Category: Sports News

After weeks of mock drafts sending Vahn Lackey to Minnesota, there are no surprises on draft day. Expect his signing bonus to end up close to the $9.74 million slot value. The right-handed catcher from Georgia Tech is the first catcher the Twins have selected in the first round since Joe Mauer and is well-regarded in his positive personality and love for the game. He just turned 21 less than a week before being drafted and has developed into a very well-rounded prospect throughout his time as a Yellow Jacket. He is the #3 ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline and #1 on Fangraphs.

Lackey has always been highly touted for his defense. He is an excellent athlete behind the dish, possessing impressive lateral movement skills. His blocking is advanced, and he has a rocket arm with a lightning-quick pop time. He is already looking polished as a catcher and is expected to be an asset behind the dish, but has also worked as a third baseman and has the tools to do some quality work there as well.

The bat is what has really thrust Vahn Lackey into this range of the draft, making monumental development throughout college. Lackey batted .397 with a 1.291 OPS and 20 homers in 2026 while tallying 50 walks and 38 strikeouts. The hit tool is looking borderline plus so far, but there is some cause for concern with his big leg kick and stride out in his load. His has powerful and controlled hands allow him to get on fastballs consistently. With the long load, there are some questions about his ability to adjust to offspeed, but improved swing decisions and a more patient approach have improved his success against those pitches. He has plus raw power potential, which he really tapped into in 2026, hitting 20 homers and slugging .772.

As a well-rounded hitter with big defensive potential behind the dish, there is significant value in Lackey and plenty of promise for further development given how much improvement we have seen over the last few years. He joins top 100 prospect Eduardo Tait in the Twins system, along with Enrique Jimenez, Khadim Diaw, and Miguel Caraballo, creating an elite group of catching prospects amid the uncertainty about Ryan Jeffers’ future in Minnesota. Nothing is guarenteed when it comes to prospects, but it doesn’t get much more exciting than Vahn Lackey!

The Orioles have kicked off their 2026 draft class by choosing a talented high school outfielder, Eric Booth Jr. from Mississippi. The lefty-batting Vanderbilt commit is almost certainly not going to go to college now. This was one of the top five or six players in the draft class and the Orioles got him at 7. For now, that looks like a win.

There are exciting words to be found in scouting reports on Booth, praising his speed, his contact ability, his potential to develop into a 20-25 home run hitter who can steal a lot of bases and play a solid center field. The Orioles are surely imagining that is the outcome they will be able to develop out of Booth, or else they would have chosen someone else.

There are also concerning words to be found in scouting reports on Booth, particularly regarding his swing. This is from FanGraphs on Booth. Keep in mind, this site liked Booth: He was the #6 prospect on their board, with an up arrow as the draft approached. Even so, this is what they said about him:

Booth is a unique, fascinating, and difficult-to-parse prospect, with premium tools and a very strange swing that might not enable him to hit as it is currently constituted. … Booth is one of the more exciting and volatile prospects in this draft, and his future might be dictated by who picks him up, as a team with good player development might turn him into a top-of-the-order monster.

I emphasized the bolded passage because that’s apparently what it’s going to come down to on whether this guy is successful in the Orioles organization. Can they make the weird swing into a productive swing? The recent track record of the Orioles developing hitters does not leave me feeling positive about this. Outside of three solid picks among their top two in 2019 and 2020 – Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg – they have been floundering in trying to develop players into stars or even solid regulars.

Even the three success stories have had their own hiccups without delivering consistent quality play. But then there’s the likes of Heston Kjerstad Coby Mayo, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Dylan Beavers, and others who have yet to make it out of the minors who have fizzled beyond what the Orioles hoped in taking them. They are going to have to do better with Booth.

This is how the board played out before the Orioles made their pick:

1. White Sox – Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
2. Rays – Grady Emerson, SS, Tex. HS
3. Twins – Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
4. Giants – Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
5. Pirates – Derek Curiel, OF, LSU
6. Royals – Zion Rose, OF, Louisville

There were some indications in the final wave of mock drafts from prospect writers that the Orioles might actually take a pitcher if Flora fell to them at #7. We will never know if Mike Elias would have actually grabbed a pitcher with his top pick if Flora had been available.

