The Draft is just over a week away! Find out if the landscape has changed with our latest mock

We’re now just a week away from “go time” – the start of the 2026 MLB Draft. And yes, that means this is our penultimate mock (Man, I love that word).

Jim Callis and I will provide one more final projection of the top 40 picks late on Friday, on the eve of the White Sox kicking things off with the top pick in the Draft (Saturday, July 11, 1 p.m. ET), when hopefully we can shake some trees and get some more concrete intel.

We just released our expanded and re-ranked Draft Top 250, and it comes fresh with a New No. 1: Grady Emerson. That doesn’t mean the Texas prep shortstop is necessarily the choice to go 1-1 ... let’s get into that now.

1. White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No. 2)
There still isn’t any certainty here, and there might not be any, as teams have tended to wait until the last possible moment to make a final decision, especially if there isn’t a slam dunk choice. Cholowsky undoubtedly made strong impressions in meeting with the White Sox and other teams and if I were handicapping this right now, I’d probably go:

Roch Cholowsky: 50 percent
Grady Emerson: 45 percent
Vahn Lackey: 5 percent

It’s really going to come down to Cholowsky vs. Emerson, with proponents for each making their case in the White Sox Draft room in the final week.

2. Rays: Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth (Texas) Christian HS (No. 1)
If Emerson goes to the White Sox, I have to think the Rays happily take Cholowsky. With Roch off the board, it’s an Emerson vs. Lackey conversation here, and it could go either way. This time around, I’m saying they go with the prep standout instead of the college catcher.

3. Twins: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech (No. 3)
The Twins are in position to take whichever member of the top three is available, and in this case, it’s Lackey. They’re also discussing a trio across three demographics: Jackson Flora (college arm), Jacob Lombard (high school bat) and Drew Burress (college bat).

4. Giants: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep, Miami (No. 5)
Sticking with what’s been the status quo here. Flora, Burress and Eric Booth Jr. are all in the mix.

5. Pirates: Eric Booth Jr., OF, Oak Grove HS, Hattiesburg, Miss. (No. 6)
The Pirates had success picking from the Mississippi high school ranks a couple of years ago (See Griffin, Konnor), and Booth does have serious tools. This could mostly be a discussion between the speed/athleticism/upside of Booth and the advanced college arm in Flora.

6. Royals: Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 4)
If the Pirates take Flora, then the Royals could opt to nab Booth. But they really like the Santa Barbara ace in this spot. This could be the first team to consider a high school arm -- Gio Rojas -- and, never afraid to go “off the board” a little, they could consider reclassified high schooler Jared Grindlinger, and let him start his career as a two-way player.

7. Orioles: Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (No. 7)
This continues to be a landing spot for a college bat; it’s just a matter of which one. Burress makes the most sense, which is why he’s been mentioned here the most consistently. But the Orioles are looking at a larger group of college hitters, including Justin Lebron, Tyler Bell, Ryder Helfrick, Chris Hacopian and Derek Curiel.

8. Athletics: Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No. 11)
It’s the same stable of college bats mentioned above, though Curiel might be on the outside looking in.

9. Braves: Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS, Parkland, Fla. (No. 8)
After the Royals, this is the next spot Rojas, the top prep arm in the class, could land. If they don’t want the risk, that same bucket of college hitters is in play here.

10. Rockies: AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia (No. 19)
This continues to feel like another spot for a college hitter, with Lebron, Curiel, Bell and Hacopian also in the mix, but the Rockies might opt for the pure hit tool and plate discipline Gracia provides. The one arm they might consider is Florida right-hander Liam Peterson.

11. Nationals: Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State (No. 18)
Sorry if this reads like a copy/paste deal, but all the college bats -- plus Reese –--are in play. No one has jumped out to the lead, but word is the Nats do like the Mississippi State third baseman.

12. Angels: Derek Curiel, OF, Louisiana State (No. 12)
It’s unclear how the front office shakeup -- with Perry Minasian out as general manager and John Mozeliak in as interim GM -- will impact the Draft, though a team picking below the Angels did say that Curiel would be a “Mo-like pick.” Truthfully, I had a college bat pegged for here (over an arm like Peterson), and with Gracia and Reese gone, Curiel gets the nod over Lebron, Bell or Hacopian.

13. Cardinals: Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky (No. 10)
The run on college hitters continues, with Bell and Texas Christian’s Sawyer Strosnider the leading contenders. This is another possible landing spot for Grindlinger if the Cardinals go in a non-college direction.

14. Marlins: Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M (No. 14)
While the Marlins might prefer a college hitter like Reese in this spot, he’s off the board in this scenario, so Hacopian gets the nod over Lebron. The Marlins will continue to discuss college arms like Peterson and Tennessee right-hander Tegan Kuhns.

15. Diamondbacks: Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama (No. 9)
Lebron is one of the toughest players to place in a projection; he could go anywhere from around 8 all the way down to around 25. There is interest in his tools here, but the D-backs are looking at all demographics, with Peterson and Coastal Carolina’s Cameron Flukey from the college pitching bucket, Trevor Condon from the high school hitter group and Grindlinger as a two-way guy they might eventually prefer on the mound. This also might be the floor for Rojas.

