Heading into the MLB Draft Lottery, the Atlanta Braves were in a very strong position to land a top pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. They had the sixth-best odds of getting the first overall pick (though those odds were still less than 5%) and the extra pick they got from Drake Baldwin's ROY win meant that no matter how the lottery went, Atlanta would have plenty of draft bonus pool money to play with.
Still, it sure would be nice to move up into the top five or snag the first overall. This 2026 draft class is shaping up to be very good for shortstop-needy teams at the top of the draft with UCLA's Roch Cholowsky being the prize of the bunch. If you want to get a really good shortstop prospect, you are going to want to draft high this year.
Well, the balls have been tumbled, the numbers have been tabulated, and the Braves have their draft fate sealed. Unfortunately, they fell three spots in the lottery and will be picking ninth overall.
The Braves will have the ninth overall selection in the 2026 MLB Draft.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 9, 2025
Braves land the ninth pick in 2026 MLB Draft as lottery proves disappointing
This is not the outcome the Braves or their fans wanted. The premium shortstops will almost certainly be gone by the time Atlanta picks. What the Braves need to hope for now is either a top talent to fall in their laps (which could easily happen) or that more depth at the top of the draft reveals itself over the coming weeks and months.
Now that Atlanta's draft slot has been locked in, it is going to be a while before the actual draft class starts sorting itself out. We may have a good sense of who is in contention to be picked in the first round and it would take an upset (or an injury) for Cholowsky to fall from the top spot of pre-draft rankings, but guys flame out or pop up in their draft years all the time. How everything shakes out will determine whether Atlanta feels like consolidating their money on just a few picks or if they take their substantial bonus pool and spread it around.