The draft board ahead of the Orioles played out in such a way that they had their pick of players who were generally thought to be in the top six or so of draft prospects in this class. Curiel and Rose were consensus reach picks by those teams, possibly to set up overslot strategies later in the draft. That gave the Orioles the opportunity for any of Booth, high school shortstop Jacob Lombard, or Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, the 5-6-7 players on MLB Pipeline’s draft board.

The slot value that the Orioles have in their pool from this pick is $7,327,200. This pick is looking like it’s going to be a slot pick without much funny business. Booth was generally ranked 5th or 6th in prospect rankings. He fell by maybe one or two slots to make it to the Orioles. Those guys usually get pretty close to the slot value. The O’s don’t have enough picks to do anything creative.

I feel better about this pick than I would have done if the Orioles had chosen either Lombard or Burress. Lombard came with even bigger “is this guy actually going to hit?” questions than Booth does, and Burress seemed like the kind of pick that everyone would agree was perfectly safe but would have proven disappointing in the end. It’s tough to hit on MLB draft picks, even when you are picking at 7.

How are you feeling about this pick? Vote in our poll below:

The Orioles do not select again until pick #46 in the second round. A lot of good talent is going to come off the board in between their picks. Hopefully, the Orioles make the most of Booth so we don’t have to regret that they didn’t pick someone else.

Chase Burns has been, quite simply, one of the best pitchers on the planet so far in 2026. Through 102.2 IP, he has struck out 118 against just 37 walks, pitching to a 2.54 ERA and 1.11 WHIP for the Cincinnati Reds.

That was more than enough for him to earn his way onto the All Star Game roster for the National League, and the fact that he last pitched on Wednesday meant that he’d likely be more than just a figurehead in the dugout there – he’d actually be rested enough to pitch.

Turns out that won’t actually happen, however. As MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed on Saturday afternoon, the Reds say Burns won’t pitch after all. Los Angeles Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski has been named as his replacement for the Midsummer Classic.

There’s also the issue of Burns having tweaked his groin a bit after a wild pitch in his most recent start, something he wants to give max rest to while the Reds are on their break.

With the return of Hunter Greene and the presence of Rhett Lowder, now in the bullpen, the Reds are going to have to begin to manage the pitches and innings on Burns’ prized right arm if he’s to still be available in any capacity down the stretch. This sure seems to be an easy way to buy him roughly two weeks off in the middle of the year, and it’s going to have positive repercussions down the road. Burns threw a career-high 106 pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies the last time out, and the Reds had already announced he’d be 5th out of the gate in the season’s second half, per WLWT’s Charlie Clifford.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had the fifth overall pick this afternoon in the 2026 MLB Draft, and they took LSU outfielder Derek Curiel. Curiel had been rising up draft boards, and was gaining buzz as a potential top five pick heading into the weekend. For what it’s worth, ESPN had Curiel going seventh overall in their final mock.

Regarded as one of the best hitters in the draft, Curiel hit .353 last season at LSU over 58 games. He added 6 homers and 46 RBIs. He an OBP of .431, a slugging percentage of .526, and an OPS of .957. He also stole 13 bases. There are question around how far he can go in the power department, though the bat skills are certainly there.

His scouting grades are as follows:

Scouting grades: 

Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 45 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

Scouting report from MLB.com

“Curiel projected as a potential first-rounder early in his career at powerhouse Orange (Calif.) Lutheran HS, but he didn’t perform as hoped in his final showcase summer or senior season. He withdrew from the 2024 Draft and headed to Louisiana State, where he was the leading hitter (.345/.470/.519) on a College World Series championship team as a freshman and batted .390 in the NCAA tournament. Draft-eligible as a sophomore in 2026, he’s posting similar numbers and proving that he can play center field.

A lean left-handed hitter with excellent bat-to-ball skills, Curiel uses a fluid stroke and mature approach to spray hard line drives all over the field. His swing is somewhat flat and he may not have more than average strength or bat speed, so he might not deliver more than 12-15 homers per season. He resembles Christian Yelich at the same age, though scouts are skeptical that Curiel can match the power gains Yelich made later in his career.

