MLB Pipeline has released its Top 100 Draft Prospects list for 2026, generating excitement among scouts for a strong top tier. UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky leads the rankings after a standout sophomore season. The list comes ahead of the MLB Draft Lottery on Dec. 9 in Orlando.
The release of MLB Pipeline's 2026 Top 100 Draft Prospects list has sparked significant interest in the scouting community, particularly for the potential elite talent at the top compared to the 2025 class. One scouting director noted, “I think people were more excited about the 2025 depth and the top of the Draft in 2026. I think there’s more impact at the top. It’s not (Paul) Skenes level (the 2023 Draft), but it’s more exciting than the ‘25 Draft.”
The top 10 features a mix of college and high school players, with six collegians and four prep standouts. Leading the way is Roch Cholowsky, SS from UCLA, who hit .353/.480/.710 with 23 homers as a sophomore. The scouting director praised him, saying, “I think most teams, if they had to pick now, they would take Cholowsky. It’s a really good impactful toolset across the board. He plays in the middle of the diamond. His makeup is very, very good. You can take him and sleep well at night. There’s not a lot that can go wrong with a player like that.”
The top four are all shortstops: Cholowsky, Grady Emerson (Fort Worth Christian HS, Texas), Justin Lebron (Alabama), and Jacob Lombard (Gulliver Prep, Fla.). Nine shortstops appear in the top 25, echoing last year's first round where 15 of the top 28 picks were shortstops.
High school pitching stands out, especially left-handers, with three in the top 20: Carson Bolemon (Southside Christian School, S.C.), Gio Rojas (Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, Fla.), and Logan Schmidt (California). A second scouting director emphasized, “All these pitchers need to understand what the strike zone means to all of us; it has to be integrated. If those left-handers are commanding and getting swing and miss, they all have a chance to make some headway [at the top of the Draft].”
College pitching is thinner, but names like Cameron Flukey (Coastal Carolina, ranked No. 9 overall), Liam Peterson, and Jackson Flora could rise. The director added, “You take Liam Peterson, Cameron Flukey, Jackson Flora. They’re the typical body type, size, stuff. One of those could take a step forward and make an impact on the Draft.” The overall list includes 55 college players and 45 high schoolers.
The Draft Lottery, determining selection order, airs live on MLB Network on Dec. 9 at 5:30 p.m. ET from the Winter Meetings in Orlando.