{"id":678186,"date":"2026-04-18T06:58:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/678186\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T06:58:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T06:58:21","slug":"2026-mlb-draft-mlb-pipeline-projects-top-picks-with-college-baseball-postseason-approaching-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/678186\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 MLB Draft: MLB Pipeline projects top picks with college baseball postseason approaching"},"content":{"rendered":"

College baseball\u2019s regular season is roaring ahead, and the MLB is back in full swing. With the 2026 MLB Draft three months away, MLB Pipeline has projected<\/a> how the top picks could look come draft weekend. <\/p>\n

Pipeline\u2019s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo alternated picks after the consensus No. 1 selection. They went through the first 11 picks, noting that this is not a true mock draft, but more so who they would select if they were in the team\u2019s shoes.<\/p>\n

The top 11 picks are college-heavy. Seven come from college baseball, with six being college hitters. The remaining four, of course, come from the high school ranks with two pitchers and two hitters. <\/p>\n

The 2026 MLB Draft will begin on July 11 in Philadelphia. Here\u2019s Pipeline\u2019s projections for the top 11 picks.<\/p>\n

1. Chicago White Sox: UCLA<\/a> SS Roch Cholowsky<\/p>\n

To the surprise of nobody, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky remains the consensus No. 1 overall pick to the White Sox. He\u2019s having another great season for top-ranked UCLA, hitting above .336 with 13 home runs through 35 games. <\/p>\n

Cholowsky is slugging .679 with a 1.143 OPS this season. He\u2019s struck out 21 times compared to 22 walks. It\u2019d be a surprise at this point if he\u2019s not the first name off the board. <\/p>\n

2. Tampa Bay Rays: Fort Worth Christian HS (TX) SS Grady Emerson (Texas<\/a> commit)<\/p>\n

For Pipeline, Texas commit Grady Emerson looks to be the clear next option on the board behind Cholowsky. He\u2019s impressive in every facet of the game, with no clear weakness. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good fit all around,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cHe\u2019s certainly not done anything \u2014 at least not that I\u2019ve heard \u2014 to come down from the top high school player and second-best overall player in the Draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Minnesota Twins: Georgia Tech<\/a> C Vahn Lackey<\/p>\n

\"Vahn\u00a9 Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Georgia Tech has been a juggernaut this season, especially offensively. Catcher Vahn Lackey is a massive part of that. He\u2019s hitting .398 on the season with 12 homers and 45 RBI, striking out 21 times with 29 walks. He\u2019s slugging .789 with a 1.308 OPS through 35 games. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s having a tremendous year at Georgia Tech,\u201d said Callis. \u201cI\u2019ve mentioned, it\u2019s one of the deeper lineups in the country. They can have three first-round picks in that lineup. But, Lackey is very athletic for a catcher, the pop is coming, he\u2019s improving behind the plate. He is the best catcher in this Draft. So, I have Vahn Lackey going third to the Twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. San Francisco Giants: UC Santa Barbara<\/a> RHP Jackson Flora<\/p>\n

Jackson Flora has seemingly emerged as the top college pitcher in the 2026 MLB Draft. The UC Santa Barbara ace is 6-0 in nine starts in 2026, pitching to a 0.63 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 71 strikeouts to just 18 walks. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s definitely jumped to the top of the college pitching list,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cMaybe No. 4 is a tiny bit too high, but he\u2019s posting every week. The stuff is very real. I talked to the area scout and he could not stop talking about how good the stuff is.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Pittsburgh Pirates: Oak Grove HS (MS) OF Eric Booth Jr. (Vanderbilt<\/a> commit)<\/p>\n

Eric Booth Jr. is one of the fastest players in this class, and he\u2019s intriguing bat with plenty of power and a unique swing at the plate. The Vanderbilt commit is undoubtedly in play here as a top five pick.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pirates have gotten arguably the highest ceiling player in each of the last three Drafts, so I\u2019m going to go Eric Booth Jr. from Oak Grove High School in Mississippi,\u201d said Callis. \u201cI just think he has one of the highest ceilings in the Draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Kansas City Royals: Stoneman Douglas HS (FL) LHP Gio Rojas (Miami<\/a> commit)<\/p>\n

Gio Rojas has a chance to be the first pitcher taken in this draft class. The Miami commit is full of potential, with maybe the highest upside of any player that could be taken this year. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been very good this spring,\u201d Mayo said. \u201cThe area scout I spoke to thinks he\u2019s a No. 2 starter in the future. He\u2019s another big guy, electric stuff, he\u2019s been touching 97-98 mph so far this spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