While scouts debate how much pop Curiel will have, there are fewer concerns about his ability to stay in center field. Though he played left field as a freshman, he has solid speed and looks more comfortable tracking balls up the middle. His arm is fringy but playable in center.“

ESPN’s opinion

“Who is Curiel? A draft-eligible sophomore after starring for two years in Baton Rouge, where he hit .345 as a freshman and then .353, with the ability to hit upper-end velocity. While his speed is only a tick above average, he has excellent instincts in center field and should be able to stick there. The question is how much upside there is in the power department. He hit 13 home runs across his two seasons for LSU and was way down the OPS leaderboard in conference play in the SEC. He’s 6-2 and lean, so there is projectable power.

Why the Pirates took him here: There was a lot of talk about upside high schoolers Jacob Lombard and Eric Booth Jr. here, but the Pirates opted for the high floor of SEC performer Curiel. As an outfielder who should make it to Pittsburgh quickly, the Bucs landed a player who should help at a position of need. The ultimate question is if Curiel will hit with enough pop at such an early pick, but the ingredients for a productive major league starter are there. “

Link here.

Another opinon

Grade the pick

With the ninth pick in the 2026 MLB Draft the Atlanta Braves have selected Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia. Gracia has been a very productive player over the past three seasons, and is a player who should be able to hit for both average and power at the next level.

Bio

Name: AJ Gracia

Position: Outfielder

Hometown: Tinton Falls, NJ (Ranney School HS)

School: Virginia

Height: 6’3

Weight: 195

Bats/Throws: L/L

Previously Drafted: N/A

Rankings

Baseball America: 14

Perfect Game: 9

Pipeline: 18

ESPN: 23

Overslot: 16

My Own: 13

Consensus: 16

Stats

2024: .305/.440/.559, 14 2B, 14 HR, 58 RBI, 5-6 SB, 48 BB, 55 K in 278 PA at Duke

2024: .267/.421/.467, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1-1 SB, 4 BB, 4 K in 19 PA over 6 games in Cape Cod League

2025: .293/.449/.558, 10 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 54 RBI, 8-9 SB, 57 BB, 36 K in 285 PA at Duke

2026: .354/.489/.632, 15 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 48 RBI, 4-6 SB, 47 BB, 38 K in 272 PA at Virginia

Analytics Percentiles

2024: Whiff 69 , In Zone Whiff 50, Out of Zone Whiff 77, Chase 94, Strikeout 44, Walk 93, Exit Velocity 89, 90th Percentile Exit Velocity 83, Barrel 87, xWOBA 96

2025: Whiff 90 , In Zone Whiff 68, Out of Zone Whiff 95, Chase 93, Strikeout 82, Walk 98, Exit Velocity 85, 90th Percentile Exit Velocity 83, Barrel 91, Pull Air % 73, xWOBA 99

2026: Whiff 79 , In Zone Whiff 87, Out of Zone Whiff 71, Chase 69, Strikeout 80, Walk 95, Exit Velocity 79, 90th Percentile Exit Velocity 68, Barrel 92, Pull Air % 70, xWOBA 94

Hit Tool 55/60

Gracia’s best tool is his hit tool. He’s an excellent pure hitter in that he not only consistently makes contact, limits swing and miss, and chasing, but he also consistently puts the barrel on the ball and is one of the most patient hitters in the draft. If there is a complaint about his hit tool, it would be that he can be a bit too patient at times. This is an easy above average grade, and I can actually see it becoming a plus hit tool considering he has already shown a strong aptitude for making changes to his swing during his college career.

Power 55

Gracia is likely going to have plus raw power, especially when you factor in the fact that he still has plenty of room to fill out his body. The only thing about his offensive profile that causes concern is the fact that he has underwhelming exit velocity data this year – something you wouldn’t expect when looking at his hit tool, size, and past success with exit velocities. I tend to think that is related to his approach and leaving some of his power on the table as he focuses on making contact instead of something that I am worried about.

