The 2026 MLB Draft is in the book and the Atlanta Braves did very well for themselves. While there are some outlets that didn't include the Braves' draft haul among the absolute best this year, everyone pretty much agrees that Atlanta added a lot of ton and were among the teams that managed their bonus pools the best to take advantage of the greatest area of depth in this year's draft: high school starting pitching. However, with that decision came a lot of risk, but this is a story that does appear to have a happy ending (for now).
Of course, with picking high schoolers comes a lot of risk. Not only is the demographic that brings the most risk of flaming out completely, but many of the high schoolers worth drafting already have NIL deals in place with their college commitments, so getting them to sign at all can be tricky.
One such high school pick that already caused a small panic is Jensen Hirschkorn, a prep RHP from California that already expressed how tough his decision was going to be between signing with the Braves and attending LSU. Thankfully, any concerns that he wouldn't sign were overblown, as Atlanta moved very quickly to get the bulk of their draft class signed.
3rd-rder Jensen Hirschkorn signs w/@Braves for $4 million, all-time @MLBDraft record for after 2nd rd (Brock Porter, $3.7 mil). Slot 84 value = $973,700. California HS LHP, 6-foot-7, easy mid-90s fastball, promising low-80s slider, feel for mid-80s changeup. @LSUbaseball recruit. pic.twitter.com/P9TxHgBx5f
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 14, 2026
Braves waste little time in locking in their 2026 MLB Draft class, including top overslot pick Jensen Hirschkorn
With as much leverage as high school players (and most college players, frankly) have, the Braves' draft strategy did have some risk. However, the Braves' ability to get so many of their guys to sign almost immediately speaks to how effective the team was in negotiating deals ahead of time and closing them. Here are the bonuses the Braves have already made official so far.
- AJ Gracia, OF - $4 million
- Carter Beck, OF - $2.68 million
- Kaiden McCarthy, RHP - $2.5 million
- Jensen Hirschkorn, RHP - $4 million
- Cole Dennis, RHP - $523,275
- Wil Libbert, LHP - $447,500
- Tyson Grulkowski, RHP - $597,500
- Jacob Jarrell, C - $500
- Parker Brosius, OF - $500
- Ben Zeigler-Namoa, 1B - $500
- Ryne Barker, 3B - $697,500
For those keeping track at home, these bonuses are the bulk of the talent from the Braves' draft class and also the picks with the most uncertainty around them, so kudos to Atlanta for closing the deals so quickly. The only potential concern is high school catcher Jack Brenner from Wisconsin, Â but that is a pretty minor concern at this point. It remains true that if a team picks a player in the first 10 rounds where draft slot values and rules are in place, the odds are extremely good that player will sign.
Just like that, most of the suspense in the Braves' draft class is gone. We still have to see what bonuses most of the guys from the back half of the draft get, but those are pretty minor considerations at this point. Now comes the fun part: seeing how these guys look as professionals.
Add us as a preferred source on Google