{"id":574684,"date":"2026-04-09T21:57:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574684\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:57:47","slug":"mlb-draft-2026-ranking-2-0-roch-cholowsky-still-at-the-top-but-vahn-lackey-closing-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/574684\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB Draft 2026 ranking 2.0: Roch Cholowsky still at the top, but Vahn Lackey closing in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, the strength of this MLB Draft<\/a> is in its high school pitching. There\u2019s enough major-conference college starting pitchers to populate the first round and get some of those teenaged arms to teams with extra picks and bigger bonus pools in the comp round and beyond.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s at least a little uncertainty at the very top now, as the consensus top prospect, Roch Cholowsky, has held serve rather than taking another step forward, leaving a little room for a couple of college players to give the Chicago White Sox, who pick first, some realistic alternatives (even if they ultimately do stick with Cholowsky).<\/p>\n

This is a ranking, not a mock or projection of who will be taken where. I typically have the best high school pitchers lower than where they\u2019re going to be selected based on the historical base rate of those prospects (high school pitchers taken in the first round fail at higher rates than other categories). I base these rankings on my own looks at players, information from scouts and analysts, video and data where available.<\/p>\n

(Note: Scouting grades are on the traditional 20-80 scouting scale.)<\/p>\n

Player Type Pitcher Position Player<\/p>\n

School Type 4-Year College High School<\/p>\n

Position 2B 3B C LHP OF RHP SS<\/p>\n

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Try changing or resetting your filters to see more.<\/p>\n

Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

The preseason favorite to go 1-1 has been \u2026 fine. He\u2019s done nothing wrong, but he also hasn\u2019t blown everyone away. He\u2019s hitting .342\/.471\/.683 on the season with one more walk than he has strikeouts. He\u2019s now beating up on some pretty mediocre pitching in the Big Ten, part of a loaded Bruins lineup where the entire offense has a .443 OBP. He\u2019s still the top player in the class and the player I would still say is most likely to go No. 1, but both of those statements are weaker than they were two months ago.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Lackey was a prospect coming into the year, but he has exploded at the plate and is now generating 1-1 comments from national scouts. He\u2019s hitting .405\/.529\/.811 with more walks than strikeouts and has even stolen seven bases. He’s also maintained a whiff rate on fastballs under 10 percent. He can definitely stick behind the plate, although he has the athleticism to potentially play somewhere else if a team wants to get his bat in the lineup more often.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

C<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Flora has a 0.69 ERA this year, and while I have written about the perils of using ERA, that\u2019s still pretty nice. He\u2019s been up to 100 mph, sitting 96-98, with a 70 changeup, average slider and plus control. He has a loose, quick arm, and gets a little deception from how late his arm appears to hitters and from an arm slot that’s below three-quarters. He\u2019s easily the No. 1 pitcher in the class and the only one I think with any chance to go as the top pick.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: R<\/p>\n

The sophomore draft-eligible Bell hurt his left shoulder during the first game of the year, took a few weeks off, and decided to try to play through it after he was told that further play couldn\u2019t make the injury any worse, although he\u2019ll eventually need surgery. He\u2019s been raking, with a .340\/.588\/.560 line in 17 games, and while teams will have to clear his medicals, he at least seems to have preserved his top-10 status, helped by a chase rate of just 12 percent.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

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SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Emerson remains the top high school prospect in the class almost by default, as no one has really emerged to challenge him. He\u2019s a high-contact hitter who should grow into above-average power, while he has a chance to stay at shortstop despite being a fringy runner. His transfer to a tiny Christian school to play under former MLB outfielder Rusty Greer means he\u2019s not facing much good pitching at all this spring, so his status is going to lean more on the scouting looks and data from last year.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

