2026 MLB Draft: Top 50 Prep Prospects

HT: 6’2” WT: 192 H/T: R/R
School: Gulliver Prep (Uncommitted)
State: FL
ETA: 2030

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Two things can be true with Jacob Lombard: He is one of the best prep prospects we’ve recently seen, and he is also one of the hardest to rank prospects we’ve seen. Lombard possesses some of the loudest tools in this class in multiple facets of the game, with possible double-plus power carrying his profile. The only thing truly lacking for Jacob is whether he will hit enough to get to his power potential. Lombard runs both high chase and whiff rates. His swing doesn’t have many flaws; it’s his eyes and pitch recognition that tend to get Lombard into trouble in the box. On the field, Lombard is a pure shortstop with the athleticism to continue playing at the 6 in the professional ranks. He has sure hands and a good internal clock that put him in the upper echelon of prep defenders. Lombard’s arm strength slightly lags compared to the rest of his athletic profile, but it should be enough to stick at shortstop with elite range. If he’s not at shortstop, Lombard is versatile enough to play center field, right field, or third base. There are shades of Konnor Griffin in Lombard, who has elite athleticism similar to the current top prospect in baseball. Landing spot matters for Lombard and will be a curious part of this cycle; regardless, Jacob looks like a future top 5 pick in July’s draft.

-Nate Rasmussen

HT: 6’2” WT: 180 H/T: L/R
School: Fort Worth Christian (Texas Commit)
State: TX
ETA: 2029

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Emerson stands at 6’2 180lbs, and will be 18.4 on draft night. He is an above-average runner with a high baseball IQ, which allows him to take the extra base. Emerson moves well on the dirt and has the actions to stick at SS long term. His soft hands, quick feet, range, and strong arm allow him to make all the plays necessary to stick up the middle as a plus defender. At the plate, he has a spread-out athletic stance with his hands placed just below his ear and in front of his shoulder. He uses a slight knee bend to start loose before sinking into his back leg, along with a small leg kick. Emerson has an advanced feel for the strike zone, which in turn supports his mature approach. In-game, he’s displayed an advanced feel for the barrel and plus bat to ball skills. He’s displayed the ability to drive the ball to all fields with room to add more impact as the frame fills out. Emerson should generate a high IZ contact rate, which hopefully will buy him time to tap into more of his raw power at the beginning of his career. His projectable frame and 5 tool potential should make him an intriguing option in the top half of the 1st round. At the next level, Emerson projects to be a productive everyday big leaguer who will stick at SS and hit towards the top of the order with 15-20 homers if he can add more strength.

-JB Sebastiano

HT: 6’4” WT: 190 H/T: R/L
School: Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Miami Commit)
State: FL
ETA: 2029

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Rojas is arguably the top prep arm in the class alongside fellow lefty Carson Bolemon. Rojas has a long, lean projectable frame which could have more velo in the tank. He is an athletic mover who has an easy, loose whippy arm action. His fastball has some late life and carries through the zone. His low ¾ arm slot helps provide a deceptive fastball profile, which rides more than the numbers would say. He pounds the zone and gets ahead, allowing him to use his plus slider to put hitters away. The slider has a spin rate north of 2800 rpms consistently. It has a tight shape with late break, which helps it play off his fastball. The curveball and changeup are both pitches in development which will be crucial to determine whether he can start long term. Rojas has all the ingredients to become a front-line starter in the big leagues, but he will need to develop an average third offering. Many view him as a top 15 talent who should be a quick mover in the minors.

-JB Sebastiano

HT: 6’5” WT: 212 H/T: R/R
School: Jackson Prep (Florida Commit)
State: MS
ETA: 2031

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Kevin Roberts Jr. is one of the most potent two-way prospects of this decade, with true star upside on both sides of the ball. While Roberts Jr. can get into the mid to upper 90s on the mound with a plus breaker, his everyday position lies in the outfield, where teams will likely favor him with an early draft pick in July. Roberts Jr. will likely stick in center field into his mid-20s, where he puts his exceptional athleticism and speed on display. He has one of the best outfield arms in this class, where he can rip throws to bases at 100 mph or greater. Later in his career, a move to right field makes sense, where he would be a premium defender. Kevin has above-average bat speed with the strength to match, giving him potential 70-grade power with a frame that has room to add more muscle. His hit tool is sound, making consistent contact with all types of pitches everywhere in and out of the zone. He doesn’t chase much and drives the ball to all fields. If Kevin Roberts Jr. has another strong spring, we could see him end up as one of the top prep draftees in 2026.