Speed 45

Gracia is a fringy runner, though there is some chance he could slow down a bit in the coming years as he fills in his body further. He’s not a burner on the bases, but he is a guy with the instincts to steal the occasional bag.

Glove 50

Gracia is a solid average defender. He’s played mostly center in college, but most believe he will eventually need to move to the corner as a pro. He only has fringy grades for both his speed and arm, making him a tough profile in right. That means he is likely a future left fielder, which will add a little pressure to his bat.

Arm 45

Gracia is a fringy arm strength guy. It doesn’t work ideally in right, but it should be enough to handle left

Overall Thoughts

I have to admit I love Gracia as a prospect. His buttery smooth left handed swing and the ability to hit for both average and power reminds me of a young Kyle Tucker – at least offensively. I am not at all concerned about the lower than expected exit velocity data from this year, especially because he has done a better job with it in past years and because he has room to add more strength.

Gracia has an All Star ceiling because of his bat, and he is also a high floor player because of his advanced hit tool. He is likely to start in High-A and could be up to Double-A by some point in the 2027 season. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if he was among the first guys in this to reach the big leagues. Bringing his power out into games more consistently will be his biggest thing to work on, but getting a player with this kind of upside is huge.

Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski turns 26 years on on Tuesday, and he’ll have even more reason to celebrate since he’s headed to Philadelphia as part of the National League All-Star team. Wrobleski was added to the team on Saturday as a replacement for Reds pitcher Chase Burns, who won’t be available to pitch on Tuesday.

It’s been a breakout season for Wrobleski, who thrived in a hybrid role in parts of the last two years in the majors. He has a 2.69 ERA and 4.12 xERA in 16 games, including 15 starts, with 73 strikeouts and 20 walks in 100 1/3 innings. After a bulk relief appearance in his season debut on March 30, Wrobleski ranks third in the majors by averaging 6.42 innings per start, and ranks 12th in ERA.

Last Tuesday, with starters Jacob Misiorowoski and Paul Skenes plus reliever Max Meyer all unavailable, they were replaced on the NL All-Star roster by Braxton Ashcraft, Jesús Luzardo, and Riley O’Brien. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has stumped the last few weeks for Wrobleski, who talked this week about getting passed over. From Fabian Ardaya at The Athletic:

“You want to be an All-Star,” Wrobleski said. “It’s something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it’s always a big deal. It’s something I wanted to do. It’s frustrating to not get that nod.”

Now that Wrobleski got the nod, he joins select company, just the fifth Dodgers starting pitcher in their age-25 season or younger this century to make the All-Star team.

Dodgers SP All-Stars, age-25 season or younger, 21st century

• Odalis Pérez (2002)
• Chad Billingsley (2009)
• Clayton Kershaw (2011-13)
• Walker Buehler (2019)
• Justin Wrobleski (2025)

Source: Baseball Reference

Wrobleski is the sixth Dodgers player named an All-Star this season. Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, and Andy Pages are all in the starting lineup with Roberts managing. Shohei Ohtani was also voted to start at designated hitter but he’ll rest instead, getting treatment on his left knee after getting scratched from his Friday pitching start. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who starts for the Dodgers on Saturday night, was also named an All-Star.

With the 8th overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, the A’s went the college route yet again and selected Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress:

The first few picks have featured a couple of surprises and the Athletics benefit by having their pick of some of the top prospects in the draft that fell. Burress, who is a short king at 5’9”, profiles as a power threat in the batter’s box with a quality approach at the plate. Over his three years in college the right-handed hitter slashed an impressive .357/.484/.720 with 60 home runs in 179 games played. Perhaps the best sign of his prowess as a hitter is that he walked (160) more times than he struck out (122) during his college years. That’s a sign of a good hitter with a high floor.

While some believe the 21-year-old Georgia native could remain in center field thanks to his above-average speed, many scouts expect him to eventually slide to a corner spot on the grass where his plus-plus arm would play up well and make him a potential Gold-Glove caliber defender on the grass. Burress could be a fast riser in the Athletics’ farm system and with rookie Henry Bolte looking like the long-term option in center field the team can try out Burress up the middle but easily slide him over to a corner once he approaches the big leagues.

Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about the newest A’s prospect:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60

Scouts liked Burress’ tools and loved his makeup when he was a Georgia high schooler, but he told teams he’d attend Georgia Tech unless they took him in the first round of the 2023 Draft. He went unpicked and then broke into college baseball with nine homers in his first eight games en route to setting a school record with 60 blasts in three seasons. He should be the first college outfielder selected and crack the top 10 choices.

Though he’s shorter than his listed 5-foot-9 and lacks projection, Burress has solid or better tools across the board. He has a compact and quick right-handed swing, plenty of strength, a disciplined approach at the plate and plus power that plays to all fields. His stance became very open and led to struggles in his second stint with the U.S. collegiate national team last summer, but he made the necessary adjustments to recover from a slow start this spring.

Burress is a quality athlete with a high baseball IQ and a strong work ethic. He uses his solid speed to steal an occasional base and to chase down balls in center field, where most evaluators believe he can remain as a pro. If not, he has the bat and plus arm to profile well in right field, and he set a Yellow Jackets record with 10 outfield assists in 2024.

So A’s fans, how would you grade the pick? Vote with the link, and discuss below!

The Rays used the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Fort Worth Christian (Texas) shortstop Grady Emerson, selecting one of the highest-upside hitters in this year’s class.

Emerson enters professional baseball with an advanced left-handed bat, exceptional feel for the strike zone, and the projection to develop above-average power as he matures physically. His athleticism gives him a chance to remain on the infield – likely at shortstop, while his offensive upside has made him one of the premier prep prospects available.

By selecting Emerson, Tampa Bay is betting on one of the draft’s highest ceilings. His combination of hitting ability, athleticism, and long-term offensive potential gives the Rays another premium position player to develop through one of baseball’s strongest farm systems.

Here’s the Rays press release on the selection:

The Tampa Bay Rays have selected shortstop Grady Emerson out of Fort Worth Christian High School (Tx.) with the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft.

The 18-year-old Emerson was named the 2026 Gatorade National Player of the Year, given annually to the nation’s top high school baseball player, after slashing .532/.648/1.013 (42-for-79) with nine doubles, seven home runs, 50 RBI, 27 walks, 39 runs scored, and 31 steals over 28 regular-season games as a senior at Fort Worth Christian, leading the school to a Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) Division II state finals appearance for the first time since 2019. He was also selected as a 2026 Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, joining Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (2019) as the only high schoolers to receive the distinction since the award’s inception in 1978. The honor is presented annually to the top amateur baseball player in the United States.

A University of Texas commit, Emerson transferred to Fort Worth Christian for his senior year, where he played under head coach Rusty Greer, a nine-year MLB veteran who spent nine seasons with the Texas Rangers from 1994–2002. He is the first player to be selected in the First-Year Player Draft in program history. The six-foot-three, 185-pound infielder played his first three high school seasons at Argyle High School (Tx.) from 2023-25.

Emerson was selected to the United States U-18 and U-15 national teams a combined four times between 2022-25, winning All-World honors at third base after leading the club to a gold medal at the 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 World Cup in Okinawa, Japan. Emerson became the first player in USA Baseball history to play for multiple U-18 and U-15 national teams.

Emerson is the seventh shortstop drafted by the Rays with their first selection and fourth over the last seven years, joining Daniel Pierce in 2025, Brayden Taylor in 2023, Carson Williams in 2021, Greg Jones in 2019, Tim Beckham in 2008, and B.J. Upton in 2002. This marks the third straight year the Rays have drafted a high school player with their first selection, joining Pierce and outfielder Theo Gillen in 2024, and the ninth instance in the last 12 drafts (2015-26).

The Rays received the No. 2 pick based on the results of the fourth annual Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft Lottery, which took place on Dec. 9, 2025 during the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Fla. This is the sixth time the Rays have owned one of the first two selections in the draft. They held the No. 1 selection in 2008 (shortstop Beckham), 2007 (left-handed pitcher David Price), 2003 (outfielder Delmon Young), and 1999 (outfielder Josh Hamilton). They also selected Upton No. 2 overall in 2002.

