2026 Amateur Draft

The 2026 First Year Player Draft will be the 62nd Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. It will begin on July 11, 2026, in Philadelphia, PA as part of the 2026 All-Star Game festivities.

As has been the case since 2023, the first overall pick was determined through a lottery held at the winter meetings on December 9, 2025. Three teams were not eligible for the draw because they had been included in the lottery in previous years, including the Colorado Rockies, owners of the worst record in baseball in 2025. As a result, Colorado was locked into the 10th overall pick, followed by the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels. Ironically, the Chicago White Sox, who were in a situation similar to that of the Rockies heading into last year's draft, now had the best odds to be awarded the first overall pick and they won the lottery. The Tampa Bay Rays were the other big winners of the lottery, being awarded the second overall pick even though the odds placed them seventh. Also, five teams saw their first-round pick downgraded by ten ranks for exceeding the luxury tax threshold, including two who saw their top pick fall into the second round.

At the time of the lottery, the top prospect for the draft was SS Roch Cholowsky of UCLA, although there was still plenty of time for rankings to change. Another SS, Grady Emerson, coming from a high school in Texas, was considered the second-best player available at that early stage, and the best one from the high school ranks. The two were still considered to be running neck-and-neck six months later with the college season about to switch to its post-season tournaments phase. One unexpected development was that both UCLA and Georgia Tech, home to another top 3 prospect, C Vahn Lackey, were both upset before reaching the 2026 College World Series, meaning that the pair both missed the opportunity to showcase themselves in the prestigious event.

Draft Order

First Round

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
1	Chicago White Sox
2	Tampa Bay Rays
3	Minnesota Twins
4	San Francisco Giants
5	Pittsburgh Pirates
6	Kansas City Royals
7	Baltimore Orioles
8	The Athletics
9	Atlanta Braves
10	Colorado Rockies					ineligible for lottery pick
11	Washington Nationals					ineligible for lottery pick
12	Los Angeles Angels					ineligible for lottery pick
13	St. Louis Cardinals
14	Miami Marlins
15	Arizona Diamondbacks
16	Texas Rangers
17	Houston Astros
18	Cincinnati Reds
19	Cleveland Guardians
20	Boston Red Sox
21	San Diego Padres
22	Detroit Tigers
23	Chicago Cubs
24	Seattle Mariners
25	Milwaukee Brewers

Prospect Promotion Incentive Picks

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
26	Atlanta Braves					Received for Drake Baldwin winning the Rookie of the Year Award
27	New York Mets					1st-round pick downgraded for exceeding luxury tax threshold
28	Houston Astros					Received for Hunter Brown finishing 3rd in the Cy Young Award

Competitive Balance Round A

Pick	Team	Player	Position	School (Type)	Hometown	Notes
29	San Francisco Giants					acquired from Cleveland in Patrick Bailey trade
30	Kansas City Royals
31	Arizona Diamondbacks
32	St. Louis Cardinals
33	Tampa Bay Rays					acquired from Baltimore in Shane Baz trade
34	Pittsburgh Pirates
35	New York Yankees					1st-round pick downgraded for exceeding luxury tax threshold
36	Philadelphia Phillies					1st-round pick downgraded for exceeding luxury tax threshold
37	Colorado Rockies

Further Reading

• Daniel Malone: "MLB Draft Lottery 2026: How To Watch, Team Odds, Top Prospects & More", Baseball America, December 8, 2025. [1]
• Jonathan Mayo: "White Sox win Lottery, earn No. 1 pick in 2026 Draft: Rays, Twins, Giants, Pirates round out the top five selections", mlb.com, December 9, 2025. [2]

Related Sites

• Complete draft order