LSU MLB 2026 Draft Live Tracker

The 2026 MLB draft is underway and for LSU, these will be the critical next two days to putting a firm stamp on the 2027 roster and overall future of the program. 

The main piece of advice from Jay Johnson to these prospects going into the draft, stick to their asking price.

“Don’t take a deal because you don’t have to. If they like you, they have the money to pay you. I mean, the Rays and Marlins have like $20 million. The Giants are up there. The Royals are up there. They have money to pay these guys and that’s a little bit scary. But I think we covered ourselves with more depth in this class,” Johnson told the Bengal Tiger last month.

“We will easily have six to eight players offered over $2 million in this draft in this recruiting class. “I think there’s going to be a sneak surprise win of getting a couple of those guys to school, which is also part of improving the pitching solution as well.”

LSU has done well to this point with the 2026 draft by securing three high school players in the class. Left handed pitchers Lucas Nawrocki and Braxton Beaty as well as outfielder Nathaneal Davis have all pulled their names from the draft and are coming to school. 

There are a handful of players we’re watching on day one when it comes to the draft and the high school signees. Pitchers Jensen Hirschkorn, Kolby Stringer and Cooper Sides are ones to monitor as well as a group of outfielders headlined by Dominic Santarelli, Malachi Washington and Anthony Murphy. 

As for the current LSU players, you can expect to hear Derek Curiel’s name called early in round one and potentially Jake Brown as early as round two. Pitcher Deven Sheerin would be the third who could get a call on day one from an MLB organization. 

Over the next few days we’re going to update every LSU and high school draft pick that is made with analysis. That starts on Saturday night with the first four rounds of the draft. On Sunday, the final 15 rounds of the draft will take up most of the day but as picks come in, we’ll have the latest on where the Tigers’ class stands. 

Day 1 (Rounds 1-4)

Derek Curiel (OF): 1st round, No. 5 overall, Pittsburgh Pirates

Curiel sneaks into the top-five and the LSU-Pittsburgh pipeline continues. Former pitcher Paul Skenes and signee Konnor Griffin soared up the organization and are both young stars in the league. You’d be hard pressed to find many more consistent hitters who have entered the program during the Jay Johnson era.

Curiel has a hit tool that will help him get to the MLB level but is a high floor kind of center field option and is still only 21 years old. Curiel had a .349 batting average in two seasons to go along with 13 home runs, 101 RBI, 171 hits and 38 doubles. Curiel joins Skenes, Griffin and Dylan Crews as the fourth top-five pick out of LSU or its signing class in the last five seasons.

Logan Schmidt (LHP): 2nd round, No. 59 overall, Cleveland Guardians

Schmidt was an expected departure of this high school class. It’s a slot value of $1.60 million but you can probably expect that he’ll get over that number from the Guardians. The Tigers got Lucas Nawrocki and Braxton Beaty out of the 2026 class so they’re doing alright from a high school pitching perspective at this time.

Jake Brown (OF): 2nd round, No. 65 overall, Seattle Mariners

Brown will now be playing alongside former national champion teammate Kade Anderson on the mound. It’s a slot value pick of $1.38 million as Brown caps off his LSU career as a three-year contributor. His 2026 season was cut short due to a broken bone in his hand but he was one of the most improved players on the team and around the SEC.

This past season he showed off the power, blasting 16 home runs before his injury with 49 RBIs while batting .309. He also added seven doubles, stole nine bases in 10 attempts and consistently provided production in the middle of the Tigers’ lineup.

Jensen Hirschkorn (RHP): 3rd round, No. 84 overall, Atlanta Braves

This is one that gained a little bit of traction in recent days as a potential steal for the Tigers but Hirschkorn ultimately gets scooped up by the Braves in the third round. LSU has a couple of prospects to continue monitoring in the rounds ahead but this is not a surprise. Hirschkorn is expected to get well above his 973,000 signing bonus slot value.

A 6-foot-7 pitcher with triple digit velocity potential will now go through the minor league ranks out of high school.

Wessley Roberson (OF): 4th round, No. 115 overall, Miami Marlins

Roberson was always thought to be a draft flight and with a fourth round draft selection, he is off to the minor leagues. His number was reportedly not all that high for a high school prospect, indicating his desire to get to professional baseball.

Deven Sheerin (RHP): 4th round, No. 128 overall, Philadelphia Phillies

The third LSU player from the 2026 roster to be drafted, Sheerin was one of the better bullpen arms for the purple and gold in his first year back from ACL surgery. The slot value of this pick is $597,400 so Sheerin is off to professional baseball.

He posted a 3-2 record with a 4.78 ERA over 20 relief appearances, logging 58 strikeouts and 5 saves across 37.2 innings. Sheerin has a high velocity fastball that consistently sat in the upper 90s and a slider that’s also a plus pitch according to some scouts.

