Draft stock watch: Cholowsky holds steady; Flora emerges as top college pitching prospect

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It was a big weekend out West for both college baseball and MLB scouting departments. With UCLA and USC facing off, it was the best chance yet to see the No. 1 Bruins take on their toughest test of the conference schedule, and it also provided a look at rising pitching prospect Mason Edwards against the best lineup he’ll face this year.

We take a look at that and other notable performances in our dive into 10 college prospects worth getting to know.

Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA

Rank: BA 1, MLB 1
This Week: .300/.333/.450 (6-for-20) 5 R, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 1 HBP, 4 SO
Overall: .342/.471/.683 (41-for-12), 44 R, 8 2B, 11 HR, 38 RBIs, 19 BB, 19 SO, 14 HBP

UCLA coach John Savage said this weekend that he thinks Cholowsky might be pressing a bit, but that was before Cholowsky went 3-for-5 with his 11th home run of the season in the series finale of UCLA’s sweep of Southern Cal. The homer was Cholowsky’s first since March 15. He’s been more solid than spectacular in recent weeks, but he’s still getting on base and remains a key reason the top-ranked Bruins have won a school-record 22 straight games.

Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

Rank: BA 3, MLB 14
This Week: 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO
Overall: 6-0, 0.69, 8 GS, 52.1 IP, 26 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 15 BB, 65 SO

Flora has emerged as the top college pitching prospect in this year’s draft class on the strength of his mid-90s fastball that can touch 100 mph and his 84-87 mph slider. But he’s getting more and more confident in his kick changeup, which was a difference-maker this week. He threw it more often than his slider against Cal Poly. Flora is striking out 32.3% of batters this year, but it’s his control that really stands out. He’s walked just 7.5% of batters, and he’s able to throw his fastball, changeup and slider for strikes consistently.

Derek Curiel, OF, LSU

Rank: BA 20, MLB 6
This Week: .500/.680/1.000 (8-for-16) 7 R, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 SO, 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts
Overall: .362/.446/.546 (47-for-130) 37 R, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 34 RBIs, 22 BB, 22 SO, 10-for-11 on stolen base attempts

Curiel has been considered one of the best pure hitters in his class for years, dating back to his high school days at Orange Lutheran in Orange, Calif. But evaluators have long wanted to see him drive the ball more consistently. As a center fielder who can hit for average, he’s already a solid player, but it’s difficult to profile as a top-half-of-the-first-round pick without some thump to go with the hitting ability. Curiel’s overall power numbers this year remain modest, but he has now hit three home runs in the past five games, and he has a trio of three-hit games in his past eight.

Mason Edwards, RHP, Southern California

Rank: BA 38, MLB 88
This Week: No Decision. 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 2 WP
Overall: 5-0, 1.20, 8 GS, 45 IP, 18 H, 9 R, 6 ER, 24 BB, 79 SO

Few pitchers have climbed the Draft rankings as steadily this season as Edwards. He didn’t allow a run in his first four starts and had a hard-to-believe 0.25 ERA just two weeks ago. But the past two weeks have cooled his ascent to some degree. Pitching in front of a packed house of scouts against UCLA, Edwards had easily his worst start of the season. He allowed seven hits after having allowed seven hits combined in his first six starts this year. He gave up a home run to Roman Martin, only the second homer he’s allowed this year.

He also was a bit unlucky. He should have faced the minimum in the first inning, but a throwing error by the catcher on a strikeout kept the inning alive. After a wild pitch and a walk, another error allowed a run to score. Edwards actually did well to escape bigger trouble in the two-run fourth, stranding the bases loaded. This is the second straight start in which Edwards failed to get through five innings, and this one came in a start scouts had long circled as a must-see event.

Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas

Rank: BA 76, MLB 38
This Week: Win. 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO, 2 WP.
Overall: 3-2, 3.70, 8 GS, 41.1 IP, 34 H, 21 R, 17 ER, 14 BB, 69 SO

Dietz came into this season as a massive unknown. He’d thrown just 1 2/3 innings in his first two seasons at Arkansas, having missed almost all of 2025 because of Tommy John surgery. But with a 95-96 mph fastball that touches 98 and a hard high-80s slider/cutter, he has emerged as one of the more intriguing arms in a Draft class lacking SEC Friday night starters who stand out as premium 2026 Draft picks. This was Dietz’s most impressive start of the season. He finished one strikeout shy of his career high, but it came against an Auburn team ranked No. 10 in the nation, and it matched his career high in innings pitched. Dietz threw 24 of 30 fastballs for strikes this week, and he got 13 whiffs on his slider.

Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia

Rank: BA 128
This Week: .350/.409/.350 (7-for-20), 4 R, 2 BB, 1 RBI, 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts
Overall: .393/.500/.793 (55-for-140) 6 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 47 RBIs, 26 BB, 41 SO, 20-for-21 on stolen base attempts

This wasn’t the loudest week for Jackson at the plate, but he did reach 20 steals, which makes him a near-lock for a 20-20 season, a rarity for a college catcher. He’s also proving to be an excellent pitch framer. According to Synergy Sports data, Jackson is getting called strikes on 55% of taken pitches in the shadow zone. He even pulled five pitches outside the shadow zone into strikes this week, thanks to his ability to bring low pitches and pitches in on hitters’ hands back into the zone. His ability to turn borderline pitches into strikes smoothly is a subtle part of how Georgia beat Mississippi State in a key SEC weekend series, and it will likely help him continue to climb the Draft rankings.

Caden Bogenpohl, OF, Missouri State

Rank: BA 148, MLB 40
This Week: .500/.650/.929 (7-for-14) 12 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, 1 SO
Overall: .321/.493/.538 (34-for-106) 34 R, 8 2B, 5 HR, 20 RBIs, 33 BB, 25 SO, 4 SB

A 6-foot-6 center fielder, Bogenpohl hit 20 home runs as a freshman, but despite his massive frame and eye-popping exit velocities, that home run power has dipped over the past two seasons. Weeks like this one are encouraging for another reason, though, as he’s doing a much better job of making contact. Bogenpohl hit under .300 in each of his first two seasons at Missouri State. He’s making more contact now, and he’s coming up big in big games. Bogenpohl’s 3-for-5 night with a home run helped beat Arkansas this week, and he then starred in Missouri State’s sweep of Sam Houston State.

Colin Barczi, C/DH, Vanderbilt
Rank: BA 198
This Week: .417/.563/1.167 (5-for-12) 4 R, 3 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BB, 1 SO
Overall: .295/.394/.607 (18-for-61), 15 R, 1 2B, 6 HR, 11 RBIs, 6 BB, 15 SO

Barczi has had two of the best individual games in college baseball this season, but those account for just two of his 15 games played, as a shoulder injury cost him a month, and he’s just getting back into form. In the first game of the season, Barczi hit three home runs against TCU. He didn’t homer again until Thursday, when he almost single-handedly beat Texas A&M with a 4-for-6, three-homer performance. Barczi had only one more hit the rest of the weekend, and his shoulder injury means he’s not really catching and is serving exclusively as a DH for now. He’s going to be a difficult player for MLB teams to evaluate, but the power is legitimate.

Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State

Rank: BA 11 (2027)
This Week: .421/.560/1.158 (8-for-19) 6 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBIs, 1 SO
Overall: .461/.539/1.016 (59-for-128) 48 R, 13 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 51 RBIs, 18 BB, 13 SO, 9-for-11 on stolen base attempts

Every week, Hairston seems to provide just what Arizona State needs. He helped pace the Sun Devils to a series win against rival Arizona this week. The son of former big leaguer Scott Hairston, Landon has more home runs (18) than strikeouts (13). He has at least four total bases in eight straight games, and he has gone hitless only twice in 32 games this season. He had an eight-game multihit streak come to an end when he went 1-for-6 on Sunday. Hairston is a 5-foot-11 left fielder, which would often be a bit of a profile concern for MLB teams. But hitting is the most important tool for any position player, and Hairston keeps doing it game after game.

Cade Arrambide, C, LSU

Rank: BA 96 (2027)
This Week: .600/.778/1.800 (6-for-10), 6 R, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 0 BB, 1 SO
Overall: .295/.426/.625 (26-for-88) 23 R, 5 2B, 8 HR, 23 RBIs, 16 BB, 29 SO

Much like the LSU team he plays for, Arrambide entered Sunday’s game facing questions about when he was going to turn into the dominant hitter many expected. With the series on the line against Tennessee, Arrambide turned both the series and his season around with a game to remember. He homered four times and went 5-for-6 with seven RBIs. His 12th-inning grand slam broke open a 6-6 tie and ensured LSU stayed at .500 in SEC play at 6-6.

Arrambide broke the school record for most home runs in a game, and in doing so, he doubled his season total. He was one of the top high school prospects in his class to make it to campus, and if he has many more days like Sunday, he’ll cement his status as one of the better prospects in the 2027 draft class as well.