2026 Overall Draft

In a very deep prep shortstop class in 2023, Cholowsky stood out as having some of the highest projectability in the class with supremely impressive talent on the defensive end. His continued physical development hasn't cost him a step and it's elevated almost every part of his game.

A blue-collar worker who leads by example, Cholowsky gets high marks from coaches, his teammates and those who operate in his proximity. The leadership qualities are top of the scale. After taking his talent and god-given abilities for granted a bit in high school, Cholowsky's mentality changed at UCLA. He began placing a greater emphasis on nutrition and the weight room. He's put on 20 pounds of muscle since arriving to campus, skyrocketing his physical and athletic traits in every area of his game.

Cholowsky is an average runner with fantastic first-step quickness on the dirt. His lateral range is among the best in the class and he's got the ability to make every throw from every angle with plus arm strength and athleticism to burn. Cholowsky is no stranger to the highlight reel play, converting outs in ways other are not capable. Cholowsky has all the traits of a future plus defender at the shortstop position. His frame is just about at peak physical state and likely shouldn't carry much more strength if he's to hang onto his premium athleticism.

Cholowsky's physical transformation at UCLA has helped kick his offensive tools into an entirely new gear. What was once hitterish in the box is now far more impactful with more on the way. Cholowsky's exit velocities have peaked north of 112 mph and his barrel rate towers over most of his middle-infield peers. Cholowsky's plus raw power projection has the chance to output 25-homer campaigns as a professional. There are very few holes in this swing. That said, there are a few things to clean up to reach his eventual ceiling. At times, Cholowsky will feature a more pronounced barrel tip to compliment what can be a bigger leg kick. It can result in Cholowsky struggling to get the barrel to premium elevated velocity, especially on the inner-third. Velocity above the zone is just about the only area Cholowsky has shown a willingness to chase outside of the zone. Scouts would prefer to see his swing and quiet a bit as July approaches to ease any hit tool concerns at the next level. As his game continues to evolve and his understanding of how pitchers are trying to attack him continues to mature, Cholowsky has a chance to age into a complete hitter.

Cholowsky grew up in a baseball family. His dad has been a scout for most of his life and it's made assimilating to the game and it's demands comfortable for Cholowsky. There's a case to be made that Cholowsky is the most complete draft-eligible college shortstop prospect since Dansby Swanson in 2015.

Emerson is what they look like. Offensively, it's pretty loud tools. Setup from a wide base, Emerson displays strong balance and rhythm in a simple swing with solid bat speed on the back end. Emerson's swing can get steep at times, but his attack angle allows him to cover and ambush pitches at the bottom of the zone better than most of his peers. The composure and mature nature in the box stands out. Emerson isn't jumpy or anxious. He sees the ball and reacts. It's power to the pull-side and a hit tool that stands out against upper-level competition. Emerson doesn't strike out, though he hardly chases walks either. The total product offensively has considerable upside with impact ceiling at the next level.

Emerson's contact quality can be streaky in tournament and showcase settings. There are times he'll look like a barrel magnet who simply cannot get out. Other times he'll roll over on breaking balls at a higher clip than you'd like with a general lack of slug on the baseball card. Emerson is still growing and maturing into what his eventual swing will look like. His bat-to-ball skills and bat speed stand out. He's as good a bet as anyone in the class to blossom into a complete hitter.

Emerson is an above average runner with long strides and an athletic gait who should hold his speed as he ages. It's already a reasonably physical frame for his age, so he may ultimately settle in a solid average runner. In any case, he certainly won't be any sort of liability on the base paths and will likely add value in that department in some capacity as well. Emerson has an above average throwing arm with whippy action and carry across the dirt. It'll serve him well as he figures to stay on the left side of the infield. The glove projects above average at shortstop and potentially plus at third base. He's also been up to 90 mph on the mound. Emerson checks just about every box scouts look for in a player at this stage assuming the slug will come. There may not be an exceptionally loud tool on the report, but Emerson has the potential for five legitimate tools. Perhaps it's something of a Chase Headley outcome. He will be 18.5 years old on draft day.

Flora is as exciting a right-handed pitching prospect as we've seen in recent years. He still brings projection and a 6-foot-5-inch righty with a limb-wielding delivery and an explosive burgeoning arsenal. Flora has an up-tempo delivery with a higher leg kick. He moves fast down the mound with conviction. The arm action is loose and whippy. Command for the fastball continues to be an emphasis in his development as too often at this stage his misses are to the arm-side, largely because he gets moving too fast at times. That's improved in a dramatic way in 2026, now showcasing above average command on most occassions.

His fastball has been as high as 102 on radar guns but generally floats 96-97 with carry through the zone and an athletic finish through release. His lower slot and command for the top of the zone forces barrel to haplessly swing under his heater on most nights. It's every bith a 70-grade heater, and plays as such when he's hitting his spots.

Flora possesses two breaking balls and they both flash plus upside. A more firm slider has good sweeping shape in the mid-80s with blossoming hand feel and command. Flora's willingness and confidence to back-door that pitch to left-handed hitters is a separator. He'll manipulate its shape at times, adding and subtracting depth depending on the situation. There's a big sweeper in the low-80s that exhibits huge shapes at times, too.

