2026 Major League Baseball draft
Major League Baseball Draft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 11–12, 2026, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] The draft assigns amateur baseball players from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2]
NBC (first ten picks)
MLB.com
| 2026 Major League Baseball draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Date | July 11–12, 2026[1] |
| Location | Pennsylvania Convention Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2] |
| Networks | MLB Network (first three rounds) NBC (first ten picks) MLB.com |
| Overview | |
| League | Major League Baseball |
| First selection | Roch Cholowsky Chicago White Sox |
| First round selections | 38 |
The first six selections were set via a lottery, with first round picks belonging to the remaining lottery participants set in reverse order of regular season winning percentage. To complete the first round, playoff teams are in an order that combines postseason finish, revenue sharing status, and reverse order of winning percentage. Reverse order of regular season winning percentage and postseason finish will be used to set the draft order for rounds two through 20.[4]
The Chicago White Sox won the draft lottery and the first overall selection.[5] The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros were awarded a Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick after Drake Baldwin won the NL Rookie of the Year and Hunter Brown finished in the top three for AL Cy Young.
Draft lottery
The 2026 MLB Draft Lottery was held on December 9, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, during the Winter Meetings. The Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels were ineligible to participate in the lottery, as per a rule in the collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball (MLB) and MLB Players Association that limits teams in larger markets from winning draft lottery picks in consecutive seasons, as well as limits teams in smaller markets from winning draft lottery picks three seasons in a row.[6] The following table lists the percentage chances for each seed to receive lottery picks as a result of the draft lottery.[7][8]
| Denotes lottery winner | |
| Denotes team that did not win lottery | |
| Ineligible to receive lottery pick |
| Seed | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | 27.7% | |||||
| 2 | Minnesota Twins | 22.2% | |||||
| 3 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 16.8% | |||||
| 4 | Baltimore Orioles | 9.2% | |||||
| 5 | Athletics | 6.5% | |||||
| 6 | Atlanta Braves | 4.5% | |||||
| 7 | Tampa Bay Rays | 3.0% | |||||
| 8 | St. Louis Cardinals | 2.3% | |||||
| 9 | Miami Marlins | 1.8% | |||||
| N/A | Colorado Rockies | ∅ | |||||
| Washington Nationals | |||||||
| Los Angeles Angels | |||||||
| 10 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 1.5% | |||||
| 11 | Texas Rangers | 1.3% | |||||
| 12 | San Francisco Giants | 1.0% | |||||
| 13 | Kansas City Royals | 0.8% | |||||
| 14 | New York Mets | 0.6% | |||||
| 15 | Houston Astros | 0.3% | |||||
Draft selections
| All-Star | |
| * | Player did not sign |
|---|
First round
The Blue Jays, Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, and Yankees exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.[9]
Prospect Promotion Incentive Picks
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Carter Beck | Atlanta Braves[Incentive 1] | Outfielder | Indiana State |
| 27 | Carson Wiggins | New York Mets[Pick Penalty 1] | Pitcher | Arkansas |
| 28 | Jack Radel | Houston Astros[Incentive 2] | Pitcher | Notre Dame |
Competitive Balance Round A
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Carson Bolemon | San Francisco Giants (from Cleveland)[Trades 1] | Pitcher | Southside Christian School (SC) |
| 30 | Taylor Rabe | Kansas City Royals | Pitcher | Ole Miss |
| 31 | Blake Bryant | Arizona Diamondbacks | Pitcher | Citizens Christian High School (GA) |
| 32 | Tegan Kuhns | St. Louis Cardinals | Pitcher | Tennessee |
| 33 | Taj Marchand | Tampa Bay Rays (from Baltimore)[Trades 2] | Shortstop | James Island High School (SC) |
