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Draft  | Story | 9/11/2026

PG Draft: Potential Risers Into Top 50

Tyler Henninger
Michael Albee
Joey Cohen
Ryan Miller
We are in the early stages of the 2027 cycle and there is still plenty of time for players to make significant jumps up the board. While our current Top-100 provides an early look at the class, several players just outside that group have the upside to make a run at becoming Top-50 pick by next July.

With that in mind, each member of the draft team each selected one college player and one prep player they believe could make the jump into the Top-50 over the course of the spring. These are the names to keep an eye on as the 2027 draft picture continues to develop.



Joey’s Picks:
 

Prep: OF, Jake Cueto, Belen Jesuit Prep (FL)

A Top-50 projection may feel aggressive for Cueto today, but the profile fits the type of prep bat that can make that kind of jump. The left-handed hitting center fielder brings a combination of athleticism, speed and contact ability that has become increasingly attractive in the draft, particularly among slightly undersized prep outfielders. We’ve seen players with similar profiles (Caldwell, De Brun, Payne) in terms of dynamic athletes who can impact the game defensively while providing a strong offensive foundation get pushed significantly higher than expected in recent drafts. Cueto has the ingredients to put himself in that conversation. His offensive value to me starts with the swing itself. It’s a compact, direct and accurate stroke that gets the barrel into the zone very quickly, with a strong tendency to work from the inside and let the ball travel. There’s very little wasted movement, and his hands do a good job staying connected while creating quality contact angles out front. That inside-out approach allows him to consistently handle the outer half and spray line drives to all fields. The intriguing part is that there’s already some lift and impact showing up despite a contact first approach. As he matures and learns to pull more balls in the air, there’s a path for that same swing to produce considerably more game power. The defensive side gives the profile another dimension. He has the athleticism and speed to cover center field at a high level, along with enough arm strength to complete the package. That combination makes him a high level impact prospect, even if the offensive power never fully arrives. But if the extra-base production begins to show up alongside his already advanced bat-to-ball foundation, Cueto could become one of the more interesting helium candidates in the 2027 class and the kind of player who makes a top-50 projection look considerably less aggressive by next June.

College: SS Dawson Park, LSU

Projecting Dawson Park as a top-50 pick this early is also a bit of a stretch, but it’s the kind of stretch that makes sense when you look at the all present ingredients. The move from Texas State to LSU gives him a bigger stage, a tougher weekly test and a chance to turn an already promising profile into a legitimate Day 1 draft case. Park took a significant sophomore-year step forward, hitting .301/.387/.575 with 13 homers, 52 RBI and nine stolen bases while moving over to shortstop and showing the athleticism, twitch and arm strength to handle a premium defensive spot. The arm is a legit plus as it even drew some looks on the mound early in his career, while the defensive package gives him a relatively high floor if the offensive gains continue. He checks a lot of the boxes you want to see in a potential early pick but the biggest question is how much of the bat plays against SEC pitching. Park's strikeout rate remains something to monitor, but the underlying trajectory is encouraging, especially in the power department. There is enough bat speed, physical projection and athleticism to believe another offensive step is available. And now, there will be considerably more eyeballs on him. LSU is one of college baseball's premier showcases for draft talent, while the SEC has repeatedly demonstrated how transfers can elevate their stock by moving into a higher-level environment. Park won't need an insane leap to validate a top-50 projection. If he proves he can handle SEC arms while maintaining the defensive impact, he has a real chance to make a significant jump up draft boards.

Ryan’s Picks:
Prep: OF/RHP Lukas Waite, Patrick Henry HS (CA)
Waite is an athletic two-way player out of talent-rich California, possessing real tools on both sides of the ball. He utilizes a lengthy 6-foot-2 frame with room to fill, pointing to future projection. In the box, Waite starts with a slightly spread base and high, compact hands, firing through a quick barrel via a simple inward leg load. He is a burner on the basepaths and, while patrolling center field, employs a strong throwing arm that translates to the mound. Waite utilizes a simple and loose operation, running a run/ride fastball into the mid-90s, along with feel to spin a breaking ball. The entire package is enticing for several reasons, and if he comes out strong in the spring, could shoot up draft boards quickly. 
 

