The 2026 MLB Draft opens with a familiar kind of suspense: the Chicago White Sox hold the No. 1 pick, and three names sit right at the center of the conversation.
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey are the draft’s top prospects, and White Sox vice president of amateur scouting Mike Shirley told ESPN that all three are in the mix for the top selection. That gives the start of the draft a little extra juice before the first pick is even announced.
The White Sox are followed by the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 2 and the Minnesota Twins at No. 3. After that, the first round continues with the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.
This year’s first round stretches to 37 picks, thanks to MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive and Competitive Balance Round A selections. A team earns a PPI pick if a preseason top-100 prospect makes the Opening Day roster and then wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three in MVP or Cy Young voting. Competitive Balance Round A picks go to clubs in either the 10 smallest markets or the 10 smallest revenue pools.
The full first-round order also includes the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers.
The extra selections begin with the Atlanta Braves at No. 26, followed by the New York Mets, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Philadephia Phillies and Colorado Rockies.
The draft will air this afternoon on NBC and MLB Network.
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This Rays Draft Just Sent A Clear Message About The Future
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By the end of Day Two, the pattern only became more obvious. Tampa Bay kept targeting pitchers with low arm slots, advanced spin and limited mileage, the kind of profiles that can take time to mature but also offer real payoff if the organization gets them right. The result was a class that says plenty about the Rays future direction, even before the most obvious centerpiece of it all is fully unpacked. [Read more 🡒]