Two Florida high school players — Gulliver Prep shortstop Jacob Lombard and Stoneman Douglas left-hander Gio Rojas — landed in the top 10 of MLB Pipeline’s updated Draft Top 250 Prospects list, released ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft that begins July 11 in the first four rounds.
Lombard, ranked No. 5 overall, is one of four shortstops in the top 10. Rojas checks in at No. 8, the highest-ranked pitching prospect from Florida. Both could hear their names called during the first round, which will air on NBC and Peacock from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. ET, covering picks 1 through 10.
The biggest news on the updated list is a new No. 1: Fort Worth Christian HS shortstop Grady Emerson has leapfrogged UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, who entered the year as the strongest favorite to go first overall since Adley Rutschman in 2019. Cholowsky, described as the best all-around college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki two decades ago, won Big Ten player of the year for the second straight season and led UCLA to a No. 1 ranking from the preseason through the conference tournament.
A majority of teams view Emerson as having more upside than any player in the draft and the consensus top hitter — college or high school — available. Named Gatorade’s national high school baseball player of the year, the left-handed-hitting Emerson projects for at least 25-homer power with advanced swing decisions and hard contact to all fields. Bobby Witt Jr. set the standard for shortstops in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and while Emerson is not quite as gifted as the Royals superstar, scouts consider him close.
Despite Emerson’s rise to No. 1 on the prospect board, Cholowsky remains the slight favorite to go No. 1 to the White Sox on July 11. The perception among other teams is that Chicago’s scouts may prefer Emerson but that upper management or ownership may want Cholowsky because the talent gap between the two is narrow at best and Cholowsky will reach the big leagues more quickly. When Cholowsky came out of Hamilton HS in Chandler, Ariz., in 2023, he could have gotten paid first-round money if he had not been intent on attending UCLA, but he was not in contention to be drafted No. 1 overall out of high school like Emerson is now.
Rounding out the top 10 behind the two Florida prep stars are Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey at No. 3, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora at No. 4, Oak Grove (Miss.) outfielder Eric Booth Jr. at No. 6, Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress at No. 7, Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron at No. 9 and Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell at No. 10.
Day 1 of the draft covers Rounds 1 through 4 on Saturday, July 11, with picks 11 through 40 airing on MLB Network and picks 41 through 135 streaming on MLB.com. Day 2 follows Sunday, July 12, with Rounds 5 through 20 running from 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.