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Major League Baseball, for reasons no one is entirely sure of, chooses to hold the draft not only during the baseball season, but smack dab in the middle of a busy day of games. Which means the San Francisco Giants day game against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday fully took place during the draft … before the game had started, the Giants had already made their first-round selection. And when the game was over, the Giants were still busy making picks.

For some teams, the actual baseball being played is more important than the results of the draft, which won’t impact the roster for many years. The Los Angeles Dodgers, for instance — who are attempting to defend their back-to-back titles, and didn’t have a first-round pick — are one such team. But for the Giants? Well, they entered the day 16 games below .500, with their highest draft pick in eight years. And as such, the actual baseball took a firm backseat to the future baseball that we were able to spend the day dreaming about.

What mattered on Saturday was that the Giants used their lottery luck to draft the consensus top pitcher in the draft who, by the way, grew up in their backyard, attended the same high school as Brandon Crawford, and is a Giants fan. What mattered was that they used the No. 29 and 55 picks — the former acquired when they traded Patrick Bailey — on deeply intriguing high school pitchers who hopefully can develop into quality Major Leaguers. What mattered was that the first position player they took — with the 90th overall pick — is an elite athlete with stellar contact skills and power that might make you think he’s related to Barry Bonds … because he is.

But what took place at Oracle Park? That didn’t matter so much. Except, if you squint, it kind of did.

The Giants beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2, avenging Friday night’s ugly and painful defeat. This won’t be an in-depth recap, because I had 1.75 of my eyes tuned to Jackson Flora, Carson Bolemon, Kaden Waechter, Peyton Bonds, and Carlos Martinez, and only 0.15 of my eyes on the Giants game (forgive me, bosses and readers alike: the other 0.10 was on the England – Norway game).

But while the attention was turned towards the future in the draft, the Giants on the field were … well … playing for the future as well. Veteran Tyler Mahle had one of his best starts of the year, pitching seven excellent innings while allowing just five hits, three walks and one run … which came on a bizarre, delayed balk call that ultimately led to Tony Vitello picking up the second ejection of his career.

The attention leading up to the trade deadline has been centered around Luis Arráez and Robbie Ray, but Mahle shouldn’t be overlooked. Sure, he’s having a difficult season, but he’s also a trusted veteran who is not long removed from being a very solid pitcher. He won’t return as much as Arráez and Ray will, but, especially if he can string together two or three nice starts in a row, should still bring the Giants an intriguing prospect or two when he’s inevitably dealt.

That’s good for the future.

The Giants tied the game in the fifth inning thanks to a pair of rookies: Bryce Eldridge started the rally with a double, and Jesús Rodríguez ended it with a follow-up double. Eldridge is a foundational part of the Giants going forward; Rodríguez is someone who can be.

That’s good for the future.

They took the lead an inning later thanks to Casey Schmitt. After Heliot Ramos and Arráez led off the frame with back-to-back singles, Schmitt stepped up against Kyle Freeland, who had been excellent to that point. His night looked less excellent after Schmitt sent an absolute tank into the left field bleachers.

San Francisco will surely receive calls asking about Schmitt in the coming weeks. On the off chance that they decide to make him available, games like this — he’s up to a team-high 19 home runs — only increase the prospect haul it will take to get him. And assuming they keep him to replace Arráez, games like this only make us that much more excited to see what he can do with a stable role. He sure looks like a core part of the team for years to come.

That’s good for the future.

Reliever JT Brubaker even played his part, earning his first career save with two innings that were solid enough to keep his trade value decent, while also giving up a home run loud enough to put a smile on the face of anyone who (justifiably, I might add) is still seething about his role in the Pride Night absurdities.

And so the Giants won 4-2, and they did it with players who are a core part of their future, and with players who will be traded for other parts of their future. That wasn’t the most important thing that happened on Saturday, but it wasn’t nothing, either.

We are going out for drinks with friends as the ten days of Stampede partying is running out, so I’m going to miss out on tonight’s game.

But going to find a spot to watch England’s World Cup game, wearing my jersey.

Just as I was leaving there was this….amazing that someone who can throw 100 was still there for the 39th pick.

After going with power bats in with their two second-round picks, the Cubs went with big right-hander in Nebraska right-hander Carson Jasa in the third.

