2026 MLB Draft Superlatives: Best Classes, Best Values, and More
A superlatives piece is the perfect way to send off this cycle.
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The 2026 MLB Draft has concluded, and the signing deadline has passed. The chapter has officially closed on this cycle.
Of course, I didn’t feel like leaving out the rest of the crew in our draft coverage. They crushed it behind the scenes and publicly all cycle long, and they’ll continue to do so. They deserve their flowers, and they deserve your follows, too. Their accounts will be linked below.
A superlatives piece is the perfect way to send off this cycle. In this exercise, Peyton, Conor, Adrian, Jay, and our newest member, Josh, dissect and explain their favorite classes, picks/fits, and more from the 2026 draft. Who crushed their drafts, and who has the spiciest take on this class? Let’s dive in. – Tyler
Editor’s Note: The summations were written before the deadline, and Logan Schmidt and Hudson DeVaughan ultimately did not sign with the teams that selected them. They were left in despite these developments.
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Favorite Drafts
Peyton: San Francisco Giants
Michael Holmes and company, I thought, had one of the best processes from start to finish over the two-day draft. They did not get cute at pick four, selecting the best collegiate arm in the class in Jackson Flora, who was up to 100 mph with the heater and posting nearly a 40% whiff on all of his offspeed weapons.
They took prep arms Carson Bolemon and Kaden Waechter with their next two selections, both attaining plus feel for spin and ability to miss barrels in-zone. Peyton Bonds is a great value selection at 90th overall who posted the highest exit velocity on a TrackMan radar over the 2026 season (we all know he’s Barry’s nephew, but he carved his way into being a top-100 pick himself).
I will always be a fan of Eric Nachtsheim from McNeese State, posting elite fastball traits with four other pitches and averaging nearly seven feet of extension. Was also a big fan of the Cody Brasch selection in the eighth round, again a profile holding really intriguing fastball traits with mid-90s velocity and a tight bullet-ball slider in the mid-80s.
Conor: Tampa Bay Rays
If it seems like the Tampa Bay Rays are on this list every single year, it’s because they’re flat-out good at what they do. Sans the pressure of selecting first, the Rays sat back and took a profile they already have a strong track record of developing, a prep shortstop, at number two overall. Grady Emerson is a player many feel has the highest ceiling of any in the class.
They took another dip into the prep shortstop pool with their second selection, Taj Marchand, another high schooler with a standout hit tool and burgeoning power.
From there, they targeted athletic movers on the mound with unique release traits and capacity for spin – selecting pitchers with 17 of their final 19 picks. Ben Blair, Owen Kramkowski and AJ Rice all have potential to outpace their draft day projections as starters in the Tampa system, with Tate McKee and Cole Stokes looking like quick movers out of the bullpen.
Adrian: Chicago White Sox
The White Sox turned the largest pool of the bonus-pool era into a class that matched their development model. After acquiring the No. 34 pick, Chicago opened with Roch Cholowsky, Landon Thome and Cole Prosek.
Cholowsky was the best player in the class and gives the system an everyday shortstop foundation. Thome brings an advanced left-handed bat, while Prosek owns one of the strongest hit-power combinations among prep hitters.
The White Sox followed with three straight college right-handers in Joey Volchko, Eric Segura and Cal Scolari, all of whom will receive opportunities to start. Chicago returned to prep upside with Alex Weingartner and 11th-round right-hander Kyle Casteel before using the later rounds on hitters who already checked multiple boxes in the organization’s offensive model.
Few teams matched Chicago’s blend of certainty at the top and upside throughout the class.
Jay: St. Louis Cardinals
Although he’s only held the title of president of baseball operations since the end of 2025, it hasn’t taken Chaim Bloom long for his farm-building skills to shine through. The Cardinals walked away from the draft with one of the best hauls in the sport, especially near the top of the class.
They kicked off day one by selecting Trevor Condon, one of the most toolsy prep players in the class, 13th overall. The Cardinals then followed that up by selecting Tegan Kuhns 32nd overall, which may be one of the best value picks in the entire draft given his first-round buzz.
On top of that, Rocco Maniscalco, arguably the biggest riser from the MLB Draft Combine, was added to this group at 50th overall. The Cardinals then landed high-upside players while saving money in Dawson Montesa and Andrew Williamson, which then allowed them to scoop up one of the most well-rounded collegiate hitters in the class, Caden Ferraro.
