50 Sleeper Draft Prospects In The 2026 High School Class

Getting the top of the draft board right is crucial for teams looking to significantly alter an organization’s future trajectory. But beyond the obvious players that every club is heavily scouting, being able to find undervalued talent later in the draft is one way teams can gain a competitive edge.

To that end, Ben Badler has compiled a list of 50 under-the-radar high school players in the 2026 class who aren’t committed to power college programs and could provide draft value for MLB teams.

Also be sure to check out our all-new state-by-state rankings of the top high schoolers for 2026 featuring over 1,100 players from around North America.

READY TO RISE

5 Up-Arrow Prospects Ready To Climb Rankings

As we near the end of April, Baseball America is busy preparing our first in-season Top 100 Prospects update for 2026. Updated Top 30 rankings for all 30 teams will come shortly thereafter.

As a sneak preview for players who could be primed to rise in those rankings updates, Geoff Pontes has highlighted five players whose early-season 2026 performance and data have them trending up.

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CHECKING IN ON WBC STARS

How 5 WBC Breakouts Are Faring So Far

Last month, the World Baseball Classic stoked excitement for a number of young prospects who played their way onto rosters and performed on an international stage.

Now that the 2026 season is underway, Ian Cundall is checking in on a number of those breakouts to see how their WBC performance has translated to regular season minor league games.

CINDERELLA REPORT

8 College World Series Sleepers (April 23)

In recent years, we’ve seen upstart college programs like Murray State and Oral Roberts enter the NCAA Tournament as relative unknowns before cutting through high-octane opponents on their way to Omaha.

From now until the start of the postseason, we’re taking our best shot at predicting which trending programs might be this year’s College World Series Cinderellas with bi-weekly looks at eight teams with the underlying traits to make a run at history come June.

BA PODCASTS

Get Caught Up On The Latest BA Podcasts

Looking for something to listen to this weekend? Baseball America has you covered with a rundown of new podcast episodes:

• Future Projection: Standouts From The 2025 Draft Class

• Prospect Podcast: Seth Hernandez & More Early-Season Risers

• Draft Podcast: Is Roch Cholowsky Still The 1-1 Favorite?

• College Podcast: Georgia’s Tre Phelps Joins

• From Phenom To The Farm: Former MLB Reliever Dan Winkler Joins

Want even more BA podcasts? Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Player FM to make sure you never miss an episode.

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