2026 MLB Draft Review: Chicago Cubs

Full list of draftees

Besides a couple of big power bats near the top, the Cubs focused heavily on pitching in this class with ten in a row from rounds three through twelve and another six in a row to close out the draft from the fifteenth round on. It was all about breaking balls in this class, with the Cubs looking less at pitchers who could run attack the top rail with explosive fastballs and more at guys who could spin the heck out of the ball. That adds a lot of relief risk to the class, especially with command not being a priority in the draftees, but it does create a lot of upside and possibly gives them quite a few future closer options.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-23: RHP Cade Townsend, Mississippi
Slot value: $3.95 million. Signing bonus: $3.1 million ($847,600 below slot value).
My rank: #23. MLB Pipeline: #35. ESPN: #26.
The Cubs got quite a bargain bringing in one of the most talented college pitchers in the country for nearly a million dollars below slot value, just below the value of the #31 pick here at #23. Cade Townsend has been well-known to scouts since his prep days, when he had significant interest from MLB teams as a star at Santa Margarita Catholic HS in Southern California. He turned down offers and crossed the country to attend Ole Miss, where he flashed upside but pitched to a 6.35 ERA as a freshman in 2025. Townsend returned in 2026 looking like a more complete pitcher and dominated the Rebels' non-conference schedule (0.48 ERA, 32/4 K/BB in 18.2 IP over 4 starts), and while his SEC performance was more up and down, he still did more than enough for evaluators to push himself into the first round. The 6'1" righty sits in the mid 90's and touches 98 with ride through the zone, holding that velocity now better than he did in the past. He stands out most for his feel for secondaries, making the ball dance all around the zone with a full arsenal. He runs his cutter into the upper 80's to consistently stay off barrels, then slices it into a truer sweeper that looks plus in its own right. His curveball shows good depth and gives him yet another potential plus pitch, while his changeup plays closer to average. This is the pure stuff that can play at the top of a rotation, but Townsend has yet to fully put it together. He is throwing more strikes than in the past, dropping his walk rate from 13.1% as a freshman to 8.0% as a sophomore, though it is still more control than command and he can get hit in the zone. Townsend is very, very close to breaking through as a rotation force, and if the Cubs can unlock a little more life on his fastball while fine tuning that command a little further, it would make his breaking balls play up even further as hitters can't simply trust their hands to catch up to the above average velocity. I see this as great value near the back of the first round with massive savings to boot.

2-62: OF Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
Slot value: $1.49 million. Signing bonus: $1.65 million ($162,800 above slot value).
My rank: #54. MLB Pipeline: #33. ESPN: #43.
Caden Sorrell was projected throughout the 20-40 range for much of the draft cycle, though I felt that was just a little bit rich for my taste and left just outside of my top fifty. The Cubs getting him here in the second round for a slightly over-slot bonus (roughly the value of pick #58) feels more like market value and I'd be much more comfortable rolling the dice here. Like Cade Townsend, Sorrell comes with massive upside, though he has a few more fatal flaws and comes with a wider range of outcomes. Both of his grandfathers played in the big leagues in the 1960's and 1970's, then he made a name for himself as a Dallas-Fort Worth high schooler in 2023 with top 100 interest. He made it to campus at Texas A&M and jumped into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2024, then over the last two years he has really turned it on by slashing .340/.433/.757 with 35 home runs over 82 games despite missing significant time in 2025 with hamstring problems. Sorrell is a toolshed, to pit it lightly. Listed at 6'3", 210 pounds, he is packed with lean muscle which he channels into an explosive left handed swing to create plus raw power. He taps that power in games, recognizing mistake pitches and hammering them to the pull side or mishitting balls out to all fields even if he doesn't square it up. There are few players more exciting to watch connect with a baseball and Sorrell does it frequently, setting a career high with 23 home runs in 2026. The catch, of course, is contact. While he had no problem performing in college or even when isolated to just SEC play – where he hit .317/.399/.667 against some of the best arms in the country – the warning signs are there. Sorrell runs contact rates below 70% and struck out at a 22.9% clip in 2026, including 26.6% in SEC play, creating major questions as to whether he can catch up to advanced pro pitching. There is some tendency to chase in the profile, but the bigger issue is just the creation of holes in his left handed swing when he tries to blast balls out of the state. As has been emphasized, he has had little reason to adjust that approach thus far as he's always found a mistake pitch he can drive, but it will be a point of emphasis for the Cubs in pro ball. Defensively, Sorrell is a plus runner who has shown well the outfield, giving him a shot to play center field if we wanted to ignore the existence of Pete Crow-Armstrong for a minute. He certainly won't knock PCA out of center field, but the speed and plus arm could make him a plus defender in right. field. The ceiling on Sorrell is immense and if he takes a few large steps forward in the contact department, he could be a star in Chicago for a long time.

2C-75: 1B Myles Bailey, Florida State
Slot value: $1.12 million. Signing bonus: $1.9 million ($779,100 above slot value).
My rank: #83. MLB Pipeline: #83. ESPN: #88.
Well, speaking of power. If power was money, Myles Bailey would have enough to give every American one hundred dollars and still have enough left over to buy the Cubs. This is, to put it plainly, some of the biggest raw power in the entire draft, if not the biggest. Like Caden Sorrell, Bailey was a well-known prep with significant draft interest out of high school but made it to campus at Florida State, where he bopped 19 home runs and slashed an impressive .327/.441/.663 as a true freshman. He came out hammering in 2026, slashing a prime Barry Bonds-like .363/.582/.913 with 13 home runs in 26 games (an 81 home run pace over a 162 game season) before shattering his ankle against Duke at the end of March. Listed at 6'4", 255 pounds, Bailey looks every bit of it and the power is Earth-shattering. He uses his massive limbs to hammer balls in all directions, whether he's sending them to a different tax jurisdiction to the pull side or going halfway up the scoreboard in the opposite direction. Of course, the catch here just as with Sorrell is contact. He struck out at a high 31.0% rate as a freshman and dropped that to 24.6% as a sophomore, but that was mostly because pitchers were avoiding him and he walked 28.7% of the time. Even in ACC play against better pitching (albeit in just an eight game sample), that strikeout rate sat at a similar 26.3% but the walk rate was a gargantuan 34.2%. Bailey simple does not chase when pitchers refuse to challenge him, but when they do challenge him, they usually win in the zone. The Tallahassee native swings through a ton of hittable pitches with some of the lowest contact rates among drafted players, and big league pitchers will find plenty of holes inside that strike zone to exploit. Then the trade off becomes when pitchers don't win in the zone, the results are spectacular. In his tiny ACC sample in 2026, Bailey was performing much better than in 2025 and seemed to have gotten the swing and miss to at least a realistic level, and the Cubs are bought into those gains as real progress. If he can hit the ball just sometimes at the big league level, his propensity to walk could still keep his on-base percentages at a decent level while he threatens for as many home runs as he can make contact on, looking to Adam Dunn as his ceiling. While nobody is going to mistake the hulking slugger for Ozzie Smith out on the infield dirt, he can pick it pretty well for a guy his size and plays a decent first base. Bailey will likely be a net positive around the bag and could stave off becoming a DH for the first half of his career. His $1.9 million bonus was well above slot value, roughly the value of the #52 pick.

3-98: RHP Carson Jasa, Nebraska
Slot value: $800,000. Signing bonus: $750,000 ($50,000 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #173. ESPN: #166.
Carson Jasa is as good of a trajectory pick as you're going to find. Out of high school, he lacked any semblance of body control and was kept far away from the mound as a freshman. He improved his command from unplayable to merely well below average in 2025, earning eleven appearances (four starts) but battling that command in every one of them. He worked hard over the offseason and improved again in 2026, coming out as a full time starter and posting a 3.59 ERA and 117 strikeouts, the eighteenth most in the nation. The command was still below average, but he learned to work with it, keep his misses reasonable, and stay in competitive counts, helping his power stuff get to work. Jasa sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and touches 98 at peak, though like Cade Townsend back in the first round, the pitch can get straight. Also like Townsend, he has tremendous feel for spin with a pair of fall off the table breaking balls in his tight slider and hard downer curveball. Hitters struggle to track either of them and consistently swing through them even if they know they're coming. Jasa adds a changeup, but it's his fourth pitch. The 6'7" righty brings huge size to the table and works with a stiffer, tall and fall delivery that limits his extension. He still needs to work hard on his body control to get a little more athletic on the mound, hopefully helping to bring his command a little closer to average. Adding some life to his fastball would help too, and together he should have a chance to start. At present, his breaking ball-first arsenal and below average command profile more as a bullpen piece.

4-126: RHP Dylan Marionneaux, Northwestern State
Slot value: $609,200. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($9,200 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
This one is a bit off the beaten path, with little information out there about Dylan Marionneaux. After showing up at Northwestern State throwing mid 80's, he has steadily improved each year dropping his ERA from 7.65 to 5.01 to 3.51 while upping his strikeout rate to 12.4% to 17.9% to 23.3%. The fastball now sits in the low 90's and touches 95 with some cut but otherwise ordinary shape, so rather than relying on the heater, he pitches off his glove side weapons. His cutter sits in the upper 80's and anchors his arsenal, while he can turn it into a nice little slider to miss bats, albeit not at high rates. He rounds it out with a changeup. Marionneaux's walk rate has improved every year as well, dropping from 11.4% to 10.4% to just 5.2% in 2026, going from a weakness to a weapon. The Baton Rouge-area native commands his modest arsenal well, not just his fastball but also his secondary pitches. Listed at 6'3", 170 pounds, he is very thin for a starting pitcher and will need to pack on a lot of good weight. He has a thinner build and may not ever have that workhorse frame, but bulking up a little could help him live closer to the mid 90's and help the fastball become a bigger part of his arsenal. He moves well on the mound and comes with nice sleeper upside for Chicago. Marionneaux had previously committed to Alabama out of the transfer portal but the Cubs bought him out with a much higher than expected bonus.