Zion Rose, one of the most productive players in recent Louisville baseball history, is headed to Kansas City after being selected by the Royals with the sixth overall pick of Saturday’s Major League Baseball Draft.

A native of Chicago, Rose starred for Louisville in all three of his seasons in red and black. He started 43 of 44 games as a freshman and led the team with a .380 batting average. As a sophomore, Rose was one of just two Cardinals to play in all 66 games as U of L advanced all the way to the College World Series. Rose had a six-game hit streak from the start of the Super Regionals through the end of Louisville’s run in Omaha, one that included a walk-off single in the CWS against Arizona and a home run two days later against Oregon State.

Rose was forced to miss the first month of the 2026 season because of an ankle injury, but was stellar for Louisville from April on. He earned First Team All-ACC and Second Team All-American honors after slashing .417/.491/.646 with six home runs, 47 RBI and 24 stolen bases over just 36 games.

Coming out of high school, Rose was a consensus top-100 prospect who was ranked as the No. 75 overall prospect by Perfect Game USA. He committed to Louisville over Vanderbilt and went unselected in the 2023 MLB Draft because of his unwavering commitment to Dan McDonnell and company.

Highly valued because of his unique combination of strength and speed, Rose was one of just six Division-I players to total at least 30 extra-base hits and as many stolen bases in 2025. He likely would have achieved the feat again in 2026 had it not been for his lower body injuries.

Rose has big league power and big league speed, but his affinity for chasing pitches out of the zone will need to improve at the next level. He did, finally, have more walks (19) than strikeouts (15) in his final season of college.

A catcher coming out of high school, Rose was immediately moved to the outfield at U of L in order to get his bat in the lineup immediately. Despite his speed, his defense in the outfield — which did get progressively better in each of his three college seasons — will need to continue to improve in order to become a Major League regular. His arm strength is fine, but not quite strong enough to develop to the point where it could ever be considered elite at the highest level.

Biggest Strength: His pure athleticism and big league power. His work ethic exemplified by his steady improvement throughout his high school and college years. His next level speed and base stealing/running ability.

Biggest Weaknesses: Overall defense will need to improve and any improvement in the department of arm strength would be a bonus as well. Has a good feel for the strike zone, but still needs a bit of improvement to become a big league hitter. Has great power to right center, but not as much as a straight pull hitter as you’d expect.

For Eric Booth Jr., choosing between baseball, basketball and football was never easy.

The three-sport standout emerged as one of the nation's top prep athletes, starring on the diamond while showcasing the athleticism that also made him a talented football and basketball player growing up before focusing full-time on baseball. Ultimately, his future pointed toward baseball, where his blend of speed, power and defensive versatility made him one of the top high school prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Despite a ton of big-league clubs showing interest in Booth, only one was able to pick him. That was the Baltimore Orioles with the No. 7 overall pick, giving the AL East club an immediate boost to their farm system in the outfield.

Here's a look at the Oak Grove star, and his journey from Lamar County, Mississippi, to Baltimore, Maryland.

Lighting fast bloodlines make for pro potential

Booth Jr. has a dynamic combination of athleticism, thanks in part to his father, Eric Sr., who was a star kick returner at Southern Miss. He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 MLB Draft, opting to forgo baseball to play for the Eagles instead.

Booth Sr. had a memorable 1997 season with Southern Miss, averaging 34.8 yards per kick return, which ranked second in all of Division I. He also returned kickoffs for touchdowns against Tennessee and Houston, and was at the top of the leaderboard for most kickoff return touchdowns in the country.

That positions Booth Jr. well, especially as he's one of the youngest high school products in this year's class. Booth Jr. just celebrated his 18th birthday on July 4, making him the 11th youngest draft-eligible prospect.

And while his speed gets a lot of attention, the strength is there to hit at least 20 home runs in the big leagues. He won the Home Run Derby at the Perfect Game All-American Classic last summer, as the power will be beneficial to the Orioles.

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X at @NP_AlexMartin or via email: amartin@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow @usatodayhss on Instagram and X.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eric Booth Jr. drafted by Baltimore Orioles with No. 7 pick in 2026 MLB Draft