As the calendar gets set to turn to June, Draft buzz is picking up exponentially. Scouts are scattered all over the country with NCAA Division I Regional play kicking off on Friday while also planning to see high schoolers in action for the last time in state playoffs. The Draft Combine is looming and the Draft itself is just over six weeks away.
2026 MLB Draft presented by Nippon Express
July 11-12:
It’s a perfect time to expand and re-order our Draft rankings. We’ve built it out to a Top 200, and we'll do one more re-shuffling/expansion out to 250 before the Chicago White Sox make the first pick on Saturday, July 11. Let’s take a quick look at the top 10 before digging into the biggest takeaways we’re seeing in this year’s Draft class.
1. Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
2. Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian HS, Texas
3. Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
4. Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep, Fla.
5. Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
6. Eric Booth Jr., OF, Oak Grove HS, Miss.
7. Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech
8. Gio Rojas, LHP, Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, Fla.
9. Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama
10. Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M
Complete list »
Let’s dive in to what this top 10 – and beyond – means as teams try to line up their Draft boards:
Roch still leads the way
As he was back in December, and again when we published our Top 150, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky is the No. 1 prospect. While some feel he hasn’t dominated the way a no-doubt No. 1 prospect should, he’s still considered the best player in the class. He still has four 60s on his report – only his speed isn’t plus – and with the whole world watching, he’s led the No. 1 team in the country to Regional play with a .329/.461/.662 line to go along with 21 homers. He’s walked more than he’s struck out while also being hit 24 times. There will be continuous noise about the White Sox doing due diligence on four players – Cholowsky, Emerson, Lackey and Lombard – and teams in the top four all coveting the No. 1 guy, but most believe the White Sox will end up taking Cholowsky in that top spot.
Top 6 have separated themselves
Cholowsky isn’t the only player at the top of the board somewhat cemented in place. There is consensus that the first half-dozen listed above are the clear top six in the class. The order may vary depending on which team you speak with, and it’s not like it’s a guarantee they’ll go in the top six (the Royals could have interest in Rojas at six, for example), but there does appear to be a bold line after Booth in terms of ranking and if something like Rojas going sixth happens, Booth likely would go seven. It’s at that pick No. 7, the Orioles, where a lot of people think things could veer in a number of directions because of that separation of talent, with it being the first spot under-slot deals could really come into play. There hasn’t been that much movement in this top six from the Top 150, with Lombard moving up and only one player dropping out.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
Justin Lebron is hard to figure out
Lebron, the super-toolsy Alabama shortstop, is that lone player to move out of that top group, now coming in at No. 9. He might have the most exciting tools of any player in the Draft, with four 60s in his power, speed, arm and defense. But here’s the thing: He’s hit just .266/.384/.522 this year overall, though he does have 14 homers and 38 steals. His SEC numbers are even more concerning: .229/.328/.464. Trying to figure out where he goes in the first round is going to be a huge wild card, with teams worried about the performance but also not wanting to completely give up on the tools. His profile as a college hitter with some question marks isn’t uncommon this year.
There are college bats aplenty, but few without issues
If you ask the scouting industry who the best college position player is after Cholowsky and Lackey, you’re going to get a lot of different answers. It’s a robust group, with 14 in the top 30 of the new list and 22 in the top 50. If you want a college bat, chances are there’ll be one to consider. But almost all of them come with some kind of blemish. Lebron’s issues are detailed above, but he’s not alone. Burress has maybe been the most solid, shaking off a slow start, but not quite as impactful as last year. Hacopian gets credit for a plus hit tool, but his impact has also been so-so and it’s not clear where he can play defensively. LSU’s Derek Curiel can swing it, but has never grown into power. Ryder Helfrick can really defend behind the dish at Arkansas, but can he hit? Texas Christian’s Sawyer Strosnider and Virginia's AJ Gracia have dropped a bit on the list because both have really struggled in conference play. You get the point, but keep an eye on Tyler Bell, Kentucky’s shortstop, to potentially move past all of these guys as he’s performed in SEC play after playing much of the year with a shoulder issue.
College arms on the rise
This happens pretty much every year. There’s always a demand for pitching and teams will look for a bit more certainty in a demographic that has a track record against good competition. After Flora at the top, there haven’t been too many who have jumped up to that neck of the list. Coastal Carolina’s Cameron Flukey could sneak into the top 10 if he continues to pitch well post-rib injury. Liam Peterson has top-of-the-round stuff, but the Florida right-hander’s performance hasn’t matched up. Arkansas righty Hunter Dietz could leapfrog them, though his lengthy injury history will make teams pause.
There’s room for arms to jump into first round conversations and we’ve pinpointed two making jumps. Tennessee’s Tegan Kuhns, jumping from 43 to 24, has been locked in of late and strong postseason starts from him could move him into Flukey and Peterson territory. Arizona State lefty Cole Carlon has also leapt up our list, from 41 to 25, as we keep hearing his name when we work on mock drafts. There was some concern about him coming out of a start early a couple of weeks ago, but he bounced back with a strong outing the following week.
If you want a pitcher, look to the high school ranks
If the question marks surrounding some of the college pitchers are too much to answer, there are actually a lot of high school arms to consider. This is probably the best overall quadrant of the Draft (high school arms and bats, college arms and bats), but it is also known as the riskiest demographic, and there are some teams who just won’t go down this road, at least not in the first round. The right-handed crop isn’t as good as the lefties, but Coleman Borthwick heads a group of prep right-handers with tremendous upside. He and hurlers like Jensen Hirschkorn, Kaden Waechter and Joseph Contreras could all get looks in the late first, comp or second rounds. The lefties are where it’s at, though, with Rojas at the very top, and Carson Bolemon and Logan Schmidt not far behind. Then, of course, there’s the fascinating case of Jared Grindlinger.
Which way does Grindlinger go?
Two-way players are nothing new; for years high school and college players have both pitch and hit. Back in the day, they’d choose one upon entering pro ball. The "Shohei Effect" has allowed some to at least try to keep playing both ways at the start of their pro careers. Often, the scouting industry has a clear preference in which way a player should go.
Not so with Grindlinger, the standout at Huntington Beach who is both an outfielder and left-handed pitcher. He’s also one of the youngest players in the class, having reclassified from the Class of 2027. We’ve moved him from 49 up to 18 because we can’t ignore the first-round buzz. What’s been even more interesting is that, at the start of the spring, it appeared more scouts preferred him on the mound. Recently, there was more noise about him as a hitter. It’s a real split camp now, and some teams might let the projectable teen try out both at the outset.