I\u2019m probably the high man on Becker, because I see a plus hit tool and a plus future defender at second base, but his chase rate of 30 percent, with 22 percent on pitches well out of the zone, is too high and works against his strength of making contact on pitches in or very near the strike zone. His line is below what he produced as a sophomore, down 53 points of batting average from .368 last year to .315 with comparable drops in his OBP and SLG.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Burress hasn\u2019t shown the same power so far this year that he did last year, with six homers through 31 games after he hit 19 in 60 games as a sophomore. He\u2019s more of a high-floor prospect, someone who should hit enough and with enough power to play every day, even in an outfield corner, although this is kind of the Adam Haseley profile. I\u2019m also a little concerned about how much trouble he\u2019s had with offspeed stuff this year; he\u2019s whiffed 10 percent on fastballs, and 38 percent on everything else.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Townsend left a start with shoulder discomfort, missed a week, returned for a four-inning start on a Sunday, then was lights out last Saturday for six innings. He has plus stuff across the board, and outside of the start he left early, he\u2019s only walked four batters in 28 2\/3 innings. If he can hold serve the rest of the way, and the medicals are clear, he\u2019s at the top of this second tier of college starters (behind Flora, a tier unto himself).<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Flukey has been out since his first start with a fractured rib but is expected to return before the end of April. When healthy, he\u2019s 95-97 with a plus curveball and the potential for a plus slider, needing some kind of change-of-pace pitch to be better against lefties. He was probably the No. 2 starter prospect coming into the spring, and I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll go any worse than third in that group if he has a month of good showings.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Lebron has No. 1 pick tools, as a shortstop with bat speed and increasing power, but the swing-and-miss concerns that teams had coming into the spring are still there. In the SEC, so far, he\u2019s whiffed 41 percent of the time he\u2019s swung at anything that wasn\u2019t a fastball (and only 4 percent on fastballs, if you\u2019re looking for a silver lining). If a team has no history or competence in developing hitters\u2019 approaches and swing decisions, he\u2019s not the guy for them.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Lombard has been hit-or-miss this spring at the plate, but he has the tools to be an easy top-10 pick \u2014 and higher upside than Emerson offers. That said, the contact issues that led to his 33 percent whiff rate last summer and fall haven\u2019t entirely gone away this spring against lesser competition.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Reddemann has walked seven batters over eight starts, and olds like me are like moths to a flame when it comes to pitchers who have good stuff with this kind of feel and command. I saw him mostly go fastball-changeup against Tennessee, but he\u2019s throwing his slider now more as well, giving him three potentially above-average pitches to go with the extreme strike-throwing.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Booth is an 80 runner and true center fielder with a leadoff hitter profile, making contact with a short, slashy swing without a lot of power. He had a very highly attended matchup with another Mississippi prep hitter, Kevin Roberts, and walked three times while also getting hit by a pitch, so, uh, I guess he\u2019s patient.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Curiel just went 7 for 14 with 12 total bases this past weekend against Tennessee as he continues to show he can hit anything the SEC throws at him while playing surprisingly solid defense in center (despite a 45 arm). The Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) HS product was hitting .362\/.446\/.546 after the Tennessee series, with 10 stolen bases already after he stole just three as a freshman.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s stuff isn\u2019t the question \u2014 he throws 95-99 with a knockout slider and a changeup that\u2019s plus as long as he gets on top of it \u2014 but his ability to deploy it is, as he\u2019s walked 25 in 38 innings, including nine in his last two outings against Arkansas and Mississippi. You can certainly dream on him as a No. 2 starter if you think you can find the answer to his control woes, although I\u2019m becoming more skeptical as he keeps walking hitters in the SEC.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

The draft\u2019s top two-way player is a better prospect right now on the mound, but is a real prospect with the bat for a team willing to wait for him to fill out physically. He has excellent feel for contact even with just fringy bat speed right now, and he looks like he\u2019ll have plus power once he gets stronger. He\u2019s been up to 96 on the mound with a potentially plus slider, although the delivery is unrefined and will at least need some cleanup to help him build velocity and work in the strike zone. He won\u2019t turn 17 until mid-April, which is a positive for his remaining growth potential and terrifying because he\u2019s a 16-year-old already throwing in the mid-90s.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

Pitcher<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

LHP<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Strosnider has shown more power this year for TCU while getting somewhat unlucky on balls in play, hitting .309\/.466\/.691 with 10 homers after he hit 11 homers all of last year. He has a very pretty left-handed swing that produces a lot of contact. His value in the draft depends heavily on his bat because he\u2019s almost certainly going to end up in left field.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Gracia followed his head coach from Duke to UVA and is now hitting .336\/.484\/.622 for the Hoos with nine homers, giving him a chance to beat his previous career high of 15. He has a pretty uphill swing that puts the ball in the air a ton, although that\u2019s also produced a lot of pop-ups and short flyballs to the outfield.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Hacopian missed about a month with a back injury but has hit extremely well outside of that, with a .324\/.442\/.549 line and 15 walks against eight strikeouts. He has a great right-handed swing that looks geared to pull the ball on a line, with all of his homers to the pull side, and his whiff and chase rates are well above average. He\u2019s probably a second baseman in the long term, and I\u2019m sure teams will want a closer look at the injury info.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