While Jasa is a tall, 6’7” right-hander with a fastball in the 95-96 mile per hour range, what the Cubs likely found attractive are his big spin rates. In fact, Jasa doesn’t throw his fastball very often and when he does, he has trouble locating it. Instead, Jasa relies on a upper-80s slider with some hard break. He also has a slow, upper-70s knee-bending curve with a 12-6 movement. Those two breaking pitches are Jasa’s primary weapons. He also has a fringy mid-80s changeup that he’ll need if he wants to get left-handed hitters out and remain as a starter. The Cubs have had some success teaching new changeups to Cade Horton and Ben Brown, and maybe they think they can go down a similar path with Jasa.

Jasa is a redshirt sophomore who missed all of the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2025 and mostly pitched out of the bullpen, where he struggled. Jasa managed just 18.2 innings in 2025 and he walked 18 batters in that time, compared to 24 strikeouts. He posted a poor 8.68 ERA his redshirt freshman year.

But this past season, Jasa moved to the Cornhuskers starting rotation and found much more success. Jasa made 16 starts and went 10-2 with a 3.59 ERA. Over 87.2 innings, Jasa struck out 117 batters and cut his walk rate by over 50 percent with 47 walks. Still too high, but a big improvement over his first year back from Tommy John.

MLB Pipeline ranked Jasa as the 173rd best prospect in the draft and Baseball America ranked him slightly better at 158. Once again, Keith Law at The Athletic is the outlier, as he ranked Jasa higher at 93. Law acknowledged the big command and control issues that Jasa has and the considerable reliever risk that goes with it, but he also thought Jasa had some high potential if he can learn to throw more strikes and command the zone better.

In Jasa, the Cubs are getting a project for the pitch lab. With Jasa’s huge size, strong spin rates and above-average velocity, there is a lot there to work with. But the challenge is for him to develop a better feel for pitching and a better command of the zone. Otherwise, there is a lot of relief risk or worse on Jasa.

Here’s some video of Jasa pitching against Ohio State in May.

The Yankees have their first position player of the 2026 MLB Draft after taking left-handed pitchers with their first two picks. Following selections of southpaws Hunter Dietz out of Arkansas with their first pick and British Columbia high schooler Sean Duncan with their second pick, the Yankees returned to the SEC to address one of the thinnest positions in the system: catcher.

Joining the organization with the 99th overall pick is right-handed hitting catcher Brendan Brock out of The University of Oklahoma.

The redshirt junior turns 22 in less than a month and hails from Belleville, IL. With a ranking at No. 90 on Perfect Game’s Big Board, No. 112 on MLB Pipeline, and No. 113 according to Baseball America, it’s just about where you would expect him to be drafted.

Here’s an abridged scouting report from Baseball America on a catcher described as possessing an “atypical toolset”:

In a class that’s unusually deep with athletic college catchers, Brock might have the most atypical toolset. He’s every bit of a 70-grade runner, and for many scouts he’s the quickest running catcher they’ve seen… Listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Brock has a lean and athletic frame with solid bat speed and plus raw power. Brock has shown impressive all-fields game power this spring, but that pop comes with below-average contact skills and a questionable hit tool… He’s longer and lankier than most catchers, but he has a plus arm that would be an asset at the position if he can sharpen his footwork and exchange. He has the speed and arm strength to handle all three outfield positions. Playing outfield would also be easier on his legs and help him maintain his loudest tool over the course of a full pro season.

Brock’s draft stock skyrocketed following a stellar redshirt sophomore campaign at Southwestern Illinois CC, ranking third among national junior college players in OPS (1.435), homering 20 times and stealing 27 bases. He declined an over-slot offer from the Brewers, who attempted to select him in the 14th round of the 2025 MLB Draft, and instead transferred to The University of Oklahoma hoping to further boost his stock.

After transferring into the competitive cauldron of the SEC, Brock’s number took a modest downturn, though he still slashed .302/.399/.522 with 13 HRs, 55 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases in 65 games. He then took things to another level in the NCAA Tournament, leading his team in batting (.457) and OBP (.576). He was a key player in their run to capturing the third championship in program history at the the 2026 College World Series, hitting .400 with eight hits, five walks, a double, a home run and three RBIs.

Despite the slight downturn in form upon joining the SEC, his performances in the CWS mean he will likely sign for close to the $792,300 slot value assigned to the No. 99 pick. The bigger question is what position lies in his future. The right-handed bat, capable framing, and strong arm earn him marks to stick at a position of need in the organization, while the unnatural speed and experience in the outfield make center an intriguing option.

