Georgia Tech's Vahn Lackey Is Climbing Draft Boards and Teams Are Starting to Notice

The 2026 MLB draft picture is finally coming into focus, and right now there's a clear hierarchy forming at the top. You've got your consensus No. 1, a pretty solid second guy, and then things get messy in the top 10 with a bunch of college arms and some serious prep prospects all jockeying for position. Welcome to draft season, where every scout in the league suddenly has an opinion on a 17-year-old's ceiling.

The Top of the Board Is Shaping Up

UCLA's Roch Cholowsky looks like the guy everyone expects to go first overall to the Chicago White Sox, but here's the thing: it's not a slam dunk yet. The White Sox scouting crew, including GM Chris Getz, has been out doing their homework. Fort Worth Christian's Grady Emerson is in the conversation too, and depending on what evaluators think about his upside and how quickly he might develop, this could get competitive. Some teams are looking at whether Emerson moves fast enough to justify a shot over Cholowsky. The precedent is there: Konnor Griffin debuted at 19, Jackson Holliday at 20, Kevin McGonigle at 21. If Emerson's got that kind of trajectory, he becomes a real option.

Where Lackey and Flora Fit In

Here's where Vahn Lackey enters the picture. Rival clubs picking in the early slots see Lackey as part of that elite tier, along with Jackson Flora, especially if there's meaningful bonus savings on the table. The Rays' draft history suggests they could seriously consider both Lackey and Flora if the math works in their favor. That's the real intrigue right now: the gap between the top two guys and the rest of the class is small enough that bonus negotiations could shake everything up.

Rankings Are Shifting

These prospect rankings are built on the FV (future value) system and show where players would rank if they turned pro tomorrow, though grades will absolutely change as the spring rolls on. For now, we've got our preseason rankings locked in and a 13-pick mini-mock that tells you exactly where evaluators think this is heading. The picture will sharpen over the next few weeks as scouts keep working, crosscheckers keep watching, and teams figure out what they actually believe about these kids.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.