Braves enter 2026 draft with two first-round picks, No. 9 overall

Mark Bowman, Braves.com

ATLANTA — A year ago, the Atlanta Braves used the Major League Baseball Draft to address a glaring need in their farm system by stocking up on position players.

The early returns have been encouraging.

Now, armed with two first-round selections and the ninth overall pick, the Braves hope to build on that success when the 2026 MLB Draft begins Saturday.

Atlanta owns the No. 9 and No. 26 overall picks, giving the club two of the first 26 selections and five picks in the opening four rounds. Combined with an $15.87 million bonus pool — the eighth-largest in baseball — the Braves are well-positioned to further strengthen what has become one of the organization’s deepest farm systems in years.

“You can never have enough arms,” Braves.com wrote in its draft preview, “but thanks to last year’s selections, the Braves will enter this year’s MLB Draft with their farm system more balanced and as strong as it’s been in a decade.”

That turnaround began in last year’s draft, when Atlanta selected position players with five of its first six picks.

Shortstop Tate Southisene, the club’s first-round pick, has already climbed to No. 4 on MLB Pipeline’s list of Braves prospects after batting his way from Single-A to High-A this season. The 19-year-old entered the week with 10 home runs, 43 stolen bases and a .929 OPS before his promotion in June.

Fellow infield prospect Alex Lodise ranks fifth in the organization, while Conor Essenburg is No. 13. Left-handed pitcher Briggs McKenzie, Atlanta’s fourth-round selection a year ago, has emerged as the club’s No. 7 prospect and could ultimately prove to be the biggest steal of the class.

The Braves have enjoyed a string of successful drafts in recent years.

Drake Baldwin, selected in the third round in 2022, developed into the 2025 National League Rookie of the Year and will start behind the plate for the National League in this year’s All-Star Game.

The 2022 draft also produced top pitching prospects JR Ritchie and Owen Murphy, while 2023 first-round pick Hurston Waldrep became a key contributor in Atlanta’s rotation late last season. Cam Caminiti, the Braves’ top selection in 2024, has developed into MLB Pipeline’s No. 44 overall prospect.

Atlanta is hoping this year’s class can have a similar impact.

The organization hasn’t owned a top-10 pick since selecting catcher Shea Langeliers with the ninth overall choice in 2019. Langeliers never played for the Braves in the major leagues but became the centerpiece of the trade package that landed All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from Oakland before the 2022 season.

With four of the first 84 selections this year, Atlanta believes it has another opportunity to assemble a draft class reminiscent of its outstanding 2016 haul that included Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley and A.J. Minter.

Who the Braves choose at No. 9 remains uncertain.

In his latest mock draft, MLB.com’s Jim Callis projects Atlanta selecting Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) High School left-hander Gio Rojas, considered one of the nation’s top prep pitchers. Callis also noted the Braves could instead target a polished college hitter such as Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick or Texas A&M second baseman Chris Hacopian.

Regardless of which direction Atlanta goes, the Braves enter the weekend with valuable draft capital, financial flexibility and a recent track record that suggests another productive weekend could help keep the organization’s pipeline flowing for years to come.