Photo Andrew Lang/Nats.Talk

Today is the first of the two days of the MLB Draft. On schedule is four rounds to be picked today with the remaining 16 rounds tomorrow of the 20 round draft. The Nats will have picks at №11, №42, №78 and №106 in the first 4 rounds.

This year, we have been told that the press conference room next to the Terra dining room will be used as the site for the Nats’ 2026 draft room. Team ownership, President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, along with scouting director Desmond McGowan and his staff of nearly 20 will be in the room. Also in the room will be VP of Player development Devin Pearson and VP of Acquisitions, Justin Horowitz. They have all been integral in the decision making to create a system where you have a buy-in from the player development group as to their thinking as to the draft picks.

Toboni also said that they have 11 names leading into that pick the Nats hold at №11 in the first round. But clearly you can cross off Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson, Vahn Lackey, and Jackson Flora. In last minute new mocks, Jacob Lombard is falling fast in mocks and rankings. Why? Maybe there is just a consensus on a Top-4. But what if a player like Lombard or Tyler Bell or Gio Rojas aren’t chosen in the Top-10?

The issue will be the names picked before №11. The only team with certainty is the one choosing at №1 overall like the Washington Nationals last year when they got Eli Willits. As we mention Willits, his older brother, Jaxon Willits, has a good chance of being picked today in the  3ʳᵈ or the 4ᵗʰ round today. A source tells us that the Nats scouted him. Jaxon went the college route to Oklahoma and was the MOY of their College World Series championship season that they wrapped up last month. Jaxon is the oldest son of Reggie Willits.

From ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, check out some of his names of his 45 FV and 40+ FV draft prospects:

8. Justin Lebron (21.7), SS, Alabama
9. Tyler Bell (21), SS, Kentucky
10. Derek Curiel (21.1), CF, LSU
11. Jared Grindlinger (17.2), RF/LHP, Huntington Beach HS (CA), Tennessee commit
12. Liam Peterson (21.1), RHP, Florida
13. Chris Hacopian (21.9), 2B, Texas A&M
14. Ryder Helfrick (21.4), C, Arkansas
15. Hunter Dietz (21.4), LHP, Arkansas
16. Trevor Condon (18.5), CF, Etowah HS (GA), Tennessee commit
17. Ace Reese (21.2), 3B, Mississippi State
18. Zion Rose (21.1), LF, Louisville
19. Cameron Flukey (21.2), RHP, Coastal Carolina
20. Daniel Jackson (21.6), C, Georgia
21. Gio Rojas (19), LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (FL), Miami commit
22. Mason Edwards (21), LHP, USC
23. Eric Becker (21.2), SS, Virginia
24. AJ Gracia (21.7), CF, Virginia
25. Rocco Maniscalco (17.2), SS, Oxford HS (AL), Mississippi State commit
26. Cade Townsend (21.2), RHP, Mississippi
27. Logan Reddemann (21.3), RHP, UCLA
28. Cole Carlon (21.1), LHP, Arizona State
29. Logan Hughes (21.2), LF, Texas Tech
30. Cole Prosek (19.1), 3B/C, Magnolia Heights HS (MS), Mississippi commit
31. Coleman Borthwick (18.2), RHP, South Walton HS (FL), Auburn commit
32. Tegan Kuhns (21.1), RHP, Tennessee
33. Jack Radel (21.8), RHP, Notre Dame

34. Tyler Spangler (18.8), SS, De La Salle HS (CA), Stanford commit
35. Bo Lowrance (18.8), 3B, Christ Church Episcopal HS (SC), Virginia commit
36. Sawyer Strosnider (21), RF, TCU
37. Trey Ebel (17.8), SS, Corona HS (CA), Texas A&M commit
38. Chase Brunson (21), CF, TCU
39. Will Brick (18.1), C, Christian Brothers HS (TN), Mississippi State commit
40. Archer Horn (18.4), SS, St. Ignatius Prep HS (CA), Stanford commit
41. Carson Bolemon (19.3), LHP, Southside Christian HS (SC), Wake Forest commit
42. Ben Blair (21.3), RHP, Liberty
43. Caden Sorrell (21.3), CF, Texas A&M
44. Carson Tinney (21.3), C, Texas
45. Taj Marchand (18), SS, James Island Charter HS (SC), Mississippi commit
46. Ty Head (21.1), CF, North Carolina State
47. Aiden Ruiz (19.3), SS, Stony Brook HS (NY), Vanderbilt commit
48. Taylor Rabe (21.9), RHP, Mississippi

Don’t you want a “sure thing” when you are picking at №11? Yes. You take a player who is projectible and near a finished product. The flaws you take are only the ones you know you can fix.

The dollars and sense cents, the Nats first round slot money is

The Nats will draft a player with 45 FV rating in the first round and should get a 40+ FV in the second round. Both of the Nats first two draft picks at №11 and №42 will immediately seed into the team’s Top-15 we would expect. Because of the depth of this year’s farm, the first round pick probably will not make it into the Nats MLB Pipeline Top-6.

By the way per the MLB schedule for today, the Nats pick comes up at approximately 2:30 pm ET.

2026 MLB DRAFT Day 1: Saturday, July 11 (Rounds 1-4)
• 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET – Preview show + Picks 1-10 (NBC/Peacock)
• 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET – Picks 11-40 (MLB Network, MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)
• 4:30-7:45 p.m. ET – Picks 41-135 (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)

Day 2: Sunday, July 12 (Rounds 5-20)
• 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. ET (MLB.com, MLB.TV, MLB+)