https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/final-mlb-mock-draft-2026?t=mlb-draft-coverage Pipeline’s final mock. It is looking like there could be a run on college position players leading up to 17 where all of the guys they hope are there are already gone. That combined with the CBA/NIL dynamic has me thinking Houston might go underslot at 17 and 28 and load up on HS kids in later rounds. Whoever they pick I will reserve judgment until we see bonus amounts and see who they get in later rounds. But I think the odds of them getting a top 10 talent like Lebron or Bell ant 17 are dropping.
The 2026 MLB Draft takes place on Saturday, July 11, and Sunday, July 12, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Day 1 (Rounds 1–4): Begins at 1:00 p.m. ET. Day 2 (Rounds 5–20): Begins at 11:30 a.m. ET.
[ESPN] MLB mock draft 2026: Final predictions for first two rounds 1. Chicago White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA 2. Tampa Bay Rays: Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian HS (Texas) 3. Minnesota Twins: Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech 4. San Francisco Giants: Eric Booth Jr., CF, Oak Grove HS (Miss.) 5. Pittsburgh Pirates: Drew Burress, CF, Georgia Tech 6. Kansas City Royals: Jared Grindlinger, RF/LHP, Huntington Beach HS (Calif.) 7. Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara 8. Athletics: Chris Hacopian, 2B, Texas A&M 9. Atlanta Braves: Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky 10. Colorado Rockies: Jacob Lombard, SS, Gulliver Prep HS (Fla.) 11. Washington Nationals: Derek Curiel, CF, LSU 12. Los Angeles Angels: Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama 13. St. Louis Cardinals: Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas 14. Miami Marlins: Trevor Condon, CF, Etowah HS (Ga.) 15. Arizona Diamondbacks: Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas 16. Texas Rangers: Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida 17. Houston Astros: Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia 18. Cincinnati Reds: Gio Rojas, LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (Fla.) 19. Cleveland Guardians: Mason Edwards, LHP, USC 20. Boston Red Sox: Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State 21. San Diego Padres: Zion Rose, CF, Louisville 22. Detroit Tigers: AJ Gracia, CF, Virginia 23. Chicago Cubs: Logan Hughes, LF, Texas Tech 24. Seattle Mariners: Ben Blair, RHP, Liberty 25. Milwaukee Brewers: Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina Note: The Mets, Blue Jays, Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers all received a 10-pick penalty on their first pick for exceeding the second surcharge threshold of MLB's competitive balance tax. Prospect Promotion Incentive picks 26. Atlanta Braves: Carson Bolemon, LHP, Southside Christian HS (S.C.) 27. New York Mets: Cade Townsend, RHP, Mississippi 28. Houston Astros: Bo Lowrance, 3B, Christ Church Episcopal HS (S.C.) 29. San Francisco Giants: Tyler Spangler, SS, De La Salle HS (Calif.) Competitive Balance Round A 30. Kansas City Royals: Logan Reddemann, RHP, UCLA 31. Arizona Diamondbacks: Eric Becker, SS, Virginia 32. St. Louis Cardinals: Taj Marchand, SS, James Island Charter HS (S.C.) 33. Tampa Bay Rays: Cole Carlon, LHP, Arizona State 34. Pittsburgh Pirates: Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee 35. New York Yankees: Cole Prosek, 3B/C, Magnolia Heights HS (Miss.) 36. Philadelphia Phillies: Archer Horn, SS, St. Ignatius Prep HS (Calif.) 37. Colorado Rockies: Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame
Alright, the draft has begun. General draft comments can go here too. The Astros will have six picks today: 17, 28, 57, 93, 121, and 133.
"Rock Cholooski" Again, it's just so funny that the first 10 picks will be on NBC/Peacock, and then they're making everyone change the channel to watch the rest of the draft.
Why would you hope Dana stays if he misses the playoffs after picking Espada, trading for Burrows, signing Walker in FA, drafting Janek etc.... No wonder this once great org has fallen down to avg to slightly above avg standards and you want more of the same. I guess it's true some people dont like change so much that they would rather be mediocre than take risks. But what gets me is with Dana's track record in trades some posters want Dana to be the final decision maker on trades for Hunter/Pena/Alvarez etc... No Thanks.
Don’t know what Lombard’s asking price is, but it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he was the pick at #17.
What has Dana Brown done well? Anything? Spoiler We have both of the DSL teams playing well. Both. The FCL team is absolutely killing it. Brown also built a solid MLB bullpen outside of the closer, from left over parts. The Tucker trade has brought back great value.
The first member of the 2026 Houston Astros draft class is... Round 1, Pick 17: Logan Hughes, OF, Texas Tech
Assuming that is a WAY underslot deal. We are likely to see 5+ overslot HS kids in the later rounds. If that deal is anywhere near slot with Lebron still on the board then it’s a **** pick. My initial reaction is I don’t really like it either way. Lebron was one of 5 highest ceiling players in the draft. Really surprised they passed on him. So far the Royals are the only other team to pick someone who projects to go way underslot.
Really aggressive, so they really like him or they plan to take a big swing with slot savings. Judging by the reports he's purely a bat, no speed or defensive value whatsoever.
Here's Eephus Tosser's (Anthony Boyer) thread on the Astros picks: https://bsky.app/profile/eephustosser.bsky.social/post/3mqfdvy6kik27
He has good offensive tools but he’s not elite. Hes a helluva lot less of a prospect offensively than AJ Reed was and he had about the same defensive value. We’ll see what the bonus is and what that lets them do later, but Hughes is not a first round value.
Reading 1 of the reports, looks shaky at times in LF and might be too short for 1B. Compared to Rusty Greer and A's 2025 2nd round pick, Devin Taylor. On the live telecast, did someone compare him to Kyle Stowers of the Marlins? I know nothing about the draft, they said he was projected in the 40's? One guy asked the other guy if he was surprised with the pick. Guy said no so hoping this isn't a wasted pick.
