{"id":675016,"date":"2026-04-13T22:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/675016\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T22:15:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:15:55","slug":"minnesota-twins-2026-mlb-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/675016\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota Twins 2026 MLB Mock Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>              1<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Roch Cholowsky<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              195<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              UCLA<\/p>\n<p>              Cholowsky is one of the best collegiate shortstops in the last two decades and has a chance to be the first wire-to-wire number one draft prospect since Adley Rutschman. Entering his junior year he looks a lock to be the White Sox selection at number one overall.<\/p>\n<p>Simply, Cholowsky does everything well. Its a relaxed, slightly open stance at the plate with a barrel tip and earflap high hand set. Cholowsky has a small drifting step into a swing that unleashes serious bat speed and quick rotation. <\/p>\n<p>Strong bat-to-ball metrics are supplemented by an excellent approach and mature swing decisions. Cholowsky managed 45 walks versus 30 strikeouts in his sohpomore year, in the middle of a serious power breakout in which he clubbed 23 home runs and ran a 90th percentile EV90. <\/p>\n<p>Defensively, he&#8217;s a virtual lock to stick at the positon, with a strong arm, excellent internal clock, and soft hands. It&#8217;s shortstop skill over raw athleticism. His speed is the only tool you could ding him for (he&#8217;s a 50 runner). He&#8217;s the clear number one prospect in the class and he&#8217;ll take some catching.<\/p>\n<p>              2<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Grady Emerson<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              180<\/p>\n<p>              L\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Fort Worth Christian HS, TX<\/p>\n<p>              Emerson is a UT commit and the number one prep prospect in the 2026 class. There might be a little prospect fatigue with Emerson by draft day as he&#8217;s been well known since he was 15 and there&#8217;s less transparency around both data and benchmarks for the top prep prospects in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Make no mistake, though, Emerson is a prize in this draft. He might be the best overall hitter in it. It&#8217;s a relaxed setup, a direct, short left-handed swing, and some adjustability that allows Emerson to keep his barrel in the zone as long as possible and take what he&#8217;s given by a pitcher.<\/p>\n<p>Everything is good here, offensively. During the 2025 summer showcase circuit Emerson showcased strong bat-to-ball skills, excellent swing decisons, and improved bat speed that indicates above average power may be on the way. Emerson is a plus runner, to boot. <\/p>\n<p>Defensively, he has all the ingredients to stick at the position, with a strong glove, excellent throwing arm, and a good level of defensive polish for his age at the position. Emerson should be one of the first names off the board in July.<\/p>\n<p>              3<\/p>\n<p>              RHP<\/p>\n<p>              Jackson Flora<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;5<\/p>\n<p>              205<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              UC Santa Barbara<\/p>\n<p>              Flora pitched behind number two overall pick Tyler Bremner in 2025, and returns a year later to headline the Gauchos rotation, himself a contender to be a top three pick. Flora has an ideal frame for a starter, standing at 6&#8217;5, 205, with some additional strength still to be added.<\/p>\n<p>After pitching primarily as a reliever as a freshman, Flora took on a starting role as a sophomore and thrived, managing a 3.15 FIP in 75 innings, while striking out close to 28% of the hitters he faced. The stuff is loud. Flora primarily relies on a fastball, slider, changeup combination, though he does access a cutter and curveball occassionally, too. It&#8217;s a high spin fastball (up to 2600 rpms), topping out at 100mph from a lower launch.<\/p>\n<p>Flora throws two iterations of his slider, a harder version around 87 mph, and a sweeper that generates 19 inches of horizontal movement. To add to this intriguing arsenal, Flora has been an excellent strike thrower in college, walking just 5.5% of hitters in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Flora has separated himself as SP1 early in the 2026 cycle. There&#8217;s room for development and refinement of his pitch shapes and arsenal, but this is front of the rotation arm talent and upside.