With the 2026 MLB Draft now in the books, here’s my look at each American League Central team’s draft class. I focus on the top 10 rounds, since those are the picks that count toward each team’s bonus pool. Players taken after the 10th round may be paid up to $150,000 without counting against the bonus pool, so the best prospects taken in Rounds 11 through 20 rarely end up signing.
The number in parentheses after each player’s name indicates the round in which he was taken; CBA equals Competitive Balance Round A, which comes after the first round, and CBB equals Competitive Balance Round B, which comes after the second round. A C after a number indicates that it was a compensation pick between rounds for losing a free agent or failing to sign a draft pick last year.
Which teams fared well during MLB Draft Day 1?
Keith Law
I do assume that all players taken in the top 10 rounds will sign, although each year there are roughly two to five players who don’t for various reasons. I also skipped over college seniors who were probably selected as money-saver picks, agreeing to bonuses under their slot figures so their teams can go over slot for other players, or other players who appear to be more about under-slot bonuses than major-league potential.
Finally, I don’t give letter grades for drafts. I think that whole idea is absurd. The best I can offer is to tell you that I think teams did well or not well based on what I know about the players available at those picks, and in general, I prefer to talk about specific picks rather than try to sum up months of work for each scouting department in a pithy line or two.
(Note: Scouting grades are on a 20-80 scale. Click here for my top-100 draft prospect list.)
Chicago White Sox: Cholowsky a win at 1; class as a whole stands out
The White Sox had the No. 1 pick, and after trading for the 34th pick on Friday night, they held the biggest draft pool of all 30 teams. They had a huge opportunity to add a ton of talent to the organization … and I think they nailed it.
They took UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky (1) with the first pick. The consensus top prospect pretty much since last summer, Cholowsky hit for average and power for the last two years for the Bruins while playing plus defense at short. He’s going to have to make some swing adjustments, especially to help him get to the kind of velocity he’s going to see every night in the upper minors, but the White Sox have also shown they can do that sort of thing, like with Colson Montgomery and Jacob Gonzalez, who they traded on Friday. I don’t think Cholowsky will be in the minors for too long.
The White Sox followed the Cholowsky selection with two high school hitters, Landon Thome (CBA) and Cole Prosek (2). Thome is Jim’s kid, a shortstop now who’s likely to move to third base, with at least plus power in his future but probably needing some swing help to get him to cover pitches that are up and in.
Prosek is more advanced as a hitter, with some swing and miss in his game because he swings so hard, showing strong contact quality and hitting well against good pitching at showcases.
Joey Volchko spent two years at Stanford before transferring to Georgia. He has huge stuff but struggles to throw strikes. (Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)
Georgia right-hander Joey Volchko (3) has crazy stuff — crazy in a good sense, but also in that he gets a lot of movement on his pitches, and his pitch “shapes” grade out well. He transferred from Stanford to UGA this year and everything improved but his command and control, so there’s still some work to do there, though he has mid-rotation upside. He feels like the sort of pitcher the White Sox have always loved, except that he’s right-handed.
Oregon State right-hander Eric Segura (4) is a sinker/slider guy whose fastball is 93-96 and comes from a low three-quarters slot. He showed some platoon split this year due to that arm angle and a barely used changeup. He’s very online to the plate and throws enough strikes to see him as a back-end starter if he uses the changeup more or develops a better version.
Oregon right-hander Cal Scolari (5) has a fast arm and his fastball is 94-97 with arm-side run. He also has a variety of breaking pitches, but he walked 14.3 percent of batters faced this year and doesn’t have a clear pitch for lefties (although he had a reverse split this year). He’s a junior but 22, as he was a 19-year-old senior in high school when he blew out his elbow and missed 2024 while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. I don’t know if he’s bosom buddies with anyone else in the system.
Shortstop Alex Weingartner (6) from St. Augustine High School in New Jersey has some tools, with plus power and speed and a plus arm, but his swing needs a lot of work and I didn’t think he’d be ready to hit low-minors pitching next year. He’s committed to Penn State.
Third baseman Jayson Jones (8) was a senior at Wichita State, his third school in the last three years, but he’s more than a senior sign. He played a full season for the first time this year and did everything you could ask for, with a .355/.430/.583 line, strong exit velocities and solid or better swing decisions. He’s 22, so the clock is ticking, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him hit the moment he’s in the minors.