3B<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Carlon is a slider-heavy starter, throwing that pitch 50 percent of the time, with a mid-90s fastball and a very occasional changeup that he\u2019ll need to improve (or just throw more) at the next level, with no platoon split so far this year. There\u2019s reliever risk with him leaning so hard on a single offspeed pitch, but mid-rotation upside as well.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Rose didn\u2019t play until March 10 due to an ankle injury, then missed most of the North Carolina series with a hamstring issue, so seven of his 11 games have been against ACC opponents. He\u2019s hitting .553\/.630\/1.000 in just 46 PA. I expect him to finish a little below that.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Sorrell has already set a new career high with 16 homers, putting him in the top 10 of all Division I hitters, and he has a .381\/.471\/.873 line overall. The power is real, with six of those homers to center or the other way, but the hit tool is still a question as he misses too often, even on fastballs. He\u2019s in center now but probably ends up in a corner.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Rembert was already a high-contact hitter coming into this year, but he\u2019s taken it to another level with a whiff rate of just 16 percent on the season, and just 15 percent on both fastballs and sliders, which is really unusual (both the low whiff rate on that pitch type and having a slider whiff rate the same as that on the fastball). He\u2019s a second baseman who\u2019s played a little corner outfield, and he turns 21 a week before the draft.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

2B<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Ruiz had two knocks against him coming out of the summer: He\u2019ll be 19.3 on draft day, and he was very undersized. He hasn\u2019t managed to reverse the flow of time, so he\u2019ll still be one of the older high school prospects in his class, but he\u2019s gotten significantly stronger and is driving the ball more, enough to get him into first-round consideration. He\u2019s an elite hitter for contact \u2014 supposedly he\u2019s whiffed exactly twice this whole spring \u2014 and a no-doubt shortstop, so just showing he can make hard enough contact to keep his batting average up would give him a strong floor as an everyday player.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

The son of former Rays starter Doug Waechter, Kaden was the best prospect at last month\u2019s NHSI tournament at the USA baseball complex. He\u2019s 91-95 mph with immense vertical break, coming at hitters from a low three-quarters slot and a low release height as a result, showing a four-pitch mix and above-average control already.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Brunson is hitting .284\/.464\/.539 even though everything below the surface is pretty good \u2014 he doesn\u2019t whiff or chase much, he\u2019s getting the ball in the air, and he\u2019s hitting the ball hard. He also has a chance to stick in center, although I\u2019d bet he ends up in right field.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Dudan comes from a low three-quarters slot \u2014 picture that, then go a little lower \u2014 and is almost all fastball\/slider, sitting 95-96, while the slider misses nearly half the bats that try to hit it. He barely throws a changeup, although it can show decent fade, while the fastball doesn\u2019t miss as many bats as I\u2019d guess given the slot and release height. He\u2019s pitched extremely well for the Wolfpack, with just 12 walks in 50 innings and only three homers allowed.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Bolemon is the top prep lefty in the class, although he\u2019s been a little slow out of the gate this spring. He\u2019s been up to 96 before with a four-pitch mix, coming from a three-quarters slot where he gets on top of the ball well, getting good depth on his breaking stuff. The velocity has been down a tick so far this year, however. He\u2019s already had an internal brace procedure when he was about 15. He\u2019s committed to Wake Forest.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Kuhns has easy first-round stuff but more like third-round command, with high-vertical break on his fastball in the mid 90s, a plus curveball and an above-average slider, but a tendency to get too much of the heart of the plate. Without a changeup, he tends to throw stuff middle-in to lefties and has gotten crushed on belt-high fastballs in those spots, leading to seven of the 10 extra-base hits he\u2019s given up. He\u2019s draft-eligible by age as a sophomore.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

UCLA\u2019s lineup is stacked with prospects beyond Roch Cholowsky. Martin is a selective hitter, almost to the point of passivity, swinging at just 28 percent of pitches so far this year, but when he does swing, he hits the ball fairly hard and on a line frequently enough to project as a strong hitter for average with at least doubles power. He plays third for the Bruins but I wouldn\u2019t be shocked to see a team send him out at shortstop, where he has played a little over the last two summers.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