<\/p>\n<p>              4<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Justin Lebron<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              180<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Alabama<\/p>\n<p>              Lebron was not a heralded prep prospect out of Florida but has developed into a 2026 profile with some of the highest upside, particularly on the college side. He&#8217;s lean, smooth, and explosive in all aspects of the game.<\/p>\n<p>Lebron stands 6&#8217;2 and operated from a relatively wide base with a slightly open stance at the plate. It&#8217;s tremendous bat speed from the right side of the plate, and yet his swing, like everything he does, looks simple and relaxed.<\/p>\n<p>Lebron added serious impact as a sophomore at Alabama. It&#8217;s 60 grade power, but there are some warts in the hit tool. In 2026, he&#8217;ll need to show improved pitch recognition and naviagate some of the chase and swing and miss, partiuclarly against offspead pitches. A 24.2 K% in 2025 was accompanied by notably diminished production in SEC play.<\/p>\n<p>Defensively, Lebron has a chance to be a plus shortstop. He has excellent range, a plus arm, and has the athleticism to make outstanding plays defensively, though there&#8217;s a coat of polish to be applied to his infield defense. He&#8217;s a plus runner too, with 22 stolen bases (100%) at the end of March.<\/p>\n<p>Lebron is one of the few prospects who has the athleticism and tools to challenge Cholowsky for the number one overall pick. He&#8217;s a higher risk, higher reward pick than some other collegiate bats in the class.<\/p>\n<p>              5<\/p>\n<p>              C<\/p>\n<p>              Vahn Lackey<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              200<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Georgia Tech<\/p>\n<p>              Every draft cycle seems to produce 2-3 first round catchers, most of whom have warts offensively, defensively, or both. Georgia Tech&#8217;s Vahn Lackey may be the most complete college catcher in recent seasons and has been the name with the most helium associated with it in the early going in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Lackey entered 2026 viewed as an excelent defensive catcher, with athleticism uncommon for the position, in addition to have strong bat-to-ball skills. He continues to look excellent behind the plate, with good receiving and blocking skills, an excellent arm and strong pop and transfer times.<\/p>\n<p>Offensively, his power has taken a step forwards. After hitting 6 home runs in 60 games in 2025, he has 9 in his first 25 in 2026, with more walks than strike outs adding a high on-base floor to his profile. He&#8217;ll need to continue to prove it in conference play, but a continuation of his early season improvements will push Lackey into T5 consideration due to the completeness of his skillsets on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n<p>              6<\/p>\n<p>              RHP<\/p>\n<p>              Cam Flukey<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;6<\/p>\n<p>              210<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Coastal Carolina<\/p>\n<p>              Flukey is a lean right-handed starter who led Coastal Carolina to a College World Series appearance in 2025, mangaging a 2.68 FIP in 101.2 inning pitched in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Flukey has a big of a messy delivery, with a long arm stroke and some head whack from a three quarter slot, but the result are inarguable, as he struck out 28.5% of hitters faced in 2025, while walking just 5.8%.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a deep, diverse arsenal, too. Flukey&#8217;s fastball sits at 95 mph with good ride and he can reach back to grab 98 mph. Flukey has two different breaking pitches, a gyro-type slider and a slider, high-70s curveball. He&#8217;s been effective throwing strikes and generating whiffs with both. Finally, there&#8217;s a mid-80s changeup he throws sparingly.<\/p>\n<p>Flukey was sidelines for 8 weeks with a stress fracture after just one start in 2026. He he looks when he returns from injury will determine if he&#8217;s still in the mix for SP1 in the class.<\/p>\n<p>              7<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              AJ Gracia<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;3<\/p>\n<p>              195<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Virginia<\/p>\n<p>              The 2026 draft class is flush with college outfielders of many different flavors. AJ Gracia has one of the better hit\/power combos in the class, bouyed by excellent on-base skills, without some of the loud supplementary tools of other college outfielders.