​The MLB All-Star break is just a few days away, scheduled for July 13-16, with the MLB draft taking place on July 11 and 12. Numerous media outlets publish mock drafts to forecast how the 30 teams will maneuver, and these rankings shift as players finish their seasons, as leaks emerge from organizations, and as scouts and agents share information. When the mock drafts first started more than a month ago, the consensus projected that the top pick would go to either Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey or UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. Over the last few weeks, the frontrunners have shifted, with Cholowsky, Lackey, and Texas (Fort Worth Christian) HS shortstop Grady Emerson frequently appearing among the top three prospects. If evaluators are accurate, those three are likely to be the initial selections in some order.
The Chicago White Sox hold the No. 1 overall choice after winning the draft lottery, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 2 and the Minnesota Twins at No. 3. The San Diego Padres, who currently own the worst farm system in baseball, hold the 21st pick in the first round. While analyses from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, ESPN, and Bleacher Report do not always agree on the Padres’ exact selection, they generally expect the organization to continue its recent tendency of choosing premier high school talent with its opening pick. Early speculation had suggested high school left-hander Brody Bumila as a strong candidate, but that projection has shifted. Bumila’s late-season performance did not meet previous expectations, and his standing among evaluators has declined accordingly.
Each team has a designated bonus pool for the draft, with slot values assigned to each pick. Overpaying in any given slot reduces a team’s overall draft spending limit, and any money not spent on signings for players who do not sign is forfeited. The slot framework covers the first 10 rounds and remains more flexible in rounds 11-20, where the cap is $150,000. The MLB draft spans 20 rounds, with rounds 1-4 on July 11 and rounds 5-20 on July 12.
For the 2026 draft, the Padres oversee a total pool of $9,479,000, and all selections must fit within this amount. If a team overspends or a selected player does not sign, the corresponding funds are forfeited. The slot value for the Padres’ first-round pick (No. 21) is $4,224,700, the second-round slot (No. 60) is $1,561,000, the third-round slot (No. 97) is $808,100, the fourth-round slot (No. 124) is $620,300, and the compensation pick (No. 134) for losing Dylan Cease in free agency carries a value of $563,900.
Television and streaming coverage varies by round: rounds 1-4 begin coverage at 10 a.m. Pacific Time on NBC/Peacock; rounds 11-40 will be shown on MLB Network at 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time; rounds 41 and beyond will stream on MLB.com starting at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time, with the broadcast concluding at 4:45 p.m. Pacific Time. Beginning with the fifth round, the Padres pick at No. 157, followed by No. 186 in round six and No. 215 in round seven, after which they will alternate every 30 picks from round eight through the end of the draft.
The Padres’ fifth-round slot is valued at $449,500, while the sixth-round slot is $350, and the seventh-round slot aligns with the ongoing draft structure and compensation rules, all contributing to the team’s overall pool.