The final game before the All-Star break, the Dodgers taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday in Los Angeles, features a pitcher looking to turn things around after a rough stretch.

Emmet Sheehan certainly fits this description, though it really applies to Zac Gallen, who ranks dead last among 61 qualified pitchers in both ERA (6.34) and xERA (6.53). The longtime D-backs ace had a 3.14 ERA and 5.17 xERA through the end of April, but since then has allowed 63 runs (59 earned) in 69 1/3 innings for a 7.66 ERA and 7.11 xERA in his last 13 starts.

Sheehan had a bumpy ride in June but has recovered to allow one run with five strikeouts in each of his last two starts, though he needed 96 pitches to tally just 4 1/3 innings last Sunday against the San Diego Padres.

Sunday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. D-backs
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Start time: 1:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

That game was nearly less bad than the last few games I’ve recapped. Nearly.

The Mariners lost 6-1 to the Rays on Saturday. But they had a shot right from the get go. Griffin Jax could not find the zone in the top of the first. Randy Arozarena drew a walk. Dom Canzone chopped a single into shallow right. Cal Raleigh battled and drew a walk to load the bases with one out. The Mariners could not deliver: Josh Naylor struck out on a middle-middle changeup; Luke Raley went down on three pitches.

But the Mariners weren’t deterred and got right back to it in the second inning. Cole Young led off with a hustle double into the left-center gap the other way. Victor Robles bunted him over to third. Colt Emerson smacked a pitch at his eyes just far enough toward to center to work as a sacrifice fly. It wasn’t a sexy inning, but it gave the Mariners an early 1-0 lead.

Arozarena began the third with a walk — they really made Jax work in this one — and Cal later slapped a single the other way. Unfortunately, Naylor lined out right to the first baseman, and Arozarena was doubled off at second to end the inning.

Whatever momentum that was kind of just died from there. The Mariners sent one more than the minimum in the next three innings. With one out in the seventh, Victor Robles lined a ball just fair down the line in left for a double. Then Cam Booser picked up his fourth and fifth strikeouts in relief — another dominant outing for a lefty reliever against the Mariners.

It wasn’t over yet, though. Logan Gilbert kept the Mariners in the game. He picked up his 1,000 career strikeout to begin the second. He got Jonny DeLuca to swing at two high fastballs, then threw a filthy slider at the knees. DeLuca couldn’t lay off, and handed over the milestone.

Chandler Simpson singled on the next pitch. Ben Williamson fouled off a bunch of pitches before slapping a hanging curveball down the line for a double, tying the game at one. Gilbert would escape without further damage.

Yandy Diaz led off the third with a double deep to center. Jonathan Aranda followed with a double of his own to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. Gilbert was then forced to pitch around Junior Caminero, which wound up looking prescient, as Gilbert followed with a strikeout and a weak groundout to escape again.

Escape would be the word of the night for Gilbert. He allowed a runner in every inning he pitched, though he’d gotten through six with just the two runs allowed and 86 pitches. He came back out for the seventh and got two quick line outs.

But up stepped the lefty Aranda, and out came Dan Wilson to go to the pen. Gilbert, yelling through his glove, lobbied Wilson to leave him in the game. He did. Aranda immediately doubled, which meant Wilson had to intentionally walk Caminero before he could go get Gabe Speier. Here’s the first pitch he threw: 

And that was pretty much the game at 5-1 Rays. But not before a couple more punches to the gut. 

In the top of the eighth, Cal walked and Naylor doubled with two outs. Maybe they could claw back into this thing. But Mitch Garver came off the bench and went down on three pitches. It was an awful at bat, where he failed to challenge an obvious ball, chased out of the zone, then watched strike three down the middle. The Rays also picked up another run for themselves in the bottom of the inning with a bunt that Michael Rucker threw away into right field.

This was a nearly competitive game with a few solid performances. But the Mariners, once again, could not get a hit with runners in scoring position, and could not stand up to even a small amount of pressure. I have low expectations for the final game before the break tomorrow. I don’t know what to expect from there.

The Mets struggled again today against the Red Sox, ultimately being shut out for the ninth time this season and losing 4-0. The offense could not get anything going, even as the pitching and defense made a good effort to strand most Red Sox runners.

