New MLB Mock Draft Drops from ESPN's Kiley McDaniel amid 2026 College World Series

One month away from the 2026 MLB draft and ahead of the start of the College World Series best-of-three final this weekend, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has unveiled a new mock draft with a twist.

Having released two previous mocks with intel about which players teams will likely take, McDaniel opted to build this one around the players he would take if he were running each team.

Here are the top 10 picks from McDaniel's new mock:

Team	Pick
1. White Sox	Roch Cholowsky, SS
2. Rays	Grady Emerson, SS
3. Twins	Vahn Lackey, C
4. Giants	Jackson Flora, RHP
5. Pirates	Jacob Lombard, SS
6. Royals	Eric Booth Jr., OF
7. Orioles	Drew Burress, OF
8. Athletics	Tyler Bell, SS
9. Braves	Ryder Helfrick, C
10. Rockies	Justin LeBron, SS

By comparison, B/R's Joel Reuter has the same top three players in his latest mock as McDaniel just in a slightly different order. Grady Emerson is projected No. 1, followed by Roch Cholowsky at two and Vahn Lackey at three.

The Chicago White Sox's decision at the top of the draft appears to be between those three players at this point.

Gio Rojas is the only player in Reuter's top 10 who did not make that group for McDaniel. The Florida high-school lefty is projected at No. 9 to the Atlanta Braves for Reuter, but McDaniel has him going to the San Diego Padres with the 21st pick.

Cholowsky entered the spring as the frontrunner to go No. 1. He did nothing throughout the season to dissuade anyone, posting a .320/.452/.636 slash line with 21 homers in 60 games for UCLA.

Over the course of the season, though, Emerson and Lackey put themselves in contention for the top spot.

McDaniel noted the White Sox are currently "leaning" in favor of college players, making the decision between Cholowsky and Lackey. There's really no wrong choice.

Cholowsky could end up as the preferred pick because he might be able to move through the minors faster than a catcher who has to get acclimated to working with professional pitchers.

The Rays are sitting pretty with a 41-30 record and owners of the No. 2 pick. They haven't been afraid to take a high-school talent in the first round in recent years. Daniel Pierce from Mill Creek High School was their top pick at No. 14 last year.

This is different because of the risk-reward from drafting second overall in a class where Lackey, who is a viable candidate to go No. 1, remains on the board in this scenario.

McDaniel ultimately opted for Emerson, a high school shortstop from Texas, based on the Rays already having a lot of talent at the MLB level and a deep farm system that allows them to take on some added risk.

As McDaniel pointed out, the Twins at three have perhaps the "easiest pick in the draft" by simply taking the player still left among that top trio.

Lackey hit a robust .397/.519/.772 with 20 homers in 60 games for Georgia Tech this season. He also has the fallback option of moving to third base in pro ball if the team that drafts him wants to ease the physical stress on him.

The 2026 MLB draft will take place from July 12-13 in Philadelphia as part of All-Star week festivities.