<\/p>\n<p>Gracia stands 6&#8217;3, 195 and has a picaresque, scooped, left-handed swing. He can be borderline passive at the plate, an approach that&#8217;s working just fine in D1 baseball to the tune of a walk rate of ~20% in both 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s well above average bat-to-ball skills for Gracia, particularly out of the strike zone. It&#8217;s 60 raw power, too although he hasn&#8217;t yet tapped into accessing it with as much consistency as he might. There&#8217;s almost no chase in his profile and Gracia is skilled at maximizing pulled fly balls. In short, there are very few holes in this &#8216;Nick Kurtz light&#8217; offensive profile.<\/p>\n<p>For supplementary tools, everything is good, not great. Gracia is playing competent centerfield in 2026, though average speed and range likely point towards his being a corner outfield profile, long term. The offense carries the profile, but the balanced skillset should allow him to thrive at the next level.<\/p>\n<p>              8<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              Drew Burress<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              5&#8217;9<\/p>\n<p>              185<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Georgia Tech<\/p>\n<p>              Burress has been the most consistently productive college hitters since he set foot on campus at Georgia Tech. There&#8217;s no arguing the track record, but there&#8217;s a limited catalogue of impact bats in the big leagues who stood 5&#8217;9.<\/p>\n<p>Burress has a ton of moving pieces in his swing that can get a little convuluted and may be problematic against better quality pitching in professional baseball. It&#8217;s good (not outstanding) bat-to-ball skills with tremendous quality of contact that has resulted in 44 home runs in his first two collegiate seasons. Burress rarely expands the zone and has walked significanty more than he struck out in his first two seasons in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>Burress has strog supplementary tools. A plus arm and above average speed and defense gives him a chance to stick on centerfield, at least in the infancy of his pro career. He&#8217;ll need to be astoundingly productive in 2026 to allay fear around his size and physicality (and a poor track record with wooden bats, albeit in small samples). However 2026 goes, Burress is a sure fire first rounder.<\/p>\n<p>              9<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Chris Hacopian<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;1<\/p>\n<p>              205<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Texas A&amp;M<\/p>\n<p>              Hacopian transferred to Texas A&amp;M from Maryland. The SEC should be the perfect litmus test to establish if the 165 wRC+ he mananged in 2025 is legit. The Aggies infielder falls into a specific sub-genre of college bats prevalent in this class &#8216;hit\/power threats without a truly valuable defensive home&#8217;. While Hacopian has played plenty of shortstop in his college career, he profiles better as a second baseman.<\/p>\n<p>Hacopian has a lot going on in his swing, with a big leg kick and some moving pieces, but this is one of the best hit\/power combinations on the college side, buoyed by an excellent approach at the plate.<\/p>\n<p>Defensively, there&#8217;s not much range or a great arm in play, so it&#8217;s liekly second base or left field long term. Despite his incredible production, Hacopian&#8217;s reliance on his offensive skills mean he&#8217;ll likely be out the race for the top three or four spots in this class. Still, he&#8217;s close to a no doubt offensive contributor and likely enters consideration from drafting teams early in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>              10<\/p>\n<p>              LHP<\/p>\n<p>              Gio Rojas<\/p>\n<p>              19<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;4<\/p>\n<p>              190<\/p>\n<p>              R\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Stoneman Douglas HS, FL<\/p>\n<p>              Rojas is one of a cluster of arms, particularly southpaws, who make up an outstanding top-of-the-class prep pitching demographic in 2026. Rojas, a Miami commit, looks the part, standing at 6&#8217;4, 190, with a smooth delivery underpinned by excellent athleticism on the mound.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas commands an excellent fastball that sits in the 94-96 mph range but has flirted with triple digits. It&#8217;s backed up with two slider variants, the better of which is a nightmarish sweeper with a ton of horizontal break. Rojas also leverages a changeup, though that&#8217;s the least well-developed of his offerings currently.