Kiley McDanielFeb 20, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Has worked for three MLB teams. Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’ Follow on XMultiple Authors
60 FV Tier (Prospects ranked 2-14 in the pro top 100)
55 FV Tier (Prospects ranked 15-45 in the pro top 100)
50 FV Tier (Prospects ranked 46-120 in the pro top 100)
45+ FV Tier (Prospects ranked 121-200 in the pro top 100)
Now that we’ve seen college players in action over the first week of the season, it’s time for our first look at who could be high on MLB draft boards in July.
These players were ranked using the FV (future value) system that I applied for pro prospects. You can check out my offseason MLB prospect rankings to see where these players would rank if they turned pro now, though the grades will change (generally improve as we gain more information and certainty) as the spring progresses. The number in parentheses is the player’s age on draft day, a key number in every team’s draft model; in short, younger players allow for more projection.
Curiel can hit, has medium power, and he might be a center fielder; sometimes that combination clicks quickly in pro ball and turns into someone like Mets OF Carson Benge. Flukey’s fastball and starter traits are among the best in the draft, but his breaking stuff is fringy, and he doesn’t throw his changeup much. I reported on Wednesday night that Flukey will miss his start this week, though the decision was precautionary, and the issue isn’t with his arm.
This class is seen as above average at this point, in large part because of the first five players, and more specifically the top two. At this point last year, there were two players for me in the 50 FV tier, no one else higher, and both of those players (Jace LaViolette and Jamie Arnold) regressed a bit in the spring. The top of the board and the rest of the first round are strong with college position players. The collegiate pitching is more solid than spectacular, notwithstanding Jackson Flora’s blistering opening day start. The high school position players are also strong, with a chance to take another step forward if a couple high variance players make the leap this spring.
Emerson has been the top player in the 2026 prep class since anyone can remember. He’s a 6-foot-2, lefty-hitting shortstop with above-average tools across the board along with the soft skills, performance track record and the age that teams like to see at the top of the draft. The only real complaint here is that he lacks the plus-plus electric tools of Bobby Witt Jr., Bryce Harper or Justin Upton at the same stage, but that’s an incredibly high bar to clear. Some scouts think Emerson could be a plus to plus-plus hitter with plus power that sticks at shortstop long-term, which is enough to make him the top pick if Cholowsky hiccups at all this spring. Emerson could easily end up in the 60 FV tier by draft time.
10. Kevin Roberts Jr. (18.0), CF, Jackson Prep HS (Mississippi), Florida commit 11. Tyler Spangler (18.8), SS, De La Salle HS (California), Stanford commit 12. Rocco Maniscalco (17.2), SS, Oxford HS (Alabama), Mississippi State commit 13. Blake Bowen (18.5), CF, JSerra Catholic HS (California), Oregon State commit 14. Christopher Hacopian (21.9), SS, Texas A&M 15. Liam Peterson (21.1), RHP, Florida 16. Jacob Lombard (18.8), SS, Gulliver HS (Florida), Miami commit 17. Eric Becker (21.2), SS, Virginia 18. Will Brick (18.1), C, Christian Brothers HS (Tennessee), Mississippi State commit 19. Carson Bolemon (19.3), LHP, Southside Christian HS (South Carolina), Wake Forest commit 20. Sawyer Strosnider (21.0), RF, TCU 21. Vahn Lackey (21.0), C, Georgia Tech 22. Logan Schmidt (18.0), LHP, Ganesha HS (California), LSU commit 23. Gabe Gaeckle (21.8), RHP, Arkansas 24. James Clark (18.8), SS, St. John Bosco HS (California), Duke commit 25. Caden Sorrell (21.3), CF, Texas A&M 26. Trevor Condon (18.5), CF, Etowah HS (Georgia), Tennessee commit 27. Tyler Bell (21.0), SS, Kentucky 28. Chris Rembert (21.0), 2B, Auburn 29. Jensen Hirschkorn (18.6), RHP, Kingsburg HS (California), LSU commit 30. Ryder Helfrick (21.4), C, Arkansas 31. Ace Reese (21.2), 3B, Mississippi State 32. Coleman Borthwick (18.2), RHP, South Walton HS (Florida), Auburn commit
There’s some agreement in the industry that Rojas is the top prep arm, Bolemon is second, Schmidt is usually third, and Hirschkorn is usually fourth, but then it really opens up after that. Borthwick has the most universal support in the fifth spot at this point due to his two-way athleticism and strike-throwing, but there are a few more candidates at the top of the next tier. The depth of this draft is college hitters, so there are all kinds within this tier. Hacopian might be the best hit/power combo among the infielders, Strosnider and Sorrell are power-over-hit types as tweener defensive fits. Bell and Rembert are hit-first, and Helfrick has the most defensive value. The top of this tier is stuffed with high-upside prep position players who are the best bets to break into the top nine players; Spangler and Maniscalco are the best hitters and defenders. Bowen and Lombard have the most power of that group, but both come with questions on their hit tool. Maniscalco reclassified from the 2027 class and is now one of the youngest potential first-rounders in a while; age is a giant factor in draft models for high school position players.
