MLB 2026 Draft ~ Mocks, Rankings, Discussions and More

[craviduce]

Sawyer Strosnider on the board for TCU tonight....RBI single, 1 for 2 so far. He had 34 XBH last year, 13 2B, 11 3B, 10 HR....only 5 XBH so far this year, but he's being walked at a 30% clip...he's being pitched around by opponents. This has risen his wRC+ by over 30 points. Currently 168 wRC+....very healthy .500+ OBP.

[craviduce]

Curiel led off the game for LSU Tigers with a Double, scored when Jake Brown homered in the next AB. That's 6 for Brown this spring. And that's 5 XBH in 67 PA's for Curiel, well under what he did last year. Maybe he's heating up going into SEC Play next week? I hope so, he's around 70 wRC+, and that's against weak competition.

I guess Curiel likes playing Sacramento State. 2nd AB, HR....double and HR for Curiel. Jake Brown followed with his 7th HR of the year, 2nd of the night. Jake is climbing up the draft boards. Curiel might be getting hot at the right time.

[craviduce]

Tegan Kuhns' final line for the Vols tonight.... 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 7 K...no WP. 1 HR, 2 Doubles.

[craviduce]

speaking of Liam Peterson....the RHP through 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K vs. High Point. Better tests coming for Peterson next weekend as SEC starts

Peterson carried a No-No into the 6th inning with 78 pitches....he faced only 2 batters, didn't record an out. His immediate relief couldn't hold the shut out.

Final line ~ 5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 12 K, 1 WP in 94 pitches.

Again...he's high octane, with a nasty slider, but rough command. Incredible talent...needs some refinement.

[Rollin' on the River]

What’s our pick this year?

Hopefully we don’t blow it on a closer like last year

[Cranny]

Zero in on a RH OF power bat who may realistically be available at #13.

If the most talented guy fits RH OF power bat great but I have always been one to draft 'the best player' over 'need' .

Sometimes you can get lucky and have both fall your way .. a great talent at a positon of need too.

In normal times, yes. Best player available. But right now we need a RH power hitting corner OFer badly.

[craviduce]

Baseball America's 2026 Mock Draft, v4.0

1. White Sox ~ Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
2. Rays ~ Grady Emerson, SS, Ft. Worth Christian HS, (TX)
3. Twins ~ Justin Lebron, SS, U. of Alabama
4. Giants ~ Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep HS (FL)
5. Pirates ~ Jackson Flora, RHP, UCSB
6. Royals ~ Drew Burress, OF, GTech
7. Orioles ~ Ace Reese, 3B, MSU
8. A's ~ Chris Hacopian, 2B/3B, A&M
9. Braves ~A.J. Gracia, OF, UVA
10. Rockies ~ Eric Becker, SS, UVA
11. Nationals ~ Eric Booth, Jr., OF, Oak Grove HS, (MS)
12. Angels ~ Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina
13. Cardinals ~ Derek Curiel, SS, LSU

still Available at #13... Vahn Lacky, C, GTech ; Jake Brown, OF, LSU ; Mulivai Levu, 1B, UCLA ; Will Gasparino, OF, UCLA ; Logan Schmidt, LHP, HS (CA) ; Tyler Bell, SS, U. Kentucky ; Caden Sorrell, OF, A&M ; Carson Bolemon, LHP, HS (SC) ; Gio Rojas, LHP, HS, (FL) ; Liam Peterson, RHP, U. Florida

if I missed anyone...sorry. These will change. I don't really agree with BA's mock assessment for now...Hacopian stock is going down (nagging back injury); Flukey is out until late April at the earliest ; Becker and Curiel are good hitters, but not the power you may be looking for that early in the draft. They don't have Vahn Lackey in the Top 10...that has to be a mistake??? The HS pitchers are missing, and they are perhaps some of the best LHP Prep stars in a long, long time....

Anyways, this will be a tough draft to mock....Very Strong college class of hitters and equally strong HS bats and pitchers class....who will fall into our laps?

[craviduce]

Justin Lebron keeps mocking Top 3. If this was last season, I'd understand a bit more as to why....last year was a weak draft class...but this year, even with a clear 70FV #1 outdistancing the class, the rest are better than anything from last years Top 10.

Lebron has 8 HR, 15 SB this year, only batting .300 (his peers in this class are hitting .350 - .450)...and this is against lower competition (SEC play hasn't started, and he was bad vs. SEC last year). Will he hit enough in the Majors to warrant a top 5 or 10 pick? Would you select at anytime during the draft if you were any GM? Tough call for me, too many good players to build around in this draft.

I hope he proves the doubters wrong b/c he has 4 LOUD tools, but the most important one he doesn't (HIT)....he has legit 30HR/30SB potential, if he can hit enough. That's the rub

thoughts?

[craviduce]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/254 ... round-pick

#13, Cardinals, Cade Townsend, RHP, Ole Miss....having a great non-conference performance, but struggled mightily last year. He is on the rise for sure. Worth paying attention to...I guess.

excerpt from Bleacher Report:

A new addition to the first-round picture, Townsend has been lights out to start the 2026 season, posting a 0.48 ERA with a 32-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18.2 innings. The 6'1", 185-pound right-hander is a draft-eligible sophomore who was knocked around to the tune of a 6.35 ERA in 34 innings as a freshman, so this stands as an early helium pick with more he needs to prove once SEC play begins.