<\/p>\n<p>Rojas has a strong track record of strike throwing, a tendency his sound delivery indicates he has every chance to continue. This a premium prep left-handed arm. The only ding he might get in some draft models is he&#8217;ll be 19 on draft day.<\/p>\n<p>              11<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Jacob Lombard<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;3<\/p>\n<p>              185<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Gulliver Prep HS, FL<\/p>\n<p>              Jacob Lombard is the younger brother of George Lombard, a 2023 Yankees draftee and consensus T100 prospect in his own right. Lombard the younger has some of the loudest tools in the entire draft class, but qualifies as a high-risk, high-reward prep option for teams picking in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>Lombard the younger hits from the right hand side of the plate. There&#8217;s plus bat speed and easy raw power to all fields. The biggest questions in Lombard&#8217;s offensive profile surround his hit tool, with concerning levels of swing and miss in the 2025 summer showcase circuit.<\/p>\n<p>Lombard is incredibly athletically gifted, he plays smooth shortstop, has a solid arm and double plus, speed. This might be the highest upside play in the entire draft class. He could be a 30-30 type player if he can hit enough after turning pro.<\/p>\n<p>              12<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              Sawyer Strosnider<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              200<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              TCU<\/p>\n<p>              If you want a prospect who bridges the enormous ceiling of some prep prospects with the current skill and productivity of many first round college players, Strosnider might be the prospect for you.<\/p>\n<p>Strosnider was a multi-sport athlete in high school (basektball, track), and the athleticism you&#8217;d expect translates beautifully to the diamond. A twitchy, powerful left-handed swing, Strosnider has massive raw power. On his way to winning Big 12 freshman of the year in 2025, he hit 11 home runs, 13 doubles, and 10 triples, an indicator of the power\/speed blend on offer.<\/p>\n<p>Entering 2026, Strosnider&#8217;s needs offensively centered on reigning in an overly aggressive approach at the plate, an improvement which would allow him to access his damage on contact skills more consistently. There&#8217;s plenty of supplementary tools here, Strosnider has plus speed and a good arm, a combination that will give him a chance to stick in centerfield as a pro. <\/p>\n<p>If he can develop a more measured approach, he can be one of the most productive hitters in the class.<\/p>\n<p>              13<\/p>\n<p>              RHP<\/p>\n<p>              Liam Peterson<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;5<\/p>\n<p>              205<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Florida<\/p>\n<p>              Entering the 2026 season, it was a three horse race between Jackson Flora, Cam Flukey, and Liam Peterson to take the crown of college SP1 for the cycle. While Peterson has incredibly stuff, his continued to be troubled by some inconsistencies in his performance in his junior year.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson was a legit prep prospect in 2023, but ended up on campus in Gainesville, improving steadily in his first two years as a starter. It&#8217;s a premium starting pitching frame, Peterson stands 6&#8217;5, 205, with the stuff to match. His fastball sits in the mid 90s but Peterson can reach back from 98-99 mph with good ride through the zone. Peterson relies more heavily on a sharp slider and a changeup, both of which generated huge whiff rates in his sophomore year. Peterson also mixes in a curveball, albeit sparingly.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson has the size and stuff to be a front of the rotation arm, but strikes haven&#8217;t been consistent enough. Despite striking out over 33% of hitters in the early going in 2026, he&#8217;s also walking over 13%. That&#8217;ll scare some teams off at the very top of the class unless he can iron out his control in conference play.