5-159: RHP Dylan Blomker, La Cueva HS [NM]
Slot value: $441,300. Signing bonus: $888,000 ($446,700 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Moving to the prep side, the Cubs went off the beaten path a little bit and pulled in a bit of a sleeper in the class. LSU did a fantastic job of getting talent to campus this fall, perhaps too good of a job with more stars than roster spots, and Dylan Blomker was one of the few (and one of the more unexpected) signees to go pro. Blomker has a low to mid 90's fastball that can hit 97 in short stints with nice riding action from a lower slot. His slider can be inconsistent but shows huge spin rates and frisbee action at its best, while hsi changeup gives him a firmer third option. The 6'3" righty has a great pitcher's frame with present strength and space to develop further, but his delivery can get rushed and his command is below average for now. He'll need significant refinement in pro ball, especially to iron out his mechanics and command, carrying significant reliever risk as a pitcher who may have to rely on a fastball/slider combination. The upside, though, is that of a mid rotation starter who can take his time working his way up through the system as he gradually tacks on polish to a really talented profile. The Albuquerque native signed for roughly twice his slot value, roughly the value of the #90 pick.

6-188: RHP Isaac Morton, Minnesota
Slot value: $344,400. Signing bonus: $344,400.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #172. ESPN: #182.
Isaac Morton continues the theme of upward trajectory pitchers, even if he's currently out with injury. A high level prospect out of high school, he began his career at Texas A&M but pitched just 19.1 innings in two seasons as he battled injuries and a 20.6% walk rate. Transferring back home to Minnesota, he put it all together for a strong junior season in the Gopher rotation, posting a 3.26 ERA and cutting his walk rate in half. Unfortunately he was on his way to another gem against Nebraska, striking out seven of the first twelve batters he faced on the final weekend of Minnesota's season, before leaving with an arm injury that wound up requiring Tommy John surgery. He'll be out for much of 2027 as well, but the Cubs think he could get on the fast track to the big leagues once healthy. A true sidearmer, Morton sits in the mid 90's and touches 97 with his turbo sinker, forcing weak contact and creating a difficult look for hitters. His slider sweeps hard to the glove side with tremendous finish, an easy plus pitch, while his cutter splits the difference and his changeup is more of a fourth offering. The 6'3" righty has significantly improved his command at Minnesota but is still more control than command, so further refinement is definitely needed if he wants to stick in the rotation. Given that he'll be nearly 23 when he returns from surgery, the Cubs may want to fast track him as a reliever where his sidearm sinker/slider combination could be deadly. Morton has closer upside in that role if the stuff ticks up like it tends to do when starters move to the bullpen, a nice fallback should starting not work out.

9-277: RHP Chase Meyer, West Virginia
Slot value: $204,100. Signing bonus: $220,000 ($15,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The Cubs rolled the dice in the ninth round on another pitcher who has been off the mound but for very different reasons. Chase Meyer struggled mightily with command out of the West Virginia bullpen as a freshman, when he ran a 24% walk rate and an 8.38 ERA over thirteen appearances, then took a big step forward as a sophomore in 2025 as one of the Mountaineers' most trusted relievers. He was primed for another big season in 2026 when a locker room dispute led to his dismissal from the team early in the season, so he announced his intention to transfer to Arizona State and went to pitch in the MLB Draft League and Cape Cod League. The stuff is loud, and the Cubs hope to channel it in the right direction. His fastball sits in the mid 90's touching 98 with life, while his power breaking balls steal the show. Meyer's curveball and slider both look plus with high spin rates and sharp, late bite to miss a ton of bats. His changeup, like other pitchers in this Cubs class, is a fourth pitch. The 6'2" righty has below average command from an uptempo delivery and needs to significantly rein things in, especially if he wants to start in pro ball. Meyer more likely looks like a reliever long term, just as he was with West Virginia, but one with wicked stuff that could pitch in high leverage situations in Chicago.

2026 MLB Draft Review: Seattle Mariners

Full list of draftees

The Mariners tend to draft really well and that was certainly the case in 2026, though the failure to sign eighteenth round pick Dominic Santarelli and twentieth rounder Connor Shouse meant that they didn't quite spend their full bonus pool. Still, they spread the money around perhaps better than any other team, avoiding the practice of handing out minuscule four figure bonuses that many teams employ (or in the case of the Braves, three figure) and instead giving all but one pick at least $150,000. In fact, they handed out thirteen bonuses of $200,000 or more, making for the most balanced draft of any team. Additionally, unlike most teams, they did not treat the $2,500 contingency bonus as part of the bonus, and when they gave full slot value, they actually gave full slot value. Player-wise, the top of the draft was very hitter-heavy with seven bats in their first eight picks. They targeted hitters with strong exit velocities and other traits indicating the ability to hit above their draft position, looking more towards offense than defense with very few players who can stick up the middle.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-24: 3B Ace Reese, Mississippi State
Slot value: $3.82 million. Signing bonus: $3.5 million ($318,700 below slot value).
My rank: #17. MLB Pipeline: #18. ESPN: #17.
Seattle got tremendous value with their first pick, bringing in Ace Reese (elite baseball name) on an under-slot deal at #24 despite rumors of teams interested throughout the teens. Reese began his career at Houston where he was more good than great, then transferred to Mississippi State after one season and took the SEC by storm, slashing .341/.425/.719 with 45 home runs over 118 games in his two seasons in Starkville. He looks the part of a slugger at 6'4", 220 pounds, and brings all of the batted ball data to back up his gaudy home run totals. It's easy plus power that comes naturally, to the pull side, and in the air, helping him tap all of it in games. In fact, he and Mississippi's Judd Utermark were the only two SEC players to hit over 20 home runs in each of the last two seasons. His left handed swing is a thing of beauty, getting long through the zone and driving through the baseball while still getting the right angles to put serious air under it and use his power effectively. That power is ahead of his hitting ability, combining a relatively high chase rate with fringy pure bat to ball that led to a 21.6% strikeout rate in 2026, rising to 24.8% in SEC play and 30.6% in the Cape Cod League last summer. Still, Reese has managed to hit everywhere he has gone, including a strong .303/.361/.485 slash line on the Cape despite the strikeout rate. The Mariners have high confidence that he will continue to tap his power and get on base in pro ball, though he may be more of a .250 hitter than a .280 hitter when all is said and done. The East Texas native has worked hard to stick at third base and the Mariners would like to see that work out, but he probably fits more as a first baseman or left fielder in pro ball with below average speed and choppier glovework. It's the bat Seattle is buying, with some of the best offensive upside in the class especially once you get out of the top handful of picks.

2-65: OF Jake Brown, Louisiana State
Slot value: $1.38 million. Signing bonus: $1.38 million.
My rank: #89. MLB Pipeline: #59. ESPN: #64.
Jake Brown has a bit of a split camp and could be an interesting developmental project. A stud two-way prospect out of high school in Louisiana that drew significant attention from big league teams, he gave up pitching at LSU and grew into one of the Tigers' most reliable bats. Brown began the 2026 season on a tear and pushed his way into top 50 conversations, but hit poorly in conference play (.214/.325/.443) and broken his hamate bone in April, ending his season after 42 games. He's a professional hitter with above average bat to ball and feel for the barrel, helping him consistently drive the ball to all fields and make the most of his average raw power. He works counts well, and ultimately makes for a very tough out no matter where he goes. There is some concern that his strong numbers could be a bit of a mirage after his weaker run through conference play, where his strikeout rate rose from 9.1% out of conference to 26.2% in conference, and the hand injury cut short his chance to turn that around and prove it a 19 game-sample fluke. Brown is a sneaky athlete who plays a better right field than you might expect, with the above average arm from his pitching days making him a well rounded defender in the corner. If the rough SEC run was indeed a fluke, then his penchant for finding barrels and getting on base could make him a 15-20 home run, high on-base type who could steal a couple of bases and play a solid right field. He does, however, run platoon risk and probably has a median outcome of that of a lefty platoon bat.

3-101: RHP Nathan Taylor, Cincinnati
Slot value: $778,200. Signing bonus: $778,200.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #215. ESPN: #242.
Seattle develops pitching as well as anybody and Nathan Taylor plays right into their wheelhouse. One of the most reliable starting pitchers in Cincinnati history and the school's all time leader in wins and strikeouts, he leaves the school 22-7 with a 4.25 ERA and a 276/96 strikeout to walk ratio over 249.2 innings in three seasons. Taylor sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and touches 97, showing average life but elite extension that gives Seattle plenty to work with. He makes his money with a plus slider with late bite, pitching heavily off of it and finishing off the majority of his hitters with it. There's a changeup in there too, but he doesn't use it as much and it will need further development. The 6'5" righty is built like a workhorse starter and threw 72.2, 87, and 90 innings over the last three seasons. Taylor has the durability and, increasingly, the command to stick in a rotation long term. The arsenal is a bit more relievery for now, so Seattle will work to bring a little more life out of his fastball and separate his changeup a little more from the rest of the arsenal. With his size and elite extension, it should be something the Mariners can figure out and the Cincinnati-area native could become a #3 or #4 starter in relatively short order.

