After an up-and-down first half by the Minnesota Twins that still has them in the thick of the playoff race, it is nearly time for the All-Star Break and the 2026 MLB Draft! The Twins will have a busy first day in the draft with the third overall pick and five total day one selections. You can read Twinkie Town’s Aidan O’Brien’s breakdown of the top three prospects in this year’s draft.
The 2026 MLB Draft begins today at 12 PM CDT in Philadelphia to kick off All-Star Week. There’s a bit of a different schedule this year, with rounds 1-4 taking place today, including all compensatory and competitive balance rounds. Rounds 5-20 will begin on Sunday at 10:30 AM CDT.
Because MLB likes to make things extra confusing, the broadcast will also be different this year and will have the first round split between two different broadcast partners and the entirety of day one split into three. Picks 1-10 can be seen on NBC and Peacock after which the broadcast will shift to MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, and MLB+ for picks 11-40. The rest of day one (picks 41-135) and all of day two will lose the MLB Network component.
Follow along on this post for the next few days. We’ll track each of the first-round picks and break down all of the Twins picks that they make along the way.
After the consensus top two went with the first two picks, the Twins go with Lackey, the consensus third prospect. With Ryan Jeffers likely in his final year with the team, Lackey’s experience, athleticism, and defensive acumen should allow him to rise through the ranks quickly. There’s agreement among scouts that he can stick at catcher, but even in the rare situation where he can’t, his bat alone is still among the best in draft. Also of note: this is the Twins’ first first-round catcher since one first ballot Hall of Famer, Joseph Patrick Mauer. No pressure, Lackey.
MLB Pipeline Scouting Report (#3 Overall Prospect)
A late bloomer as a Georgia high schooler, Lackey didn’t receive any NCAA Division I offers until his senior year in 2023, and he didn’t draw much attention from scouts because he attended few showcase events. Now he’s the best catching prospect in the 2026 Draft and poised to join Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, Joey Bart and Kevin Parada as first-round backstops out of Georgia Tech. He has dramatically improved each season with the Yellow Jackets, batted .397/.519/.772 as a junior and won’t last longer than the top three or four picks.
Lackey’s right-handed swing can get a little busy, but that doesn’t prevent him from making consistent contact to all fields. He’s extremely patient, rarely misses fastballs and has the plus raw power to provide 25-30 homers on an annual basis. His flat stroke produces too much groundball contact but he’s driving balls harder than ever and in the air a bit more often this spring.
Extremely athletic for a 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher, Lackey isn’t quick out of the batter’s box but can flash plus run times once he gets going. He’s very agile behind the plate and should become a solid receiver and blocker once he improves his focus and consistency. His strong and accurate arm is another asset, and he looked capable at third base while playing 13 errorless games there in 2025.
A late bloomer as a Georgia high schooler, Lackey didn’t receive any NCAA Division I offers until his senior year in 2023, and he didn’t draw much attention from scouts because he attended few showcase events. Now he’s the best catching prospect in the 2026 Draft and poised to join Jason Varitek, Matt Wieters, Joey Bart and Kevin Parada as first-round backstops out of Georgia Tech. He has dramatically improved each season with the Yellow Jackets, batted .397/.519/.772 as a junior and won’t last longer than the top three or four picks.
Lackey’s right-handed swing can get a little busy, but that doesn’t prevent him from making consistent contact to all fields. He’s extremely patient, rarely misses fastballs and has the plus raw power to provide 25-30 homers on an annual basis. His flat stroke produces too much groundball contact but he’s driving balls harder than ever and in the air a bit more often this spring.
Extremely athletic for a 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher, Lackey isn’t quick out of the batter’s box but can flash plus run times once he gets going. He’s very agile behind the plate and should become a solid receiver and blocker once he improves his focus and consistency. His strong and accurate arm is another asset, and he looked capable at third base while playing 13 errorless games there in 2025.