<\/p>\n<p>              14<\/p>\n<p>              LHP<\/p>\n<p>              Carson Boleman<\/p>\n<p>              19<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;4<\/p>\n<p>              210<\/p>\n<p>              R\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Southside Christian HS, SC<\/p>\n<p>              Bolemon is part of an exciting crop of prep arms getting first round consideration in the 2026 class. While he&#8217;ll be 19 on draft day, it&#8217;s an enticing combination of size, present stuff, and pitchability, that makes him one of the more polished high school arms in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Bolemon has a clean delivery and operates from a three-quarters slot. His fastball has been up to 97 mph, but will typically sit in the 92-94 mph range. The standout trait with the pitch is his command of it, as Bolemon can manipulate it throughout the strike zone with ease.<\/p>\n<p>Bolemom pairs his fastball with two promising breakers, an upper 70s curve and a slider that sit in the low 80s, with his changeup lagging behind the breaking pitches in both usage and effectiveness. Bolemon was the best arm on U18 US Collgiate National team last summer (on a team that included Gio Rojas) and has a good chance to be the first prep arm off the board. He&#8217;s currently committed to Wake Forest.<\/p>\n<p>              15<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Eric Becker<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;3<\/p>\n<p>              190<\/p>\n<p>              L\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Virginia<\/p>\n<p>              Becker has been a three year starter at Virginia and won&#8217;t turn 21 until the end of April. He&#8217;s been a productive contributor for the Cavaliers, putting up a 143 wRC+ as a freshman, and a 138 wRC+ as a sophomore.<\/p>\n<p>Becker has a direct, quick swing from the left side of the plate in what is currently a hit over power approach. There&#8217;s some impact there, though, as Becker cranked 30 doubles and 17 home runs in his first two seasons in Charlottesville. Becker&#8217;s profile relies on excellent bat-to-ball skills, sometimes at the expense of a quality approach, because he can get his bat on almost anything and tends to expand the zone at times.<\/p>\n<p>Becker displayed some stronger quality of contact metrics than his power output might indicate in 2025, a sign that suring up his approach might help him unlock power by targeting better pitches to drive, with consistency.<\/p>\n<p>My challenge with this profile is that I&#8217;d want a hit-tool forward offensive profile to be supplemented by some louder supporting tools. Becker is an average runner and fielder, and plays solid shortstop, but might not have the twitch, range, and athleticism to handle short in the big leagues. Even though he&#8217;ll be able to stick on the dirt, his future defensive home and lack of power heaps pressure on his hit tool to deliver value.<\/p>\n<p>              16<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Tyler Bell<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;1<\/p>\n<p>              190<\/p>\n<p>              S\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Kentucky<\/p>\n<p>              Bell was a supplemental second rounder in 2024 who was selected by the Rays but found his way to campus in Lexington. Two years later, he&#8217;s a draft eligible sohpomore and T20 caliber draft prospect ahead of the 2026 cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Bell is a switch hitter who solid, clean swings from both sides of the plate. As a freshman, he did a little bit of everything well, capping his first collegiate season with 29 extra base hits and a .907 OPS. If he can elevate the ball more consistency, it&#8217;s a 55 hit, 50 power combination potential as a pro.<\/p>\n<p>He has all the ingredients to be a solid pro shortstop, with a good first step, an above average arm, and a good glove. If Bell can evolve his approach a little more at the plate in his sophomore year, he could push his way further up draft boards, as he&#8217;ll be the centerpiece of his Kentucky team.<\/p>\n<p>              17<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              EJ Booth<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;0<\/p>\n<p>              205<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Oak Grove HS, MS<\/p>\n<p>              Booth is rapidly ascending draft boards. Starting from a pre-cycle clost of the back end of the first round, he has a chance to jump into the top three prep prospects, and the top ten of the cycle overall.<\/p>\n<p>Booth is a compact, twitchy, athletic outfielder committed to Vanderbilt. It&#8217;s a bit of an unconcventional swing from the left side that can look better in batting practice than games, but it&#8217;s underpinned by serious bat speed and an emerging ability to do damage on contact. All told, Booth has a chance to have above average hit and power tools.