3B<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Schmidt is up to 96 on his four-seamer with a sharp sweeper\/slider in the mid-80s, while also showing a sinker, cutter and changeup. He\u2019ll need some delivery cleanup and might actually be throwing too many pitches, given how good the breaking ball is. He\u2019s committed to LSU.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Andersen is Kaden Waechter\u2019s teammate at Tampa Jesuit, and he boosted his standing with a very strong showing at NHSI, where he was 92-96 with a hard breaker at 81-85 and a solid changeup, pounding the zone with the fastball and then getting chases with that slider. He\u2019s committed to Mississippi State.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Rojas works in the mid 90s from a low three-quarters slot, getting good life on the fastball, so he can pitch primarily off of it. He also has a high-spin sweepy slider that gets kind of flat and a seldom-used changeup with some fading action to it. He turns 19 a few weeks before the draft, and is committed to Miami.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Duncan is the top Canadian prospect in this year\u2019s class. He pitched against a couple of complex-level teams in spring training last month, getting up to 96 with big ride up top and a high induced vertical break, along with a plus changeup, a high-spin curveball and a clean, repeatable delivery. Some teams have told me they don\u2019t love the breaking ball, but he has at least shown the ability to spin the ball, which opens up a world of possibilities to change its type and shape. He\u2019s committed to Vanderbilt.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Grahovac struck out 29 percent of the time as a freshman in 2024, missed most of 2025 due to injury, and has struck out 13.6 percent of the time so far this year. It\u2019s a real improvement in contact, as his whiff rate has come down from 32 percent to 25 percent, and he continues to show above-average power. He\u2019s playing a lot of first base this year, although he\u2019ll probably at least start out in pro ball in an outfield corner.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

1B<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Reese is hitting .317\/.416\/.651 this spring for the Bulldogs, although his batted-ball data isn\u2019t as compelling as the stat line, especially in the power output. He\u2019s a very strong fastball hitter, but he\u2019s whiffed more than a third of the time against anything else. He\u2019s a third baseman now but will move to first in pro ball.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

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3B<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Edwards gave up one earned run in his first six starts, then allowed two earned runs and walked six on a very cold, rainy night at Maryland, and got hit around by a loaded UCLA lineup last week, raising his season ERA to 1.20. He\u2019s only up to 93 and can sit 89-91, but the curveball and changeup are at least 55s and he\u2019s still slender for a college junior. He walks too many, although at least some of this is a function of pitch selection rather than just bad control \u2014 when he gets ahead in the count, he tries to get hitters to chase those secondaries, going out of the zone more than 60 percent of the time in those situations.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Clark has a quick, whippy swing and is a plus runner who\u2019s athletic enough to stay at shortstop but did not field well at NHSI in front of a lot of scouts and decision-makers, mostly struggling with his throwing accuracy. He projects to hit for average more than for power, and while he should go out as a shortstop, he probably has the speed and instincts for center. He\u2019s committed to Duke, having switched there after he\u2019d previously committed to Princeton.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Bowen is a power\/speed outfielder from the baseball factory of JSerra in Southern California. He\u2019s had some mixed results this spring at the plate after a strong summer and fall, where he showed he could make contact even against better quality stuff. He has 20\/20 upside in center field if he gets to the contact. He\u2019s committed to Oregon State.<\/p>\n

Position Player<\/p>\n

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OF<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Maniscalco won\u2019t turn 17 until May 1, making him the youngest prospect anywhere on my radar for this draft \u2014 maybe there\u2019s someone younger, but they have to finish kindergarten first. He\u2019s a twitchy athlete who should be a long-term shortstop and might grow into above-average power, but he has really struggled at the plate this spring and teams that don\u2019t lean as much on age in their models, or that don\u2019t use models as heavily at all, are probably going to steer clear. He\u2019s committed to Mississippi State.<\/p>\n

Position Player<\/p>\n

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SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Spangler still hasn\u2019t played this year and there\u2019s a chance he won\u2019t play at all, in which case he might just end up at Stanford and be back in the 2029 draft. He\u2019s a polished hitter with a decent shot to stick at shortstop.<\/p>\n

Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Marchand put on 10 or so pounds of muscle this offseason and is making harder contact now, even flashing some opposite-field power, despite a swing that gets very inside-out and has him leaking over his front side. He\u2019s a shortstop now who\u2019s almost certainly moving to third base, but could be plus there thanks to excellent hands and a strong arm. He\u2019s committed to Mississippi.<\/p>\n