College: RHP Smith Bailey, Arizona
Bailey combines a projectable 6-foot-6 frame with valuable starting-rotation experience, logging 30 starts and a strong 4.24 career ERA. He starts over the face before working to the belt and into a high, compact leg lift, firing down the mound with a long, extended arm action and releasing from a high three-quarters slot. Bailey relies on four pitches, starting with a riding fastball that operates in the low-to-mid 90s. The Arizona native drops in a pair of distinct breaking balls, including a deep vertical curveball and sharp two-plane slider. Bailey also mixes in a changeup, giving him a starter look and mix. Moving forward, evaluators figure to be looking for more consistency out of Bailey, who runs a relatively low walk rate, with room to miss more bats. 

Albee’s Picks:

Prep: C Christopher (CJ) Wall, Georgia Premier Academy (GA) 
Wall had one of the best summer runs of anybody in the country, hitting at every stop and putting evaluators at all levels on notice. The performance was enough for me to buy into a huge jump on our board this spring. It’s a sweet left-handed stroke with a keen eye at the plate, dissecting breaking balls with comfort paired with the ability to handle velocity to any part of the zone. This has all the makings of a potential plus or better hit tool when it’s all said and done, and you may get the opinion from some scouts that he has the best hit tool in the state. His game power plays up from where his raw power is at (nothing to scoff at) due to the angles in his swing and his ability to lift to pull with consistent backspin. It’s a very polished offensive profile for a prep. Looking elsewhere, there are questions. Those most bullish are going to squint and see him sticking behind the plate long-term. For me, both the hands and arm are going to have to improve substantially for that. It may end up being LF/1B when it’s all said and done, but I’m not sure I really care when the offensive profile is what it is. I’m all in on CJ Wall hitting his way to a nice draft selection. A club making that pick would need to be sold on his ability to catch in the long-term, however. We will all see how he improves on that end of things in the coming months. 

College: LHP Jake Marciano, Auburn 
He’s a long limbed southpaw that throws strikes, can spin the baseball and has performance in the SEC. To pair, he’s got a low launch fastball that plays to the top rail. Marciano checks boxes, but he needs to see a jump in velocity for this range to blossom into fruition for him. He currently sits in the 88-91 band for starts, pumping it up a tad in the first but tapers off and settles quick. There is reason to project average or better on both his slider and change. It could end up being a plus heater as well. Squinting and projecting are heavy in this blurb, but we are looking for upside plays anyway. He had a great year at Auburn (85 IP, 108 SO, 26% K-BB) and will be looking to carry that over into his draft spring. The building blocks are certainly in place. Now it’s just a game of wait and see.

Henni’s Picks:
  

Prep: RHP Greyson Parker, Mandeville HS (LA)
Parker put together a strong showing over the summer circuit and has the stuff to fly up draft boards this spring. The right-handed features a lean, athletic build with room to continue to fill out. The fastball has been up to 96 mph with riding life. There is advance for a changeup. Parker kills spin extremely well and creates fade. A mid-80’s slider show spin rates around 2500 rpm and has the traits to be an above-average secondary offering. The athleticism that is shown on the mound, the underlying traits in regards to the pitch mix, and the projectability make the profile extremely intriguing. There is definite Top-50 upside there if it all could come spring. 

College: RHP Austin Nye, Vanderbilt
Nye put together a stellar freshman campaign in ‘25, logging a 3.55 ERA over 50 2/3 innings. The right-hander then earned a spot in the weekend rotation to begin last year and opened with 0.00 ERA over 10 innings to go with a 13:2 K:BB ratio.. Unfortunately an elbow injury cut his season short right there. Nye got the internal brace surgery, rather than full TJ, and hopefully will be back fairly early this spring. When he is at his best, the fastball works 95-97 mph with life. He mixes in both a curveball and slider with both showing the ability to miss bats. A changeup rounds out the mix. If he can come back healthy and pitch like he has thus far in his collegiate career, it would be very easy to see a scenario where he climbs up boards quickly and winds up a Top-50 pick when it is all said and done. 
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