<\/p>\n<p>Booth is a nightmare on the base paths with 70-grade speed and is one of the fastest runners of the class. As one might imagine, this supports excellent range in the outfield. While his arm is fringe average, he should have little challenge tracking down almost anything and could settle into any outfield spot defensively.<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              3B<\/p>\n<p>              Ace Reese<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;4<\/p>\n<p>              220<\/p>\n<p>              L\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Mississippi State<\/p>\n<p>              Reese has raked for Mississippi State since transferring from Houston ahead of his sophomore campaign. He&#8217;s one of the better dual hit\/poer threats in the class, with any ceiling on his value being placed by an uncertain defensive home and limited supplementary tools.<\/p>\n<p>Reese stands 6&#8217;4, 220 and has primarily played third base and first base in college. It&#8217;s a solid arm, but fringe-to-average run and fielding tools. That might mean a long term home at first base, which requires a greater level of offensive production.<\/p>\n<p>Offensively, Reese shines. It&#8217;s good bat speed and excellent raw power. He can homer to any part of the park (21 in 2025). Reese displays good bat-to-ball skills, both in and out of the strike zone, and he takes plenty of walks. A slightly elevated strikeout rate is rooted in his propensity to chase and expand the zone. If he can reign that it, he&#8217;ll be a nightmarish at-bat.<\/p>\n<p>Reese is near the top of D1 baseball in barrel percentage, EV90, and his ability to pull the ball in the air. His approach and defensive home remain the only questions in an excellent offensively driven profile.<\/p>\n<p>              19<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              Derrick Curiel<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              185<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              LSU<\/p>\n<p>              Curiel was a highly touted prep prospect out of Southern California ahead of the 2024 draft but found his way to campus in Baton Rouge as one of the most anticipated freshman in the country. Fast forward to 2026, and he&#8217;s draft eligible as a sophomore with one of the best hit tools in the entire draft class.<\/p>\n<p>Curiel has a direct, smooth, left-handed swing. It&#8217;s elite bat to ball skills, as Curiel ran an 88% overall contact rate (95% in zone) in 2025, while rarely chasing and taking plenty of walks. While he finds the barrel often, the questions around Curiel&#8217;s profile center around his power projection. He managed 7 home runs as a freshman and his top end EVs are not the portent of significant power as a pro.<\/p>\n<p>Curiel is an above average runner with good range who should stick in center field as a pro, with a fringe average arm. If he can develop more power, this becomes a much more interesting profile. Right now, it&#8217;s a table setting, top of the lineup type with strong on-base skills and an outstanding hit tool.<\/p>\n<p>              20<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              Tyler Spangler<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;3<\/p>\n<p>              195<\/p>\n<p>              L\/R<\/p>\n<p>              De La Salle HS, CA<\/p>\n<p>              Spangler is a tall, lean prep shortstop out of Northern California, currently committed to Stanford. Despite his long levers, he possesses strong bat to ball skills thanks to a compact, diret swing from the left side. Spangler has present strength and bat speed, with the projection in his frame remaining, indicating he might get to aove average power.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;ll have a chance to stick at shortstop thanks to an above average arm and glove, while 50-grade speed limits any potential impact in the run game. Before the amateur season got rolling, Spangler was in several industry T10s. Given that his value is grounded in current skill, not outstanding raw tools, he feels more liekly to end up in the middle to the back of the first round come July, unless he&#8217;s otherworldly this spring.<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              LHP<\/p>\n<p>              Logan Schmidt<\/p>\n<p>              17<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;4<\/p>\n<p>              215<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Ganesha HS, CA<\/p>\n<p>              Schmidt is a classic projection lefty, joining Gio Rojas and Carson Bolemon as a trio of prep southpaws who could be selected in the first round in July. He&#8217;s currently commited to LSU.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt has great size at 6&#8217;4, 215, with projection left and the possibility of adding additional strength and weight. He has a smooth, repeatable delivery from the left side and his stuff took a jump this summer in several high-profile events.