Day 2 (Rounds 5-20)

Dylan Blomker (RHP): 5th round, No. 159 overall, Chicago Cubs

Not the LSU signee that most would’ve thought would be off the board first to begin day two of the draft. Blomker wasn’t on the radar as a huge draft risk but here he goes in the fifth round to the Cubs. It’s a slot value of $441,300 so we’ll see what he actually settled for. Again, history tells us a player drafted in the first 10 rounds is more than likely going to sign.

Blomker is the fourth LSU signee to be drafted, joining Logan Schmidt, Jensen Hirschkorn and Wessley Roberson.

Grant Fontenot (RHP): 10th round, No. 199 overall, Kansas City Royals

Fontenot is the fourth LSU pick off the 2026 roster. He had a winding collegiate career that started in Baton Rouge before moving to Texas and then coming back to Baton Rouge to close out his career. His velocity really took a big step forward this season for the purple and gold as he evolved into a more consistent piece out of the bullpen.

Fontenot struck out 42 and walked 16 in 16.2 innings pitched this season as a reliever and starter. He filled multiple roles for the Tigers and the fifth-year senior will now get a shot at professional ball.

Spencer Evans (LHP): 11th round, No. 318 overall, Pittsburgh Pirates

A top-200 player in the draft rankings, Evans was not really on the radar as a piece that could be drafted. In the 11th round, you’ll see teams with leftover money that wasn’t spent on other rounds start to pile up so an LSU prospect going in this round is not a surprise but it is a little bit surprising that Evans is the selection.

Clearly he’s another one of those players like Blomker who is ready to start his professional career and the Pirates found the money to make it work. Lucas Nawrocki and Braxton Beaty is a pretty strong 1-2 punch of left handed pitchers for the Tigers.

Will Adams (1B): 11th round, No. 336 overall, Detroit Tigers

A borderline top-100 prospect, coming into the weekend, Adams was viewed as a likely draft risk and Detroit was seemingly able to find the money to match what he was asking for. A talented bat and first baseman, LSU does have Mason Braun returning and Dominic Santarelli is still out there as well.

It’s suprising that Adams made it this far in the draft but not surprising that he’s ultimately not coming to school. Hopefully that’s one of the only big suprises left at this stage.

Santiago Garcia (LHP): 12th round, No. 372 overall, Toronto Blue Jays.

Garcia is the fifth LSU player to join the draft class, going in the 12th round to the Blue Jays. It’ll be interesting to see what he ultiamtely signs for. Scouts liked his delivery and he does have a velocity that can touch the mid 90s. But he also had some command issues with the Tigers last season. Garcia finished 2026 with a 5.96 ERA 35 strikeouts to 17 walks in 22.2 innings for the purple and gold.

Connor Benge (RHP): 13th round, No. 385 overall, Miami Marlins

Benge didn’t have a ton of opportunities in his final season with LSU. But he has a high velocity fastball that can touch 96 mph and struck out 13 of the 36 batters he faced in seven total innings of work. It’s good to see the senior latch on with an MLB club after a two-year career in Baton Rouge.

Anthony Murphy (OF): 16th round, No. 466 overall, Washington Nationals

Murphy was never really expected to be a high school signee who stuck with his pledge to LSU. He’s had his eye on pro ball but this is an interesting range for him to land. Maybe some unexpected money was made available to Washington and they pounced on the chance to try and sign Murphy. He’s a draft eligbile sophomore so if he doesn’t sign professionally, he could very well want to go someplace where playing time would be promised.

LSU might not have that guarenteed playing time considering what it just brought in from the portal.

Gavin Guidry (RHP): 16th round, No. 480 overall, New York Mets

Guidry’s time at LSU has come to a close as the senior pitcher will get an opportunity in the Mets organization. The young man who threw the final pitch of the 2023 national championship team as a freshman, it was a bit of an up and down career for Guidry. He pitched well in 2024 and then didn’t pitch at all in 2025 due to a back injury.

He returned for his senior season and after a great first month, was hit pretty hard. He allowed 10 home runs in 2026 but did strike out a career high 59 with also a career high 20 walks.

Malachi Washington (OF): 18th round, No. 528 overall, Pittsburgh Pirates

This is a pick that is likely a draft rights stash for the Nationals to see if they can negotiate a signing bonus with Washington. At this stage in the draft the likelihood is much more in LSU’s favor that he ends up on campus.

Dominic Santarelli (1B/OF): 18th round, No. 550 overall, Seattle Mariners

A very similar situation to Washington, Santarelli was drafted with the possibility that Seattle doesn’t sign with one of their top prospects and new money opens up. We’ll as this is one to monitor but the likelihood is that he too winds up at LSU.

Zac Cowan (RHP): 19th round, No. 573 overall, Cleveland Guardians

Cowan goes late in the draft but will go down as one of the more impactful players of the last two years in Baton Rouge.