The first round of the 2026 MLB draft is in the books. In some ways, the first round played out just as expected in our final mock draft, and in other ways, there were surprises around the corner. After much speculation, UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was the first to hear his name called. Cholowsky's selection kickstarted a position player-heavy top of the first round before a run on pitchers in the back half.
MLB draft: Complete list of first 40 picks
The first day of the draft will cover four rounds and consist of 135 picks. Those include the 120 picks in the first four rounds, and the compensatory, competitive balance and promotion incentive rounds. The first round will have 25 picks, then there will be three promotion incentive picks, and nine competitive balance picks.
Below are all 40 selections made in the first round.
| PICK | TEAM | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago White Sox | SS, Roch Cholowsky |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rays | SS, Grady Emerson |
| 3 | Minnesota Twins | C, Vahn Lackey |
| 4 | San Francisco Giants | P, Jackson Flora |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Pirates | CF, Derek Curiel |
| 6 | Kansas City Royals | LF, Zion Rose |
| 7 | Baltimore Orioles | CF, Eric Booth Jr. |
| 8 | Athletics | CF, Drew Burress |
| 9 | Atlanta Braves | CF, AJ Gracia |
| 10 | Colorado Rockies | SS, Tyler Bell |
| 11 | Washington Nationals | 2B, Chris Hacopian |
| 12 | Los Angeles Angels | RF/P Jared Grindlinger |
| 13 | St. Louis Cardinals | CF, Trevor Condon |
| 14 | Miami Marlins | SS, Jacob Lombard |
| 15 | Arizona Diamondbacks | C, Ryder Helfrick |
| 16 | Texas Rangers | P, Gio Rojas |
| 17 | Houston Astros | LF, Logan Hughes |
| 18 | Cincinnati Reds | SS, Justin LeBron |
| 19 | Cleveland Guardians | P, Liam Peterson |
| 20 | Boston Red Sox | SS, Jake Schaffner |
| 21 | San Diego Padres | P, Coleman Borthwick |
| 22 | Detroit Tigers | P, Cameron Flukey |
| 23 | Chicago Cubs | P, Cade Townsend |
| 24 | Seattle Mariners | 3B, Ace Reese |
| 25 | Milwaukee Brewers | SS, Trey Ebel |
| 26 | Atlanta Braves | CF, Carter Beck |
| 27 | New York Mets | P, Carson Wiggins |
| 28 | Houston Astros | P, Jack Radel |
| 29 | San Francisco Giants | P, Carson Bolemon |
| 30 | Kansas City Royals | P, Taylor Rabe |
| 31 | Arizona Diamondbacks | P, Blake Bryant |
| 32 | St. Louis Cardinals | P, Tegan Kuhns |
| 33 | Tampa Bay Rays | SS, Taj Marchand |
| 34 | Chicago White Sox | SS, Landon Thome |
| 35 | New York Yankees | P, Hunter Dietz |
| 36 | Philadelphia Phillies | SS, Tyler Spangler |
| 37 | Colorado Rockies | C, Daniel Jackson |
| 38 | Colorado Rockies | P, Logan Reddemann |
| 39 | Toronto Blue Jays | P, Cole Carlon |
| 40 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 3B, Bo Lowrance |
To re-live the first 40 picks of the draft and see analysis on every pick, read on below.
2026 MLB draft live blog and tracker
2026 MLB draft bonus pools
The Pirates have the biggest bonus pool for the 2026 draft at $19,130,000. That makes sense, since they own four of the first 51 picks. The Rays have the second biggest pool ($19,009,300), while the White Sox ($17,592,100), Giants ($17,592,100) and Twins ($16,929,600) round out the top five.
A look at all the bonus pools is below.
| TEAM | BONUS POOL |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates | $19,130,700 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | $19,009,300 |
| Chicago White Sox | $17,592,100 |
| San Francisco Giants | $17,350,600 |
| Minnesota Twins | $16,929,600 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | $16,612,300 |
| Kansas City Royals | $15,954,000 |
| Atlanta Braves | $15,870,800 |
| Colorado Rockies | $15,557,600 |
| Athletics | $13,840,300 |
| Houston Astros | $13,712,700 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | $13,603,100 |
| Baltimore Orioles | $13,114,000 |
| Washington Nationals | $12,278,300 |
| Miami Marlins | $11,960,100 |
| Los Angeles Angels | $11,755,400 |
| Cincinnati Reds | $10,758,500 |
| Texas Rangers | $10,219,200 |
| Chicago Cubs | $9,644,100 |
| San Diego Padres | $9,479,000 |
| Cleveland Guardians | $9,303,700 |
| Detroit Tigers | $9,165,100 |
| Boston Red Sox | $8,219,200 |
| Seattle Mariners | $8,218,200 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | $8,042,900 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | $7,773,000 |
| New York Yankees | $7,342,800 |
| New York Mets | $6,730,900 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | $5,543,100 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | $3,951,900 |
Roch Cholowsky scouting report
Cholowsky has been projected as the top pick since he hit .353 with a 1.109 OPS and 23 home runs as a sophomore in 2025. He did nothing to diminish that status this year, slashing .320/.452/.636 with 21 home runs and 60 RBIs. The 21-year-old is 6'2" and 200 pounds and has outstanding raw power to mix with good swing decisions—he's walked more than he's struck out in college. He has average speed, but should stick at shortstop thanks to a plus arm, paired with good actions and instincts.
Grady Emerson scouting report
Emerson is a potential five-tool shortstop who could legitimately go No. 1. The 18-year-old has excellent bat control and makes great decisions at the plate. His left-handed swing generates hard contact to all fields, and more power is likely to come as he matures. While not a speedster, he has enough quickness to handle shortstop and possesses a plus arm. He would have been the No. 1 pick in several draft classes over the past decade.
Vahn Lackey scouting report
Lackey is 6’2” and 215 pounds and possesses excellent all-around ability behind the plate. He finished 2026 hitting .397 with a 1.291 OPS, 20 home runs and 15 stolen bases while walking more than he struck out. He’ll need to add lift to his swing to produce more power as he ages, but he should develop faster than most backstops.
