The high school season has wrapped up, almost every college team has packed and punched out and portaled, and now Major League Baseball’s draft evaluation period quiets just a bit – even as some of the most important work remains.
As the men’s College World Series arrives, pitting the final eight teams against each other (and this year’s group is, relatively speaking, not bursting with potential high-round draftees) the next phase has begun. MLB’s draft combine begins June 22 in Phoenix, where skills will be measured but perhaps more important interviews and personal evaluations will occur, a key time for clubs and players alike to determine how well they match up.
And while it won’t really affect the first round, the MLB draft league is up and running, giving prospects of all ages a Statcast-able platform to buoy their stock or at least get on the 2027 radar.
With that, USA TODAY Sports takes another stab at projecting the first 30 picks when the draft commences July 11 from Philadelphia:
Roch Cholowsky playing for the Bruins.
We’re rolling with consistency here. While much has and can and will change over the next five weeks, Cholowsky still represents the best fusion of current value and impact. While Cholowsky’s season ended as quietly as his team’s – two singles in 12 at-bats in the No. 1 Bruins’ stunning regional elimination – he still did nothing to betray the notion he’s not the best option atop this draft.
2. Tampa Bay Rays: SS Grady Emerson, Fort Worth Christian HS
Now the consensus national high school player of the year, Emerson’s also the lone prep player named a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist; he batted .532 during his regular season with seven homers and 31 stolen bases.
3. Minnesota Twins: RHP Jackson Flora, UC Santa Barbara
Easily the nation’s leader with a 1.06 ERA (No. 2 was 1.98), Flora ran through the tape in his junior season, winning his last seven starts and posting a 30-4 strikeout-walk ratio in his final three. Lots of positional temptations but Flora represents a slam dunk foundational piece.
We’ll see how far north Lackey’s arrow points. It’s just gotten harder to see him slip this low, where Buster Posey can sell a building block catcher for an organization that needs one. Lackey finished his season with 20 homers and a 1.291 OPS in 61 games.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates: SS Jacob Lombard, Gulliver Prep (Fla.) HS
Still a chance he goes higher, and hard to conceive this isn’t his floor. Lombard’s speed-power profile nearly matches Emerson’s and his 6-3 frame and athleticism is perfect to play shortstop a long time in the big leagues.
6. Kansas City Royals: CF Eric Booth Jr., Oak Grove (Miss.) HS
Lots of college impact bats still available but the Royals go prep outfielder for the second year in a row, opting for Booth’s power-speed potential.
Produced a .358/.473/.657 slash with 16 home runs, not an effusive platform year but one that will keep him near the top of the round, where the Orioles never met an SEC/ACC outfielder they didn’t like.
8. Athletics: SS Justin Lebron, Alabama
With Burress gone the A’s go with the more dynamic skill set while brushing off Lebron’s suboptimal platform season, especially in SEC play. Yet the 6-2 shortstop should benefit from the advanced college players who have already beat a quick path to Yolo County.
9. Atlanta Braves: LHP Gio Rojas, Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS
A perfect match between an organization that excels at nudging prep pitchers toward the majors and a 6-4 lefty who pairs a fastball that touches 98 mph with a devastating sweeper.
10. Colorado Rockies: RHP Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina
The Rockies’ semi-successful Coors pitching project will get a readymade Patient One to mold from the start of a professional career. Flukey’s 6-6 frame and bat-missing ability (11.6 strikeouts per nine in three seasons) give them a lot to work with.
After revamping their offensive apparatus, the Nationals do themselves a favor and draft a guy already gifted with excellent swing decisions. Curiel struck out 43 times and drew 34 walks in 58 games and had a .452 OBP across two seasons in Baton Rouge.
He has a lot to clean up, and the Angels usually like their rush-to-the-big-leagues guys close to finished products when they draft them. But Peterson’s big stuff will be too much to ignore for a regime that will already ponder how soon the 6-5 prospect can get to Anaheim.
Not really sure what his future position will be but the Cardinals know what to do with another plug-and-play guy who can keep the line moving and perhaps grow into more power. If not, no biggie.
