Who Did The Braves Draft? A Look At Atlanta's 2026 MLB Draft Class

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves emphasized upside, pitching depth and high-ceiling prep talent during the 2026 MLB Draft after capping off its latest class by taking Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia with the 19th overall pick.

Atlanta's class, which is the first under manager Walt Weiss, featured 10 pitchers, four catchers, three outfielders, one first baseman, one third baseman and one additional infielder.

The Braves leaned heavily toward high school talent early, using four of its first five selections on prep players before mixing in experienced college performers throughout the remainder of the draft.

Gracia, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Virginia, saw his pick carry an assigned slot value of approximately $6.68 million.

After transferring to Virginia from Duke, Gracia earned Third Team All-America honors from D1Baseball, Second Team All-America recognition from the ABCA and Perfect Game, College Baseball Foundation All-America honorable mention, Second Team All-ACC honors and All-Atlantic Region honors.

In his lone season with the Cavaliers, Gracia showed he could swing for both power and average by hitting .354 with 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 48 RBIs, while leading Virginia in batting average, on-base percentage (.489), slugging percentage (.632) and runs scored (64).

He also recorded a team-high 24 multi-hit games and reached base safely in each of his final 10 contests.

Behind Gracia, Atlanta devoted significant attention to pitching, selecting 10 arms in all.

Atlanta followed its first round selection with another high-upside prep player, right-handed pitcher Kaiden McCarthy from Vermont Academy in the second round, before taking California high school left-hander Jensen Hirschkorn in the third round and Florida prep right-hander Cole Dennis in the fourth.

Despite boasting All-Star and reigning National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin behind the plate, the Braves also invested heavily in catching depth by drafting four backstops, including high school standout Jack Brenner and Clemson's Jacob Jarrell in the earlier rounds.

Here's a look at the Atlanta Braves' 2026 draft class.

• AJ Gracia — 1st Round (19th overall) — OF — Virginia (VA) — Estimated Pick Value: $6.68 million
• Carter Beck — PPI (26th overall) — OF — Indiana State — Estimated Pick Value: $3.58 million.
• Kaiden McCarthy — 2nd Round (61st overall) — RHP — Vermont Academy (VT) — Estimated Pick Value: $2.08 million
• Jensen Hirschkorn — 3rd Round (84th overall) — LHP — Kingsburg High School (CA) — Estimated Pick Value: $973,700
• Cole Dennis — 4th Round (112th overall) — RHP — Bishop Snyder High School (FL) — Estimated Pick Value: $697,700
• Wil Libbert — 5th Round (144th overall) — LHP — Mississippi — Estimated Pick Value: $511,400
• Tyson Grulkowski — 6th Round (173rd overall) — RHP — Muskego High School (WI) — Estimated Pick Value: $389,900
• Jack Brenner — 7th Round (202nd overall) — C — Fond du Lac High School (WI) — Estimated Pick Value: $307,300
• Jacob Jarrell — 8th Round (232nd overall) — C — Clemson — Estimated Pick Value: $244,500
• Parker Brosius — 9th Round (262nd overall) — OF — Georgia Tech — Estimated Pick Value: $212,000
• Ben Zeigler-Namoa — 10th Round (292nd overall) — 1B — Hawaii — Estimated Pick Value: $198,300
• Ryne Barker — 11th Round (322nd overall) — 3B — Casteel High School (AZ) — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Dominic Kibler — 12th Round (352nd overall) — C — Wisconsin-Milwaukee — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Cole Dorland — 13th Round (382nd overall) — RHP — Walnut Grove Secondary School (British Columbia) — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Brady Hamilton — 14th Round (412th overall) — RHP — Wichita State — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Caleb Klein — 15th Round (442nd overall) — OF — Southeast Missouri State — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Dalton Harper — 16th Round (472nd overall) — C — Niagara County Community College (NY) — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• John Damozonio — 17th Round (502nd overall) — RHP — Saint Mary's (CA) — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Ethan Stade — 18th Round (532nd overall) — LHP — Bowling Green State — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Austin Fawley — 19th Round (562nd overall) — C — Mississippi — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value
• Nile Adcock — 20th Round (592nd overall) — RHP — Kentucky — Estimated Pick Value: No assigned slot value