Freddy Peralta looked good initially, throwing his fastball for the majority of the first inning and striking out the batters in order. In the second inning, he struggled more, and the results were not as impressive. Caleb Durbin threaded one between Francisco Lindor and Brett Baty for a single. In the next at bat, Peralta challenged ball 4, but the call was confirmed, resulting in a walk for Masataka Yoshida. A sacrifice bunt from Andruw Monasterio moved the runners to second and third with one out. Peralta walked Carlos Narváez to load the bases with two outs; however, he worked out of it by striking out Tsung-Che Cheng. Unfortunately, by the end of the second inning, his pitch count was already 43.

After a quiet first inning, the Mets offense walked a batter in each of the second and third innings, but could not capitalize or create any momentum. Carson Benge walked in the second inning and stole second base one pitch later, but the three batters went down in order after him to end the inning. Brett Baty walked in the third inning, but after Zack Short struck out, A.J. Ewing grounded into a force out behind him, and Juan Soto popped out to end the third inning.

Peralta walked Durbin to lead off the fourth inning, and Durbin slid into second when Yoshida flied out to Soto. After an injury delay due to a ricochet off the face masks of both Francisco Alvarez and the home plate umpire, Brock Ballou, Monasterio smacked a two-run home run into left field. At the bottom of the fourth with two outs, Jorge Polanco fouled a ball off the inside of his knee, resulting in another injury delay, but he got back up and dropped a line drive into center field, just out of reach of Ceddanne Rafaela, for a single. Unfortunately, this prompted the Red Sox to change pitchers to Greg Weissert, who struck out Wagaman to end the fourth: Red Sox 2, Mets 0.

Peralta started with a walk to Cheng in the fifth. However, Seigler grounded into a force out when Short robbed him by laying out to block the base hit. Ultimately, this move saved a run for Peralta when the next two hitters gave him trouble. Rafaela popped one over Wagaman’s head that rolled slowly down the baseline for a double, moving Seigler to third. Peralta walked Abreu to load the bases and bring his pitch count to 91, prompting a pitching change. Huascar Brazobán replaced a clearly unhappy Peralta for the last two outs of the fifth. Durbin was called out on strikes thanks to a well-placed challenge from Alvarez that overturned ball three to strike three. Yoshida grounded out to first for the third out, leaving the bases loaded and ending the scoring threat.

When Alvarez allegedly grounded out to lead off at the bottom of the fifth, despite clearly beating the tag to first base, the Mets challenged and won. Baty then struck out, technically on a foul tip, as the ball wedged itself under Narváez’s right arm and stayed there. A passed ball allowed Alvarez to move to second base, but Ewing flied out to end the inning, strand Alvarez, and keep the score Red Sox 2, Mets 0.

A.J. Minter came in for the top of the sixth inning and gave up a lead-off triple to Monasterio, but retired everyone else in order. Brooks Raley replaced him to work a 1-2-3 seventh inning. At the bottom of the seventh, Wagaman worked a walk, and Alvarez tapped a line drive into right field for his second single of the day. With two outs, Bo Bichette came in to pinch-hit for Short. Bichette did not play yesterday and had been available off the bench today due to soreness and bruises on his right leg and foot. He worked a walk to load the bases for Ewing and immediately came out for pinch runner Tyrone Taylor. Ewing, however, was called out on strikes, using the last Mets challenge to challenge the (obvious) third strike. It was the Mets’ turn to leave the bases loaded with no runs scored.

In the eighth inning, Ewing moved to second base, playing the position for the third day in a row. Tobias Myers replaced Raley and allowed a lead-off single to Durbin, again a home run beneficiary. This time, Yoshida belted a two-run dinger to right field to extend the Red Sox’ lead to 4-0. Soto and Lindor walked to start the bottom of the eighth, the first time either had reached base all day. Benge flied out to Abreu in right field, but Soto was able to make it to third base. Unfortunately, Polanco grounded into a double play that ended the eighth inning with no Mets runs scored again.

Myers came back out and worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning. At the bottom of the ninth, Alvarez walked but fell victim when Baty grounded into a force out for the second out. Taylor flied out to end the game as the Mets were shut out and the Red Sox picked up the second game of the series.

The Mets will try to salvage a win tomorrow, which is also the last game before the All-Star break. First pitch is at 1:40 PM ET, with Payton Tolle taking the mound for the Red Sox and facing off against TBD for the Mets.