As if this wasn’t good enough already, they added in Cal Randall to this mix, a fireballer from UCLA with a legitimate 80-grade heater and closer upside in the near future. This was a very, very good draft, and one Cardinals fans should be ecstatic about.
Josh: San Francisco Giants
San Francisco pretty easily had my favorite draft for many reasons, and they go well beyond just day one. Landing the No. 4 pick despite only the 12th-best odds was a gift, and they capitalized with RHP Jackson Flora, the top pitcher on my board and the only pitcher in the industry’s consensus top 10. His elite breaking ball package, nearly 7’ of extension, and elite chase rates make him a fast-track arm to get to the Bay Area by late 2027.
With the pick acquired from the Patrick Bailey trade, they grabbed my favorite prep arm in the class, Carson Bolemon, a lefty touching the mid-90s with four distinct pitches he can land for strikes, which is true advanced stuff for a 19-year-old.
The value didn’t stop in R1 either. Kaden Waechter profiles as a back-end starter with multiple fastball shapes and real feel for spin. Peyton Bonds popped huge exit velos at the combine and could definitely stick in CF long-term (the Bonds family thing is too good too).
On day two, San Francisco snagged two of my four favorite senior-sign candidates: Eric Nachtsheim, a mid-major arm who’s been up to 98 mph with huge extension and a potentially plus changeup, and Beau Bryans, an extreme crossfire LHP whose slider whiff rate eclipsed 60% this season. Add sleepers like Luke Nixon, Cody Brasch, and potential steal of the draft Dalton Wentz in R16, and this is a loaded and well-rounded haul.
Favorite Picks/Values
Peyton: Caden Sorrell (Cubs, 2nd RD)
Getting Sorrell with your second selection, and 61 picks into the draft, feels like a steal. Though there are some flags in the profile, I think he and his swing will rock at Wrigley Field. Has played all three outfield spots throughout his Texas A&M career, which displays plus range and arm strength. Will need to clean up the whiff rates, but no denying he hits the ball hard (often) and gets it in the air at a good clip. A future Cub outfield consisting of Josiah Hartshorn, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Caden Sorrell will be marvelous.
Conor: Joey Volchko (White Sox, 3rd RD) & Myles Bailey (Cubs, CB-B RD)
There’s an argument to be made for former Georgia star Joey Volchko having the best pure stuff in the 2026 starting pitcher class, and the White Sox were able to grab him in the third round. Command questions persist, and he will need to find a useful secondary against LHH, but the ceiling here is immense if the Southsiders can get Volchko anywhere close to his legendary 15-strikeout masterpiece from this year’s College World Series.
If you were making a list of bats with enough juice to cut through a windy Chicago afternoon, it would be a short list, and Myles Bailey would probably be at the top of it. Bailey’s severe ankle injury during the spring dampened some of his draft helium, but it’s legitimate 80-grade raw power that plays to all fields at any ballpark. The chase and whiff rates are egregious, but Bailey is the type of old-school, game-changing masher in the middle of a lineup whom fans should already be hoping makes it to a Home Run Derby one day.
Adrian: Sean Duncan (Yankees, 2nd RD)
Duncan received first-round consideration before an elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery, which allowed the Yankees to select him at No. 63. The Canadian left-hander is more experienced than the typical cold-weather prep arm. He has pitched for Canada’s junior national team since age 14 and received repeated opportunities against extended spring and Dominican Summer League competition. Duncan handled those looks well, including several scoreless outings against professional hitters.
His fastball has reached 95 mph and plays effectively at the top of the zone. He can manipulate the shape of his slider, while the changeup gives him an advanced weapon against right-handed hitters. The recovery creates a long development window, but New York landed a polished starter prospect much later than his healthy talent suggested.
Jay: Jack Radel (Astros, 1st RD), Will Brick (Blue Jays, 4th RD), & Cameron Flukey (Tigers, 1st RD)
In recent years, the Houston Astros have routinely been one of the gold-standard organizations around the league for pitching development. In this year’s draft, they were lucky enough to land Jack Radel 28th overall, and he fits into their mold quite nicely.