| 34 | Landon Thome | Chicago White Sox (from Pittsburgh)[Trades 3] | Shortstop | Nazareth Academy High School (IL) |
| 35 | Hunter Dietz | New York Yankees[Pick Penalty 2] | Pitcher | Arkansas |
| 36 | Tyler Spangler | Philadelphia Phillies[Pick Penalty 3] | Shortstop | De La Salle High School (CA) |
| 37 | Daniel Jackson | Colorado Rockies | Catcher | Georgia |
Second round
Competitive Balance Round B
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 67 | Owen Hull | Boston Red Sox (from Milwaukee)[Trades 4] | Outfielder | North Carolina |
| 68 | Andrew Williamson | St. Louis Cardinals (from Seattle)[Trades 5] | Outfielder | Central Florida |
| 69 | Evan Dempsey | Detroit Tigers | Pitcher | Florida Gulf Coast |
| 70 | Mulivai Levu | Cincinnati Reds | First baseman | UCLA |
| 71 | Ryan Peterson | Miami Marlins | Pitcher | Sam Houston State |
| 72 | Dawson Montesa | St. Louis Cardinals (from Tampa Bay)[Trades 6] | Pitcher | West Virginia |
| 73 | Gabe Gaeckle | Athletics | Pitcher | Arkansas |
| 74 | Brett Renfrow | Minnesota Twins | Pitcher | Virginia Tech |
Compensatory round
| Pick | Player | Team | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | Myles Bailey | Chicago Cubs[Compensation 1] | First baseman | Florida State |
Other notable selections
Notes
- Incentive picks
- Received for Drake Baldwin winning National League Rookie of the Year
- Received for Hunter Brown finishing in top 3 of Cy Young voting
- Pick Penalty
- The Mets exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.
- The Yankees exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.
- The Phillies exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.
- The Blue Jays exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.
- The Dodgers exceeded the second competitive-balance tax threshold, which means their first pick will get moved down 10 spots.
- Forfeited
- The Blue Jays forfeited their second-round selection as a result of signing Dylan Cease.
- The Dodgers forfeited their second-round selection as a result of signing Kyle Tucker.
- Compensation picks
- Compensation pick for the Los Angeles Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker
- Compensation pick for the Detroit Tigers signing Framber Valdez
- Compensation pick for the Toronto Blue Jays signing Dylan Cease
- Compensation pick for the Boston Red Sox signing Ranger Suárez
- Trades
- The San Francisco Giants acquired a Competitive Balance Round A pick from the Cleveland Guardians as a result of a trade on May 9, 2026 that sent catcher Patrick Bailey to Cleveland in exchange for left-handed pitcher Matt Wilkinson and this pick.[10]
- The Tampa Bay Rays acquired a Competitive Balance Round A pick from the Baltimore Orioles as a result of a trade on December 19, 2025 that sent right-handed pitcher Shane Baz to Baltimore in exchange for catcher Caden Bodine, outfielder Slater de Brun, outfielder Austin Overn, right-handed pitcher Michael Forret and this pick.[11]
- The Chicago White Sox acquired a Competitive Balance Round A pick from the Pittsburgh Pirates as a result of a trade on July 10, 2026 that sent infielder Jacob Gonzalez and left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert to Pittsburgh in exchange for pitcher Jaden Woods and this pick.[12]
- The Boston Red Sox acquired a Competitive Balance Round B pick from the Milwaukee Brewers as a result of a six-player trade on February 9, 2026 that sent utility player David Hamilton and pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan to Milwaukee in exchange for third baseman Caleb Durbin, infielder Andruw Monasterio, infielder Anthony Seigler and this pick.[14]
- The St. Louis Cardinals acquired a Competitive Balance Round B pick from the Seattle Mariners as a result of a three-team trade on February 2, 2026 that sent utility player Brendan Donovan to Seattle in exchange for pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfielder Tai Peete, outfielder Colton Ledbetter and this pick.[15]
- The St. Louis Cardinals acquired a Competitive Balance Round B pick from the Tampa Bay Rays as a result of a three-team trade on February 2, 2026 that sent third baseman Ben Williamson to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.[15]
- Incentive picks