4-129: 3B Trevor Lucas, UNC Wilmington
Slot value: $591,700. Signing bonus: $450,000 ($141,700 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
This is a nice pull for the Mariners, grabbing a bit of a sleeper bat in Trevor Lucas. He began his career at Gaston College outside of Charlotte, then transferred back home to UNC Wilmington after one season. He was solid but unremarkable as a sophomore in 2025, then took a step forward as a junior in 2026 to hit .312/.429/.556 with twelve home runs and more walks (38) than strikeouts (35) in 58 games. Lucas isn't huge, but he has a whippy bat and good feel for the barrel to consistently make the most of his average raw power and drive the ball to the gaps and over fences. A very disciplined hitter, he rarely chases and runs strong contact numbers to help him strike out just 13.5% of the time in 2026. He didn't face a terribly difficult schedule in 2026 and some teams may qualify his strong numbers by pointing to that level of competition, but the Mariners believe in the bat and see a potential 15-20 home run hitter with strong on-base percentages if he hits his ceiling. Lucas is a strong defender as well, with plenty of arm strength and steady glovework to stick at the hot corner and provide value there. Getting him here in the fourth round for fifth round money is nice value and he could surprise some people as he works his way up.

5-162: OF Hayden Yost, Florida
Slot value: $429,100. Signing bonus: $415,000 ($14,100 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The older brother of Tigers prospect Jordan Yost, Hayden spent three years at Florida and got better each year. There's above average power in his 6'1", 200 pound frame, with the ability to drive the ball to the pull side with a smooth left handed swing. Yost dealt with injuries in 2026 and was limited to 42 games, but still more than doubled his career home run total by knocking ten and slugging .589, nearly two hundred points higher than his previous career high. He also runs good contact rates and struck out at a solid 16% rate in 2026, and he was one of the few Gators hitters to swing well in conference play with a .302/.385/.755 line on SEC weekends, including blasting eight home runs in 21 games. Seattle also liked what they saw in the Cape Cod League last summer and believe that had he been fully healthy and received more consistent playing time in 2026, he would have broken out further with the bat and gone much higher in the draft. His brother Jordan is a skinnier, hit over power type, while Hayden increasingly looks like he has Jordan's hitting ability to go along with a more physical frame and better power. The Tampa native mainly played right field for the Gators, but has seen time all over the outfield and has the look of a useful corner outfield bat going forward. Like many in this Seattle draft class, he could develop into a much better hitter than many expect.

6-191: 3B Henry Ford, Tennessee
Slot value: $335,900. Signing bonus: $335,900.
My rank: #128. MLB Pipeline: #148. ESPN: #183.
Based on the rankings, it may look like I'm the high guy on Henry Ford, but I only ranked 132 players this year so he fell near the bottom of the list and I saw him fitting more in this sixth round range of the draft as it were. Ford has been on the shuttle between Charlottesville and East Tennessee, growing up and beginning high school in the former but transferring to complete high school at the Baylor School in Chattanooga. He returned home for college and played two seasons at UVA, then went back to the Volunteer State to spend his junior season at Tennessee. Ford was one of the Cavaliers' best hitters in his two years, blasting 28 home runs and hitting .348/.414/.587 in 111 games to earn top five round interest as an eligible sophomore in 2025. Contact and positional concerns left him undrafted, and when head coach Brian O'Connor took the job at Mississippi State, he accepted Tony Vitello's offer to play at Tennessee. Vitello subsequently left to manage the San Francisco Giants, and Ford hit a career-low .293 with a career-high twenty home runs under Josh Elander in Knoxville in 2026. At this point, the book has gotten pretty clear on Ford. He's an aggressive hitter with average bat to ball that enables him to post strong offensive numbers despite the tendency to chase. He likes to drive up through the ball to the pull side, where his above average power has helped him knock 48 career home runs despite playing two years in UVA's pitcher-friendly Disharoon Park. The swing can get grooved at times and cause mishits, but he has the power to make those count and still keeps the swing and miss down. He hit well in the Cape Cod League (.267/.349/.467, 20.9% strikeout rate) but ran into real strikeout concerns for the first time in his career in SEC play this year (.256/.317/.519, 26.8% K). Ford has seen time both at first base and left field, and the Mariners seemed optimistic in his defense by drafting him as a third baseman. A below average runner, he likely fits at first base long term and will really have to hit given his right handed hitting profile. He is old for a college junior and turned 22 shortly after the draft.

7-220: SS Ryan Wynn, Georgia
Slot value: $266,100. Signing bonus: $350,000 ($83,900 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Ryan Wynn was overshadowed by more famous hitters in a dangerous Georgia lineup, allowing the Mariners to swoop in and get him here in the seventh round while paying him sixth round money. Wynn began his career at Wofford, where he played sparingly as a freshman before hitting .331 as a sophomore and earning the opportunity to transfer back home to Georgia. His bat didn't miss a beat with the jump in competition as he hit .324/.386/.619 with nine home runs in 53 games (including .333/.368/.704 in SEC play), even if he was often coming off the bench. An aggressive hitter, Wynn works with a quick uppercut that makes the most of his fringy raw power and covers the plate well, sending line drives around the field with consistency while turning on one every now and then. He does have a tendency to chase, leading to just nine walks in 2026 at a tiny 5.7% rate, but that didn't hurt him at all even against talented SEC weekend arms. The Mariners believe if he stays in the zone more consistently, he can make the most of his strong bat to ball and tap even more power in games, potentially threatening for home run totals in the teens. The Atlanta-area native played mostly second base at Georgia after seeing more time at shortstop at Wofford, and ultimately looks like a utility infielder in the long run.

11-340: RHP Wyatt Queen, Oregon State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $275,000 ($125,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Seattle began the second half of the draft with a bit of a splash, giving Wyatt Queen seventh round money to sign here in the eleventh. He's a local kid coming home, a native of Marysville just thirty miles north of Seattle where he attended Lake Stevens High School. Queen began his career at local Everett JC just across the Snohomish River, then transferred to Oregon State after one season and has been a valuable late inning arm in Corvallis. The fastball is average in the low 90's and touching 96 in short stints, but he makes his money with a pair of plus breaking balls that miss a ton of bats. His power slider gets late bite and hitters rarely seem to pick it up, while his curveball has short, tight, downer action. A fringy changeup rounds things out. The 6'2" righty has a stiffer delivery and doesn't create much extension, unlike many Mariners targets, but he repeats it pretty well and has fringy command. The whole package worked really well at Oregon State, where he pushed his strikeout rate over 40% as a junior and held a 2.49 ERA over 21 games (one start). He's probably still a reliever in pro ball, though Seattle may believe enough in his size and the depth of his arsenal to give him a shot to start. He's fairly young for a college junior and turned 21 barely a month before the draft.

2026 MLB Draft Review: Milwaukee Brewers

Full list of draftees

The Brewers have their own way of drafting and normally push bonus pool money around, and 2026 was no different. After under-slotting an Ebel brother for the second straight season, they split that money between first round talent Sawyer Strosnider and late riser Julian Garcia to make a core trio for the class. From there, the Brewers divvied out several moderate bonuses to under the radar high schoolers like Grant Hill ($200K), Kellan Tom ($175K), Chance Ruby ($150K), and Brady Smith ($150K). It's an unusual strategy as most teams target higher dollar preps and send lower bonuses to college players, but Milwaukee trusts its first in class player development system and thinks they can find some real bargains here.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-25: SS Trey Ebel, Corona HS [CA]
Slot value: $3.7 million. Signing bonus: $2.8 million ($896,000 below slot value).
My rank: #93. MLB Pipeline: #107. ESPN: #37.
A year ago, the Brewers popped Corona (Calif.) High School shortstop Brady Ebel in the comp round, #32 overall, and signed him for an under-slot $2.75 million. This year, the Brewers went back to Corona High School to take shortstop Trey Ebel with the #25 overall pick, then signed him for a nearly identical $2.8 million bonus. Trey's bonus was nearly a million dollars below slot value, just below the value of the #35 pick, and gave the Brewers massive savings to use later in the draft. Ebel himself is no slouch of a prospect, even if he was drafted far earlier than some expected. He was a helium prospect in the spring of 2026, performing extremely well against strong Southern California high school competition at one of the top schools in the region. His compact right handed swing puts good leverage on the ball and has helped him hit everywhere he's gone, while his power has ticked up as he's filled out his solid 6' frame. He uses a toe tap for timing and reads pitches well out of the hand, driving the ball on a line to all fields with authority. He'll likely always be hit over power, profiling for home run totals in the teens with high on-base percentages driving by both batting average and strong walk rates. The Rancho Cucamonga native has also worked hard on his shortstop defense, with compact actions and an above average arm that look much more playable at the field's toughest non-catching position than they did perhaps a year or two ago. There is still a chance that his fringy pure speed or a more explosive defender pushes him to second or third base, but the glove has gotten so steady that he could be a plus defender at either of those positions. Like his brother, Ebel is very young for the class and won't turn 18 until September, giving him significant extra development runway over some of his peers. Interestingly enough, joining the Brewers organization means he not only joins his brother, but also a third Corona native and fellow middle infielder in Brice Turang. He had previously been committed to Texas A&M.

