After Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday, the road to “The Show” has already begun for 135 former college and high school players. And some have straighter, quicker routes than the others.
So, let’s estimate major league ETAs for the eight first-round draft picks who should move the fastest.
It should surprise nobody that this list is entirely populated by college talent. Every now and then, a Konnor Griffin comes along and makes a warp-speed jump from high school to the majors. For the most part, though, players coming out of high school need two or three years in the minors.
As for why these eight college players in particular are different from the rest, the short version is that they just have the goods. For the longer version, read on.