Chicago took right-hander Kyle Casteel (11), a West Virginia recruit from Butler Area High School near Pittsburgh. He has excellent feel to spin the ball already. The White Sox could try to sign him if they have some bonus pool money left or if something goes awry with their picks in the top 10 rounds. They also selected Oklahoma left-hander Cameron Johnson (15), who is massive, gets up to 99, and has a decent changeup, but walked 43 in 53 2/3 innings this year and needs an average breaking ball. Both are good gambles for that 11-20 round range, when failing to sign a player doesn’t affect your bonus pool.
Cleveland Guardians: Peterson a top-10 talent; Schmidt, Sims intriguing HS arms
Cleveland landed some of the best pure stuff in the draft in Florida right-hander Liam Peterson (1), who was in my top 10 for that very reason. He’s 93-98 with a plus slider and 55 curveball. I think his changeup could easily end up an above-average pitch as well — and he’s certainly in a good organization for that kind of development. He gives up too much hard contact for this quality of stuff, in part because the fastball quality isn’t great, but more because he lives too much in the heart of the zone and just above it.
Liam Peterson’s stuff is better than his results have been and he has a high ceiling. (Steven Branscombe / USA Today)
Southern California high school left-hander Logan Schmidt (2) was 94-96 at the end of the spring and his sweeper already gives him an out pitch. He might actually have too many pitches for an 18-year-old, and simplifying that, as well as cleaning up his delivery, could make him a mid-rotation starter.
University of Houston outfielder Tre Broussard (3) is an extremely Cleveland sort of pick — he’s young for the class and he makes a lot of contact. He’s an 80 runner with a slappy swing that produces minimal power, so barring a pretty big overhaul to his swing and build, he’s a bottom-of-the-order bat who can handle center field.
Wake Forest corner infielder Kade Lewis (4) is a high-contact hitter with fringy power who has played third base but will need work to stick there. If he ends up at first base, he’s going to have to get the ball in the air more to have a chance to profile as a regular; he has a tweener bat with his current power.
Louisville center fielder Lucas Moore (5) is another low-power speedster, stealing 90 bags the last two years in 98 attempts. He is coming off his worst year at the plate in college, with a .286/.437/.406 line. He does make harder contact than you’d infer from the stat line, with good bat speed, but the swing doesn’t work to drive the ball. He can handle center if you can live with the 45 arm.
Oklahoma catcher Deiten Lachance (6) changed his swing late in the season, increasing his load to get more bat speed going at contact, and his power surged — he had 14 homers from May 1 through the Sooners’ national championship. He’s a fringy defender and his swing decisions aren’t great, so he’s probably a backup, but this is a great gamble for the sixth round, with an outside chance he becomes a regular.
Texas high school right-hander Savion Sims (7) is probably going to be an over-slot signing, as he’s committed to Oklahoma and offers a high ceiling — one he can touch at 6-foot-8. He has a loose, quick arm, getting up to 100, but the secondary stuff is fringy or below and his control is as well, in part because the delivery isn’t very consistent. He’s rawer than the typical Guardians pitching draft pick.
Georgia right–hander Matt Scott (8) transferred from Stanford for his senior year and had mildly better results pitching in relief, although he was very homer-prone (13 in 59 2/3 innings). He’s mostly fastball/slider, up to 97, and needs to live less in the upper half of the zone.
Detroit Tigers: Flukey a steal; infield talent prominent among top picks
The Tigers took Coastal Carolina right-hander Cameron Flukey (1) at pick 22, landing a pitcher who was pretty much a consensus top 10 pick coming into the year but who fell after missing much of the spring with a fractured rib. There were questions about the quality of his fastball and his lack of a real changeup also dragged him down. He’s up to 97 from a high arm slot, with a 12/6 curveball as his out pitch, and he uses a slider as his third weapon. He could be a mid-rotation starter if the Tigers can get him a better pitch for lefties and maybe try a two-seamer to vary the fastball shape.
Kansas shortstop Tyson LeBlanc (2) transferred in from a junior college and hit 25 homers, with above-average batted-ball quality, while also showing strong contact skills at KU. He’s probably more of an average/above-average power hitter, which could still make him a regular at second base.
Tyson LeBlanc had a huge breakout season for Kansas. (Evert Nelson / The Capital-Journal / USA Today via Imagn Images)
Florida Gulf Coast right-hander Evan Dempsey (CBB) was a two-way player this year and he might see his stuff improve once he’s focused solely on pitching. He’s 92-93 from a low three-quarters slot with two short, high-spin breaking balls, but he has nothing for lefties, and I’m not sold that either breaking ball is going to keep generating high whiff rates (both were over 40 percent this year) against better hitters.