16. Rangers: Jared Grindlinger, OF/LHP, Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS (No. 16)
This is about the area with some of the other high school arms start coming up in conversations -- lefties like Brody Bumila, Carson Bolemon and Logan Schmidt -- but it feels like in this scenario, they’re more likely to go high school bat. And yes, they prefer Grindlinger in the box to Grindlinger on the mound.

17. Astros: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida (No. 20)
If any of the college bats that came off the board filter down here, the Astros very well could go in that direction, and there are others they could consider, such as Strosnider, Zion Rose or Golden Spikes Award winner Daniel Jackson, but you’ll see below that they could get Jackson with their next pick, while nabbing a top college arm here instead.

18. Reds: Trevor Condon, OF, Etowah HS, Woodstock, Ga. (No. 13)
The Reds might be thrilled if a college bat like Lebron got here, but in this scenario, they’re all gone, so they can turn their sights to one of the best pure prep hitters in the class in Condon. Other college hitters in the mix potentially are Strosnider and Virginia infielder Eric Becker. They’re kicking the tires on college arms like Flukey, Arkansas’ Hunter Dietz and Arizona State’s Cole Carlon, as well as a prep arm like Bumila.

19. Guardians: Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Texas Christian (No. 22)
We continue to hear only hitters here, and there’d be interest in Condon or Grindlinger from the high school side, and a number of those aforementioned college bats as well. The Guardians would seriously consider adding Strosnider’s left-handed power to the mix.

20. Red Sox: Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas (No. 17)
The Red Sox could stay in their own backyard and take Bumila, the big high school lefty. They could also consider a high school hitter like Bo Lowrance, but this time around we’ll give them a college arm, with Dietz getting the nod over someone like Carlon.

21. Padres: Carson Bolemon, LHP, Southside Christian HS, Simpsonville, S.C. (No. 24)
We’ve talked repeatedly about how the Padres have gone the high school route with their first pick for several years in a row, and there’s no reason to think they’ll do otherwise here. This week, it’s Bolemon over Bumila or Schmidt, with prep hitters like Lowrance or Cole Prosek potentially in the mix.

22. Tigers: Aiden Ruiz, SS, The Stony Brook (N.Y.) School (No. 32)
It sounds like there might be interest in a high-end arm like Bumila, but the Tigers do like their bats. It’s typically left-handed ones, which is why we keep hearing names like Lowrance, Tyler Spangler, Archer Horn or Landon Thome come up. Ruiz is a switch-hitter, so that counts, right? Plus, he might be the best defensive shortstop in the class.

23. Cubs: Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina (No. 15)
If things shake out like this, with that long run of college hitters, that could lead the Cubs to honing in on college arms. Flukey gets the spot this week, but there’s a group Chicago could consider, including Kuhns, Carlon, Southern Cal’s Mason Edwards and Mississippi’s Cade Townsend.

24. Mariners: Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee (No. 25)
The Mariners have gone after hitters the last few years in the first round, but it might not line up the way they want this year in that demographic. They did take three straight college pitchers not that long ago (Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Emerson Hancock), and that turned out OK, right? Kuhns might be atop a list that includes Flukey, Townsend and perhaps Notre Dame’s Jack Radel.

25. Brewers: Zion Rose, OF, Louisville (No. 30)
If the Cubs go in a different direction, the Brewers would definitely have interest in Flukey here. With him gone, they might be more likely to look at bats. They’re not afraid of high school guys, so Prosek or Lowrence could come into play, but they went the college route last year with Andrew Fischer and could hit another Power Four conference with Rose.

Supplemental first round
26. Braves: Mason Edwards, LHP, Southern California (No. 36)
27. Mets: Bo Lowrance, 3B, Christ Church Espiscopal HS, Greenville, S.C. (No. 21)
28. Astros: Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia (No. 28)
29. Giants: Brody Bumila, LHP, Bishop Feehan HS, Attleboro, Mass. (No. 23)
30. Royals: Cole Carlon, LHP, Arizona State (No. 26)
31. Diamondbacks: Taj Marchand, SS, James Island HS, Charleston, S.C. (No. 37)
32. Cardinals: Logan Reddemann, RHP, UCLA (No. 31)
33. Rays: Cole Prosek, 3B/C, Magnolia Heights HS, Senatobia, Miss. (No. 27)
34. Pirates: Logan Schmidt, LHP, Ganesha HS, Pomona, Calif. (No. 45)
35. Yankees: Cameron Borthwick, RHP, South Walton HS, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. (No. 43)
36. Phillies: Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame (No. 44)
37. Rockies: Cade Townsend, RHP, Mississippi (No. 35)

38. Rockies: Chase Brunson, OF, Texas Christian (No. 50)
39. Blue Jays: Ty Head, OF, North Carolina (No. 60)
40. Dodgers: Aiden Robbins, OF, Texas (No. 29)