Somehow, an incredible offseason for Jay Johnson and the Tigers just got even better. With many of the belief that Lucas Nawrocki was Major League bound and a pipedream for LSU, he dropped massive news less than 24 hours before the draft kicks off.
Nawrocki is highly ranked by all publications. As far as draft rankings, ESPN has him at #91 overall, while MLB.com has him at #153. Prep Baseball Report ranks him at #46 among graduating seniors
across the country and #7 in the the state of Texas.
Most of the praise that he’s garnered has largely been as a LHP, but he can also play OF/1B. Prep Baseball ranks him as the #1 OF in Texas, #11 in the country. He burst on to the scene at the MLB Combine thanks to multiple 109 mph exit velocities with a wooden bat.
Nawrocki helped Aledo win the Texas 5A State Championship and was also named as 2026 Texas Co-Player of the Year. He hit .421 with an OPS of 1.236, including 9 HRs and 15 2Bs.
While he very likely could contribute both from the mound and the batter’s box, he’s believed to be a future MLB reliever. At 5’11 197 lbs, teams have had a hard time imagining him as a starting pitcher in the big leagues, but that does not mean that he can’t eventually become a stud in LSU’s weekend rotation in his career.
The lefty deploys a 95 mph fastball, paired with a 3200 rpm slider that MLB.com believed could have been the best slider in the entire draft. He also throws a changeup that could become an affective third pitch in the coming years. All of this comes from a 3/4 arm slot, which is incredibly tough for left-handed hitters.
With how stacked the Tigers seem to be in the field for 2027, Nawrocki’s immediate path to make an impact will likely be on the mound. As of now, LSU’s only confirmed LHPs include Cooper Williams, Danny Lachenmayer, and Ethan Plog. One of the other two players that have announced their intentions to withdraw from the draft and head to school is Braxton Beaty, also a LHP. Santiago Garcia is considered a heavy draft risk.
The MLB Draft begins at noon central tomorrow. Johnson and co. will be tuned in closely to see who else will fill out their roster for next season, but they’re already off to a fantastic start.