Louisiana high school shortstop Dominic Pellegrin (4) played a little in the MLB Draft League and hit extremely well for a teenager in 53 PA, with a .375/.569/.525 line and 11 steals in 13 attempts. He did it all off fastballs, struggling with all breaking stuff, and has a flat, handsy swing but good bat speed.
Louisiana Tech right-hander Declan Dahl (5) is 92-93 from a slot a little below three-quarters, working with a short arm action that has him trying to live in the upper half of the strike zone with the fastball. He has a little slider and some feel for a changeup, with above-average control, just not average command.
Oregon shortstop Maddox Molony (6) had his worst year by far at the plate, hitting .233/.343/.452. He was hit by a pitch on his left hand in late March, and while he wasn’t hitting much before that, he was worse afterwards, and his contact quality was way down, as well. He’s a bounceback candidate if that indeed was the problem here.
Kansas first baseman Brady Ballinger (7) has some raw power but doesn’t get to it in games enough, hitting .283/.401/.466 this year thanks to a whiff rate on pitches in the zone over 18 percent.
Canadian high school infielder Robert Omidi (8) has some power but MLB Draft League pitchers ate him up this year even with just fringe-average velocity, results that were consistent with some of his history of contact issues. He’s a shortstop by trade but Cleveland announced him at third base.
The Tigers took Alabama high schooler Will Adams (11), an LSU recruit, with their first pick outside of the bonus pool rounds. He’s a disciplined hitter for a teenager, with plus raw power, but may end up at first base even with an above-average arm. If they sign him, he’d be the second-best prospect in their draft.
Kansas City Royals: Rose a surprise but smart pick; overall class impresses
The Royals shook up the order of operations, but still walked out with a strong draft class yet again.
Louisville outfielder Zion Rose (1) was one of the best hitters in the draft class and a longtime favorite of mine. He raked this year in the ACC, finishing fifth in the conference in average and doubles, as well as eighth in OBP. He rolled his ankle the first weekend of the season, missing 20-odd games, so nearly three-quarters of his at-bats this year came in conference play. He finished with a .417/.491/.646 line overall, along with 24 steals in 27 attempts.
Rose is an above-average runner who has never settled into a position. He played a little center field this year and I’ve heard it was OK, but in a larger sample in left field he’s been maybe an average defender. The position/defense questions are why I had him 22nd on my board despite his top-10 bat. I really think he’ll hit, but his value goes way up if he can become a 55 defender in a corner.
Taylor Rabe had huge helium at the end of his draft year. (Gary Cosby Jr. / Tuscaloosa News / USA Today)
Mississippi right-hander Taylor Rabe (CBA) was one of the hottest names in the late spring, coming almost from nowhere to show multiple above-average pitches and plus control in the SEC. He redshirted in 2024 after Tommy John surgery and only threw 16 unmemorable innings (as in, he’d rather you forget them) in 2025, but moved into Mississippi’s rotation early this year and finished with a 34.2 percent strikeout rate and 4.9 percent walk rate. He’s 96-98 with late life, has a plus slider as his out pitch, and throws a sweeper and a straight changeup. If he improves that last pitch, he could be No. 2 or 3 starter.
Illinois high school right-hander Jack Slightom (2) was another hot name late in the spring, as scouts flocked in to see one of the fastest arms in the draft. His two-seamer was 95-96 with huge life, and he showed a 55 changeup and a slider that was average but graded better by pitch models. I like most of the delivery, including the big stride he takes toward the plate, up until the point where he spins off his front heel. He’s risky, as all high school pitchers are, but with two strong college picks already in the bank, this is the right spot to take this chance.
West Virginia left-hander Maxx Yehl (3) missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and returned to become the Mountaineers’ best starter this season, working almost exclusively fastball/slider and attacking hitters in the zone. The fastball is just average and the slider’s a 55, with some deception from his lower slot and the way he cuts himself off in his delivery. With those mechanics and no third pitch, he’s probably going to end up in relief, but there is a path that makes him a starter with some help from player development.
Chicago-area high schooler Dominic Battista (4) was a sleeper of sorts, as he didn’t play at many showcase events last year and missed time this spring with a hamate injury. He has a really sound left-handed swing that should lead to above-average power with some tweaks to his stride and hip rotation, along with above-average speed that should make him a valuable defender in a corner if he doesn’t stick in center.
