#draft-prospects

#draft-prospects

The draft lottery is over and the order for the 2026 MLB Draft is pretty much set at this point, with the exception of picks moving around due to free agent signings. The Atlanta Braves are set to pick with the 9th pick, their own first round pick, and the 26th pick, which is the one they are receiving for Drake Baldwin's Rookie of the Year.

Remarkably, we're less than five months from Day 1 of the draft, which starts April 23 in Pittsburgh. But plenty can change between now and then. The draft order won't be fully set until mid-February, and the No. 1 pick is up for grabs. The final stretch of the 2025 season, along with all-star events, the combine, pro day workouts and a ton of predraft interviews, will ultimately determine how draft boards will be constructed. But things are starting to take shape.

On Friday, the Nationals hired Justin Horowitz as an assistant general manager. Horowitz most recently served as director of amateur scouting for the Pirates beginning in 2023. But Horowitz becomes the second high-profile AGM who previously worked under Paul Toboni in Boston. This hire follows Devin Pearson's, who also served on Toboni's staff in his Red Sox days. Both new AGMs are viewed as sharp, modern voices in scouting and player development.

Autzen Stadium is about to sound like a two-minute drill with the national spotlight parked in Eugene as number three Oregon hosts number seven Indiana in a game that feels every bit like playoff game. Think Cowboys logic here, win the edges, protect the rock, and own third down. Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers need to stay on schedule in the noise and land a couple of explosive plays to keep pace.

To get the bad out of the way first: Kawhi Leonard is currently wrapped in a league-wide investigation after allegedly manipulating the salary cap by accepting money under-the-table from a now-bankrupt tree-planting company, Aspiration. We don't know how - or when - this investigation will be resolved. But the Clippers could be in a lot of trouble, even though they only have one eligible first-round pick they can lose with the richest owner in professional sports.

SAN JOSE The Sharks' success was once so constant, so reliable, so predictable, that they ran out of room to hang their accolades. With twenty playoff appearances in 24 years, the Sharks literally filled up an entire banner at their practice facility, top to bottom, with their postseason berths. It was such steady excellence that the team had to commission a new banner just to keep up.

Thirteen players, headlined by projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg of Duke, have received invitations to attend the 2025 NBA draft and sit in the green room.

This kid, if picked, will become someone's favorite player almost instantly.