Throughout this entire draft cycle, the consensus No. 1 and No. 2 players in the 2026 class have been UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky and Texas prep shortstop Grady Emerson. Cholowsky, the top college prospect, has been the presumptive No. 1 pick. Emerson, the top high schooler, has been the presumptive No. 2 pick.
Neither of them did anything to change those views. Cholowsky had a fantastic junior year, batting .320/.452/.636 with 21 homers in 60 games. Emerson joined Cholowsky as a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award given to the country's top amateur, a rarity for a non-college player. They're extremely good prospects.
And yet a month before the draft, there's now at least some doubt about whether Cholowsky and Emerson will become the top two players off the board on July 11. Why? Because the emergence of Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey has turned a two-player class into a three-player class in the eyes of many evaluators.
For the Twins, who hold the No. 3 pick, that's a massive development regardless of who goes 1-2. After dropping one spot in December's draft lottery, it looked as if the Twins would have to settle for a consolation prize, choosing from the best of the rest. Now? They'll get the opportunity to take one of the high-end trio.
"I keep hearing Lackey for the Twins," a high-ranking front office staffer from an American League team told me this week.