Who will the Phillies take with their first pick in the '26 Draft?

With the Draft Lottery in the books, the 2026 MLB Draft order is now in place, with some changes possible based on free-agent signings. The lottery didn’t impact the Phillies’ placement in the Draft order, since they were a playoff team, but between the top of the Draft being set and the release of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Draft Prospects list, it seemed an opportune time to check to see what the Draft landscape looks like now as we head towards 2026.

The Phillies would have slotted in at No. 26 in the first round, but because they exceeded the second threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax, their first pick gets dropped down 10 spots to No. 36 overall at the end of Competitive Balance Round A.

Last year, the Phillies took Arkansas right-hander Gage Wood with their first pick at No. 26 overall, breaking a streak of five straight high school selections in the first round. Right-handers Mick Abel and Andrew Painter went in 2020 and 2021, then the Phillies took three straight prep bats in Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller and Dante Nori. Abel graduated from prospect status this past season, but the other four make up five of the organization’s top six of their Top 30 list.

A lot can and will change between now and July when the Draft takes place -- thanks for hosting Philly! -- in terms of how players are evaluated. But based on the Top 100, here are some players the Phillies could be looking at when they get to make that first selection at No. 36 overall, with where the players rank on the list in parentheses, picking one player from each of the demographics the team has drafted from over the past five years.

Brady Harris, OF, Trinity Christian HS, Fla. (No. 34): Harris was one of the better known high school hitters heading into the summer but didn’t have a great showcase circuit showing, with some concerns about his overall hit tool leading to him moving to this spot on the Top 100. He could still easily move back up in the spring with more consistency in showing off his hit tool, but he would be an intriguing possibility if he’s still around at No. 36. Harris has plenty of raw power to tap into, which he’ll get to as he irons out some of the swing-and-miss concerns, and he can run and really play a terrific center field defensively.

Kaden Waechter, RHP, Jesuit HS, Fla. (No. 37): This part of the Draft is often a good spot to get the high-end prep arms who have first-round talent. The combination of signability and the risk involved with high school pitching leaves a nice pool for teams to wade into. One of the strengths in the 2026 class is the high school pitching, so it’s not difficult to see the Phillies going back to that demographic for the first time since Abel and Painter. Waechter’s father, Doug, pitched in the big leagues, largely with the Rays, and he's now a TV analyst for Tampa, so Kaden grew up around the game and pitches like it. He can crank his fastball up to the mid-90s at times, with more in the tank to come as he fills out his frame. Waechter has a solid mid-80s slider that he can manipulate into a harder cutter, and there’s good feel for a changeup, too.

Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas (No. 38): Borrowing from Jim Callis’ first mock draft that put Dietz with the Phillies, this would send the organization back to Fayetteville for a second year in a row after taking Wood this past July. Elbow issues over his first two years of school have allowed him to throw just 1 2/3 total innings, but he was electric this fall, showing a fastball that touched 99 mph, an upper-70s curve that could be a plus pitch and an upper-80s cutter. If he throws like that in the spring, he could land himself much higher than this.