Before baseball gets to its All-Star Game, the sport\u2019s next generation begins its journey toward the big leagues. The 2026 MLB Draft starts Saturday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia and lasts through Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Chicago White Sox have this year\u2019s No. 1 pick. That top spot can be a transformational force, of course \u2014 think Ken Griffey Jr. to the Seattle Mariners in 1987 or the Washington Nationals landing Stephen Strasburg in 2009. Yet all 30 franchises are going to make decisions that can shape their futures.<\/p>\n
Superstars-to-be hide within the 2026 draft, which takes on extra weight as the league proposes a total overhaul<\/a> of its current process. This year\u2019s broadcast setup is also quite confusing, with rounds split up across several TV channels and streaming options. We sort it all out below.<\/p>\n You can watch MLB Network and live MLB games throughout the season on Fubo (Stream Now<\/a>).<\/p>\n How to watch the 2026 MLB Draft<\/p>\n All times are ET.<\/p>\n Day 1 (Rounds 1-4) <\/p>\n Saturday, July 11:<\/p>\n 1 p.m. \u2014 picks 1-10 on NBC and Peacock Sunday, July 12:<\/p>\n 11:30 a.m. on MLB.com, MLB.TV and\u00a0MLB+<\/p>\n NBC is free over the air.<\/p>\n The different MLB Draft broadcasts<\/p>\n The first four rounds are slated for Saturday, while Rounds 5-20 cram into Sunday.<\/p>\n As part of a network recommitment to baseball, NBC has the rights to Saturday coverage. Well \u2026 some of it.<\/p>\n The first 10 picks can be seen over the air on NBC\u2019s main channel and on its streaming app, Peacock. But the TV broadcast gets shifted over to MLB Network for picks Nos. 11-40. The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday are available online through MLB.com, plus the league properties MLB.TV and MLB+.<\/p>\n NBC Sports and MLB Network both have Greg Amsinger as host, with Cole Hamels, Mark DeRosa, Dan O\u2019Dowd and Harold Reynolds on the desk. There\u2019s also a side studio, anchored by Melanie Newman, that includes Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline and Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. Expect to hear interviews with draftees as well as front office executives.<\/p>\n Keith Law’s Big Board for the 2026 MLB Draft<\/p>\n Keith Law<\/p>\n Prospects who could go first overall<\/p>\n Players sorted alphabetically<\/p>\n Roch Cholowsky\u00a0is a right-handed shortstop from UCLA. He is MLB Pipeline\u2019s No. 2 prospect and No. 1 on The Athletic\u2019s big board<\/a>. He could be the first Bruin taken No. 1 since Gerrit Cole in 2011. At the college level, Cholowsky hit .329 with 52 home runs through 178 games. His father, Dan, was a first-round pick in 1991 and played four seasons of Triple-A ball.<\/p>\n Grady Emerson\u00a0is a shortstop as well, but he bats left-handed and comes out of high school in North Richland Hills, Texas. Emerson sits atop the MLB Pipeline rankings (and fourth on The Athletic\u2019s) after being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year. He\u2019s mentored by Rusty Greer, a nine-year pro with the Rangers.<\/p>\n Vahn Lackey offers an entirely different option as a slugging backstop from Georgia Tech. He\u2019s third on the Pipeline\u2019s board and second on The Athletic\u2019s after batting .397 and mashing 20 homers in 61 games last season. The Yellow Jackets have been a fruitful program for catchers, with alumni like Jason Varitek and Matt Wieters.<\/p>\n Among the pitchers who could fly off the board quickly are UC Santa Barbara RHP Jackson Flora, USC southpaw Mason Edwards and fellow left-hander Gio Rojas from high school in Florida.<\/p>\n The 2026 MLB Draft order<\/p>\n The top of the order was determined by December\u2019s lottery. Selected players must be residents of the United States or Canada. Draft eligibility is extended to:<\/p>\n Those at four-year colleges who have either completed their junior year or turned 21 years old. The order listed is as of Saturday morning. You can follow along with draft updates with our live picks tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n First round<\/p>\n 1. Chicago White Sox Prospect Promotion Incentive picks and Competitive Balance Round A<\/p>\n 26. Atlanta Braves St. Louis leads the pack with seven Saturday picks, followed by Houston with six.<\/p>\n The Braves (No. 26) and Astros (No. 28) earned an extra spot due to the Prospect Promotion Incentive. That rule rewards teams with a preseason top 100 prospect on their Opening Day rosters, should that player go on to win Rookie of the Year (Atlanta\u2019s Drake Baldwin) or land a top-three finish for MVP or Cy Young (Houston\u2019s Hunter Brown).<\/p>\n Five teams dropped 10 spots in the order. The Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mets, Phillies and Yankees all incurred last year\u2019s Competitive Balance Tax, a cumulative salary limit for MLB rosters.<\/p>\n The Mets now have the No. 27 pick, with the Yankees at 35th and the Phillies at 36th. Given their spots so late in the order, both reigning pennant winners tumble into the second round. The Blue Jays\u2019 first pick comes at No. 39, followed by the Dodgers at No. 40.<\/p>\n Competitive Balance picks are also granted to franchises in one of the 10 smallest markets or revenue pools. Half of the eligible teams make their additional pick at the end of the first round, while the other half go at the end of the second. They are the only draft picks that can be traded.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s lucky bunch includes the Cardinals, Royals, Diamondbacks and Rockies. The Rays then acquired the Orioles\u2019 No. 33 pick from the Shane Baz trade<\/a>, while the White Sox received<\/a> the Pirates\u2019 No. 34 selection in a trade the night before the draft.<\/p>\n
\n2:30 p.m. \u2014 picks 11-40 on MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+
\n4:30 p.m. \u2014 picks 41-135 on MLB.com, MLB.TV and MLB+
\nDay 2 (Rounds 5-20)<\/p>\n
\nThose who haven\u2019t attended a four-year college but have graduated high school or completed a year of junior college.<\/p>\n
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Minnesota Twins
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Pittsburgh Pirates
6. Kansas City Royals
7. Baltimore Orioles
8. Athletics
9. Atlanta Braves
10. Colorado Rockies
11. Washington Nationals
12. Los Angeles Angels
13. St. Louis Cardinals
14. Miami Marlins
15. Arizona Diamondbacks
16. Texas Rangers
17. Houston Astros
18. Cincinnati Reds
19. Cleveland Guardians
20. Boston Red Sox
21. San Diego Padres
22. Detroit Tigers
23. Chicago Cubs
24. Seattle Mariners
25. Milwaukee Brewers<\/p>\n
27. New York Mets
28. Houston Astros
29. San Francisco Giants
30. Kansas City Royals
31. Arizona Diamondbacks
32. St. Louis Cardinals
33. Tampa Bay Rays
34. Chicago White Sox
35. New York Yankees
36. Philadelphia Phillies
37. Colorado Rockies<\/p>\n