Derek Curiel has quickly established himself as one of the highest-upside position players in the 2026 class, emerging as the offensive engine of LSU’s national championship run. Throughout his whole career, he has proved his bat plays against elite competition. He’s a polished left-handed hitter with advanced swing decisions, elite bat-to-ball skill, and the ability to drive hard contact to all fields. That combination bodes for one the safest offensive floors in the draft. Any incremental strength gains should unlock even modest power while he continues to handle center field with ease. Overall, Curiel profiles as a top-10 caliber talent whose combination of hit tool, athleticism, and feel for the game is extremely difficult to find.

Anderson has a quality fastball shape with 20” of carry in the mid-90s from the left side. He was heavy on the fastball in 2024, but mixed in a banger curveball in the high-70s along with a mid-80s change-up with arm-side run. He mixed in a slider with depth and 17.3” of sweep at 80 mph in a small sample, and I’d love to see more of the pitch in 2025. The delivery, body type, and spin traits are all plus. The ingredients for a big league starter are here.

Shores has thrown just 18.1 innings since arriving on campus at LSU due to a Tommy John surgery in April 2023. He’s a player who had significant draft attention out of high school, and for good reason. In limited time for the Tigers he’s flashed 3 plus offerings, and averaged 96.8 mph on his fastball. If he’s healthy, the sky’s the limit.

Tanks is a gamer, but the swing decisions are erratic. He's been able to make it work in college because of his plus bat-to-ball skills but it might catch up to him in the pro game. Even still, he has elite barrel accuracy and plus bat speed with feel for pulling the ball with authority. He lacks a high floor because of the defensive profile and inability to walk, though he should still be a middle-of-the-order bat with ~30 home run power. He's a gamer with incredible production in the ACC and SEC as an underclassman.

Jump missed his sophomore season thanks to an injury, but he's back this fall after heading to Baton Rouge. He's been in the mid-90s this fall with his signature riseball and FF/CB combo that doesn't catch many barrels. He's flashed a low-80s sweeper in the past and always had a solid changeup. Somebody will have to replace the innings lost from Skenes and Floyd in the weekend rotation and Gage could do just that. His stuff is electric and plays way up from its velo. He could be the best left-handed pitcher in the country if all goes as expected.

Hurd has a power heater with ride in the mid-90s, but his best pitch is the mid-80s slider that gets into the 90s with a sharp plane; he even throws it for more strikes than his fastball but uses it significantly less. Once he gets into pro ball it'll be his primary pitch. His curve in the low-80s is more of a chase pitch when he's ahead due to his lack of feel for it. He's shown the occasionally good looking change but he's a FF/SL guy for now. There's plenty of relief risk here but he has the stuff to be a mid-rotation arm.

Kling's sophomore eligible, he got lost in the shuffle of a loaded LSU lineup last year. He hammered the ball for most of the year but didn't walk much and punched out too much to keep his lineup spot. He's physical, has average bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions but above-average bat speed. He looked like a top-2 rounder as a prep and nothing has changed since then.

Holman has an above-average heater with plenty of carry, he pounds the zone with it and flashes 60-grade command of it. He can even land his slider in the zone often but it's at just 81-84 mph, which is a steep drop-off in velo for a gyroball. It's a sub-5% spin efficiency pitch that plays well in college, he'll need to add a few ticks in pro ball. His curveball in the upper-70s is sharp and every other swing is a whiff, but he can't land it often enough for it to be a pitch he can get value from outside of 2-strikes. He's thrown some solid changeups, has four pitches he can use in a start, and is usually in the zone at reasonable rates. He transferred to LSU and has the arm talent to go in the first few rounds.

Jones is an exit velocity monster, posting a 116..4 mph max EV, 110 mph 90th EV, and 94 mph average EV in 2025. The hit tool is up this year, with the chase and whiff numbers both dropping under 25%. He's a 1B type, but the bat has been off the charts.

Eyanson has 3 distinct shapes, the first being a cut/ride fastball at 92 mph with 17.4” of vertical break. He’s struggled to find whiffs with the fastball, but has gotten them on his mid-80s slider. He throws the pitch with a 0”/-7” profile. The curveball is very solid in terms of shape, but again the results have lagged. The key for Eyanson is plus, command on all 3 offerings in addition to possessing a high-end combination of frame and athleticism. He profiles as a third round pick in my opinion, but will get a chance to make his case at LSU this season.