Fangraphs Scouting Report (#1 Overall Prospect)
Lackey went from having no Division I offers as an underclassman to likely being a top 10 pick after his sophomore year, and then ascended further as a junior to become arguably the best player in the entire draft. He is a complete player with a bevy of strengths and skills on both sides of the ball, and no significant weakness. Though he was already a good contact hitter as an underclassman, Lackey’s power production took a leap as a junior, as he slashed .397/.519/.772 with 20 homers, doubling his career total and continuing a four-year trend of getting markedly better. At barely 21 years old on draft day, he remains physically projectable and still might have more raw power in the tank at maturity.
Lackey is a patient hitter who is dangerous throughout the majority of the strike zone. He can access power against pitches in the middle third and above, and on both edges of the plate, with enough strength to do oppo damage against fastballs away from him. Lackey has now posted consecutive seasons with a 90% contact rate against fastballs even though he uses a pretty big leg kick, including with two strikes. He’s strong enough to hit for some power even when his footwork is ill-timed, and he might be an even better contact hitter with a more focused two-strike approach than what he’s currently doing. He isn’t a clinical sweet-spot hitter, and his power might play down a bit as he mishits some infield contact that he must then attempt to beat out with his impressive speed (he’ll run sub-4.3 on occasion).
The sum total of Lackey’s parts on offense (above-average contact, plate discipline, and potentially power) is more than enough to clear the bar at catcher, and he also makes an impact on defense. He’s a pretty good pitch framer for his age (and should continue to improve with added strength) and has one hell of an arm, winging accurate throws from all kinds of odd platforms and angles when it’s called for. He’ll frequently pop sub-1.9, a plus-plus arm that is Lackey’s loudest tool. He projects as a top 10 catcher and multi-time All-Star.
Lackey went from having no Division I offers as an underclassman to likely being a top 10 pick after his sophomore year, and then ascended further as a junior to become arguably the best player in the entire draft. He is a complete player with a bevy of strengths and skills on both sides of the ball, and no significant weakness. Though he was already a good contact hitter as an underclassman, Lackey’s power production took a leap as a junior, as he slashed .397/.519/.772 with 20 homers, doubling his career total and continuing a four-year trend of getting markedly better. At barely 21 years old on draft day, he remains physically projectable and still might have more raw power in the tank at maturity.
Lackey is a patient hitter who is dangerous throughout the majority of the strike zone. He can access power against pitches in the middle third and above, and on both edges of the plate, with enough strength to do oppo damage against fastballs away from him. Lackey has now posted consecutive seasons with a 90% contact rate against fastballs even though he uses a pretty big leg kick, including with two strikes. He’s strong enough to hit for some power even when his footwork is ill-timed, and he might be an even better contact hitter with a more focused two-strike approach than what he’s currently doing. He isn’t a clinical sweet-spot hitter, and his power might play down a bit as he mishits some infield contact that he must then attempt to beat out with his impressive speed (he’ll run sub-4.3 on occasion).
The sum total of Lackey’s parts on offense (above-average contact, plate discipline, and potentially power) is more than enough to clear the bar at catcher, and he also makes an impact on defense. He’s a pretty good pitch framer for his age (and should continue to improve with added strength) and has one hell of an arm, winging accurate throws from all kinds of odd platforms and angles when it’s called for. He’ll frequently pop sub-1.9, a plus-plus arm that is Lackey’s loudest tool. He projects as a top 10 catcher and multi-time All-Star.
Acquired from CLE in Patrick Bailey trade
Acquired from BAL in Shane Baz trade
Acquired from PIT in Jacob Gonzalez trade
Note: picks 29-37 are all technically Competitive Balance Round A picks, which you can read about here. NYY and PHI pick in this round because of their pick penalties, not because they got extra picks. As a result of the same rule, LAD’s and TOR’s first selections technically fall in the second round. CB-A picks are considered first round selections since they take place prior to the start of round two and are the only draft picks eligible to be traded.
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