14. Miami Marlins: OF Sawyer Strosnider, TCU
Three years into Peter Bendix’s tenure should give us a better idea this innovative club’s draft approach. In this scenario, a potentially elite bat from the college ranks falls to them.
15. Arizona Diamondbacks: Arizona Diamondbacks: C Ryder Helfrick, Arkansas
The Diamondbacks haven’t used their top pick on a catcher since 2012 (where art thou, Stryker Trahan?) but Helfrick is too good a value to pass on here after his 18-homer, .979-OPS final season in Fayetteville.
16. Texas Rangers: OF AJ Gracia, Virginia
A steady left-handed collegiate bat with excellent bat-to-ball skills, Gracia could move quickly toward Arlington.
17. Houston Astros: INF Ace Reese, Mississippi State
We’re now at the point where every pick can go in so many different directions, but the Astros opt for the former Houston Cougar with power to all fields; Reese smacked 24 home runs in his final year in Starkville.
A switch-hitting sophomore-eligible shortstop who may require shoulder surgery, Bell may eventually develop an elite offensive profile but for now is a steady player with excellent plate discipline, drawing 30 walks to just 36 strikeouts in earning first-team All-SEC honors.
19. Cleveland Guardians: LHP Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan (Mass.) HS
An excellent senior season and the lure of a lefty topping 100 mph with the athleticism that comes with being an elite basketball player, Bumila will puncture the top 20. While the Guardians prefer college arms, they did OK in 2024 with prep lefty Braylon Doughty, now in high Class A.
20. Boston Red Sox: LHP Hunter Dietz, Arkansas
At 6-6, 235 pounds, Dietz can stand eye-to-eye with Garrett Crochet and also touches 98 mph with his fastball. Still in need of polish but struck out more batters than anyone in the SEC, punching out 13.76 per nine innings.
21. San Diego Padres: LHP/OF Jared Grindlinger, Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS
He doesn’t turn 18 until April 2027 and Grindlinger’s drafting team has the luxury of workshopping him as a pitcher or hitter. Here’s guessing the mound wins out, especially as Grindlinger’s frame fills out.
22. Detroit Tigers: RHP Cade Townsend, Mississippi
Cade Townsend celebrates a strikeout against Tennessee.
The Tigers generally prefer higher-ceiling prep players but go for a little more certainty with Townsend, a draft-eligible sophomore with a powerful profile in his repertoire.
23. Chicago Cubs: SS Eric Becker, Virginia
A steady choice, Becker is a technically sound player with gap-to-gap power who should move methodically through a minor league system.
24. Seattle Mariners: OF Trevor Condon, Etowah (Ga.) HS
Condon brings high energy and elite speed, along with the profile to stick in center field. A long-term investment for a club with the luxury to wait.
Now slashing .342/.435/.720 for the Omaha-bound Longhorns, Robbins boosted his homers from six to 24 in transferring from Seton Hall to Austin.
26. Atlanta Braves: RHP Jensen Hirschkorn, Kingsburg (Calif.) HS
A 6-7 frame that already produces a mid-90s fastball, Hirschkorn is another pitcher with basketball athleticism and tons of projectability. Two picks in the top 26 should help Atlanta keep Hirschkorn away from LSU.
27. New York Mets: OF Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
Quite a skill set, as Sorrell produced 23 homers, 11 steals and a 1.177 OPS – all in a center fielder’s package – in his final year in College Station.
28. Houston Astros: OF Zion Rose, Louisville
A career 1.023 OPS at Louisville, Rose stole 24 bases in 27 attempts and had a .491 OBP in his final season. Strong 205-pound frame could produce more power than he’s shown.
29. San Francisco Giants: Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia
We’re just going to assign Buster Posey catchers with Georgia connections until he’s had his fill. Jackson transferred from Wofford to become a Bulldogs legend, ripping 31 homers to key their CWS run.
30. Kansas City Royals: RHP Logan Reddemann, UCLA
They’re buying low on Reddemann after arm issues slowed a platform year that seemed to push him closer to the top 10. Reddemann hasn’t pitched since April 17 but posted a 0.97 WHIP and 12.7 strikeouts per nine before he was idled.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2026 MLB mock draft, top prospects entering College World Series
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