<\/p>\n<p>His fastball sits 94-96 mph but has been as a high as 98 mph. He pairs it with a slider in the low 80s that has a slurvy shape. That will be an area of development, ironing out the shapes of his secondary pitches to maximize his arsenal. Finally, Schmidt also has a changeup, a pitch he sells with great arm speed and generates plenty of fade.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s easy to imagine a future version of Schmidt consistently holding 96-97 mph with his fastball, a tweaked cluster of breaking pitches, with a little additional strength looking like a force in pro baseball.<\/p>\n<p>              22<\/p>\n<p>              OF<\/p>\n<p>              Caden Sorrell<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;3<\/p>\n<p>              200<\/p>\n<p>              L\/L<\/p>\n<p>              Texas A&amp;M<\/p>\n<p>              Sorrell was a good prep prospect in 2023 but opted to attend Texas A&amp;M. Fast forward three years and he&#8217;s looking increasingly like a first round pick.<\/p>\n<p>Sorrell&#8217;s offensive skillset is geared towards damage and loft, a potent combination. It&#8217;s excellent bat speed from the left side of the plate and Sorrell was a productive hitter in both of his first two collegiate seasons, despite being derailed by some nagging injuries.<\/p>\n<p>There are some weaknesses to exploit, offensively. Sorrell does have some bat-to-ball issues, which, when combined with his propensity to chase, can lead to him wracking up significant strikeout totals. It hasn&#8217;t impeded his production in 2026, however, as he has 17 home runs (29 extra base hits) through his first 33 games of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Sorrell has a plus arm and is an above average runner. It&#8217;s likely a corner profile long term, but with those additional tools, he has a chance to be a plus right fielder. If he continues to mash in the back end of SEC play, he&#8217;ll cement his status as a worthy top 30 pick.<\/p>\n<p>              23<\/p>\n<p>              RHP<\/p>\n<p>              Logan Reddemann<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;2<\/p>\n<p>              190<\/p>\n<p>              S\/R<\/p>\n<p>              UCLA<\/p>\n<p>              24<\/p>\n<p>              SS<\/p>\n<p>              James Clark<\/p>\n<p>              18<\/p>\n<p>              6&#8217;1<\/p>\n<p>              200<\/p>\n<p>              L\/R<\/p>\n<p>              St. John Bosco HS, CA<\/p>\n<p>              Clark is a prep shortstop out of California currently committed to Duke (with his twin brother Miles), after flipping his original committment from Princeton. <\/p>\n<p>Clark has a an upright stance and starts with a high handset, but none of this seems to impede his ability to be on time at the plate. It&#8217;s an offensive profile that is headlined by the hit tool. Clark has excellent bat-to-ball skills, and an approach to match. He rarely chases and has posted miniscule strikeout rates as a result. While there&#8217;s good bat speed, this hasn&#8217;t necessarily translated to in-game power, with Clark&#8217;s approach yielding gap power across the diamond.<\/p>\n<p>Defensively, his home is less certain. Clark has, at times, looked unsteady and uncertain at shortstop. If he moves off the position, second or third base would suit him well, with a solid arm and good lateral quickness giving him a good chance to stay on the dirt.<\/p>\n<p>Clark&#8217;s ceiling will be determined by how much in-game power he can grow into to supplement an excellent hit tool and on-base skills.<\/p>\n<p>              25<\/p>\n<p>              RHP<\/p>\n<p>              Gabe Gaeckle<\/p>\n<p>              21<\/p>\n<p>              5&#8217;11<\/p>\n<p>              190<\/p>\n<p>              R\/R<\/p>\n<p>              Arkansas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1 SS Roch Cholowsky 21 6&#8217;2 195 R\/R UCLA Cholowsky is one of the best collegiate shortstops in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":675017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276],"tags":[35744,5,16503,16504,2291,60,4,1586,16505],"class_list":{"0":"post-675016","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-draft","8":"tag-35744","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-draft-board","11":"tag-draft-consensus","12":"tag-major-league-baseball-draft","13":"tag-minnesota-twins","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-mlb-draft","16":"tag-mock-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116399714150564169","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}