My Round 1 MLB Mock Draft
Since the MLB Draft Combine just happened, and hype surrounding the 2026 MLB Draft is heating up, I figured it would be a good time for my second annual 1st round mock draft (you might recall that I created one last year). For the first five players, I will be giving reports about their stock. For the rest of the players, I will paste their detailed MLB Pipeline scouting grades. Note that this mock draft only covers Round 1 (which consists of 25 teams). All rounds after that—including the prospect promotion round, the compensation round, and the competitive balance round—will not be covered here.
All stats as of Friday morning on June 26th.
First, here is the draft order for the first round:
1) Chicago White Sox
2) Tampa Bay Rays
3) Minnesota Twins
4) San Francisco Giants
5) Pittsburgh Pirates
6) Kansas City Royals
7) Baltimore Orioles
8) Sacramento Athletics
9) Atlanta Braves
10) Colorado Rockies
11) Washington Nationals
12) Los Angeles Angels
13) St. Louis Cardinals
14) Miami Marlins
15) Arizona Diamondbacks
16) Texas Rangers
17) Houston Astros
18) Cincinnati Reds
19) Cleveland Guardians
20) Boston Red Sox
21) San Diego Padres
22) Detroit Tigers
23) Chicago Cubs
24) Seattle Mariners
25) Milwaukee Brewers
Below are my predictions for each teams’ first round pick:
1) White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA, (ranked by MLB Pipeline as No. 1 draft pick):
There is a very big consensus that the White Sox will draft the number one ranked prospect on basically every list, Roch Cholowsky. It would be kinda surprising if the South Side Sox passed up on him to take someone else. While Cholowsky doesn’t stand out in any one thing, he has an overall grade of 65/80, which is tied for the highest in the draft class, and he is a very well-rounded player.
2) Rays: Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian High School (HS) (No. 2):
The number two and three prospects are very close talent wise, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rays didn’t draft Emerson. However, Emerson possesses some very good tools with a hit tool, arm tool, and a field tool of 60/80. Experts also believe that he is a lock to stay at SS due to his soft hands and perfect internal clock. He also has sneaky pop, as he finished second in the HS HR Derby.
3) Twins: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech (No. 3):
Assuming the White Sox and Rays draft the number one and two, the Twins will probably take number three, Vahn Lackey. Experts also say that the Twins like Lackey’s arm, which is rated a 60 on MLB Pipeline. Even though it’s the 2nd pick, there is still some uncertainty on whether the Twins like Lackey or Emerson more, so that remains to be seen.
4) Giants: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep (HS) (No. 4):
Experts are hearing that the Giants are connected to bats in the draft, and I am very confident the top three guys will go in that order. That leaves Lombard, who has a 65 run grade. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants take a pitcher like Jackson Flora. After the top three, it’s a shakeup and it just depends on who the Giants’ scouting likes more.
5) Pirates: Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 5):
Flora is by far the best pitcher in the 2026 MLB draft. He possesses a 98 mile per hour fastball that can touch 100 from time to time. His fastball is a grade 70/80. He has about four pitches all with decent control and varying velocity. He’s 6’5, 205 pounds, and he will definitely come off the board in the first round even if he’s not drafted in the top five.
6) Royals: Eric Booth Jr., OF, Oak Grove (HS) (No. 6)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Arm: 50 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60
7) Orioles: Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas (HS) (No. 8)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 60
8) Athletics: Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech (No. 7)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60
9) Braves: Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina (No. 11)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 55
10) Rockies: Justin LeBron, SS, Alabama (No. 9)
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55
11) Nationals: Jared Grindlinger, LHP/OF, Huntington Beach (HS) (No. 18)
Pitching scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 55 | Overall: 55
Hitting scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
12) Angels: Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No. 13)
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55
13) Cardinals: Derek Curiel, OF, Louisiana State (No. 12)
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 45 | Field 55 | Overall: 55
14) Marlins: Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Texas Christian (No. 16)
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55
15) D-backs: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida (No. 14)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 55
16) Rangers: AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia (No. 17)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55
17) Astros: Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M (No. 10)
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55
18) Reds: Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky (No. 20)
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55
19) Guardians: Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State (No. 21)
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 40 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 55
20) Red Sox: Brody Bumila, LHP, Bishop Feehan (HS) (No. 19)
Scouting grades: Fastball: 65 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55
21) Padres: Cole Prosek, 3B/C, Magnolia Heights (HS) (No. 33)
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
22) Tigers: Landon Thome, 2B/3B, Nazareth Academy (HS) (No. 37)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 40 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
23) Cubs: Trevor Condon, OF, Etowah (HS) (No. 22)
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55
24) Mariners: Eric Becker, SS, Virginia (No. 26)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
25) Brewers: Bo Lowrance, 3B, Christ Church Episcopal (HS) (No. 38)
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
I plan to cover the MLB Draft live as it happens just like last year. Tune in with me so we can see how many picks I got right. Thanks for reading!