.

Player: Jarren Advincula, 2B, Georgia Tech (No. 48 prospect)
Drafted: 45th overall, Angels
Relative: Jonah Advincula (brother)
Jonah was an eighth-round Draft pick by the Guardians in 2023 and is playing his fourth season in Cleveland’s system.

Player: Rocco Maniscalco, SS, Oxford HS (Ala.) (No. 49 prospect)
Drafted: 50th overall, Cardinals
Relative: Matt Maniscalco (father)
Matt Maniscalco was the Rays’ eighth-round Draft pick in 2003, playing six seasons in Tampa Bay’s system and reaching Triple-A.

Player: Kaden Waechter, RHP, Jesuit HS (Fla.) (No. 57 prospect)
Drafted: 55th overall, Giants
Relative: Doug Waechter (father)
Doug Waecheter, a St. Petersburg, Fla., native, was drafted by his hometown Rays in the third round in 1999 and pitched in MLB for six seasons: 2003-06 with Tampa Bay, 2008 with the Marlins and 2009 with the Royals.

Player: Eric Becker, SS, Virginia (No. 41 prospect)
Drafted: 58th overall, Reds
Relative: Nick Becker (brother)
Nick was selected by the Mariners in the second round of the 2025 Draft out of high school. Seattle’s No. 8 prospect, he was committed to play college baseball at Virginia, the school his older brother Eric attended.

Player: Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M (No. 33 prospect)
Drafted: 62nd overall, Cubs
Relatives: Tom Griffin (grandfather); Billy Sorrell (grandfather)
Griffin pitched in MLB for 14 seasons (1969-82), spending his first eight years with the Astros. He led MLB in strikeouts per nine innings (9.6) as a rookie. Billy Sorrell played in the Majors for the Phillies (1965), Giants (1967) and Royals (1970), hitting five home runs in 85 total games.

Player: Andrew Williamson, OF, Central Florida (No. 52 prospect)
Drafted: 68th overall, Cardinals
Relative: Sean Rodríguez (uncle)
Rodríguez played parts of 13 seasons in MLB with the Angels, Rays, Pirates, Braves, Phillies and Marlins. A third-round pick of the Angels in 2003, Rodríguez posted a career-best 3.7 Baseball-Reference WAR for the Rays in 2010.

Player: Mulivai Levu, 1B, UCLA (No. 62 prospect)
Drafted: 70th overall, Reds
Relative: Blake Sabol (cousin)
Sabol was a seventh-round Draft pick by the Pirates in 2017 and played in parts of three MLB seasons with the Giants and Red Sox. He is currently in the Rays’ system.

Player: Gavin Grahovac, 1B, Texas A&M (No. 38 prospect)
Drafted: 81st overall, Angels
Relatives: Garrett Mitchell (cousin); Mike Grahovac (father)
Mitchell is currently an outfielder for the Brewers. Selected 20th overall in the 2020 Draft out of UCLA, Mitchell debuted in 2022 and is in his fifth season with Milwaukee. After enduring multiple injuries early in his career, he’s enjoyed a breakout 2026 season. Mike Grahovac (father) was selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the 1989 Draft.

Player: Gavin Giese, RHP, Dana Hills (Calif.) HS (No. 122 prospect)
Drafted: 85th overall, Rays
Relative: Dan Giese (father)
Dan Giese made it to the Majors as a 34th-round Draft pick of the Red Sox in 1999, pitching in 35 games (four starts) for the Giants, Yankees and A’s from 2007-09 with a 4.22 career ERA.

Player: Peyton Bonds, OF, Rutgers (No. 81 prospect)
Drafted: 90th overall, Giants
Relatives: Bobby Bonds Jr. (father); Bobby Bonds (grandfather); Barry Bonds (uncle)
Bobby Bonds Jr. played 11 years of pro ball with the Padres, Giants and in indy ball. Bobby Bonds hit 332 home runs and stole 461 bases in 14 MLB seasons from 1968-81. And Barry Bonds set an MLB record with 762 career home runs, won seven Most Valuable Player Awards and was a franchise legend for the Giants. Bobby and Barry Bonds are one of the most prolific father-son duos in baseball history.

Player: Rylan Lujo, OF, Georgia (No. 189 prospect)
Drafted: 109th overall, Angels
Relative: Rennie Stennett (grandfather)
Stennett played 11 years in MLB with the Pirates and Giants. He was part of Pittsburgh’s 1971 and 1979 World Series teams, and he received down-ballot MVP votes in both 1974 and 1977.

Player: Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina (No. 167 prospect)
Drafted: 122nd overall, Reds
Relative: Connor Norby (brother)
Connor was a second-round pick of the Orioles in 2021, also out of East Carolina. A key piece of the Trevor Rogers trade with the Marlins, he’s currently with Triple-A Jacksonville.