Radel possesses a legitimate five-pitch mix, headlined by multiple offerings the Astros have done well with, such as a vertical break-heavy heater, a gyro slider, a very good changeup, and a solid curveball. This is a mix that comps very similarly to their current ace, Hunter Brown, and I feel strongly that the Astros could turn Radel into a similar arm in the big leagues.
Earlier in this year’s cycle, our draft team often viewed Will Brick as a potential top talent in the class, projecting him as high as 29th overall at one point. Instead, Brick ended up falling into the Blue Jays’ lap at 131st overall, creating one of the best-value picks in the entire class. Featuring premium defense and a bat that could be unlocked in the Rogers Center, Brick fits into this organization quite well, especially given where he was selected.
Before Cam Flukey suffered a rib injury earlier this collegiate season, he was viewed as arguably the top arm in the entire draft. However, as a result of this injury, he quickly slid down boards and was eventually selected 22nd overall, and I have a hard time imagining that the Tigers even saw this as a possibility in the preseason.
Featuring a well-rounded mix headlined by a four-seamer and curveball that complement one another quite nicely, he matches the type of arsenals the Tigers have developed well previously. Between the team’s strong development track with arms of this nature and his fantastic value here, this is one of the best picks in the class.
Josh: Martin Shelar (Red Sox, 9th RD)
I was in shock, along with most people, as Martin Shelar continued to slide, but it seemed Boston had a plan all along to dish out enough cash to take him when no one else would.
Pegged by some as a first-round-caliber selection, Shelar has continued to wow scouts for months with his premium athleticism and big juice. He was registering 115’s at the combine and has displayed good bat-to-ball dating all the way back to last year’s circuit. With the ability to stick in center paired with a lack of real holes at the plate, it was a no-brainer for Boston to pay whatever it took to keep him from getting to campus.
Favorite Fits
Peyton: Daniel Jackson (Colorado)
This feels like low-hanging fruit, but I don’t care. The 2026 Golden Spikes Award recipient posted a hard-hit rate north of 50% with an average exit velocity of 92.7 mph and a .541 wOBA. Yes, this was with a metal bat, and also yes, it was for one season. Daniel Jackson‘s defensive skills improved as the season went on, featuring a plus arm and moves well for his frame behind the dish.
I’ll be very intrigued to see how he transitions immediately into the pro realm with a wood bat and also how he’ll compare to 2024 Golden Spikes Award winner and former Bulldog Charlie Condon. Regardless, I think Colorado has found their future guy behind the dish, given they have only one catcher currently ranked in their top 30 prospect rankings.
Conor: Owen Kramkowski (Rays)
My affinity for Owen Kramkowski, former Arizona Wildcat, was enough to rank him second on my Four Corners area board this spring, and he landed with an organization that I have full faith in finding his ceiling as a starter.
Kramkowski is a buttery-smooth mover down the mound with a good feel for spin and a fastball that has been up to 97 but typically sits 92-94. If Tampa can extract some more value out of said fastball, there’s mid-rotation upside here. He already throws enough strikes that with some pitch design and usage improvements, the Rays could see a ton of value from this selection.
Adrian: Ben Blair (Rays)
Ben Blair is a perfectly unconventional Rays fit. Tampa Bay targeted pitchers with lower arm slots and strong spin traits throughout the draft, and the Liberty right-hander checks both boxes.
Blair attacks from a low three-quarters release with a fastball that has reached 98 mph. His mid-80s sweeper generated a 37 percent whiff rate and gives him a legitimate finishing pitch. He also recorded 113 strikeouts against 17 walks over 94.1 innings this season, which supports giving him every opportunity to remain a starter. The cutter provides a possible third weapon, though the changeup still needs work against lefties. Blair could move quickly in relief if that pitch never arrives. The Rays are the right organization to exhaust the more valuable rotation outcome first.
Jay: Logan Schmidt* (Guardians), Tre Phelps (Pirates), & Alex Weingartner (White Sox)
When it comes to pitching development around the league, few organizations can top the Cleveland Guardians. Knowing this, it comes as no surprise that they stuck with their bread and butter with the 59th overall pick, selecting one of the best left-handed arms in the class, Logan Schmidt.
With Schmidt already carrying smooth, clean mechanics and a strong makeup despite only being 17 years old, it’s exciting to imagine what the Guardians can do with him in the long run.
