MLB Draft Recap
Surprises, top players, best storylines and themes -- everything you need to know about the MLB Draft
With the 2026 MLB Draft now complete, it’s a great time for a recap of the top players, themes, twists and sleepers. Of course it’ll take years to properly judge this draft class and front office decisions — but I’m a little impatient!
The Big 3
There was really no surprise in the top three picks of the draft. It was assumed that Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson and Vahn Lackey would be the first three players selected, in that order. There was some talk that Emerson might go 1.1, but ultimately it didn’t come to fruition.
The White Sox took Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick. Cholowsky was the assumed top player in the draft after his Sophomore season at UCLA where he slashed .353/.480/.710 and hit 23 homers, earning Baseball America’s College Player of the Year. Despite a Junior season that wasn’t as good statistically, he still ended up being the top player. He’s a versatile offensive player and just as good with the glove.
I do think the White Sox success this season was a silent factor into taking Cholowsky over Emerson. When you take a college player with the first overall pick, you’re ultimately expecting that player to be at the MLB level a year from right now.
High school shortstop Grady Emerson was selected by the Rays with the second pick. His senior years stats are ridiculous: .532 average, 50 RBI, 31 stolen bases in just 28 games. He was awarded the Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year, awarded to the top athlete across all sports, not just baseball. With every tool graded at least a 55, he’s a true five-tool player with immense potential. I believe, the most potential in this class.
Georgia Tech’s catcher Vahn Lackey, went third overall to the Minnesota Twins. He shot up draft boards this season after hitting .397 with 20 homers, stealing 16 bases and solidifying himself as the best defensive catcher in the nation. He’s the first catcher the Twins have selected with their top pick in a draft since taking Joe Mauer first overall in 2001.
Lack of Pitchers Selected
The biggest theme of this draft was the lack of pitchers selected early on. Showing the premium that has been put on hitters — especially right-handed hitting college players, combined with the injury risk of young pitchers.
This was the first MLB Draft EVER where there was only 1 pitcher selected in the first 15 picks.
That one pitcher was the Giants selection, when they took Jackson Flora from UC Santa Barbara with their 4th overall pick. last year, 4 of the first 6 picks were pitchers.
Front offices across the league are seemingly prioritizing contact hitting early in the draft and avoiding pitchers due to the higher risk that comes with injury — especially with high schoolers.
For years and years, if a high schooler could hit 90 mph on the radar guns, it almost guaranteed you’d see his name on the Draft board. But with more and more players having that ability and the spike in injuries, the landscape is changing.
Studies have shown that pitchers who have Tommy John surgery before 20 years old have less than half the chance of making it to the MLB compared to pitchers who have the surgery later in their careers.
Another important factor weighing in on fewer pitchers selected is the change in the role of a starting pitcher. Even just a decade ago, starters were relied upon much more to eat up innings than they are nowadays. When you have someone who can throw 101 with a frisbee slider waiting in the bullpen, it’s hard not to call on him in the 6th inning in a close game.
There just isn’t as high of a value put on starters right now compare to previous years. That being said, there was some extremely talented pitchers taken in this years draft:
Giants 4th overall — Jackson Flora (UC Santa Barbara)
6’5” righty with a fastball that sits 96-97 and touches 100. He pairs it with a sweeper and slider combo. Allowed just a 1.06 ERA in 16 starts with 133 strikeouts. Opponents hit just .155 against him. He’s also a Bay Area native who grew up a Giants fan.
Rangers 16th overall — Gio Rojas (Stoneman Douglas HS)
Rojas slipped down the board a bit more than expected. The lefty high schooler has riding fastball that hits 98 on the radar gun. At 6’5” with that velocity as an 18-year-old is impressive.
Padres 21st overall — Coleman Borthwick (South Walton HS)
Drafted as a pitcher, but Borthwick is a two-way player who hit .300 for team USA in a world tournament while hitting 99 on the gun. It’ll be interesting to see how San Diego develops him.
Biggest Surprises & Steals
The first shocker came with the Royals selecting outfielder Zion Rose 6th overall. MiLB ranked him 30th in the class — there was seven outfielders alone ranked higher than him. Not very many people had Rose getting picked before Drew Burress or Jacob Lombard.
I thought the Royals would have selected the high school flamethrower Gio Rojas with the 6th pick, as they tend to draft pitchers in the first round. However, Kansas City has not been able to develop the past few pitchers they’ve selected (Asa Lacy, Frank Mozzicato).
The next big surprise was the Mets taking RHP Carson Wiggins from Arkansas with the 27th overall pick. Wiggins has only thrown 14 innings in college with a 6.17 ERA. However, his fastball graded out at 80, the highest possible. Despite the injuries and inexperience, the Mets are willing to take a gamble because he can throw 100 MPH. Goes to show how rare that velocity is.
Another big shocker in the first round was the Red Sox taking Jake Schaffner from North Carolina. Schaffner, a shortstop, spent his last year in Chapel Hill after two years at NDSU. He was ranked the 75th best player in the draft by MiLB. He hit just nine home runs in 171 career college games. It’s an interesting pick so early in the draft. Not to mention, the Red Sox took his UNC teammate, Owen Hull in the 2nd round.
One of the bigger steals of the draft in my opinion is Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson falling to the Rockies at pick 37. Jackson won the Golden Spikes award behind 32 homers, .379 average, and a slugging over .800. As a great power hitter, I really like him in Colorado. Plus their development of Hunter Goodman in the same position is promising for his career.
Jacob Lombard sliding to the Marlins at 14 is a dream come true for GM Gabe Kapler and the rest of the front office. He fell due to swing and miss concerns, but the true shortstop who has elite power and speed combo feels like an absolute steal here.
Impact of College Baseball and NIL
An ever-changing landscape in the NCAA and now, potentially the MLB Draft system, has changed so much in the past few years. With the ability to pay players, the MLB only doing 20 rounds (instead of 40), and the risk of high school picks— college baseball is as attractive as ever.
MLB teams put a lot of money into their farm systems and developing players. But there seems to be a shift in thinking towards this topic. Why not take a player already developed out of college instead of taking on the risk yourself?
Georgia Tech has become a factory for hitters. They set the NCAA BBCOR record this past season for the most runs per game. As a result, six of the nine starters got drafted in the first 10 rounds.
Arkansas is another school in this category. They had 12 total players drafted, after 11 being picked last draft. The CWS champion Oklahoma Sooners had seven total picks.
If I was a GM and had the choice of a high schooler hitter or a player from Georgia Tech or Arkansas, I’d probably go with the guy that’s already been developed by a proven system and coaching staff.