Flora added a kick-change in 2026 and it's taken his menu of offerings to the next level. He's become equally as difficult to hit for left-handed hitters now. It's got excellent depth and depection, diving off the fastball tunnel late. Flora deletes spin from the pitch and creates awesome velocity separation in the 86-89 mph range. While he's still polishing up the ability to consistently create the same shape on a pitch-by-pitch basis, it's clearly an above average weapon, trending toward plus.

Flora certainly operates like a starter and the strikes are improving. It's high-octane, MLB-ready stuff with the finer details and overall command being the last frontier of his development. If he performs at a high level throughout the 2026 season, Flora could blossom into an extremely high pick in 2026.

Lebron has a few legs up on the other college shortstops in this class. He's got an elite frame with more projection left in a hyper-athletic package. He's a whippy, lanky, lean middle infielder with a ton of filling out to do in his future, and present tools in every part of his game. He's an electric defender and as technically savvy as they come. Lebron fields the ball out in front of his body, showcasing plus arm strength across the diamond. He's proven capable of making every throw from every angle. Jump throws around the second base bag, submarine flips to first on balls he has to charge, back-hand pivot to side-arm tosses back to second base -- he's got every trick in the bag. Lebron has exceptionally quick hands and uses his momentum well when fielding his position. Better still, Lebron is a plus runner who flashes exceptional lateral mobility too. This is the easiest 'plus' grade on a glove in the class, and when all is said and done Lebron may end up one of the best defensive shortstops in Major League Baseball. Ironically, it's the routine play and/or Lebron chasing flair that can cause the few errors he's posted to this point in his career. Surely, most scouts will feel that can be cleaned up with reps.

The aforementioned speed also plays in a big way on the bases. Lebron will be a threat to steal bases at the next level and could flirt with some 25/25 seasons if the hit tool continues to grow.

Lebron has quick hands at the plate and he's shown marked improvement in terms of exit velocities over the past twelve months. What was once well-below average power is now looking more like the potential for plus raw power projection. Lebron peaked north of 110 mph and continues to add strength to his wiry frame. His build and feel for the barrel suggest he could grow into a bit more juice as he continues to physically mature.

The hit tool has taken strides over the course of his Tuscaloosa career as well. Lebron sets up with a wide base and rocks and drifts back into a stacked back side. He folds his front knee and counter-rotates his front shoulder in his load, creating a move foward that, when on time and connected, is quite powerful. That front knee/front shoulder sequencing can at times result in Lebron opening up early with the front side, allowing him to get beat on spin off the plate. When he's right, Lebron hits behind a firm front side, rotating hard around his front hip pocket, creating awesome separation as he uncoils. Lebron absolutely hammers anything elevated in the zone and is particularly dangerous when he can get his hands extended on elevated velocity. Breaking balls and changeups at the bottom of the zone can still be a bugaboo for Lebron, however he showed more of a willingness to stay on those pitches as a freshman before regressing a bit in that area in 2025. Finding a happy medium between ambush hitting at the top of the zone and a more defensive approach in two-strike counts should help his offensive game blossom into a more complete package. For the time being, there's a bit too much chase and too many in-zone whiffs. Given his speed and feel for the barrel, it's unlikely he'll develop into less than an average hit tool guy at the next level, but there's work to do.

If a team is looking for pure upside and ceiling, Lebron may carry more than any other name in the country. This is a potential 70-grade defender with at least a plus run tool and the arm strength to become a Gold Glove winner at the 6. There are very few developmental checkpoints left for Lebron to check off on the defensive end. It's impressive. Lebron has a path toward four 60-grades on his scouting report, however the hit tool will need to catch up if he hopes to become the No. 1 pick in July.

Following two award-winning banner campaigns at Duke, Gracia followed his head coach, Chris Pollard, from Durham to Charlottesville for his 2026 draft-eligible campaign.

Gracia is a slugging corner outfielder with very present over-the-fence power and a highly-advanced understanding for how to backspin a baseball. He's a flyball specialist. It's well-above average bat--to-ball skills both inside the zone and outside of it, a particularly rare trait for players with his longer frame and levers.

From a raw power perspective, Gracia actually took a small step backwards as a sophomore after flashing plus bat speed during his freshman year. All of his exit velocity metrics backtracked in 2025, flashing just average raw power. He lost two mph on his peak exit velocity and also saw his barrel rate drop slightly. It's still a frame built for big damage and most scouts expect he'll tap back into the juice he showed as a freshman going forward.

Perhaps the best way for Gracia to improve his damage output and impact at the plate going forward would be to get more aggressive at the plate. He has consistently run lower than average swing rates and has a tendency to let the pitcher dictate the pace of an at-bat. That's gotten Gracia into pitchers' counts too often, forcing him to put borderline pitches in play late in counts instead of ambushing the cookie he may have received two pitches prior. Given his bat-to-ball metrics, ambushing pitches early in counts shouldn't hurt his ability to create more production. Gracia owns extremely low whiff rates regardless of the pitch location. In-zone, out-of-zone, spin, velocity, it doesn't really matter, Gracia's barrel can cover just about everything with the exception of velocity up and in on his hands, but that's to be expected from a player of his size with his levers. Taking a more aggressive approach to the plate and getting off more early-count A-Swings could help his offensive game jump back into Golden Spikes territory.

Gracia checks a lot of the conventional boxes scouts want to see. It's a long, athletic body and longer levers that should add muscle and strength as he continues to mature. He's a solid average runner with a fringe-average arm strength in a corner. Gracia has a chance to develop into a 30-homer left fielder and a guy who routinely runs high on-base rates at the next level.