​The 2026 MLB Draft kicks off Saturday, July 11, during MLB All-Star Week in Philadelphia, giving baseball fans a full weekend preview of the next wave of amateur talent. The opening rounds will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Grand Hall, with coverage beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. NBC will carry the start of the event, with additional coverage available on Peacock, MLB Network, and MLB.com.
For fans planning their day, the broadcast schedule is divided into three windows. From 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC and Peacock will air the preview show along with the first 10 picks. From 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET, picks 11 through 40 will move to MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, and MLB+. Then, from 4:30 to 7:45 p.m. ET, the remainder of Day 1, picks 41 through 135, will continue on MLB.com, MLB.TV, and MLB+. Since the Tigers hold the 22nd pick, their first selection falls in the 11–40 window, meaning Detroit’s first-round pick should occur during the 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET portion of the broadcast. Exact timing can shift based on the pace of selections, but Detroit’s first-round pick will not be among NBC’s first 10 picks; it will appear during the MLB Network and streaming portion of the day.
Detroit enters Day 1 with four selections: No. 22 overall (the first-round pick), No. 61, No. 69 (in Competitive Balance Round B), and No. 125 (in the fourth round). MLB.com lists Detroit’s bonus pool at $9,165,100, which ranks 22nd among all clubs. The bonus pool will influence how Detroit approaches the draft, with the No. 22 pick carrying a slot value of $4,082,700, No. 61 valued at $1,523,600, No. 69 at $1,254,200, and No. 125 at $614,500. Detroit’s fifth-round pick, which begins Day 2, is No. 158 and carries a slot value of $445,200.
The Tigers’ recent draft identity under president of baseball operations Scott Harris, assistant general manager Rob Metzler, and amateur scouting director Mark Conner leans toward high-upside position players early. In mock drafts, they have been connected to names such as Trevor Condon, Landon Thome, Bo Lowrance, Tyler Spangler, Archer Horn, and Aiden Ruiz. While pitching remains a point of interest given the current shape of the system, the organization is typically conservative about what leaks out, so rumors about their exact targets tend to be speculative.
Day 2 of the draft will occur on Sunday, July 12, and it will look quite different from the TV-friendly Saturday opening rounds. Rounds 5 through 20 will run from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on MLB.com, MLB.TV, and MLB+. The pace is quicker, and the names may be less familiar to casual fans. This portion of the event is where scouting departments can create value—by identifying college performers, prep players with signability questions, relievers with a standout pitch, catchers with defensive upside, or other players who offer potential improvements to the organization.