SB Nation GameThreads

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Box scores

MLB.com
ESPN

Win Probability Added

Fangraphs

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: Huascar Brazobán/Francisco Alvarez, tied at +11% WPA
Big Mets loser: A.J. Ewing, -23% WPA
Mets pitchers: -4% WPA
Mets hitters: -46% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Francisco Alvarez 7th inning single, +6.8% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Andruw Monasterio 2-run HR, -20.0% WPA

Box Score

The Milwaukee Brewers had a dud of a day in Pittsburgh, dropping both halves of the doubleheader despite being outscored by just two runs total — after losing the first game 7-6, they dropped this evening’s game 3-2.

The Brewers had traffic against rookie Bubba Chandler early, as Jackson Chourio singled and stole second (on a 3-2 check swing that Brice Turang was called out on, though it wasn’t exactly obvious), and Jake Bauers then walked to put runners at first and second. After perfectly executing a double steal to put a pair of runners in scoring position, Gary Sánchez grounded out to end the threat.

Shane Drohan set the Pirates down in order in the bottom of the inning, and the Brewers once again threatened against Chandler in the second, as Garrett Mitchell and Luis Lara reached on a single and a walk. Cooper Pratt grounded into a double play, though, and a flyout off the bat of Joey Ortiz ended the inning.

Drohan and Chandler both worked 1-2-3 frames over the next inning, and Drohan worked around a leadoff single in the third for his third clean inning of the day.

After the solid start, however, things fell apart for Drohan in the fourth.

Bryan Reynolds started things with a one-out double, and Esmerlyn Valdez followed with a two-run homer, his third of the day after two in the early game — including the go-ahead grand slam late. Drohan bounced back to get out of the inning, but the Bucs were staked to a 2-0 lead.

The Brewers had a quick response in the top of the fifth, as Ortiz and Christian Yelich both singled with one out before Chourio hit into a force out to put runners at the corners with two outs for Turang. Turang crushed a double down the left-field line, just shy of the fence and just out of reach for the left fielder. Both Ortiz and Chourio scored easily, and Turang had tied the game at 2-2.

Milwaukee wasn’t done there, though, as Chandler was replaced by Brandon Eisert, who proceeded to walk both Bauers and Sánchez to load the bases for Mitchell. The threat ended as Mitchell grounded out back to Eisert, and the Brewers squandered another run-scoring opportunity.

Both teams then traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the sixth, when Drohan allowed a one-out double to Brandon Lowe, who then came around to score on a single by Reynolds, putting Pittsburgh up 3-2.

Offensively, the Brewers couldn’t get anything going in the final few innings, as no baserunners advanced past first after Pittsburgh took the lead.

It was another disappointing loss, as the ball just seemed to fall the wrong way all day today. Drohan turned in another quality start but took the loss, as he went 6 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on five hits and no walks, striking out six. Grant Anderson and Abner Uribe combined to keep the Pirates off the board over the final 1 2/3 innings, but it was too little, too late.

The Brewers had seven hits, with Ortiz leading the way with a pair on a double and a single. Turang had the big hit with his two-run double, but it wasn’t enough as the Brewers went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base today.

In more bad news, Jacob Misiorowski has been scratched from his start in Sunday’s first-half finale, but it doesn’t sound too serious, as Misiorowski simply blamed it on fatigue. He, along with Kyle Harrison and most of the rest of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, will obviously enjoy the long All-Star break.

In Misiorowski’s place, left-hander Robert Gasser will get the start on Sunday, opposite Paul Skenes for Pittsburgh. First pitch in that one is a bright and early 11:15 a.m. on Peacock and NBC Sports Network. The MLB Draft will also continue Sunday, and you can follow along with our draft tracker here.

Toronto Blue Jays (45-49) at San Diego Padres (46-48), July 11, 2026, 5:40 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Petco Park – San Diego, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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The 2026 MLB Draft starts today! Coverage starts on NBC or Peacock with a half-hour preview show at noon followed by the first pick at 12:30 CT. The first hour (about 10 picks) will then be on NBC or Peacock when coverage switches to MLB Network, MLB.com or MLB.tv from 1:3o to 3:30. That should cover picks 11 through 40, or enough for every team to pick once.

After that, rounds 2 through 4 will be today (Saturday) on MLB.com or MLB.tv. Rounds 5 through 20 start on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT. Those rounds will conducted by a conference call, but you can again listen in on MLB.com or MLB.tv.