2-66: OF Sawyer Strosnider, Texas Christian
Slot value: $1.35 million. Signing bonus: $2.1 million ($746,900 above slot value).
My rank: #22. MLB Pipeline: #22. ESPN: #36.
Sawyer Strosnider had a wide range of opinions in the industry ranging from those that saw him as a mid-first round talent who could go in the teens to those more skeptical of his hit tool who felt he belonged in the comp round. It seems the more pessimistic outlook won out, where he fell into the Brewers' lap for an above slot bonus in the second round. Coming in at pick #66, Milwaukee used most of their savings on first rounder Trey Ebel to sign Strosnider for roughly the value of the #48 pick. He has been a high level prospect since he was a high schooler outside of Fort Worth, but he honored his commitment to TCU and exploded onto the scene with a .350/.420/.650 slash line that earned him Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. He entered the 2026 season a potential top ten pick, but an up and down sophomore year saw him slash .273/.415/.590 across 50 games. Listed at 6'2", 200 pounds, Strosnider is a twitchy athlete with plus-plus raw power that produces great exit velocities. He doesn't get to all of it just yet with an over-aggressive approach that creates too much weak contact even if his bat to ball is above average. After walking at an 8% rate as a freshman, he more than doubled it to 18.4% as a sophomore not because he was chasing less, but because pitchers were less willing to pitch to him. Strosnider is relatively raw as a hitter even after two years at TCU and hit just .229/.346/.457 in Big 12 play, tempering some interest but not dimming his immense upside. His combination of power and good-enough bat to ball could make him a thirty home run bat with improvements to his approach, and his plus speed could make him a 30-30 player. The speed and above average arm give him a shot to play center field too, and if he moves to right, he could be a plus defender there. Strosnider has all the building blocks of a potential star and while most teams didn't think a .229 conference hitter was worth the risk in the first round, it's tremendous value in the second.

3-102: OF Kyle Jones, Florida
Slot value: $770,600. Signing bonus: $675,000 ($95,600 below slot value).
My rank: #112. MLB Pipeline: #135. ESPN: #140.
Doubling down on college outfielders with upside, Kyle Jones brings the Brewers an under-slot bat that is the opposite of Strosnider as a hit-over-power type rather than vice versa. He began his career at Stetson, where he hit .355 as a freshman before transferring to Florida. A shoulder injury limited him to four games as a sophomore, but he bounced back as a junior this year to hit .317/.418/.478 for the Gators. Jones gets it done with a strong approach and good bat to ball, helping him hit over .300 everywhere he's gone even as he's jumped to tougher competition in the SEC. Listed at 6'3", 190 pounds, he's still very projectable and could tack on significant power, which is a scary thought given the polish in his bat already. The power presently is below average, and at present he probably profiles for home run totals in the low teens alongside high on-base percentages. The Georgia native can get up to plus speed at his best but plays closer to average on the field, though it should be enough for center field. With an average arm, he may fit better in left than right if he shifts out, so the Brewers will work hard to squeeze a little more impact out of his high average bat.

4-130: RHP Julian Garcia, St. John Bosco HS [CA]
Slot value: $585,700. Signing bonus: $1.5 million ($914,300 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #109. ESPN: #135.
Julian Garcia was a late riser in the 2026 class, so in a year where I had less time to build a comprehensive draft list, I didn't get a chance to look into his profile beforehand and he did not rank on my final board of 132 players. The Brewers sure did, and they gave him big time money (roughly the value of the #62 pick) to divert him from a Long Beach State commitment. He has a power fastball that sits in the mid 90's and touches 97 with ride to blow past bats, while his hammer curveball has much better snap and finish than most at that age. There's a changeup as well, but it's firm at this point and needs further development. Garcia has flashed big stuff throughout his high school career, but this year he channeled it into a much more complete package and looks as much like a starter as ever. The 6'3" righty is big and durable, filling up the zone more in the past and maintaining his power stuff deep into games. Milwaukee is investing in a potential mid-rotation starter on the rise with stuff, size, and durability combined with improving command. If they can bring his changeup along, he'll more than justify the late second round investment here in the fourth round,.

12-371: RHP Marcus Kruzan, Minnesota
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000. 
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Wisconsin has produced its fair share of talent, but the Northwoods are another story. Marcus Kruzan hails from the tiny town of Highbridge, Wisconsin all the way up on Lake Superior, where he attended Ashland High School about fifteen miles away. He spent his first two seasons at Saint Thomas in Minneapolis before transferring across town to Minnesota, where he established himself as a reliable starting pitcher. There is not much information out there about his arsenal, but it's a fastball that gets into the mid 90's at peak with a full arsenal of secondaries. He can manipulate the shape of his breaking balls and gets nice finish, working between a curveball and slider, and adds a solid if somewhat firm changeup. Working with a deep arm plunge, he gets great extension from his 6'2" frame putting a little extra hop on his stuff. His command has improved in school and now looks closer to average. Kruzan has some nice upside to uncover working in a pro development program, especially in an org like the Brewers. It doesn't hurt to add another Wisconsinite either.

17-521: SS Chance Ruby, Wilmot Union HS [WI]
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000. 
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
As with Marcus Kruzan, there isn't a ton of information available about local Wisconsinite Chance Ruby. Hailing from Twin Lakes, nearly three hundred miles away from Kruzan's Highbridge but somehow in the same state, Ruby attended Wilmot Union High School on the Illinois border less than forty miles southwest of American Family Field in Milwaukee. He is a 6' shortstop with a powerful right handed swing, creating great torque from a wide base and an effective kinetic chain. While the hit tool is unproven against higher level arms, the Brewers were impressed in their looks and believe pro development will be enough to help him tap that power in games. Ruby is also a plus runner with a good arm, giving him a shot to stick at shortstop too. He's a classic under the radar, cold weather bat who could sneak up on people and turn into a potential five tool player. Of course, he has a very long way to go.

20-611: 1B Carsten Sabathia, Houston
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $50,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The Brewers closed out the draft with Carsten Sabathia, son of (brief) former Brewers star CC Sabathia. Carsten began his career at Georgia Tech, where he had just twenty plate appearances over two seasons before transferring to Houston. There, he still saw inconsistent playing time but took a step forward from his junior (.235/.333/.370, 2 HR) to his senior (.283/.374/.511, 6 HR) seasons. Like his father, he is a big presence in the box at 6'4", 245 pounds and brings the exit velocities to match. He can really rip the barrel through the zone with a whippy, powerful right handed swing that gets the ball in the air and produces plus raw power. He doesn't get to it consistently in games because his timing can be inconsistent and his bat to ball is fringy, leading to a lot of weak contact as well and a 24.3% strikeout rate in 2026. Sabathia will need considerable mechanical cleanup in pro ball to truly unlock that prodigious raw power, while his defense is also limited as a below average runner and a first baseman-only. He'll turn 23 in September.

2026 MLB Draft Review: New York Mets

Full list of draftees

The Mets' draft was one of the more surprising of the event. They started off by taking projected third rounder Carson Wiggins in the first round, then grabbed projected first rounder Aiden Robbins in the third round. It's not uncommon for players to slip around the draft as teams play bonus pool games, but that was not the case here as both signed for close to slot value. As it turned out, the Mets played most of the draft pretty true to slot value, always more or less staying pretty close. It was a very pitching-heavy class that saw just six position players drafted out of nineteen picks, including just one of their first seven. Wiggins and Robbins are the crown jewels but many pitchers in this class possess sleeper traits that could make an impact on future pitching staffs in Queens.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-27: RHP Carson Wiggins, Arkansas
Slot value: $3.47 million. Signing bonus: $3.46 million ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #82. MLB Pipeline: #88. ESPN: #90.
In one of the biggest surprises of a first round that was full of surprises, the Mets selected Carson Wiggins far earlier than most expected. Failing to crack the top 75 at any major publication, the Mets are betting on his tremendous arm talent to justify an early jump. Carson Wiggins pitched at Roland High School in eastern Oklahoma alongside his brother Jaxon, now one of the top prospects in the Cubs organization, where he was a nationally-known draft prospect and turned down large offers to attend Arkansas. He flashed his massive upside as a freshman in 2025, touching as high as 102 with his fastball and striking out over a third of his opponents, but went down with Tommy John surgery after just 14 innings and missed the rest of the season. Controversy surrounded his 2026 season as he remained sidelined, where conflicting reports about his health and availability frustrated the Arkansas coaching staff, especially after he appeared fully healthy at the MLB Draft Combine shortly after the Razorbacks were eliminated in the Lawrence Regional. Wiggins' stuff revolves around his arm talent. His fastball sits in the upper 90's in short stints, blowing by even advanced hitters. He also rips off a plus slider that could become a real big league wipeout pitch with more refinement, while his splitter has flashed upside as well to give him a potentially lethal three pitch mix. The 6'5" righty doesn't throw with a ton of effort, making his triple digit velocity even more impressive, but he has always struggled immensely with command. Wiggins has very little pitchability at this point and mostly relies on power and movement to overwhelm hitters, but in many cases pitchability can be taught. The potential for two 70 grade pitches cannot be taught. New York will look to get him more consistent with his secondary pitches and learn to work to different parts of the zone, giving him a little bit longer of a development curve than most SEC arms. The upside, however, is tremendous if he can get anywhere close to average command.

3-92: OF Aiden Robbins, Texas
Slot value: $859,900. Signing bonus: $997,500 ($137,600 above slot value).
My rank: #29. MLB Pipeline: #29. ESPN: #74.
Aiden Robbins was projected to go in the late first round or in the comp round, with some projecting him as high as #20 to the Red Sox, so getting him here in the third round is a coup for the Mets. He began his career at Seton Hall, where he hit .438 as a sophomore and earned the opportunity to transfer to Texas. After homering ten times over two years in South Orange, his power exploded in Austin and he blasted 24 while slashing .333/.426/.696 against a much tougher schedule. He is a barrel magnet that consistently finds the fat part of the bat, consistently tapping his above average raw power in games. It's a balanced load and an explosive operation in the plate that gets the barrel long through the zone and elevates consistently. He has a very patient approach and has performed everywhere he has gone, including hitting .339/.423/.697 in SEC play against many of the country's best arms this past spring and hitting .323/.390/.543 over 33 combined games in the elite Cape Cod League the previous two summers. Robbins' main weakness at the plate is in-zone swing and miss, running higher rates than many teams would like and leading to an elevated 28.4% strikeout rate on the Cape. Still, he is adept at making adjustments and has performed everywhere he's been, and even struck out at a lower clip in SEC play (20.8%) than he did against a softer schedule outside of it (24.7%). The Mets clearly are believers in the hit tool and think the Philadelphia-area product can become a 20+ home run, decent on-base bat that could fit as a #5 hitter-type in the lineup. An above average runner, he has enough arm strength to profile in right field or could fit as an above average left fielder. Either way, most of his value will be tied up in his right handed bat, so the Mets will look for him to hit and hit for impact.