[TraveledLessRoad]

6' 1" 185 scares me. Smallish. That means he realistically probably 5'11"

[ramfandan]

Zero in on a RH OF power bat who may realistically be available at #13.

If the most talented guy fits RH OF power bat great but I have always been one to draft 'the best player' over 'need' .

Sometimes you can get lucky and have both fall your way .. a great talent at a positon of need too.

In normal times, yes. Best player available. But right now we need a RH power hitting corner OFer badly.
[/

In any time, you are likely to get ‘burned’ drafting for a ‘need’
Neatly 60 years ago, I began following the NFL draft.
In the 1970’s , the Detroit Lions ‘needed’ a def. End pass rusher.
They just couldn’t pressure the QB so with 1st pick took the best DE in the board though lesser talent than other positions
Didn’t os. Out. Next year passed up more top guys to draft pass rusher first.. got burned again. The lions never did well.
Learned from Packers GM draft guru do NOT pass up a better player just because you ‘need’ a player at positions
Wolf is in hall of fame in Canton. His drafting philosophy proved tru. Don’t make exceptions ! Using the ‘it’s not normal times’ sets one up for making questionable picks.?

[craviduce]

6' 1" 185 scares me. Smallish. That means he realistically probably 5'11"

it is a bit undersized....Doyle is only 6'2"...just an inch taller.

You're right, though...it's a stat that does give you pause. It takes good scouts to find the truth in there...hopefully ours can find the truth....maybe he's a Sonny Gray?

[craviduce]

What’s our pick this year?

Hopefully we don’t blow it on a closer like last year

now, now, RR...let's us allow him to pitch a full season first

but...I tend to agree with you. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Reliever floor for a #5 pick. It was really an overall bad draft. Compared to the 2024 draft, which had 8-10 really top tier players. ~ 55 Future Value or higher players...the 2025 draft probably only has 3 55 FV players. Maybe Doyle can join that crew...that's jmo. I had him listed on "My 5 players I could live with"....So he made my Top 10 wish list last year. If he can continue to work on and actually throw the splitter with consistency, and learn to not leave his slider up on the zone....he'll be a 55FV+, maybe a 60FV.

[Rollin' on the River]

What’s our pick this year?

Hopefully we don’t blow it on a closer like last year

now, now, RR...let's us allow him to pitch a full season first

but...I tend to agree with you. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Reliever floor for a #5 pick. It was really an overall bad draft. Compared to the 2024 draft, which had 8-10 really top tier players. ~ 55 Future Value or higher players...the 2025 draft probably only has 3 55 FV players. Maybe Doyle can join that crew...that's jmo. I had him listed on "My 5 players I could live with"....So he made my Top 10 wish list last year. If he can continue to work on and actually throw the splitter with consistency, and learn to not leave his slider up on the zone....he'll be a 55FV+, maybe a 60FV.

What’s our number this year.

[craviduce]

What’s our pick this year?

Hopefully we don’t blow it on a closer like last year

now, now, RR...let's us allow him to pitch a full season first

but...I tend to agree with you. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Reliever floor for a #5 pick. It was really an overall bad draft. Compared to the 2024 draft, which had 8-10 really top tier players. ~ 55 Future Value or higher players...the 2025 draft probably only has 3 55 FV players. Maybe Doyle can join that crew...that's jmo. I had him listed on "My 5 players I could live with"....So he made my Top 10 wish list last year. If he can continue to work on and actually throw the splitter with consistency, and learn to not leave his slider up on the zone....he'll be a 55FV+, maybe a 60FV.

What’s our number this year.

#13... can I offer you a Liam Peterson? Control problems but a wicked fastball and slider combo. Has a Reliever floor, but a FOTR ceiling just like Doyle?

It's gamble, but he's a signature Bloom Type player.

personally, I want Lacky, Hacopian, Gracia, Reese to fall to us....big bats with Hats.

maybe Jake Brown and Will Gasparino will continue play outside their paygrade? Or Caden Sorrell and Aiden Robbins are the real deal and A&M and UT-Austin?

better choices this year....I think we'll be okay

[Rollin' on the River]

What’s our pick this year?

Hopefully we don’t blow it on a closer like last year

now, now, RR...let's us allow him to pitch a full season first

but...I tend to agree with you. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Reliever floor for a #5 pick. It was really an overall bad draft. Compared to the 2024 draft, which had 8-10 really top tier players. ~ 55 Future Value or higher players...the 2025 draft probably only has 3 55 FV players. Maybe Doyle can join that crew...that's jmo. I had him listed on "My 5 players I could live with"....So he made my Top 10 wish list last year. If he can continue to work on and actually throw the splitter with consistency, and learn to not leave his slider up on the zone....he'll be a 55FV+, maybe a 60FV.

What’s our number this year.

#13... can I offer you a Liam Peterson? Control problems but a wicked fastball and slider combo. Has a Reliever floor, but a FOTR ceiling just like Doyle?

It's gamble, but he's a signature Bloom Type player.

personally, I want Lacky, Hacopian, Gracia, Reese to fall to us....big bats with Hats.

maybe Jake Brown and Will Gasparino will continue play outside their paygrade? Or Caden Sorrell and Aiden Robbins are the real deal and A&M and UT-Austin?

better choices this year....I think we'll be okay

Is there like a lottery or something?

I thought we did way worse than 13. Hell, 15 is almost playoffs.