For two straight years now, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been fortunate enough to land two of the top collegiate power threats in the 9th round. This year, it was Georgia Bulldogs slugger Tre Phelps, who carries a strong offensive profile highlighted by his electric power and solid hit tool to match.
Since the Pirates selected LSU star Jared “Bear” Jones in the ninth round last year, he’s kicked off his career strongly in High-A, which could indicate future success to come for Phelps. This isn’t just a good spot to draft Phelps, but this could be a perfect marriage between the two parties.
After trading for the 34th overall pick just mere hours before the 2026 MLB Draft kicked off, the Chicago White Sox officially held the largest draft pool in MLB history, and they spent their money well.
Specifically, the White Sox targeted multiple high-end prep prospects in later rounds, and of these picks, Alex Weingartner is one of my favorites. With professional instincts already in his blood from his brother Ryan (Drafted in Rd 8 by the Cardinals in 2025), a stronger power profile, and a projectable frame, Weingartner is an exciting pick for the White Sox.
Josh: Lucas Moore (Guardians)
I mean, c’mon now. I feel like I don’t even need to say much on this one because it speaks for itself.
If you asked me before the draft, “Which org will take the bat with a plus hit too, maybe double-plus foot speed, but literal 30-grade power?” the answer would’ve been Cleveland without hesitation. This has been their MO for years, and you don’t need to look much further than their current left and center fielders at the big league level.
Nonetheless, Lucas Moore is a pretty solid pick overall, and there’s upside that could result in a serviceable bottom-of-the-lineup bat for years to come.
Quickest Player to the Majors
Peyton: Deven Sheerin (Phillies)
I think Deven Sheerin could help the Phillies down the road this calendar year; that’s how confident I feel in this profile.
A violent fastball that averaged over 96 (up to 99.8) mph, it generates intriguing ride traits given his lower launch. Throws two different sliders, one being a short-action breaking ball thrown to any hitter while the other being a true-sweeper that’s offered exclusively against righties. Has flashed an upper-80s splitter, though rare, that dives down in the zone against left-handers. I’m interested to see if he can incorporate that more in years to come.
Likes to pitch when the stakes are high and competes with energy, something that will make him fit comfortably in Philadelphia.
Conor: Ethan Norby (Reds)
Ethan Norby was electric out of the bullpen for East Carolina during the NCAA Tournament and has just the right type of demeanor and FB-SL pitch mix to move quickly through a system if the Reds choose to do so. His mound presence and capacity to excel in the big moments could make him a fan favorite in Cincinnati in short order.
Adrian: Roch Cholowsky (White Sox)
I’ll take the easy pick here. Roch Cholowsky has the clearest path to the majors, even if a debut by next year’s All-Star break feels aggressive. His defense should allow Chicago to challenge him immediately, and his overall polish could keep him from spending long in the lower minors.
A more realistic first trip to Chicago may come in the 2027 Futures Game at Wrigley Field during the tentatively scheduled All-Star Week. A strong summer could then push him into the next level and put a late-season debut within reach.
Jay: Jackson Flora (Giants)
After being rumored to take a prep bat for the majority of the buildup for this cycle, the Giants opted to go with the best pitcher in the class, Jackson Flora, at fourth overall. Flora already has the arsenal to compete in the lower levels of the minor leagues, and could potentially even be challenged early by skipping Low-A altogether.
Between his electric stuff on the mound and the Giants’ lack of high-quality arms in their system, Flora has a chance to rise through their minor league affiliates quickly and become the first player in the class to make their major league debut.
Josh: Joey Volchko (White Sox)
I’m personally floored Joey Volchko fell to #77 in the first place, but the White Sox weren’t complaining. His Omaha performance had people talking Comp Round A, yet Chicago got to open R3 with him instead. His arsenal is unique, headlined by a cutter-shaped fastball sitting mid-90s that blows by hitters low in the zone. Wes Johnson reportedly leaned into that shape rather than trying to clean it up analytically, and it seemed to pay off.
The real weapon, though, is his sweeper. It’s a true double-plus pitch by my assessment, reaching 89 mph with roughly 15 inches of sweep, and watching his complete-game shutout at the CWS in person only confirmed it. With a four-pitch mix that lands in the zone, I think he could debut in the majors by the end of 2026.