4-120: LHP Shane Sdao, Texas A&M
Slot value: $645,100. Signing bonus: $642,600 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #115. MLB Pipeline: #95. ESPN: #159.
Shane Sdao is not the most straightforward draft case, but neither was Carson Wiggins and like Wiggins, there is a lot of talent here. Sdao stood out as a freshman reliever on the 2023 Texas A&M team, then took a step forward for an excellent turn as a sophomore swingman in 2024 (2.96 ERA, 55/9 K/BB in 48.2 IP). Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2025 season before it even began, and after ranking #101 on my 2025 big board he elected to return to campus as the top-ranked unsigned college player in the class. As it turned out, 2026 did not go his way as he struggled to a 7.03 ERA including an ugly 9.30 mark in conference play, but his talent kept teams coming back even as he got shelled. Before the injury, he sat in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and touched 97 in short stints, adding a plus wipeout slider and a solid changeup all while pounding the strike zone with plus command. Previously throwing from a low three quarters slot, his release point rose a bit in 2026 coming off the injury and his stuff took a step back. The fastball was more ordinary in the low 90's, while his slider lacked the deep finish and looked more like an above average breaker than a plus one. His walk rate also climbed from 4.6% as a sophomore to 5.9% as a redshirt junior, still a very good number but not quite plus at this point. The Mets believe they are drafting the 2024 Shane Sdao with the wipeout two pitch mix and plus command, and they will work with him to reorient his delivery and get back to the dominant arm he was. Though he'll turn 23 in September, the Houston-area native has a chance to become a #4 starter at peak, or could top out as a mid-leverage reliever if the 2026 Shane Sdao is the real Shane Sdao from here on out.

5-152: RHP Luke McNeillie, Florida
Slot value: $472,500. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($25,000 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #185. ESPN: #113.
Luke McNeillie has a chance to be a sneaky pick for the Mets in the fifth round. A high-end pitching prospect coming out of high school in the Atlanta area in 2023, he spurned large pro offers to reach campus at Florida and has been a fixture for the Gators for three seasons, making 72 appearances. Known for a premium combination of stuff and polish in high school, the former has taken a step forward in college while the latter has stagnated a little bit as he has been unable to break through a crowded Florida rotation picture to earn regular starts. Pitching mostly in shorter stints in relief, his fastball has sat mid to upper 90's and reached 99 at peak with life to miss bats. His tight upper 80's slider stands out both for power and movement, looking like a plus pitch at best that can dive under barrels late. His changeup is a fringier pitch that he uses mostly for left handed batters, rounding out his arsenal. The 6'3" righty has ran walk rates above 10% in all three of his collegiate seasons, leading to his falling behind in many counts and getting hit when he comes back over the plate. The Mets believe there is more to unlock from McNeillie's ideal pitcher's frame and quick right arm, with a bit better body control potentially leading him closer to average command. New York also intends to develop him as a starter, where he'll need to tighten the command further, and he has the upside as a mid-rotation arm if he can do that while bringing along the changeup. If not, he's a fastball/slider relief type who could figure prominently into future Mets bullpen plans.

7-210: RHP Aidan Keenan, Stanford
Slot value: $287,800. Signing bonus: $347,500 ($59,700 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Aiden Keenan, like Luke McNeillie, was a prominent name in the 2023 high school class and earned top five round consideration from teams, though he ultimately withdrew from the draft to attend Stanford. Three years later, he hasn't found much success in Palo Alto with a career 5.79 ERA over just 65.1 innings, working as a full time relieve in 2025 before moving to the rotation in a 2026 season that was ultimately interrupted by an oblique injury. He looked strong in an MLB Draft Combine appearance in June and threw five solid innings in the Cape Cod League leading up to the draft, leading the Mets to take a shot on his considerable arm talent. It's a loud fastball in the mid 90's, averaging the third highest velocity of any pitcher at the combine (97.4 MPH) in addition to the highest spin rate (2587 RPM) and the fifth most IVB (19 inches). With its combination of power and ride, it has a chance to be a plus pitch even if it didn't get great results in college. His slider is another potential wipeout offering in the mid 80's with power and tilt, looking like a potential plus pitch in pro ball, while he also works in a cutter and changeup more infrequently. Keenan has consistently pitched to poor results due to a high effort delivery that has given him below average command, running a poor 14.9% walk rate throughout his college career including an even poorer 19.4% mark in 2026. His style of pitching likely fits better in the bullpen, where he can focus on his fastball/slider combination in short stints and take pressure off his command. Even if he makes significant strides in regards to his pitchability, he still will likely never have average command. This is a loud two pitch mix that could move quickly up the minor league rungs and serve towards the back of the Mets bullpen if he can get to fringy command.

11-330: OF Kuhio Aloy, Arkansas
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $217,500 ($67,500 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The younger brother of Orioles prospect and fellow Razorback Wehiwa Aloy, Kuhio began his career at BYU but transferred to Arkansas after one year. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore and hit .317/.404/.539 to earn First Team All-SEC honors and position himself as a solid draft prospect for the 2026 season. Though he regressed a bit as a junior, he still provides a high-upside bat for the Mets. He has plus raw power that has helped him hit thirty home runs over his three years in college, but he could tap more of it in pro ball with some improvements to his approach that saw him run a 24.1% strikeout rate to just a 7.5% walk rate in 2026. The Hawaiian's aggressive tendencies consistently leave him behind the count and susceptible to chasing offspeed stuff, also creating poorer contact quality when he does connect. He showed what he was capable of with a wood bat against strong competition on the Cape last summer (.333/.463/.500, 23.9% K to 17.9% BB) when he saw more pitches and accepted more called strikes, and the Mets are likely buying that performance as evidence his prodigious power will play against pro pitching. Aloy split time between right field and DH, with fringy defensive tools that will limit his value in the field. He'll need to hit like the Kuhio Aloy of 2025, both in the SEC and on the Cape, but the Mets are high on his chances to do so. He's also young for the class and only turned 21 shortly after the draft.

14-420: LHP Zach Crotchfelt, Troy
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Zach Crotchfelt has long been a prominent prospect, and after a long winding road, he may be trending towards what he always had the talent to become. A local pick for the Mets, Crotchfelt grew up in Jackson, New Jersey, about fifty miles southwest of Citi Field, where he was a nationally known prospect at powerhouse Jackson Memorial High School intent on fulfilling his commitment to Auburn. He earned significant innings as a freshman swingman for the Tigers in 2023, but saw less action as a sophomore in 2024 and transferred to Texas Tech prior to the 2025 season. Things did not go well for him in Lubbock, where he struggled to a 9.17 ERA over thirteen appearances and fell off the national prospect radar. Transferring a second time to Troy, he had his best season yet where he finally looked like the premium prospect he had been back in high school, pitching the Trojans to a cinderella College World Series appearance. Crotchfelt sits in the low to mid 90's and touches 97 with his fastball, playing up further with carry and crossfire action. He leans on it heavily, but hitters still have trouble squaring it up. The 6'3" lefty drops in a deep, two-plane curveball and a solid fading changeup to round out his arsenal, with both projecting to be roughly average pitches. His command has improved from below average to fringy, helping him project better against more disciplined pro bats as he can guide his fastball just a bit better to play in its strong zones. He is big and durable enough to project as a starter if he can take a step forward with his secondaries and perhaps another half step forward with his command, though he likely projects as a reliever that pitches primarily off his dominant fastball and sits more consistently in the mid 90's. A senior sign, he'll turn 23 in October.

16-480: RHP Gavin Guidry, Louisiana State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Gavin Guidry, like Zach Crotchfelt, was a top prospect out of the 2022 high school pitching ranks who wound up spending four years in college. Unlike Crotchfelt, a Jersey native who bounced from Alabama to Texas back to the Yellowhammer State, Guidry is a Louisiana native who stayed home at one school in the Pelican State for four years. Initially recruited as a two-way player, he immediately grabbed a prominent role in the LSU bullpen as a freshman where he ran a 3.77 ERA and struck out a third of his opponents. He dropped his ERA to 2.59 as a sophomore and pushed his strikeout rate to 34%, but his walk rate jumped to 17% and he went undrafted. After missing 2025 with a back injury, he was less effective in 2026 with a 6.39 ERA and a 30% strikeout rate over a career-high 43.2 innings. Guidry is a very good athlete and a strong mover on the mound, helping him reach back for low to mid 90's velocity touching 96 in short stints with ride to push past bats. He has a solid 12-6 curveball that creates a lot of empty swings over the top, as well as a tighter cutter to give him something a little more lateral. The Lake Charles native has long been a fan favorite in Baton Rouge with a penchant for coming through in clutch situations, with his bat-missing stuff profiling best in the bullpen going forward just as it did with LSU. While a career 11.7% walk rate is reason for concern, he is athletic enough that the Mets should be able to help tighten the command enough to work in pro ball, where he could be come a solid reliever in the near future. Guidry is very old for the class and hit pro ball already having turned 23.

