2026 MLB Draft Thread

UNCBlue012 said:

If the Braves go pitcher at No. 9 and No. 26, I think the internet may explode lol

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Wouldn't bother me. Our hitting prospects depth in the low minors is pretty good. Give me 2 high ceiling HS lefties please.

CJ9 said:

Pipeline’s first mock, which stops at 25 before our pick for some reason: https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/mlb-pipeline-2026-mock-draft-may-7?t=mlb-draft-coverage

9. Braves: Cade Townsend, RHP, Mississippi (No. 21)
Clubs believe that college pitchers will rise up boards by the time the Draft arrives, and Townsend could move up more than most. He can hit 98 mph with his fastball and spin a pair of plus breaking balls as well as a plus cutter.

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Now everyone knows I hate college pitching but I think we are at a point where we have so much data that it's not nearly the guesswork scouting used to be. I probably still wouldn't take them but it's not as bad as it used to be.

cajunrevenge said:

Now everyone knows I hate college pitching but I think we are at a point where we have so much data that it's not nearly the guesswork scouting used to be. I probably still wouldn't take them but it's not as bad as it used to be.

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Townsend looked tough last weekend. I wouldn't mind that pick, although selfishly I'd rather see them take Hunter Dietz who can hit those numbers and throw all those pitches but with the other arm. Not to mention Dietz doesn't have a lot of mileage on that left arm as he was injured or not pitching due to ineffectiveness his first two years in Fayetteville.

When it comes to the baseball draft, pitchers are like defensive/OLine picks in the NFL draft to me. They are often smart picks, I just don’t get excited about them like I do position player picks.

New Baseball America mock draft this morning. They have us taking Texas A&M IF Chris Hacopian at 9 and Ole Miss RHP Cade Townsend at 26. The only interesting notes are that some teams think Hacopian has more defensive questions on the infield that could push him to be an outfielder, and he says that we are heavily tied to Townsend, which lines up with the way other mocks have gone.

Hacopian has some high end bat to ball skills and pop.

New Kiley McDaniel mock draft on ESPN.

9. Atlanta Braves​

Drew Burress, CF, Georgia Tech

The Braves tried to sign local product Burress out of high school three years ago and now opinions on him are mixed enough (will he make enough contact and will he play center field long term?) that they'll get a solid chance to land him at this pick.

Hacopian and Jared Grindlinger both make some sense here, too. I think the underslot option here would be someone from the best of the prep lefties, all mocked below.

26. Atlanta Braves​

Coleman Borthwick, RHP, South Walton HS (FL)
Borthwick was cruising early in the season, sitting mostly in the low-90s, then started hitting the upper-90s and peaked in the triple digits a few weeks ago.

His big frame and unusual arm action make him a fit only for some teams, but the Braves haven't been afraid to dip into the prep righty demographic, taking this type of player more than most teams.

Borthwick plays on one of the best high school teams in the country, and he started for them in the Florida state semifinal yesterday:

Looks like he uses a lot of elbow in his delivery. Kinda scary.

That seems a lot like Ritchie’s arm action, honestly—probably a prototypical Braves pick, in that they should schedule the TJS right after the draft.

He’s clearly going for the Stephen Strasburg “I was a chonk in high school, then I got better” path.

that is a huge delta between FA and CH