The White Sox have the first pick in the draft and as I write this, no one is sure whether they will select UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Fort Worth Christian HS shortstop Grady Emerson, or Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. Those three players are expected to go 1 through 3 in the draft, with the Rays and Twins taking whomever the White Sox don’t.

In my preview on Friday, I gave some possibilities for the Cubs with the 23rd pick in the first round. The Cubs could get a real great player with that pick. Some players who went 23rd in the draft this century include Christian Yelich, Jacoby Ellsbury, Phil Hughes, Gavin Williams and Jeff Francoeur. However, more often than not, the player taken with the 23rd pick either fails to reach the majors or only has a short career. So the draft is indeed a crapshoot—one with huge rewards but also one in which the odds are against every team. So keep that in mind as the Cubs select.

Throughout the draft, we’ll be updating this article with the names of every player taken by the Cubs. We’ll also be giving you separate articles welcoming the Cubs first five picks, along with the information you need to know about them.

Here is the schedule for every Cubs pick. The number in parenthesis is the overall number of that pick. After the seventh round, the Cubs have every 30th pick. The second-round comp pick is for losing Kyle Tucker.

Day 1 picks (Saturday):

Round 1 (23):Cade Townsend RHP Mississippi

Round 2 (62):Caden Sorrell OF Texas A&M

Round 2 Comp (75):Myles Bailey 1B Florida State

Round 3 (98):Carson Jasa RHP Nebraska

Round 4(126):Dylan Marrioneaux RHP Northwestern State (LA)

Day 2 picks (Sunday):

Round 5 (159):

Round 6 (188):

Round 7 (217):

Round 8:

Round 9:

Round 10:

Round 11:

Round 12:

Round 13:

Round 14:

Round 15:

Round 16:

Round 17:

Round 18:

Round 19:

Round 20:

With their fourth and final pick on day one of the 2026 MLB Draft, the Seattle Mariners opted for UNC-Wilmington third baseman Trevor Lucas.

Lucas possesses an excellent blend of hitting ability and defensive chops that made him an attractive candidate for an M’s farm system lacking in depth at the hot corner. Comped to Ben Williamson by Scott Hunter, Lucas is a plus defender in the field and could bounce around the diamond if need be, but his arm strength and lateral movement should lend themselves well to wherever he happens to be playing. The M’s are bullish on his abilities on the dirt and view him as an asset defensively.

Offensively, Lucas posts some eye popping underlying metrics. Making a ton of contact and producing some very solid exit velocities, Lucas complements his raw batting ability with a sound approach at the plate, limiting chase and drawing a healthy amount of walks. Lucas walked more than he struck out this season, a trait that typically tends to translate to the professional ranks pretty well.

The feel to hit for Lucas is evident; he frequently barrels the baseball, and the M’s think there’s even more power to unlock once he’s in a professional development setting. The foundation for a very enticing prospect is certainly there, but proving it against a higher level of competition will be the next step for the former Seahawk infielder.

Lucas has reportedly agreed to terms with the M’s, coming in at an underslot $450,000 figure. This puts the Mariners roughly $450,000 under their allotted bonus pool entering day two, a decent chunk of change that should afford them some flexibility.

The Red Sox draft team is done for the day and is now free to enjoy the World Cup. With the 96th overall pick, they selected Jace Mataczynski, a high school shortstop out of Hudson, Wisconsin.

With the major caveat that one of them came out of college and the other high school, there are some interesting similarities between Mataczynski and Jake Schaffner, whom the Sox selected 20th overall. Like Schaffner, Mataczynski is an outstanding athlete with speed to spare and a good defensive reputation as an infielder. And, like Schaffner, there are questions about his bat. Here’s what the evaluators at MLB Pipeline had to sayabout him:

Though Mataczynski has plenty of bat speed, his swing isn’t smooth and has some length to it. He operates out of a wide base and didn’t spend a lot of time on the showcase circuit, leading to questions about his ability to make consistent contact when he faces quality pitching. He does hit balls hard and should continue to add strength to his projectable 6-foot-3 frame, so he could have plus raw power once he matures physically.

I’m not going to even pretend to be someone who can scout a hitter’s swing. But I do know when a swing looks… interesting. And this swing does:

So the Red Sox still have not used the savings they got from going way under slot in the first round. There is still plenty of time to do that tomorrow, though. In the meantime, the Sox’ Day 1 picks followed a clear pattern: interesting athletes who need some swing tweaks.