The White Sox could realistically use him out of the bullpen for a playoff push this October, even though I think he projects as a starter in the long run. We’ve seen things like this happen recently, and with Volchko’s performances down the stretch, not much indicates that he wouldn’t be ready for that stage in some capacity.
Late Round Sleepers
Peyton: Gavin Van Kempen (Dodgers)
I’ve had Gavin Van Kempen slabbed as a name to keep an eye on since the beginning of the college season, and of course the Dodgers snagged him in the 12th round. A 6-foot-7 frame with a low-90s four-seam that works well at the top rail of the zone, he features three offspeed pitches that round out his arsenal. The slider is an interesting, low-80s breaking ball that runs to the arm-side, posting bonkers whiff rates and mixing against both lefties and righties.
The Dodgers often find under-the-radar arms with good clay and data that stand out among their peers, and Van Kempen is a prime example. It would not shock me if they unlock some more spin capacity with him that could turn him into a big-league reliever down the road.
Conor: Lorenzo Carrier (Rockies)
Lorenzo Carrier was one of the more well-traveled college bats in the class, previously spending three years at Miami, and enjoyed a breakout campaign this spring for Pittsburgh as a fifth-year senior. The outfielder was at the top of the class in exit velocity metrics and walked at an astonishing 21.3 percent.
There are glaring swing-and-miss concerns as he never posted a strikeout rate under 23 percent in his college career, but if he can mitigate some of that, it’s obvious the type of impact he can have playing at a ballpark like Coors Field.
Adrian: Grayson Fitzwater (White Sox)
Grayson Fitzwater stood out to me early in the process as a potential fit for the White Sox hitting model. The left-handed first baseman showed he could control the zone without sacrificing power, which made contact against better velocity the main developmental question. The underlying batted-ball data supported the production. Fitzwater then homered in each of his first three MLB Draft League games.
Few 13th-rounders entered pro ball with this much offensive evidence. Shirley said Chicago’s area scouts were “jumping up and down” when Fitzwater was selected.
Jay: Spencer Evans (Pirates) & Ian Korn (Giants)
A key story of the prep side of the 2026 MLB Draft was the sheer number of LSU commits set to make their way to campus, but the Pirates stepped in during the 11th round to likely prevent LHP Spencer Evans from becoming one of them.
Possessing clean mechanics, the ability to hide the ball well, and exciting breaking stuff to match his mid-90s heater, Evans seems like a match made in heaven for the Pirates pitching factory. However, this pick has received little buzz around the industry, giving it the opportunity to be a key late-round sleeper if all goes to plan.
After being a force on the mound for the first-ever West Virginia Mountaineers team to make it to Omaha, Ian Korn was scooped up in the 10th round by the San Francisco Giants in this year’s draft. He was a key piece of why this team went as far as they did, as his wipeout slider produced numerous whiffs, and his incredibly deep arsenal kept hitters on their toes constantly.
Using six different pitches in Omaha, Korn is someone who could become a very interesting arm in the Giants’ minor league system despite not getting much buzz out of the draft.
Josh: Hudson DeVaughan (Royals)*
This could age poorly, and history shows that it probably will, but the Royals don’t view this as an insurance pick. They genuinely believe they can sign Hudson DeVaughan. If so, it’s insane value.
An Alabama commit who’s torched Indiana high school ball for years, DeVaughan sits mid-90s with an effortless delivery, touching 98, with more velo likely as his lean frame fills out. The curveball has big sweep already, although the spin capacity is only decent.
Senior-year injury concerns had some thinking he’d go unselected, making the 19th-round flier a no-brainer. Bama has some real NIL money they can toss his way, so we’ll have to wait and see if Kansas City can pony up enough cash to pull him away from Tuscaloosa and into the minor leagues this summer.
Hottest Draft Takes
- Peyton – Alex Petrovic will have the most successful pro career amongst the NYM pitching draftees.
- Jay – Chris Hacopian will have a better professional career than multiple players selected inside the top 10.
- Conor – Drew Burress will produce the most WAR of any first-round college player over the course of his controllable years.
- Adrian – Carter Beck will be the college OF in the Braves class to make his major league debut first (before AJ Gracia).
- Josh – None of the Royals’ day one picks will debut before 2029.
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