2026 MLB Draft Review: New York Yankees

Full list of draftees

The Yankees spent $5 million on back to back left handed pitchers to begin their draft, betting on Hunter Dietz' loud stuff and Sean Duncan's immense pitchability to push them into the middle of a future Bronx rotation. From there, New York pivoted to bats, especially those with strong data who can pack a punch in the lineup. The draft is littered with sleeper types who can outhit their draft positions, something they've become accustomed to lately, which will nicely complement the (hopefully) two rotation locks at the top. The million dollar over-slot bonus to Duncan will make or break this class, but if it hits I think they did a really nice job here.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-35: LHP Hunter Dietz, Arkansas
Slot value: $2.83 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($326,700 below slot value).
My rank: #28. MLB Pipeline: #17. ESPN: #15.
Two years after starting off their 2024 draft with seven straight college arms, the Yankees returned to that demographic in 2026 with one of the best in the country. Hunter Dietz had interest throughout the middle to back of the first round, so getting him here at #35 (and at a discount, to boot) is a huge win. Even if I had him ranked slightly lower than other major publications, I'm a fan of this pick and this discount. Hunter Dietz was a notable draft prospect out of Calvary Christian HS in the Tampa area in 2023, where he shared the best high school rotation in the country with fellow national draft prospects Landen Maroudis and Liam Peterson. Maroudis signed above slot in the fourth round with the Blue Jays that year, while Peterson matriculated to Florida and became a Guardians first rounder in 2026. Dietz, meanwhile, found himself at Arkansas where he immediately injured his elbow then struggled to work his way back into a crowded Razorbacks pitching staff. After totaling just 1.2 innings over his first two seasons then walking 12 of the 64 hitters he faced (18.8%) in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2025, he showed up to fall practice ahead of his junior season a changed pitcher. Suddenly, his fastball was hitting 99, his secondaries seemed to make a jump, and everything was under control. Scouts were intrigued by the progress, then thrilled that he maintained it in the spring where his 131 strikeouts finished seventh in Division I. The 6'6" lefty pitches off a mid 90's fastball with riding action, but he's far from just a power pitcher. He can really rip through a breaking ball, working the full spectrum from hard cutter to tight slider to downer curveball, all of which flash plus at their best. They can pop out of his hand a bit at times and miss up, but when he grips them right, the late finish on the breaking balls misses bats in bunches. The changeup, like the curveball, is a newer addition to his arsenal, but it hasn't made the jump quite yet and will be a project for the Yankees to bring along. Dietz has a pretty clean delivery with an overhand slot creating a high release point, and while he has struggled with command throughout his amateur career, the strike throwing seemed to take a step forward this year as he dropped his walk rate to a respectable 8.6% to go along with an elite 36.2% strikeout rate. The command is probably closer to fringy than average at this point and the Yankees will need to work with him on effectively working in and out and locating all five pitches. If he can continue tighten things up a little further just as he did this past year, a 6'6" lefty with a power fastball, three plus secondaries, and average command seems like the kind that could sit as a strong #2 starter in any rotation.

2-63: LHP Sean Duncan, Terry Fox SS [BC]
Slot value: $1.45 million. Signing bonus: $2.5 million ($1.05 million above slot value).
My rank: #67. MLB Pipeline: #66. ESPN: #54.
Sean Duncan always seemed to draw more early-draft attention from MLB teams than from major publications (he also ranked #67 at Baseball America), so his massive over slot signing bonus at #63 is not a surprise. He'll make the same $2.5 million the Yankees gave first rounder Hunter Dietz, roughly the value of the #40 pick, but it will take a minute to see the investment come to fruition. He injured his elbow late in his senior season and underwent Tommy John surgery in June, meaning Yankees fans will not see him on a minor league mound until late 2027 at the soonest, if not 2028. Teams were so impressed with his performances over the previous calendar year, however, that the injury did nothing to dampen interest. Duncan is more of a pitchability arm than a stuff monster, advanced beyond his years on the mound like one who could pitch in the mid minors today. The fastball has always been a bit light, but took a step forward recently and now sits in the low 90's touching 95 at peak. He adds a big, deep slider which he has started to tighten up into more of a big league out pitch, improving to average for now but looking like a potential above average pitch as he refines it further. The Vancouver-area native makes his money off an excellent changeup, showing great fade away from hitters combined with the conviction to throw it where he wants it, a rare trait for a prep arm. He also moves well on the mound with a loose, easy delivery that helps him fill up the strike zone consistently, showing above average command now that could be come plus in time. The 6'3" lefty has plenty of projection remaining and the Yankees likely see further velocity gains to come, both on his fastball and his breaking ball, with the changeup and command to work deep into games as he gets stronger. The surgery likely wipes out any plans of moving quickly through the system, but once healthy he has the pitching aptitude to compete with older players and eventually become a mid-rotation starter. The former Vanderbilt commit is young for the class and should be back on the mound before he turns 20.

3-99: C Brendan Brock, Oklahoma
Slot value: $792,300. Signing bonus: $789,800 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #112. ESPN: #108.
Brendan Brock will be a really interesting project for the Yankees with more upside than the typical third round college catcher. He stayed close to home for his first couple years of college at Southwestern Illinois JC, where after barely playing as a freshman he demolished Midwest JuCo pitching and set the school's all time home run record over the next two seasons. Transferring to Oklahoma for his redshirt junior season, he immediately took to Division I pitching, where he played a central roll in the Sooners' run to the National Championship by hitting .457/.576/.674 over thirteen tournament games. Brock has a highly unusual profile for a catcher. First and foremost, he is a plus-plus runner who stole 28 bases with an 88% success rate in 2026, combining great instincts with blazing speed. That speed also plays in the outfield, where he could be a plus defender who can close ground like nobody's business, providing a great fallback option if catching doesn't work out. For now, he has looked solid behind the plate and has plenty of arm strength to profile back there, so he has multiple positive options on that side of the ball. At the plate, Brock uses a short, direct right handed swing with a quick follow through to drive balls to the pull side. His above average raw power helps him get ahold of baseballs and pull them over the left field wall and should continue to play with wood. He's a patient hitter that forces pitchers into the zone, but especially against higher level competition pitchers have found success missing his bat over the plate. He has been susceptible to offspeed stuff and pitchers will continue to pound him with it in pro ball, so the Yankees will work hard to tune his eye to improve pitch recognition and bat to ball. If he can improve a little bit in that regard, his power and patience will make him a solid hitter while his speed and arm strength will make him a valuable defender no matter where he ends up in the field.

4-127: OF Paul Gutierrez-Contreras, Cal State Fullerton
Slot value: $603,500. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($106,000 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Mid-major West Coast bats can fly under the radar a bit sometimes and the Yankees think they found strong value with Paul Contreras, one of the best hitters in the Big West this past season. He began his career close to home at Modesto JC in California's Central Valley, then transferred to Cal State Fullerton after one year. He was okay as a sophomore in 2025, then took a big step forward in 2026 to hit .346/.441/.633 with 14 home runs and more walks (33) than strikeouts (31) in 52 games. Built strong at 6'3", 205 pounds, he has become a much more complete hitter with an approach that has improved from aggressive to middle of the road and bat to ball that has improved from solid to above average. The power has always been there and he's now tapping it more, giving him a shot to be an all-around bat that could project for 15-20 home runs and decent on-base percentages at peak. Contreras keeps things simple at the plate with a slightly crouched stance and a strong core to muscle balls out with an accurate barrel. He has never been much of a base stealer but he has looked very good in right field for the Titans, making center field a real possibility in pro ball and significantly boosting his profile should he vie for a starting role in a future New York outfield picture. Should he reach his middle projection as a fourth outfielder, his ability to play all three positions should help him stick around a long time. Contreras' youth (still 20 on draft day, more than a year younger than Brendan Brock) aids his projected development all around.

5-160: C Bear Harrison, Texas A&M
Slot value: $437,200. Signing bonus: $434,700 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: #164.

The younger brother of Brewers lefty Kyle Harrison, Connor "Bear" Harrison (like the two names above him in this Yankees class) began his career close to home at Saint Mary's in California, but quickly transferred to Texas A&M for his sophomore season. He has become a reliable source of power for the Aggies and sent 27 of his 46 hits for extra bases in 2026, a product of the tremendous strength in his 6'3", 230 pound frame. Harrison's hands can be a bit slow to get going in his right handed swing and his bat is more sturdy than whippy through the zone, leading to some questions as to how he will be able to get to his power with wood, though he did hit a respectable .277/.351/.434 with a reasonable 17.5% strikeout rate in 26 games in the Cape Cod League last summer. The Bay Area native takes good at bats and offsets some of those pure bat to ball questions with good swing decisions, and as a catcher the offensive bar is not as high. Behind the plate, he has shown good aptitude to become an average or better defender, with New York mostly looking to iron out a few rough edges with his glovework and throwing. While Harrison may lack a standout tool, he has quite a few solid ones that could lead to his becoming a backup catcher with some thump and solid defense, with the chance for a bit more if his power continues to come along.

6-189: 3B Andrew Gonzalez, Americas HS [TX]
Slot value: $341,800. Signing bonus: $375,000 ($33,200 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: #236.

Getting a prep bat near slot value in the sixth round is a nice find, and the Yankees will sway Andrew Gonzalez away from a Texas Tech commitment for a reasonable $375K. He's a big lefty power bat that has filled out his 6'1" frame nicely, helping him turn on baseballs and muscle them out to all fields with minimal effort. He has long performed well against El Paso high school competition, though he will face a considerable step up in pro ball and may spend some extra time in complex ball. Drafted as a third baseman, he has been up to 91 on the mound with mechanics that could easily be cleaned up to add another few ticks of velocity so the arm strength is certainly there. He'll need to work hard on his footwork to stick at the hot corner and could wind up at first base or an outfield corner, tying up most of his value in his bat. Gonzalez had previously been committed to New Mexico State but switched to Texas Tech late in the process.