The Rays took a balanced approach with their first five picks in the 2026 MLB Draft, blending polished talent with high-upside prep prospects. Headlined by second overall pick Grady Emerson, the class is already shaping up to be another strong haul for one of baseball’s best player development organizations.

It all starts with Emerson, whose combination of a plus hit tool, defensive ability, and athleticism makes him one of the premier prospects in this year’s class. He has the actions to remain at shortstop long term and the physical projection to grow into above-average power, giving him legitimate star potential if everything comes together. Assuming he signs quickly, it shouldn’t be long before he’s making his professional debut in Charleston. He’ll immediately slot among the Rays’ top prospects and should comfortably earn a place within the top 20-30 on every major Top 100 list.

The Rays followed that selection with another prep shortstop in Taj Marchand. While he isn’t as polished as Emerson, Marchand offers many of the same athletic traits and has built a reputation for consistently finding the barrel thanks to his quick hands. His swing contains more moving parts than Emerson’s, making it interesting to see whether the Rays make mechanical adjustments early or allow him to face more advanced competition before altering his approach – a strategy they’ve often employed throughout the system. Defensively, Marchand’s plus arm gives him plenty of versatility if he eventually moves off shortstop, with third base looking like the most natural fit while second base or an outfield corner could also be possibilities.

My favorite selection of the day was Liberty RHP Ben Blair at No. 49 overall. Beyond simply liking the player, I find the pick fascinating because it’s the highest the Rays have selected a pitcher since 2020. Tampa Bay has largely prioritized position players early in recent drafts, making this a notable investment in an arm. Blair’s low-slot delivery creates exceptional deception, allowing his arsenal to play above its raw velocity in a manner reminiscent of Ty Johnson. He already throws enough strikes to project as a starter, and if the Rays can help him improve the quality of those strikes by consistently locating to optimal areas of the zone, there’s room for another step forward. I’ll also be interested to see how the organization develops his secondaries given Blair’s feel for spin and the Rays recent success in designing offspeed pitches and optimizing their usage.

The Rays then took an intriguing high school pitcher in Gavin Giese. Prep pitchers are among the riskiest draft demographics, but Giese offers the size, athleticism, and clean delivery teams covet. His fastball has steadily climbed into the low-to-mid 90s, and there could be additional velocity coming as he continues to mature physically. The standout pitch is his changeup, which features outstanding velocity separation from his fastball along with late fading action – exactly the type of offspeed profile the Rays have consistently targeted in recent years. His present projection is that of a back-end starter, but there’s plenty of developmental runway for an 18-year-old with his physical traits, strike-throwing ability, and feel for pitching.

Tampa Bay closed out Day 1 by selecting prep slugger Collin Bland, adding another high-ceiling bat to the class. The 6’3 left-handed hitter possesses some of the best raw power in the draft, generating impressive loft without sacrificing the ability to drive the ball to all fields. There is some swing-and-miss risk because of the length, grooved nature, and uppercut in his swing, but that’s a tradeoff many organizations are willing to make when the power upside is this significant. The challenge for the Rays will be refining his approach enough to maximize that power against professional pitching.

Overall, it was an impressive first day for Tampa Bay. Landing Emerson at No. 2 gives the class a potential franchise cornerstone, but the rest of the group’s construction is equally compelling. The Rays added premium athletes up the middle, invested meaningful draft capital in two pitchers whose profiles align with their development strengths, and finished the day with one of the biggest power bats in the prep class. It’s a group that combines relatively high floors with substantial upside, making it easy to see why the organization is excited about this year’s haul.

The Dodgers have 16 selections in the 20 rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft, beginning with high school shortstop/third baseman Bo Lowrance at 40th overall in the first round all the way through to pick number 613 in the 20th round, the very last pick in the draft.

For signing free agents Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker in the offseason, the Dodgers forfeited their draft picks in the second, third, fifth, and sixth rounds. That thinned their total bonus pool — the amount of money they are permitted to spend — to just over $3.95 million.

The total bonus pool is derived from the total of the recommended slot value of every pick through the first 10 rounds. For any picks from the 11th through the 20th round, as well as for any undrafted free agents, any signing bonus amount over $150,000 will count toward the bonus pool.

The deadline to sign draft picks is Monday, July 27 at 2 p.m. PT.

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