-Nate Rasmussen

HT: 6’3” WT: 190 H/T: L/R
School: De La Salle (Stanford Commit)
State: CA
ETA: 2030

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Tyler Spangler is a prominent prep prospect due in large part to his pure hitting ability. This summer, he has been filling into his + frame, yet still has a high level of strength he can build. Spangler is a long-legged athlete with narrow shoulders who has present lower body strength, but can add more there, and certainly can add more to his upper half. At the plate, he has an open stance and slightly tilts his body to the pitcher pre-load. He closes his front half as he strides with a slight leg kick, and has a strong body tilt as he unloads through his swing. There's some slight bat tilt and natural lift in the swing, but neither is drastic, & he has the bat control to get to all quadrants of the zone. This comes out to slightly short swing length, but he can still get to average bat speed, largely due to his good hand speed. Spangler has an advanced hit tool where he makes contact at a terrific rate and rarely expands the zone. This ability was held when he participated across the various top circuits in the Summer. He tracks the ball well and, thus far, has not shown any signs of struggling to make bat-to-ball or recognize pitches against the top arms. It's an easy plus projected tool. His power is developing, but there is a clear path for him to have the raw strength to be a consistent HR-threat. Still, I am skeptical if this power will consistently play on a game-level. Spangler has an oppo-CF approach at the plate, which plays into his hit tool strength, but this greatly comes at the detriment of his HR output. Additionally, he has run a high GB% against the top arms. All this to say, if he wants to get to the 25+ HR power that his body can grow into, he will need to do an approach reset at the plate. The way he swings now can still play, but it will be heavily 2Bs over HRs. Spangler is an above-average runner who could regress to average as he adds mass, but for now, it is more than capable to keep him at SS. He's a natural defender who has the body control to handle SS, but his better defensive skillset is with his consistent fluidity for all types of GBs hit to him. If he does outgrow the ability to play SS, he should handle 3B very well. Spangler has an above-average arm that will also keep him on the left side of the infield. A flaw in his defensive skillset is how he can lose his fluidity on the arm path for his throws to 1B. Still, across the board, Spangler has an above-average defensive skillset. Tyler Spangler projects to be a consistent MLB INFer & worthy of a 1st Round pick, although he has a lower chance to become an impact star than most players at his level.

-Will Dodge

HT: 6’4” WT: 210 H/T: R/L
School: Southside Christian (Wake Forest Commit)
State: SC
ETA: 2030

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Bolemon is considered one of the best prep arms in the class. He and Gio Rojas are considered 1A and 1B. Bolemon’s fastball jumps out as it consistently has 20+ inches of vertical break and spins at 2,400+ rpms. The slider has shown some plus traits like 17 inches of horizontal break. It can, at times, get loopy and pop out of the hand. When right, it is a dominant put-away pitch, but he will need to be more consistent once he reaches pro ball. The changeup is a fringe average offering that will continue to improve with more focus in a pro org, I believe. He has a ¾ slot and sinks deep into his back side before going down the mound. He has an explosive finish to the delivery, which can look high effort at times. Bolemon will need to improve his lower half at the next level, but I also believe this means he has more velocity in the tank. His mature, filled-out frame looks the part and should allow him to be a durable starter at the next level. Bolemon has front-line starter potential, but he will need to improve the consistency of his offspeed offerings in order to reach his full potential. 

-JB Sebastiano

HT: 6’3” WT: 215 H/T: R/R
School: JSerra Catholic (Oregon State Commit)
State: CA
ETA: 2030

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Bowen is a tremendous athlete with notable achievements in both baseball and football. Bowen solely committed to baseball during the 24-25 season, but he did win MVP in 2024 in his league as a wide receiver. He’s definitely got the body of a football player, coming in at 6’3 with a wide, athletic frame. On the diamond, there is a lot to love about Bowen. At the dish, the ball just explodes off his bat thanks to a violent, uppercut swing. With his size and raw power, there is definitely room for 30 home run seasons in his future. It is a true 60-grade power tool. Such an aggressive swing does lead to swing and miss concerns, especially evident when facing off-speed. At the moment, the power makes up for chasing off-speed and still making good contact, but the discipline will need to improve as he moves up levels. In the outfield, he shows off a great arm with good accuracy and good footwork behind it. Thanks in part to his receiver background, he tracks balls well in the outfield and takes great routes. Combined with plus speed, he has a center field future and will likely stick there long term. There’s a lot to like about Bowen, and he will be just 17.5 years old come July. He’s already got an outstanding toolset at just 16 and can only stand to improve with professional training. Bowen stands among the best prep players in the country and will be easily in first round talks.