33. Eric Booth Jr. (18.0), CF, Oak Grove HS (MS), Vanderbilt commit 34. Joey Volchko (21.1), RHP, Georgia 35. Joseph Contreras (18.2), RHP, Blessed Trinity Catholic HS (GA), Vanderbilt commit 36. Zion Rose (21.1), CF, Louisville 37. Kaden Waechter (18.9), RHP, Jesuit HS (FL), Florida State commit 38. Connor Comeau (17.9), SS, Anderson HS (TX), Texas A&M commit 39. Jared Grindlinger (17.2), LHP/RF, Huntington Beach HS (CA), uncommitted 40. Cole Koeninger (18.9), SS/RHP, Keller HS (TX), Tennessee commit 41. James Jorgensen (18.8), RHP, Jesuit HS (TX), Texas commit 42. Tegan Kuhns (21.1), RHP, Tennessee 43. Chase Brunson (21.0), CF, TCU 44. Cole Carlon (21.1), LHP, Arizona State 45. Keon Johnson (18.3), SS, First Presbyterian HS (GA), Vanderbilt commit 46. Jake Brown (21.5), RF, LSU 47. Brady Harris (18.5), CF, Trinity Christian HS (FL), Florida commit 48. Matt Ponatoski (18.4), RHP/SS, Archbishop Moeller HS (OH), Kentucky commit 49. Mason Edwards (21.0), LHP, USC 50. Ethan Kleinschmit (21.2), LHP, Oregon State
Yesterday, Grindlinger was confirmed to be a 2026 draft prospect, quite unexpectedly. He joins Maniscalco as some of the youngest elite prospects in draft history. Grindlinger is a pro prospect as a corner outfielder, and it’s too early to rule that out, but I think he’s a superior one on the mound right now; a background similar to Cam Caminiti, who went 24th overall to the Atlanta Braves in the 2024 draft. Grindlinger is up to 95 mph on the mound with a changeup that flashes above average along with starter traits and a couple solid breaking pitches. There’s some projection and precocious two-way feel for the game that allows scouts to project more to come as an abbreviated evaluation process begins. On the bright side, Grindlinger has been at a ton of high-end prep events, so he’s among the easier players from the 2027 draft class for scouts to get up to speed on quickly.
51. Maddox Molony (21.8), SS, Oregon 52. Carson Tinney (21.3), C, Texas 53. Gavin Grahovac (21.5), 3B, Texas A&M 54. Aiden Robbins (21.5), CF, Texas 55. Archer Horn (18.4), SS/RHP, St. Ignatius Prep HS (CA), Stanford commit 56. Jarren Advincula (21.5), 2B, Georgia Tech 57. Jason Decaro (20.2), RHP, North Carolina 58. Denton Lord (18.6), RHP, South Walton HS (FL), Mississippi State commit 59. Bo Lowrance (18.8), 3B, Christ Church Episocal HS (SC), Virginia commit 60. Ryan Lynch (21.1), RHP, North Carolina 61. Ethan Norby (21.5), LHP, East Carolina 62. Cade Townsend (21.2), RHP, Ole Miss 63. Tommy LaPour (21.3), RHP, TCU 64. Will Yow (18.6), SS, St. Anne’s-Belfield HS (VA), Virginia commit
This group is quite diverse with a power-over-hit type that fits in a corner in Grahovac, then Advincula, who is almost the opposite kind of position player. Norby is a likely undersized starter, while Lynch (velo was up to 94-97, touching 98 mph in his first start of the season) and Townsend have lively stuff that is around the middle of the starter/reliever spectrum at the moment. Lord is a classic prep projection righty who stands at 6-8; he teams up with Borthwick for the best 1-2 in a high school rotation in the country. Yow was a huge riser in the fall who was basically unknown before that (the same story as Michael Oliveto in the 2025 class, who eventually went 34th overall), and teams are still playing catch-up. LaPour is missing this week’s start with elbow soreness, which is obviously something to monitor.
Kiley McDanielFeb 20, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Has worked for three MLB teams. Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’ Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel covers MLB prospects, the MLB Draft and more, including trades and free agency. Has worked for three MLB teams. Co-author of Author of ‘Future Value’ Follow on X
2. Grady Emerson (18.4), SS, Fort Worth Christian HS (Texas), Texas commit
3. Justin Lebron (21.7), SS, Alabama 4. Jackson Flora (21.1), RHP, UC Santa Barbara 5. Drew Burress (21.6), CF, Georgia Tech
6. Derek Curiel (21.1), CF, LSU 7. Cameron Flukey (21.2), RHP, Coastal Carolina 8. Gio Rojas (19.0), LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (FL), Miami commit 9. AJ Gracia (21.7), CF, Virginia