The MLB Draft is one of my favorite things to cover in federal baseball. Every year, there is an influx of talent into professional organizations. It’s fun to keep up with that and keep an eye on the names in the draft. The draft doesn’t start until July, but MLB Pipeline has released its first top-100 rankings for the 2026 draft.
According to draft rules, the Nationals have locked up the 11th pick this year. That means they may not have access to highly ranked players like Rock Cholowski and Grady Emerson. However, after playing the entire spring split, it is difficult to say who will win and who will lose. We’ll look at some interesting names and discuss their scouting reports.
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After selecting four high school players in the top five picks of the 2025 class, the focus this year should be on college players. I hope the Nationals explore the college pitching crowd early in the upcoming draft. We’ll be screening some of the top college players that could emerge, as well as one high school player who stands out.
Since there’s only one high school student to discuss, let’s start with him. Tyler Spangler is a high school shortstop ranked No. 11 on the Pipeline rankings. That’s exactly where the Nationals are going to pick, so he’s definitely in range.
Spangler is a very well-rounded player with an enticing hit/power combo. He has a smooth swing that endears him to scouts, and at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, it’s easy to imagine him with at least above-average power. Pipeline noted that scouts have compared him to Corey Seager and even Cal Ripken Jr. These comparisons often come up when discussing talented shortstop prospects who are higher than most shortstops. However, it still received rave reviews.
At his size, Spangler isn’t a lock at shortstop, but he has good instincts and can make all the plays. For the Nationals, he doesn’t need to play shortstop in the system with Eli Willetts. If they wanted to go the high school route, Spangler would be my choice.
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On the college side, we already discussed some prospects for the Nats series last month. We discussed Drew Burress, Jackson Flora, Cameron Fluki, and Kris Hakopian in that article. Those are still options, but there are a few others we’ll discuss here today.
One pitcher we didn’t discuss was Liam Peterson because I thought he would go before the national team selection. However, MLB Pipeline ranks him at No. 13. The right-hander out of the University of Florida has a typical frame and typical stuff.
His fastball lives in the mid-90s, and he can rev it up to 99 mph. He also threw a pair of above-average sliders and curveballs. Peterson is throwing more of his slider, but some scouts think he has a better hook. There’s a changeup that’s improving, and probably at least average pitch.
Peterson is not a great forward, but his command is good. It’s not surprising that he allowed 4.2 batters per nine innings at Florida State last year. For a sophomore, though, that’s not terrible. Despite having so much potential, Peterson had a 4.28 ERA last year. Still, this has the potential to be a breakout season for the Gators’ ace.
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Offensively, Sawyer Strosnider is a name that interests me. The TCU outfielder is a draft-eligible sophomore who has all the tools in the world. He is an excellent athlete with a strong frame of 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. Despite his size, he planned to be a center fielder in professional baseball.
Strossnead possesses super speed and strength. There are some concerns about the strike tool, but they are not extreme. He did hit .350 as a freshman at TCU last season. One thing he needs to address is left-handed pitching. His freshman year, he hit just .204 against lefties. Even if you have all the tools, not being able to compete against left-handed pitching will limit the ceiling.
MLB Pipeline currently ranks him as the 10th best prospect. Here are 5 real tool advantages. If he solves his problem against left-handers, the Nats may not have a chance to take him due to his upside. However, if he falls to the 11th pick, his name is one to keep an eye on.
Interestingly for Nationals fans, there is a catcher ranked No. 12 on the Pipeline board. That’s Vahn Lackey from Georgia Tech. He is an athletic receiver with promise on both sides of the ball. Lackey is an above-average hitter who batted .347 for the Yellow Jackets last year.
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He also has a great arm, with Pipeline rating him a 55-grade defender. There’s serious potential here, but he only hit 10 homers in two seasons in college. This is mostly caused by hitting the ball on the ground too many times. This is a slight red flag to me, but this new mechanic could help Lackey optimize his angles.
The Nationals desperately need a catcher of the future. They selected Caleb Lomavita in the 2024 draft, and while he had a solid season, the former Cal star still has two-sided flaws. Lackey is a better prospect than Lomavita and will be a future National Team catcher.
You don’t draft for need, but if Lackey is near the top of your board, that positional value could be the tiebreaker. He didn’t perform well as a freshman, so Lackey only had one year of actual production. Scouts will learn a lot about him during his junior year.
Finally, I want to talk about UVA’s AJ Gracia. The slugging outfielder played his first two seasons at Duke before transferring to Virginia to follow the coach who took the job. If you want a pure hitter, Gracia is your choice. He has tremendous power, good enough batting skills and an advanced approach.
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Gracia walked 57 times last year but struck out only 36 times. He also hit an impressive 29 home runs in 120 career college games. Gracia is a purely offensive top-five talent in this draft.
However, he didn’t provide much value on the bases or in the field. Now that he plays midfield, he has a chance to stay there, but his lack of athleticism could put him in trouble. His fringed arm makes left field more likely than right field.
Gracia has good instincts, so he could be an above-average left fielder, but he’s not the traditional center fielder that teams crave. However, the national team could use the middle-order bat, which is what Gracia plans to do.
I’m excited to see what he does at UVA. Even though the Nationals have a lot of outfielders, they still need to add talent. Gracia may be the most talented player on the board when draft day comes. For Paul Toboni to create the scouting and player development monster he wants, he needs to bring waves of talent to Major League Baseball.
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This 2026 draft class is very strong. While it’s a shame the Nationals didn’t finish in the top 10, there will be a very good player falling into their hands. I have a lot of confidence in Paul Toboni making the right choice. After all, the draft is his wheelhouse. It’s not long, but I’m excited to see what Paul Toboni can do with his first draft pick in Washington, D.C.
