The 2026 MLB Draft has come to an end, and now comes the fun part; seeing these players get a chance to take on professional pitching/hitting as they try and help their new organizations at the highest level. Some of these players will be ready to help in a year, and some will need far longer to develop; with the unfortunate reality that there will be players who never get a chance to play games in the majors.
Here’s a look at the top 10 prospects from a fantasy perspective who were drafted over the weekend, and a look at what categories they could potentially help in.
1. Grady Emerson, SS, Tampa Bay Rays
Emerson may have been the second pick of the draft -- and he ranked second on my MLB Draft big board, as well -- but from a fantasy perspective? He’s the best. He’s a left-handed hitter who has a chance for a double-plus hit tool, or 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale, because of his bat speed and smooth stroke. There’s above-average or better power in his bat as well, and the separator here is that Emerson is much more likely to steal bases. There’s a little more risk in his profile than the name below, but on paper, there’s no player with higher reward, and that’s why I’d take him first in any eligible draft.
Potential category help: AVG, R, HR, SB
2. Roch Cholowsky, SS, Chicago White Sox
Emerson might be the best, but Cholowsky is a close second, and you can make the argument he deserves the top spot. He was dominant in college, and he’s a hitter from the right side who already shows the ability to hit for average, and power. I’d go so far as to say that if Cholowsky was thrown into the big leagues right now, he wouldn’t sink. I wouldn’t do that, but that’s how advanced the tools are. He won’t steal a ton of bags, but he should stay at shortstop, and 30-plus homer seasons with a .275 or better average can quickly make up for it. If you want to sprinkle some safety with your ceiling, Cholowsky might be your guy.
Potential category help: AVG, HR, RBI
3. Jacob Lombard, SS, Miami Marlins
If you don’t give a flying hoot about safety, then Lombard might be your type of player. There’s significant risk in his profile -- note: there’s significant risk in any prospect but especially a prep bat -- as a hitter who has contact issues already. Those contact issues come with easy power from the right side that has already shown up in games, and the ball jumps off his bat thanks to his bat speed. He’s also a 65-grade runner, so 50-steal seasons to go with 30-homer campaigns is realistic. There’s so much volatility in this type of profile, but that volatility comes with the potential to be one of the best shortstops in baseball.
Potential category help: R, HR, RBI, SB
4. Vahn Lackey, C Minnesota Twins
Lackey saw his stock improve more than any college bat in the country ,and if the White Sox would have made him the top pick, it would have been far from a reach. The swing isn’t picturesque, but Lackey makes it work, and he’s the rare backstop that you could project a plus hit and power tool at the highest level. He’s a solid athlete that could provide a couple of handful of steals as well, although that is far from a guarantee as a player that is going to stay behind the plate. Lackey doesn’t have the ceiling of the three names above, but it’s not far off, and you could argue his floor beats anyone on this list, even Cholowsky.
Potential category help: AVG, HR, RBI
5. Drew Burress, OF, Athletics
Burress was Lackey’s teammate at Georgia Tech, and it was pretty surprising to see him “slip” to the number eight pick. Every tool for the outfielder projects as above-average, and while there’s no plus-plus tool nor the ability to play catcher or shortstop like the names above, he’s an outfielder that could realistically hit .280 with 25 homers and a similar amount of steals every year. Burress could easily be the first player to reach the majors, and proximity matters, folks. Even if he’s closer to an above-average player than a future star, the ability to contribute everywhere makes Burress a valuable -- and underrated -- fantasy prospect. The fact that he might have some awfully friendly hitting confines doesn’t hurt, either.
Potential category help: AVG, R, HR, SB
6. Jackson Flora, RHP, San Francisco Giants
Flora is not only the first pitching prospect on this list, but spoiler alert: he’s also the last. That being said, he’s an awfully good one, and he’d compete to be the first hurler off the board in many drafts. A product of UC Santa Barbara, Flora’s fastball doesn’t generate elite spin, but he commands it well, and it can get into triple digits without much effort. That heater is complemented with a swing-and-miss slider, and a change that isn’t far behind that offering. He locates all of his pitches for strikes, and the command should be plenty good to make him a part of a rotation. He’s not the next Paul Skenes and maybe not even the next Kade Anderson, but the stuff and ability to locate said arsenal is good enough to pitch near the top of a fantasy rotation someday.
Potential category help: W, ERA, WHIP, SO
7. Eric Booth Jr, OF, Baltimore Orioles
Booth is one of the fastest players in the class, and he has the type of wheels that you could see him lead the league in steals someday. In order to be able to do that, he has to get on base at a high-enough clip, and despite a swing that is a bit unorthodox ,he makes hard contact to all parts of the field, and he appears to recognize pitches well with a feel for the strike zone. There’s some power concerns -- although it’s worth noting he did with the Home Run Derby at the Perfect Game Classic -- but assuming he gets on at a high clip and puts that speed to good use, fantasy managers won’t need him to be a 30-homer guy. It’s not entirely out of the question he can reach that, but it’s the help in the other four categories that puts him on this list.
Potential category help: AVG, R, SB
8. Justin Lebron, SS, Cincinnati Reds
Lebron is back in Ohio, a joke that was only made 635,000 times on social media. The former Alabama star is not your typical college bat, as the reason for excitement has much more to do with the ceiling than his floor. He’s an elite base stealer who swiped 42 bases for the Crimson Tide while being caught just once, and those thefts come with some of the best power from the right side of any hitter in the draft regardless of being a prep or collegiate player. So why so “low” on this list? Lebron swings and misses a lot, and that hit tool may not be good enough to let those skills play. If they do, he has a chance to be a star and a steal as the 18th pick in last year’s draft, but there are so many possible outcomes for a hitter with his strengths and weaknesses.
Potential category help: HR, RBI, SB
9. Trevor Condon, OF, St. Louis Cardinals
Condon was a personal favorite coming into the draft, and while he didn’t slide far, the Cardinals should be thrilled he made it all the way to pick 13. He’s an outfielder out of Etowah High School in Georgia who gets rave reviews for his baseball acumen, but this is not a player who “makes the most of it.” He’s an easy 70-grade runner, and he’s one of the best defensive outfielders in the class thanks to that speed and ability to read the baseball off the bat. He also makes sound swing decisions and should be plus in the hit tool, with just enough power for it to be average. This might be several spots too low for Condon, and it certainly will be if the power takes a bump. But either way, Condon is someone fantasy managers should be targeting in drafts, whenever they take place.
Potential category help: AVG, R, SB
10. Ryder Helfrick, C, Arizona Diamondbacks
Being completely honest, Helfrick wouldn’t make this list if he wasn’t a catcher, but he is, so, he does. The right-handed hitting backstop isn’t going to hit for a high average -- barring something unforeseeable of course -- but he should get on base at a high clip, and he has the potential for 25-plus homer seasons as well thanks to his strength. He also shouldn’t have an issue staying behind the plate with a quality throwing arm and solid -- and improving -- receiving skills. It’d be surprising if he was a future superstar, but I’d be just as surprised if Helfrick wasn’t one of the top dozen or so catchers from a fantasy perspective in the next decade.
Potential category help: HR, RBI
Just missed: Derek Curiel, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates; Jared Grindlinger, OF, Los Angeles Angels; Ace Reese, 3B, Seattle Mariners; Zion Rose, OF, Kansas City Royals