7. Baltimore Orioles: Alabama<\/a> SS Justin Lebron<\/p>\n

\"JustinAlabama SS Justin Lebron (Gary Cosby Jr. \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Justin Lebron was once viewed as the potential first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, but he goes No. 7 in Pipeline\u2019s projections. The Alabama shortstop is hitting .271 on the year with 11 home runs and 30 RBI with 33 strikeouts compared to 22 walks. His strikeout numbers are definitely down, although he\u2019s having the worst year average-wise of his three-year career. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not going to go out and win batting titles, he might be a 45-grade hitter, but he\u2019ll have 60 power, 60 speed, 60 arm, 60 defense, and he\u2019s a definite shortstop,\u201d Callis said. \u201cHe\u2019s just one of those guys that the batting average is just the least impressive part of the package, but it\u2019s also not a very important part of the package. He\u2019s not a terrible hitter either, the strikeout rate is around 19 percent this year. It was closer to 25 percent last year. He\u2019s drawn more walks as well. And I feel like this would be kind of a steal for the Orioles if it came to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

8. Athletics: Virginia<\/a> OF A.J. Gracia<\/p>\n

A.J. Gracia starred in his first two college seasons at Duke, and he\u2019s taking another step at Virginia in 2026. He\u2019s hitting .324 on the season with 10 home runs and 33 RBI, slugging .596 with an OPS of 1.070. He\u2019s also struck out just 23 times to just 32 walks, and has emerged as one of the top bats in this draft class.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just leaning college bat here so I\u2019m going to go with AJ Gracia from Virginia, who is having a very good year,\u201d said Mayo. \u201cHe transferred from Duke, he\u2019s got a chance to hit and hit for power. He\u2019s coming off of a year at Duke where he hit 15 homers. He\u2019s a corner outfield profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

9. Atlanta Braves: Southside Christian HS (SC) LHP Carson Bolemon (Wake Forest<\/a> commit)<\/p>\n

Carson Bolemon is another high school lefty with a ton of upside on the mound. He didn\u2019t allow a single earned run during his junior season, with 101 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe might be the most talented guy on the board right now,\u201d Callis said. \u201cHe has not pitched a ton, they have taken it kind of easy on him, but nothing is wrong with him. But, just after pitching for Team USA, his program was a little eschewed because of the schedule with Team USA in what would have been his offseason. They\u2019ve eased him in this spring at South Carolina. I think, when all is said and done, he could be the best pitcher in the Draft.\u201d<\/p>\n

10. Colorado Rockies: Mississippi State<\/a> 3B Ace Reese<\/p>\n

\"Ace\u00a9 Jake Crandall\/ Advertiser \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

After breaking out by hitting .352 with 21 home runs in 2025 at Mississippi State, Ace Reese is having another strong campaign in 2026. He\u2019s hitting .312 on the season with 10 home runs and 42 RBI, slugging .630 with a 1.034 OPS. Reese could be the first true third baseman taken in the 2026 MLB Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s coming off of a year where he hit 21 homers as a sophomore,\u201d Mayo said of Reese. \u201cHe\u2019s got an OPS over 1.000 through 32 games. I\u2019d like to see him heat up a little more in SEC play to boost his stock. But he could be a guy who fits alongside Ethan Holliday, if Holliday plays third and he goes into the outfield, but that\u2019s a problem you can figure out later in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

11. Washington Nationals: Texas A&M<\/a> SS Chris Hacopian<\/p>\n

Whether or not Chris Hacopian sticks at shortstop long-term remains to be seen, but the Texas A&M star is hitting .294 this season with four home runs and 17 RBI in 21 games. He\u2019s missed some time, but has struck out 11 times to 16 walks and has some impressive tools in the batter\u2019s box. <\/p>\n

\u201cHacopian is probably not a shortstop long term, has had some injuries, though nothing that is going to affect him long term, but has tremendous metrics to go with a track record performance,\u201d said Callis. \u201cBut it\u2019s a new Nationals regime with a lot of guys coming from the Red Sox. So, I\u2019m going with Hacopian from Texas A&M, because I think he\u2019s just a very advanced hitter who I think is going to have at least 20-homer pop.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"College baseball\u2019s regular season is roaring ahead, and the MLB is back in full swing. With the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234253,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[5,2328,2304,4,2305,2303],"class_list":{"0":"post-678186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-postseason","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","10":"tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-mlb-playoffs","13":"tag-mlb-postseason"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116424417508937816","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678186","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=678186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}