8-248: RHP/DH Luke Pettitte, Dallas Baptist
Slot value: $223,100. Signing bonus: $172,500 ($50,600 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Yes, it is that Pettitte. The son of longtime Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, Luke grew up in his father's hometown of Houston and stayed in-state to attend Dallas Baptist. He impressed with a 3.19 ERA and a 56/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 48 combined innings as a freshman and a sophomore, then opened more eyes on the Cape with a 5.55 ERA but a much more impressed 33/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 24.1 innings. Tommy John surgery seemingly wiped out his 2026 season, so he took over as DH instead and slashed .337/.403/.693 with 16 home runs in 42 games. The Yankees saw the arm, saw the bat, and said "why not both?" On the mound, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and reaches the mid 90's in relief, adding a hard slider that he has good feel for and a solid changeup. While the stuff is more average, he takes after his father with plus command that should help him effectively dice up low minors competition once healthy, though he'll need to add a few extra ticks across the board to find success as a starter in the upper minors and the big leagues. He has had success as a reliever and could see his stuff tick up in that role as well. At the plate, he has a big righty swing geared towards pulling balls in the air, showing off above average exit velocities that could climb to plus power if he focuses more on hitting. He makes good contact, but he chases more often than you'd like to see and walked just 8.7% of the time this past season. That should improve as he gets more reps in the box, with the chance to be an average hitter with plus power at peak. It's unknown where he'd fit in the field, as he has mostly pitched to this point and couldn't play the field in 2026 recovering from surgery. He is not the fleetest of foot and may fit at first base if he goes the bat route. It remains to be seen which direction New York develops him but he has intriguing upside both ways.

10-308: SS Bayram Hot, Louisville
Slot value: $193,000. Signing bonus: $7,500 ($185,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The Yankees went local to close out the front half of the draft. Bayram Hot grew up in Queens' Sunnyside neighborhood just six miles south of Yankee Stadium and attended Archbishop Molloy High School in nearby Briarwood, then began his college career at Marist. He hit .382 as a freshman then posted more pedestrian numbers as a sophomore in 2024, but still earned an opportunity to transfer to Louisville. There he hit .326 and .330 as a junior and as a senior, respectively, knocking a career high nine home runs in 2026 to boot. Hot has a whippy right handed swing that shoots the ball around the field with tremendous consistency, enabling him to perform just as well against better weekend pitching in conference play (.330/.460/.536) as he did outside of it. A relatively patient hitter, his pure bat to ball is closer to average and led to higher strikeout rates, but again, he managed to keep roughly the same strikeout rate in conference play versus outside of it so he has never been afraid of quality pitching. Hot has below average power but began to elevate the ball better in 2026, lending hope he can tap enough in pro ball to keep pitchers honest. Drafted as a shortstop, he spent the 2026 season at third base in deference to Alex Alicea and it remains to be seen where he ends up on the infield. Hot has a strong 6'2" frame and has a chance to sneak up through the Yankees' minor league rungs with his high baseball IQ and knack for line drives.

18-548: OF Blake Cyr, Florida
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Blake Cyr is as well-known to Florida scouts as anybody at this point. A talented prep coming out of his Orlando-area high school, he started his career at Miami and lit the world on fire hitting .305/.427/.620 with 17 home runs as a true freshman in 2023, garnering consensus Freshman All-American honors. He missed time with injury in 2024, then transferred to Florida for his junior season in 2025. After posting more pedestrian numbers and going undrafted that year, he returned in 2026 and bounced back to nearly match his freshman performance with 14 home runs and a .316/.398/.591 line. Cyr has a violent right handed swing that produces above average power that has tormented hitters when he's been hot. He's an aggressive hitter who rarely walks, but his solid bat to ball also helps keep the strikeouts down. He's a streaky hitter who has typically performed better against softer non-conference competition, but he has the power and bat to ball combination to make for great building blocks. Cyr was originally recruited as a shortstop and has seen time at second base in college, which would boost his defensive profile if he can make it work in pro ball. Cyr probably projects as a fringy corner outfielder, a tough profile as a right handed hitter, but a bat-first second second baseman has a few more paths to playing time and he could be a sleeper to work his way up to become a potent bench bat.

2026 MLB Draft Review: Philadelphia Phillies

Full list of draftees

With their first pick pushed back ten spots due to competitive balance overages, Philadelphia had less draft capital to work with than most teams. They still landed one of the best right-now high school players in the entire country in Tyler Spangler, an advanced bat and glove beyond his years. After following him up with outfielder Caden Bogenpohl, with arguably the loudest raw power in the entire draft class, they pivoted to focusing on pitching and found quite a few interesting arms. Fastballs were the focus, with many unique heaters with outlier traits dotted the class including Deven Sheerin's triple digits, Bo Rhudy's unbelievable spin rates, Wyatt Danilowicz's sneaky life, Drew Titsworth's low launch, and Justin Lee's perfect spin efficiency.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. For example, "2-50" would indicate that a player was taken in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-36: SS Tyler Spangler, De La Salle HS [CA]
Slot value: $2.76 million. Signing bonus: $3.25 million ($491,200 above slot value).
My rank: #38. MLB Pipeline: #36. ESPN: #34.
Despite moving back ten slots for their first pick, the Phillies brought in one of the best all-around players in the high school class. Had he been healthy this spring, Tyler Spangler likely would have gone 10+ picks higher. Earlier in his prep career and on the showcase circuit last summer, Spangler showed off one of the most well-rounded profiles in the class with a combination of hitting ability, thump, size, and steady defense rarely seen from teenagers. Unfortunately, he missed his entire senior season at De La Salle High School in Northern California with a back injury, but made a healthy return at the MLB Draft Combine in June. Listed at 6'3", he's not a big bopper at the plate but rather a more balanced hitter. He has consistently handled high-end pitching with ease while showing off enough present power to profile for perhaps 15-20 home runs annually in the bigs, perhaps a tick more if the Phillies can get him a little more explosive at the plate. For now, Spangler is a line drive hitter who confidently uses the entire field with a simple left handed swing with few holes. The profile is similar in the field, where he plays a sound shortstop with smooth actions and an above average arm, his baseball IQ helping his tools play up further there. He may be pushed to second or third base by a more explosive defender at the six, but if he is, he'll be at least above average at either if not potentially plus if he fully puts the back issues behind him. Previously committed to Stanford, Spangler will almost certainly sign here but could command $3 million-plus.

2-64: OF Caden Bogenpohl, Missouri State
Slot value: $1.42 million. Signing bonus: $1.42 million
My rank: #92. MLB Pipeline: #93. ESPN: #121.
This is one of the most interesting profiles in the draft. Caden Bogenpohl is a hulking 6'6", 245 pound slugger from the small town of Jackson in southeastern Missouri, having spent the past three years as an everyday player at Missouri State. Expectations were high after he hit 33 home runs in his first two seasons in Springfield, but he dropped to just six in 2026 despite mostly facing mid-major competition. Still, the big lefty's power intrigued evaluators and he showed up to the MLB Draft Combine with high expectations. Suffice to say, Bogenpohl did not disappoint – his jaw dropping 115.1 MPH 90th percentile exit velocity was the best mark of the entire field, drawing literal gasps from the scouting crowd as he send baseball after baseball into oblivion. You can teach guys to add power, you can help them get stronger and go from hitting baseballs hard to crushing them, but you cannot teach a hitter to *delete* a baseball. Bogenpohl has the raw power to do just that. He's a patient hitter at the plate as well and ran walk rates above 19% in each of his three seasons at Missouri State, good for a .441 career on-base percentage, but the problem comes with pure feel for the barrel. While he keeps his swing and miss relatively reasonable, he doesn't always square the ball up and can be susceptible to hitting it on the ground too much. Scouts worry that quality pro stuff in the zone will make for a steeper transition. Still, his combination of approach and elite raw power means he won't help pitchers get him out and when he does square it up, it is going to be loud. His size points to more of a first base profile, but the big Missourian actually runs pretty well and played a respectable center field for the Bears. He probably moves to a corner outfield spot in pro ball, but he'll hold his own there for sure. Philadelphia hopes to improve the barrel accuracy just enough to get him to tap potential 30+ home run power consistently in games at Citizens Bank.

3-100: RHP Ruger Riojas, Texas
Slot value: $784,400. Signing bonus: $622,500 ($161,900 below slot value).
My rank: #106. MLB Pipeline: #92. ESPN: #103.
Ruger Riojas gives the Phillies one of the top senior signs in the class. Originally a UTSA Roadrunner, Riojas pitched two years in San Antonio before transferring to Texas for his junior year in 2025. A nasty battle with the flu sapped his stuff and his weight for much of the season, leading him to go undrafted and return for his senior year in Austin. 2026 proved to be a much different story as he sliced through non-conference play with ease (1.64 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 42/3 K/BB in 22 IP) then held his own against a difficult SEC schedule. Riojas' stock probably peaked around mid-season, when he was projected as a second round pick, then corrected just a little towards the end and he makes for a very interesting third rounder. He brings a ton of energy on the mound, starting with one of the game's better flow/stache combos and extending into his approach to pitching. Loose and athletic on the mound, he has an uptempo delivery in which he varies his timing to throw off opposing hitters and remains extremely balanced throughout, pairing well with the confidence he shows. The fastball velocity was up this year, sitting in the mid 90's and reaching as high as 99 on occasion with some hop. While his two-plane slider and truer curveball are more average in movement, he shows great feel to spot them and makes them play up with his conviction. The slider plays better when he tightens it up into a cutter, while his changeup gives him a legitimate weapon to finish off hitters. With a full arsenal and above average command across it all, Riojas pitches deeper into games than his slight 6' frame might indicate. That plus his moxie on the mound makes him a pretty safe bet starting pitcher and one who could move quickly through the minors. Having turned 23 a day after he was drafted, he was the oldest player selected in the first three rounds and is just as advanced as any. He should become a back-end starting pitcher for the Phillies in short order and gives them a nice little discount as well.

