The 2026 Draft Preview Issue

Jun 05, 2026

Last night I finished the last few pieces of writing I was responsible for in our annual draft preview magazine.

Over the next few days we’ll proof and polish this issue, then send it to the printer. If you’re subscribed to this newsletter, I’m guessing you might have some interest in pre-ordering the issue so you can have it on hand on draft day. You can do that here.

We take a lot of pride in every issue of the physical magazine, but the draft preview obviously holds a special place for me. It’s a milestone deadline in each draft cycle, and the culmination of tons of time and energy.

If you decide to pre-order this year’s draft preview, you’ll get a double-issue of the magazine that includes:

In-depth scouting reports on the top 75 players in the class
A chart w/ the top 200 players and skinny reports
An overview of the themes to know of the draft and how teams are viewing it
A full first round mock draft
The draft’s best tools
A deep dive on the ways teams are evaluating and developing high school and college arms differently
And this slick cover:

I love the way this one turned out. There’s always something a bit cooler about holding a physical product in your hands when almost everything has gone fully digital. I hope you enjoy it.

June feels like peak baseball season where everything is happening all at once and it’s impossible to keep up.

In addition to draft prep, we’re in the midst of super regionals and transfer portal silly season. The prospect team is plugging along and recently updated our Top 100 list for June. The summer showcase season has officially kicked off, with 2027 eligible prep players and beyond playing high-level events.

All-Star balloting has just opened up which means the big league season is a lot closer to its midway point than feels possible. Trade deadline rumors and rumblings are starting to get going. And, least exciting of all, MLB and the MLBPA are currently waging their PR war ahead of this year’s CBA negotiation. Sadly, it feels like the owners have already won that one pretty handily. I enjoyed this piece from Ben Clemens on the initial proposals.

In addition to baseball and work, my wife and I will be moving from Northern Virginia back to the Triangle in North Carolina later this month. We’re both thrilled to get back to the state we grew up in—where both our families also call home.

There’s a ton going on in June and July, but with the draft preview tucked away and the BA 500 live on the site, I’m hoping to get this newsletter sent a bit more frequently. Dumping 15 podcasts links on you just feels a bit rude.

Thanks for reading, as always, and have a great weekend.

Below is the work I’ve produced for Baseball America since my last newsletter.

Fringe Average

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Fringe Average

The 2026 Draft Preview Issue

Writing

Podcasting

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