With the Atlanta Braves draft position being settled in as of last week, it is now time to start taking a look at some of the potential targets for the team in the 2026 MLB Draft. This series will take a look at 10 players who will have some chance to be available for the team with the ninth pick. We will be skipping over the four guys who as of right now have no shot at falling that far, the top three shortstops (Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson, Justin Lebron) and the top pitcher (Liam Peterson).
We will continue our series with a fourth shortstop in Tyler Bell, following prep options Jacob Lombard and Tyler Spangler, and fellow college star Eric Becker at the position. This group of players is based on how things look ahead of the spring, as players could see their stock or even game change significantly over the next eight months.
Tyler Bell is the starting shortstop for the University of Kentucky, and most known as the Rays unsigned second round pick from the 2024 MLB Draft at 66th overall. He’s a 6’1’, 190-pound prospect who is a switch-hitter that throws right. He is sophomore eligible, so there is only one year of college stats for the former Illinois prep star. In his college debut in 2025 he hit .296/.385/.522 with 10 homers among his 29 extra base hits, 11 for 16 in stolen base attempts, and 24 walks to 59 strikeouts over 265 plate appearances. He also went to the Cape Cod League and for a small sample size, posted a .883 OPS in just 22 plate appearances.
Offensively his tools are all on the average side. He should be able to hit from both sides of the plate with impact, and has some power – though his hit tool is more on the average side than above. Some work with a pro coaching staff to shore up his weaknesses could eventually get the hit tool to closer to an above average tool, and his speed is also considered as average. Defensively he is more likely than fellow college star Becker to stick at short with the stronger arm as well as instincts and actions at the position, though he could also bring some versatility if he ended up more on the utility spectrum than the starter most expect him to be.
Bell is going to be drafted at short and should stick at short defensively, and he’s got a good combination of power and speed for the position. His hit tool continuing to develop could be what ends up determining his ultimate upside, but it’s not hard to look at him and see a quality big league starting shortstop.