-Joshua Salguero

HT: 6’2” WT: 185 H/T: R/R
School: Trinity Christian Academy (Florida Commit)
State: FL
ETA: 2030

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Brady Harris has been one of the more recognizable names on the summer circuit the past few years. He is a plus athlete who turns in good run times and displays athleticism all over the field. Harris has explosive tools that make some scouts believe he is a future 5 tool middle of the order bat. He has the ability to stick in centerfield, along with a plus arm. Harris has the power to also profile in the corners as a plus defender. His long athletic strides allowed him to track down flyballs with ease. Offensively, Harris stands tall at the plate with a slow, controlled load and slight leg kick. In batting practice, Harris displays a whippy barrel that creates hard contact and has power to all fields. In-game, he flashes these swings but can get long at times, along with the tendency to step out with his front foot. This summer at the USA trials, Harris looked overmatched at times, displaying a poor approach. He tended to chase off speed pitches early in counts and struggled with elevated velocity. The swing works slightly uphill and creates natural lift. Despite these concerns, Harris provides some of the loudest tools in the class with the upside to become a franchise CF with 30/30 potential. The profile is extremely risky due to the hit tool concerns, which could ultimately cause him to fall down the board next spring. He will be someone to follow closely this spring. Harris is a high-risk, high-reward player who should be in 1st round talks throughout the 2026 draft cycle.

-JB Sebastiano

HT: 6’3” WT: 205 H/T: R/R
School: Crown Point (Tennessee Commit)
State: IN
ETA: 2031

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Arguably the top catcher in his class, Dunlap is one of the few catchers who possesses great athleticism with above average speed in the same realm as JT Realmuto. He carries an already built frame with even more projectability for better power. The power is already a calling card for Dunlap, reaching exit velocities up to 110 in batting practice and posting marks above 100 during Area Code games. His swing is well coordinated with good separation and extremely quick hands mixed with his present strength, leading to consistent loud contact. He does a great job at staying with the pitch and adjusting to off-speed. Behind the plate, he has among the quickest catch and throw releases, which, aided by a strong arm, seriously limits the running game. These smooth hands and his strong build give belief that he can be a strong defensive framer as well with more work at that ability. He’s run a sub-6.70 60-yard with a quick first step in these times that give a good indication of the ability to play outfield if necessary. The defensive potential is there and the bat is too good to want to take from catcher but the option remains as a backup. It’s rare to have a five-tool catcher, but Dunlap has the chance to fit this category. The speed will likely diminish over time due to the demands of catching and adding more muscle, but the tools are very prominent, especially for a catcher. In a weaker catcher class, both prep and college, Dunlap has the chance to stand out amongst the rest.

-Joshua Salguero

HT: 6’4” WT: 220 H/T: L/L
School: Ganesha (LSU Commit)
State: CA
ETA: 2031

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Logan Schmidt is one of the top Prep arms in the class with his complete arsenal. Even as a reclassifier that will be sub-18 on Draft Day, Schmidt has a near pro-ready frame through a bulky upper half & wide shoulders. He can add even more mass with a thin lower half, but there's already a lot of strength in the profile, which has shown itself through his velo jump this summer. His delivery comp is similar to Gage Jump, where he has a drop and drive stride down the mound & a 3/4 arm angle. He is a huge extender down the mound, and the slight oddity to his delivery massively plays to his advantage. The FB has taken strides this summer, now sitting in the mid-90s & touching 97. The pitch has been a weapon for him in the circuit by the way he can use it to play up in velocity through his hard-to-track arm path. The pitch itself has some slight run to it, but lacks outlier shape. He commands this pitch at an above-average rate and possesses good body control to continue to do so in the future. On an individual level, this pitch is 55-grade quality, which I could very likely see outperform this due to hitters not picking it up from the delivery. His best pitch is a sweeper where he'll flash a CB, SL, and a blend of the two. No matter, this pitch has been used against batters on either side and has been effective. He'll hang at 80mph with it and has good command for the offering, but its best feature is its sharp sweeping action that also offers some vertical depth difference off the FB. It has a plus-upside. The CH is also a pitch that has recently come along for him & earns above-average upside for its vertical separating action off the FB. The pitch's velocity difference and command are both average, but it has been a weapon for Schmidt against RHBs. Schmidt's combination of 3 55+-graded pitches with the present showing and body projectability for above-average command puts him as a 1st-round quality arm where he should be a projected factor for a competing team's rotation.

-Will Dodge