2026 MLB Draft Tracker: Analysis on Every First Round Pick

The first round of the 2026 MLB draft is in the books. In some ways, the first round played out just as expected in our final mock draft, and in other ways, there were surprises around the corner. After much speculation, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was the first to hear his name called. Cholowsky's selection kickstarted a position player-heavy top of the first round before a run on pitchers in the back half.

MLB draft: Complete list of first 40 picks

The first day of the draft will cover four rounds and consist of 135 picks. Those include the 120 picks in the first four rounds, and the compensatory, competitive balance and promotion incentive rounds. The first round will have 25 picks, then there will be three promotion incentive picks, and nine competitive balance picks.

Below are all 40 selections made in the first round.

PICK	TEAM	Player
1	Chicago White Sox	SS, Roch Cholowsky
2	Tampa Bay Rays	SS, Grady Emerson
3	Minnesota Twins	C, Vahn Lackey
4	San Francisco Giants	P, Jackson Flora
5	Pittsburgh Pirates	CF, Derek Curiel
6	Kansas City Royals	LF, Zion Rose
7	Baltimore Orioles	CF, Eric Booth Jr.
8	Athletics	CF, Drew Burress
9	Atlanta Braves	CF, AJ Gracia
10	Colorado Rockies	SS, Tyler Bell
11	Washington Nationals	2B, Chris Hacopian
12	Los Angeles Angels	RF/P Jared Grindlinger
13	St. Louis Cardinals	CF, Trevor Condon
14	Miami Marlins	SS, Jacob Lombard
15	Arizona Diamondbacks	C, Ryder Helfrick
16	Texas Rangers	P, Gio Rojas
17	Houston Astros	LF, Logan Hughes
18	Cincinnati Reds	SS, Justin LeBron
19	Cleveland Guardians	P, Liam Peterson
20	Boston Red Sox	SS, Jake Schaffner
21	San Diego Padres	P, Coleman Borthwick
22	Detroit Tigers	P, Cameron Flukey
23	Chicago Cubs	P, Cade Townsend
24	Seattle Mariners	3B, Ace Reese
25	Milwaukee Brewers	SS, Trey Ebel
26	Atlanta Braves	CF, Carter Beck
27	New York Mets	P, Carson Wiggins
28	Houston Astros	P, Jack Radel
29	San Francisco Giants	P, Carson Bolemon
30	Kansas City Royals	P, Taylor Rabe
31	Arizona Diamondbacks	P, Blake Bryant
32	St. Louis Cardinals	P, Tegan Kuhns
33	Tampa Bay Rays	SS, Taj Marchand
34	Chicago White Sox	SS, Landon Thome
35	New York Yankees	P, Hunter Dietz
36	Philadelphia Phillies	SS, Tyler Spangler
37	Colorado Rockies	C, Daniel Jackson
38	Colorado Rockies	P, Logan Reddemann
39	Toronto Blue Jays	P, Cole Carlon
40	Los Angeles Dodgers	3B, Bo Lowrance

To re-live the first 40 picks of the draft and see analysis on every pick, read on below.

2026 MLB draft live blog and tracker

2026 MLB draft bonus pools

The Pirates have the biggest bonus pool for the 2026 draft at $19,130,000. That makes sense, since they own four of the first 51 picks. The Rays have the second biggest pool ($19,009,300), while the White Sox ($17,592,100), Giants ($17,592,100) and Twins ($16,929,600) round out the top five.

A look at all the bonus pools is below.

TEAM	BONUS POOL
Pittsburgh Pirates	$19,130,700
Tampa Bay Rays	$19,009,300
Chicago White Sox	$17,592,100
San Francisco Giants	$17,350,600
Minnesota Twins	$16,929,600
St. Louis Cardinals	$16,612,300
Kansas City Royals	$15,954,000
Atlanta Braves	$15,870,800
Colorado Rockies	$15,557,600
Athletics	$13,840,300
Houston Astros	$13,712,700
Arizona Diamondbacks	$13,603,100
Baltimore Orioles	$13,114,000
Washington Nationals	$12,278,300
Miami Marlins	$11,960,100
Los Angeles Angels	$11,755,400
Cincinnati Reds	$10,758,500
Texas Rangers	$10,219,200
Chicago Cubs	$9,644,100
San Diego Padres	$9,479,000
Cleveland Guardians	$9,303,700
Detroit Tigers	$9,165,100
Boston Red Sox	$8,219,200
Seattle Mariners	$8,218,200
Milwaukee Brewers	$8,042,900
Philadelphia Phillies	$7,773,000
New York Yankees	$7,342,800
New York Mets	$6,730,900
Toronto Blue Jays	$5,543,100
Los Angeles Dodgers	$3,951,900

Roch Cholowsky scouting report

Cholowsky has been projected as the top pick since he hit .353 with a 1.109 OPS and 23 home runs as a sophomore in 2025. He did nothing to diminish that status this year, slashing .320/.452/.636 with 21 home runs and 60 RBIs. The 21-year-old is 6'2" and 200 pounds and has outstanding raw power to mix with good swing decisions—he's walked more than he's struck out in college. He has average speed, but should stick at shortstop thanks to a plus arm, paired with good actions and instincts.

Grady Emerson scouting report

Emerson is a potential five-tool shortstop who could legitimately go No. 1. The 18-year-old has excellent bat control and makes great decisions at the plate. His left-handed swing generates hard contact to all fields, and more power is likely to come as he matures. While not a speedster, he has enough quickness to handle shortstop and possesses a plus arm. He would have been the No. 1 pick in several draft classes over the past decade.

Vahn Lackey scouting report

Lackey is 6’2” and 215 pounds and possesses excellent all-around ability behind the plate. He finished 2026 hitting .397 with a 1.291 OPS, 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases while walking more than he struck out. He’ll need to add lift to his swing to produce more power as he ages, but he should develop faster than most backstops.

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