Braves Set Record When Signing 2026 Draft Class

The Atlanta Braves began inking their latest draft class to contracts on Tuesday. One of them made history in the process.

According to MLB.com's Jim Callis, they signed their third-round pick, left-hander Jensen Hirschkorn, for $4 million. It set a record for the largest bonus handed out to a player drafted after the second round.

For where he was taken, 84th overall in the third round, his slot value was set at $973,700. Going about $3 million over is a sign that the team is all in on developing a certain player.

The previous record belonged to Brock Porter, who is a pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization. He garnered $3.7 million as a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft.

Hirschkorn seemed like a candidate for the Braves to go over the slot value to get him at the time he was selected. However, the record-setting number wasn't foreseen at all.

Standing at 6-foot-7, he is coming out of high school with some well-developed tools. He has command that is rated above average, a 55 on the 20-to-80 scale. His fastball has a plus grade (60), and his slider is also rated above-average (55).

He was committed to LSU before opting to go pro. When given a record-setting deal, that will do the trick.

Other 2026 Draft Class Members Who Have Signed

The Braves got to work locking down a bulk of their draft class. Both of their first-round picks signed for below their slot values. Outfielder AJ Gracia signed for $3,997,500, when the slot value of the ninth overall pick is $6,675,300. Outfielder Carter Beck signed for $2,684,100, when the slot value of the 26th overall pick is $3,578,800.

Their second-round pick, Kaiden McCarthy signed about his slot value with a bonus of $2,497,500. The value of the pick was $2,081,900.

According to Baseball America's Carlos Collazo, the following players signed with the following bonuses.

4th rounder Cole Dennis: $523,275 ($174,425 under)
5th rounder Wil Libbert: $447,500 ($63,900 under)
6th rounder Tyson Grulkowski: $597,500 ($207,600 over)
8th round Jacob Jarrell, $500
9th round Parker Brosius, $500
10th round Ben Zeigler-Namoa, $500
11th rounder Ryne Barker: $697,500 (547,500 counts towards pool)

That's not a typo. Those signing bonuses are indeed just $500. Undercutting on some college picks in those rounds reportedly gave them the flexibility to go over the slot value for their high school picks. That room accounted for about $653,300.

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