Arkansas left-hander Ethan McElvain (5) had a 7.24 ERA at Vanderbilt a year ago, but transferred to Fayetteville and dropped that ERA to 1.88 out of the bullpen. He threw his fastball 70 percent of the time, sitting 94-96, with an occasional cutter to keep hitters off the heater, but he’s built like a starter and I feel like the Royals should at least stretch him out.
Clemson left-hander Justin LeGuernic (6) dominated left-handed batters this year with a 95-97 mph fastball and above-average slider, but right-handed batters crushed him, so he has a relief-only profile and he’ll have to figure something out to be able to go full innings in pro ball.
Right-hander Dylan Vigue (7) is a 22-year-old junior at Georgia who went undrafted last year out of Michigan, then transferred and improved his results across the board against better competition. His two-seamer is 91-94 from a low three-quarters slot with an average slider and fringy changeup. He does need to cut his walk rate further — it was down to 12.9 percent — but if he does that he has back-end starter potential.
Oklahoma shortstop Camden Johnson (9) can fly, but he has a below-average hit tool and below-average power.
The Royals threw a flier out on right-hander Hudson DeVaughan (19) at the end of the draft, I presume in case one of their bigger names in the top 10 rounds doesn’t sign. He has a big arm but has had back and scapula injuries in the last year-plus. He has mid-rotation upside if he stays healthy. If he doesn’t sign, he’ll be back in the draft in 2028 after two years at Alabama.
Minnesota Twins: Lackey a unique talent; class heavy on pitching
The Twins took the guy I ultimately settled on as the best prospect in the draft, Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey (1), who may not offer the high floor of Cholowsky but has a higher ceiling. Lackey is super-athletic, played multiple positions in the past and still showed above-average speed to go with great hands and a cannon of an arm. He’s a strong hitter for contact and hits the ball hard enough to get to some power, perhaps settling in as a 15-20 homer guy, with more of his offensive value coming from average/OBP. I loved the pick, needless to say.
The Twins then took another catcher, sort of, in Texas’ Carson Tinney (2), although he was always likely to move to another position, given his large frame. He has some of the best raw power in the class, with massive exit velocities. He cut down on some of his swing-and-miss as the season went on, even though the competition he faced was better than it was in the first month.
Virginia Tech right-hander Brett Renfrow (CBB) is probably going to take off in pro ball, as he’ll get to call his own game and probably get better advice on what to throw. He’s 94-96 with a hammer curveball that helped him to a strong finish this spring, and his control got better as he moved away from using his cutter as his main secondary pitch. He’s a mid-rotation starter.
Colorado high school right-hander Ethan Wachsmann (3) is an exemplar of the “projection high school right-hander” category, except that he already throws hard, touching 100 this spring. It’s a good delivery, and he has a true curveball. There’s still some room to fill out and he needs to work on the slider, as well as adding a changeup or splitter.
TCU right-hander Tommy LaPour (4) hurt his elbow in late February and missed about 10 weeks, but did return to finish the season. He’s a command guy without an out pitch, sitting mid-90s with a decent changeup. Assuming he’s healthy, he seems like someone you send right to the pitching lab, because he throws strikes already and could be a fourth starter if he had one swing-and-miss arrow in the quiver.
UC San Diego right-hander Steele Murdock (5) makes this draft’s all-name team, handily. He was a closer in the Cape Cod League last summer and was up to 98 with a plus slider. He can top out there as a starter but has a long arm swing and he doesn’t repeat it enough for even fringe-average control.
Santa Clara right-hander Max Bayles (7) is a slider-first guy with a 45 fastball and 45 control, while also lacking a real pitch for lefties. He’ll be 22 in October so this may be a money-saver pick.
Texas right-hander Thomas Burns (8) is listed at 6-3, 240 and sits in the upper 90s, but he couldn’t find the plate with Waze helping him — he walked 15.8 percent of batters in three years in college, consistent across all seasons. He’s also about to turn 22.
Right-hander JT Raab (9) was a grad student at Georgetown and also writes crime novels as Nora Roberts.
Mississippi State outfielder Aidan Teel (11) had a down year after transferring from Virginia. He was draft-eligible as a sophomore last year but didn’t go, and his value off a .294/.416/.449 line is probably close to nil. He’s pretty athletic and I think there’s more there than the stat line shows. He’s Kyle Teel’s brother.
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