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Position Player<\/p>\n

High School<\/p>\n

SS<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Volchko gets very high marks for his “pitch shapes,” which will likely push him well up the board for model-heavy teams, but those shapes haven\u2019t yielded great results this year \u2014 he\u2019s only struck out 24 percent of batters he\u2019s faced and walked 11 percent for Georgia, which is an improvement from his two years at Stanford, where he walked nearly 14 percent of batters and posted a 5.89 ERA. He\u2019s been up to 98 from a low three-quarters slot, with two potentially plus breaking pitches, showing no real platoon split so far this year even without a real changeup.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Johnson has thrown just seven innings so far this year over three starts, after missing the first month due to a mysterious arm issue, but he\u2019s come back with premium stuff again, up to 97 with a changeup and slider that are both at least 55s. If he can hold this stuff over longer outings and the medicals check out, he\u2019s a potential first-rounder.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: L<\/p>\n

Bumila is the latest pop-up name in this draft class, for good reason, as he\u2019s been up to 100 mph with enormous extension thanks to his 6-foot-9 frame. He just started his baseball season as he was playing basketball, helping Bishop Feehan win the state championship, and didn\u2019t throw anywhere last summer or fall as he recovered from an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow. He\u2019s committed to Texas.<\/p>\n

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Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Harris has a live fastball that he can use to get outs in or above the zone, striking out 13 straight batters in the game I happened to catch, with nearly all of them coming on the heater. He\u2019s mostly 93-95 with visible ride on the pitch. He will show a slider and changeup as needed, with both pitches promising but unrefined right now. He\u2019s committed to Texas.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: B, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Contreras pitched for Team Brazil in the World Baseball Classic, the youngest player in the event this year. He is now back pitching for his high school team in Georgia, where his father Jose \u2014 the former MLB starter \u2014 is on the coaching staff. Joseph is up to 97 with a huge assortment of pitches \u2014 shocker \u2014 led by a splitter in the upper 70s, with several secondary pitches that miss bats right now. His command and control are below-average and there\u2019s some violence to the delivery. He\u2019s committed to Vanderbilt.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Gasparino has some of the best raw power in the class, high school or college. He\u2019s already matched his 2025 home run total with 13, while also boosting his contact rate and his batting average, the latter by over 100 points so far. He still expands the zone too much, with a 25 percent chase rate on pitches well out of the zone, and he isn\u2019t going to see a ton of good pitching in the Big Ten the rest of the way.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: R, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Borthwick struggled out of the gate, showing up with a thicker body and less velocity early in the spring, but he\u2019s continued to improve as the season has progressed, sitting more 94-95 recently and filling up the zone with the fastball. He works primarily with that pitch, and he has a promising slider as his main secondary weapon. He\u2019s committed to Auburn.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Scouting Report<\/p>\n

Bats: L, Throws: R<\/p>\n

Bogenpohl is hitting .315\/.497\/.523, bringing his strikeout rate way down so far this year, while continuing to handle center field enough to go out there in pro ball. He has 30-homer upside, although this year he\u2019s been using the whole field more and pulling the ball less. There is still a swing-and-miss concern here, as he\u2019s at a 37 percent whiff rate on non-fastballs and is facing mid-major pitching.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Position Player<\/p>\n

4-Year College<\/p>\n

OF<\/p>\n


\n\"Connections:\"Connections:<\/p>\n

Apr 9, 2026<\/p>\n

Connections: Sports Edition<\/p>\n

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms<\/p>\n

Find the hidden link between sports terms<\/p>\n

Play today’s puzzle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once again, the strength of this MLB Draft is in its high school pitching. There\u2019s enough major-conference college…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":574685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[2317,4818,2111,371,374,479,2318,2319,2320,1230,372,373,2321,2322,2323,2324,2325,2326,363,1189,369,480,2240,2328,2329,481,99,1231,974,2330,364,2331],"class_list":{"0":"post-574684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","9":"tag-athletics","10":"tag-atlanta-braves","11":"tag-baltimore-orioles","12":"tag-boston-red-sox","13":"tag-chicago-cubs","14":"tag-chicago-white-sox","15":"tag-cincinnati-reds","16":"tag-cleveland-guardians","17":"tag-colorado-rockies","18":"tag-detroit-tigers","19":"tag-houston-astros","20":"tag-kansas-city-royals","21":"tag-los-angeles-angels","22":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","23":"tag-miami-marlins","24":"tag-milwaukee-brewers","25":"tag-minnesota-twins","26":"tag-mlb","27":"tag-new-york-mets","28":"tag-new-york-yankees","29":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","30":"tag-pittsburgh-pirates","31":"tag-san-diego-padres","32":"tag-san-francisco-giants","33":"tag-seattle-mariners","34":"tag-sports","35":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","36":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","37":"tag-texas-rangers","38":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","39":"tag-washington-nationals"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/574685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}