PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks opened the 2026 MLB Draft by leaning right into the blueprint they’ve used for much of the last decade: athletic up-the-middle players and pitchers with arms that still have room to grow.
That approach showed up immediately with their first three picks. Arizona took catcher Ryder Helfrick at No. 15 overall, then used its Competitive Balance Round A selection at No. 31 on prep right-hander Blake Bryant out of Citizens Academy in Georgia.
In the second round, the D-backs added Georgia Tech shortstop Carson Kerce at No. 53, and they kept the up-the-middle theme going in the third round by taking Florida State center fielder Brayden Dowd at No. 88.
Bryant was the kind of high school arm the Diamondbacks clearly wanted. He’s committed to Clemson, but Arizona was drawn to the combination of size, athleticism and projection. Scouts also liked that he stood out on the basketball court in high school, a detail that helped reinforce what they saw in his overall athletic profile.
“This is all about just premium athleticism, premium strikes, wow stuff, velocity,” said Diamondbacks scouting director Ian Rebhan. “He is an elite athlete. Just your prototypical projection high school pitcher that we think has a ton of development runway, a ton of upside and just really excited to get the raw traits that we're getting with Blake into the organization.”
At 6-foot-6 and 182 pounds, Bryant already brings a fastball that sits at 91-94 mph and reaches 97 with ride and armside run. He also works with a sweeping slider that could develop into a plus pitch, along with a curveball. The raw ingredients are there, and the D-backs are betting on what he can become.
Bryant summed up his own mindset this way: “Being in control of the game is one of the greatest feelings. If you go out there and you strike out the side, and your defense is basically just standing there like flowers, don’t have to do nothing, then you know you’ve done your job, you’re out there.”
Kerce gives Arizona another player who fits the club’s preference for position talent in the middle of the diamond. He’s viewed as one of the best contact hitters in NCAA Division I, and his disciplined approach produces line drives and hard-hit ground balls to all fields. The D-backs see a player who doesn’t give away at-bats.
“We think Carson is one of the best college shortstops in the class this year, so I think that speaks to how happy we are we got him where he did. I think the intrigue with Carson is just the offensive profile as a whole.
I mean, he checks every box. He doesn't swing and miss.
He doesn't expand the strike zone. He walks.
He doesn't strike out. And there is power in there.
From an objective standpoint, he hits the ball really hard. He hits it to all fields.” -- Rebhan
Dowd rounded out Arizona’s Day 1 haul with another left-handed bat who brings contact skills and zone control. He repeats his swing well, sprays the ball around the field and draws more walks than strikeouts. The D-backs also believe there’s more power to unlock.
“Really good play discipline skills, makes a ton of contact. We think there's sneaky power in there.
I mean, it's almost a .500 on-base percentage. He did show the ability to slug a little bit.
We think there's more untapped potential in the power there. He's just a really instinctual player, both in the box and in center field.” -- Rebhan
Day 2 of the Draft begins Sunday at 8:30 a.m. PT and runs through the end of the Draft, covering Rounds 5-20. It will be available to stream live on MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+ and the MLB App.
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