4-128: RHP Deven Sheerin, Louisiana State
Slot value: $597,400. Signing bonus: $597,500 ($100 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #145. ESPN: #163.
The Phillies, perhaps more so than other teams, like to dabble in their own backyard and bring Mid-Atlantic kids home. Deven Sheerin is just that, and he has a dang good arm to boot. A Reading native, he graduated from Exeter Township High School just east of the city and less than fifty miles northeast of Citizens Bank Park. Beginning his career at Mount St. Mary's in Maryland, he caught the eyes of the LSU coaching staff and transferred down to Baton Rouge. A torn ACL kept him out of action his sophomore year, but in 2026 he roared back with one of the loudest fastballs in the SEC. It's far and away his best pitch and probably the best single pitch in the Phillies' entire draft class. Sitting in the mid to upper 90's and touching triple digits at peak, he tore apart really good SEC hitters almost on the fastball alone. It's a riding heater with a flatter approach that puts up elite numbers, and he leaned on it heavily in 2026. Sheerin also throws a hard slider in the mid 80's that plays well off his heater, especially when he can locate it, and the Phillies will likely focus there to take a step forward. He also occasionally flips in a curveball that may have some potential if he can gain a little more feel. The big 6'5" righty throws with some effort and can get scattered, and in two college seasons he's made just two starts. Part of that is probably due to LSU's depth on the mound, but in pro ball it's not going to get any easier to crack the rotation. If the Phillies focus in on his secondaries and bring one forward into plus territory, he has late inning potential with his devastating fastball. Better yet, he's young for a college junior and was still 20 on draft day.

4C-135: RHP Jaxon Jelkin, Kentucky
Slot value: $558,400. Signing bonus: $547,500 ($10,900 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #166. ESPN: unranked.
Jaxon Jelkin has been around for a long time. A talented pitcher out of the Omaha high school ranks in 2021, he started his career at Nebraska but was dismissed from the team after one year. He transferred to South Mountain JC in Arizona, where he was a Dodgers fourteenth round pick in 2023, then transferred to Houston in 2024 and pushed his draft stock to its peak before spring Tommy John surgery. Makeup and medical concerns let him slip to the ninth round, where he did not sign with the Mets, then he transferred to Kentucky and missed the 2025 season recovering. Fully healthy and in his fifth year of school in 2026, he put together a very strong season in the SEC and looked as effective as ever. Jelkin's fastball sits in the mid 90's and at points in his college career has tickled triple digits, missing barrels with heavy run and sink. He spins a pair of strong breaking balls in an above average curveball and a tight slider that he has tightened further into a cutter over time, both of which miss plenty of bats. His changeup has stepped forward as well, giving him one of the better four pitch mixes available especially here outside the top couple of rounds. Over time, Jelkin has tightened up his command and ran just a 5.2% walk rate in 2026, pushing plus territory in that regard, though his low walk rate is more an indication of him pounding the zone than really being able to spot his pitches. He probably settles in with average to above average command in pro ball. Listed at 6'5", he's built like you'd hope for a starting pitcher, while his deep arsenal and strike throwing ability all point in the same direction. At the same time, his checkered injury and off-field history as well as his advanced age (he'll be 24 this offseason) create a lot of variance in the profile. It would be a mid-rotation projection if the rest of his profile was more straightforward and certainly wouldn't be available here after the fourth round.

5-161: OF Will Gasparino, UCLA
Slot value: $433,200. Signing bonus: $430,700 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: #79. MLB Pipeline: #72. ESPN: #94.
Will Gasparino is the most tooled up player in this Phillies draft class and has a chance to outplay his draft position. A well-known draft prospect out of the famed Harvard-Westlake High School in the Hollywood Hills, he held firm on his commitment to Texas and hit 25 home runs over two seasons in Austin but also struck out in 29.2% of his plate appearances. Transferring back home to UCLA, he changed his approach by standing taller in the box, simplifying his right handed swing, and learning to hit it 400 feet instead of trying to blast it 450 every time. The results were immediate as he knocked eleven home runs in his first thirteen games against the Bruins' tough non-conference schedule, though the power cooled down in conference play. Gasparino is a lanky, athletic, 6'6" outfielder built like a wide receiver that produces a ton of power at the plate, projecting for plus at times if he can keep his approach in check. He's a very aggressive hitter who chases nearly a third of the time, often playing himself out of counts and creating weaker contact than he's capable of. It was better in 2026, especially with a career-low 21% strikeout rate, but remains an area which will need further improvement in pro ball. More than just a power hitter, he also runs very well for someone so tall and may have the defensive chops to stick in center field long term. With an above average arm, he could be a plus right fielder if he ends up there. The LA native has massive upside if he can get the approach under control, with the potential to become an annual 20-20 threat.

11-339: Drew Titsworth, Clemson
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($100,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Philadelphia's largest bonus of the back half of the draft went to Drew Titsworth, who was a talented high school prospect before spending three years as an important arm on some strong Clemson staffs. While he never broke out into the ace Clemson was looking for, he did finish his career 13-4 with a 4.34 ERA and 119/44 strikeout to walk ratio over 110 innings split between starting and relief. He works from a sidearm slot but still shows strong velocity, sitting in the low to mid 90's and touching 97 with run and ride from a flat approach angle. The velocity alone from that slot makes him a standout arm, and while the rest of his game can be a little shaky, he has the building blocks to become a strong piece. He can add and subtract from his slider, running it into the upper 80's with a cutterish look or taking some off for a deeper shape. Either way, it's probably an average pitch at best for now, so the Phillies will look to sharpen that up. He also shows a fringy changeup that he has used but sits at the back of his arsenal. The 6'3" righty is built like a workhorse starting pitcher and doesn't throw with too much effort, helping him show average command that will lend itself to starting if his secondaries can find a little more consistency. If not, he has the fastball to profile well in a big league bullpen and work the secondaries off of it.

12-369: RHP Christian Coppola, Saint Joseph's
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
The Phillies dipped into their backyard again with Christian Coppola, a big righty from the Jersey Shore. Coppola grew up in Galloway, just across the bay from Atlantic City, and he attended Cedar Creek High School in nearby Egg Harbor City. Beginning his career at Rutgers, he made a big name for himself with a strong freshman season in 2023 but couldn't quite match that success in 2024. He transferred to Arizona for the 2025 season, but made it into just three games. Transferring a second time to Saint Joseph's for 2026, he found success as a reliever and put up a sharp 1.69 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and an incredible 44.8% strikeout rate. Coppola mainly pitches off a sharp, late breaking, two-plane slider that misses a ton of bats. He also mixes in a distinct curveball with depth, missing plenty of bats on its own. He also runs his fastball into the upper 90's, sitting in the low to mid 90's with great extension from his big frame. He doesn't throw much of a changeup and his command is average, so he's probably a reliever long term, but he has been stretched out in the past and shouldn't just be limited to short relief. As a senior sign who will turn 23 early in the offseason, his great feel for his offspeed stuff could carry him quickly through the minors and to the Phillies' bullpen.

16-489: C Matt Quintanar, Texas Tech
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Matt Quintinar represents one of the top sleepers in the Phillies' draft class. He began his career at Central Arizona JC, then transferred to Blinn JC in Texas as a sophomore where he was one of the best JuCo hitters in the state. Transferring a second time to Texas Tech, he had zero issues jumping to Division I and power conference pitching and made as much contact as anybody in the country. His elite bat to ball ability helps him overcome a noisier setup that includes a bit of a hitch in his swing, running an elite 7.4% strikeout rate in 2026 that still remained a minuscule 9.1% in conference play against Big 12 weekend rotations. Very few hitters in the country can pick a ball up out of the hand and get the barrel there as consistently as he can, but he's not just a slap hitter. There is some latent power in the profile that should help him get the ball over the left field wall when he turns on one, helping him project to potentially reach double digit home run totals at peak. At this point, he doesn't always square the ball up and makes too much weak contact, but if you bring up the quality of contact just a little, he could really step forward as a hitter. The key to that may be a more selective approach, as the Southern California native tends to jump on the first hittable pitch he sees and rarely goes deep into counts to get something he can really drive. A plus arm behind the plate could help him stick back there, which would be huge for the overall profile. A senior sign who turned 22 in April, he could move quickly through the minors and could profile as a hit over power backup catcher at the big league level.

20-609: RHP Justin Lee, UCLA
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.

My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. ESPN: unranked.
Justin Lee was a big name out of the Los Angeles prep ranks in 2023 at the same time as Will Gasparino, ranking just a bit behind him on most draft boards. In three years at UCLA, he hasn't progressed much and remains a projection play. Working mostly as a reliever, his fastball sits in the mid 90's and reaches the upper 90's with unique spin traits including a perfect 100% spin efficiency to put nice life on the pitch. He spins in a sharp slider that could be an above average pitch, while his changeup gives him a third solid pitch. Stuff has never been an issue for the LA native, but command has. He walked 15.7% of his opponents over his first two seasons, a well below average mark, then dropped that rate to a slightly better 13.3% in 2026. It's still a high mark and he'll need to tighten things up significantly in pro ball, but it's progress and it helped him drop his ERA from 7.19 over those first two seasons to 3.26 in 2026. The delivery features some effort that makes it difficult for him to stay on line and repeat his release point, but he's an athletic kid at 6'3" that should be able to smooth things out in Philadelphia. That frame would lend itself well to starting and he's young for the class, but he likely stays in the bullpen where he'll pitch off the fastball/slider combination. It's tremendous talent to find in the 20th round especially if they can get him moving towards his lofty ceiling.