2026 MLB Draft Report: Top 150 Prospects update features new No. 1

With the College World Series starting and the 2026 MLB Draft a month away, we’re expanding our prospect rankings to 150 players. This draft class feels like a step behind last year’s, partly due to fewer high-quality prep position prospects. Only four high school position players have first-round grades, a drop from eight last year.

Building off this, college position players appear to be the strength of this year’s draft class. While many have displayed the ability to hit for power, they all come with certain flaws that’ll need to be addressed while developing in the minors. Meanwhile, premium college pitching is sorely lacking. MLB teams will need to discover projects in later rounds that they’ll need to develop because there are not many fast-track college arms this year. If a team is seeking arms with premium stuff, it's better off taking a high school pitcher, though that profile is notoriously high-risk.  

For the White Sox, synergy between Mike Shirley’s scouting department and Paul Janish’s player development will be vital for draft success. Many players have exciting tools but need polish and repetition. Greater patience than usual will be required with this class.

The updated Top 150 Prospects list now features Texas prep shortstop Grady Emerson as the new No. 1 overall draft prospect.

Why Grady Emerson is No. 1

It's rare for a prep player to attend three Perfect Game showcases and play twice for U18 Team USA, but this exposure makes it easier to track Grady Emerson's development. In my opinion, Emerson has plus grades in contact, defense, arm, and athleticism. 

The fluidity Emerson has in his hands allows him to consistently barrel up the bases, generating line drives. His plus-athleticism is on display when watching Emerson play defense. Not only has he shown exceptional range, but he has also shown the arm strength to make plays to his right look easy.

I believe Emerson is the best prep position player prospect since Bobby Witt Jr. While his power projection is in question, he has time to add strength to his 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound frame. Last summer, he finished second at the High School Home Run Derby at Truist Field.

Not only has Emerson posted similar showcase metrics as Witt Jr. did in 2017 and 2018, but he’s also ahead of where the top college player in this draft class, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, was at age 18. Building on these impressive comparisons, Emerson’s future trajectory stands out even more.

There are 22 position players in Major League Baseball who are 22 or younger, and six 21 or younger. Given Emerson’s talent and disciplined approach, I expect his path to the majors will be short. For any MLB team seeking its next Witt Jr. or even Kevin McGonigle, Emerson stands out.

Why Roch Cholowsky is No. 2

A college shortstop is a challenging draft profile to project. Only five first-round college shortstops selected since 2015 are currently playing shortstop in MLB. None ranks in the Top 10 for WAR by position.

• Zach Neto
• Brooks Lee
• Dansby Swanson
• Jacob Wilson
• Alika Williams

It seems the league has preferred to use its international signees and prep-player draft picks to find its shortstops. Like the Chicago White Sox, with Colson Montgomery getting the majority of the starts and Luisangel Acuña.

With this context, evaluating where Roch Cholowsky will be in three years is even more challenging than I anticipated. He’s a plus prospect because of his physical traits. The strength he has developed in college, particularly in his lower half, gives him 60-grade power potential. Since the MLB Draft combine in 2023, Cholowsky has shown he can make a wide range of plays at shortstop in college, easily producing a 60-second highlight reel for social media.

But while he’s a 60-grade defender, Cholowsky is a 50-grade athlete. I think he can play shortstop professionally, but if an MLB team has a more athletic option in the system, Cholowsky could be moved to either third or second base. Cholowsky is a major league talent, and his projected floor is why so many in the draft industry like his profile. However, what is the ceiling for Cholowsky?

In the years I’ve covered the MLB draft, we as an industry have been missing the mark far more often with our projections for college shortstops. From 2015 to 2023, 31 college shortstops have been taken in the first round. Only six of those college draft shortstops have accumulated more than 5 WAR in their careers. Out of that group of six, only two actually play shortstop in the majors. ​

I feel more comfortable saying that Roch Cholowsky is a power-hitting infielder who has the ability to stick in the dirt professionally.

Now, Cholowsky is not major league ready. His struggles to hit for power in Big Ten conference play and the NCAA postseason are glaring. He needs refinement to focus on better swing decisions on pitches that he can pull rather than chasing after 91 mph fastballs on the outside corner. We also have a small sample of wood-bat data for Cholowsky, and even with that few at-bats, the numbers are not good. ​

There’s potential in Cholowsky. Any MLB team that drafts him will need to help him break some bad habits from facing mediocre college pitching. If he tailors his approach to be more pull-oriented, Cholowsky has the ability to be a future All-Star.

Why Vahn Lackey is No. 3 -- for now

I’ve been texted and DM’d by many people I respect who cover college baseball, attempting to convince me to rank Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey over Roch Cholowsky. I’m not there - yet. But the more game film I watch of Lackey, the more I’m impressed with how much he’s grown as a baseball player since his freshman season.

Turning to Lackey’s track record, he turns 21 years old on July 7, just a few days before the MLB draft. He follows in a long line of impressive catchers out of Georgia Tech who have been selected in the first round. After a learning period in his freshman season, in which Lackey hit .214/.330/.381 in 33 games, he improved significantly in his sophomore year and earned a starting role. Last year in 60 games, Lackey hit .347/.421/.500 with six homers and 42 RBIs. However, in his first two seasons, Lackey's strikeout rate was higher than his walk rate, and there wasn’t much power as he was prone to hitting a lot of groundballs.

Building on that progress, Lackey has taken a big leap forward in 2026 and is in the running for many national awards. In 61 games, Lackey hit .397/.519/.772 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs while stealing 15 bases. He greatly improved his walk rate while slightly cutting down on the strikeouts and grounders. His 186 wRC+ ranks eighth nationally.

Defensively, Lackey’s plus athleticism is on display with his improved ability to block pitches, make very quick transitions on throws to second base on steal attempts (registering a pop time around 1.75 seconds), and getting out in front of home plate on bunt attempts. There’s little doubt that Lackey can stick as a catcher professionally, but some teams might be tempted to better utilize his athleticism by moving him to third base or a corner outfield to take advantage of his throwing arm.

Despite these improvements, while Lackey’s baseball tools are tantalizing, I still have him behind Cholowsky because it’s just one good year of production. Just like Cholowsky, the wood bat data for Lackey is ... lacking. In 2024 at the Northwoods League, Lackey hit .196/.343/.297 in 41 games. With Team USA last summer, Lackey went 2-for-8 with a home run. So there’s a bit of uncertainty about Lackey’s profile as it transitions from BBCOR to wood bats.

Nonetheless, many in college baseball are convinced that Lackey’s combination of plus athleticism and swing improvements is enough to be rated ahead of Cholowsky.

2026 MLB Draft Top 150 Prospects