The 2026 MLB Draft is just a few hours away, which means that all of the major outlets that cover the draft are getting their final guesses in. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel's mock draft has the Atlanta Braves taking Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell, The Athletic's Keith Law opted to stick with high school lefty Gio Rojas, and Baseball America's final mock went with Bell as well. However, it is MLB Pipeline's final mock draft that mirrors what we have been hearing here the best.
For a while now, it has felt likely that the Braves would prefer to take a college bat with the ninth overall pick. Given how the talent in this draft class breaks down, that seems to be the best way to maximize the value at each pick without having to do too much in the way of bonus pool gymnastics. Everything we have heard is that Atlanta really likes Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, but the trend seems to be that he will not be available when the Braves pick.
Instead, MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo went with two of the better college bats left on the board. Mayo went with Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick, who has been connected to the Braves at times this spring. Alternatively, Callis added a new name to the mix in Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia.
MLB Pipeline's final mock draft has Braves choosing between Ryder Helfrick and AJ Gracia
One note with Helfrick is that there are no guarantees whatsoever that he will be available at 9. Like Burress, Helfrick has fans picking ahead of Atlanta (notably the A's), and catchers who can hit are a very valuable commodity. However, if Helfrick is there and the Braves opt to pick him, that would be a solid value based on talent and position. Sure, the Braves have Drake Baldwin for the foreseeable future, but one can respect just taking the best player available, and quality catchers ALWAYS have a lot of value on the trade market.
Callis going with Gracia is very interesting and may reflect the growing reality the Braves may be facing with their pick. Odds are good that they have a couple of guys (Burress and Helfrick almost certainly being two of them) that they like, and if those picks don't work out, pivoting to another, cheaper college bat they like such as Gracia could still net the team a quality position player prospect and give Atlanta more money for over-slot shenanigans later on.
The one thing that all of these last-minute guesses as to what the Braves will do tell us is that there is a lot of uncertainty with this draft starting all the way at the top. We have a better sense now as to what each team is looking to accomplish in the 2026 draft, but exactly how they execute that vision is anything but settled right now.
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