The 2026 Major League Baseball Draft begins in earnest tomorrow, July 11th, at 1:00 PM ET. And because everything must be a spectacle under commissioner Rob Manfred, it’s going to be a televised extravaganza across two days.
Rounds 1-4 will be broadcast live on NBC (and streamed on Peacock) on Saturday from 1:00 PM ET through 2:30 PM ET, which means you’ll be able to watch the Cincinnati Reds make picks at #18 in Round 1, #58 in Round 2, #70 in Competitive Balance Round B (which follows Round 2),
pick #94 in Round 3, and pick #122 in Round 4 all on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday will see coverage resumed by MLB.com, MLB.tv, and MLB+ beginning at 11:30 PM ET. Rounds 5-20 will all take place on Sunday afternoon and evening, at which case the talking heads can begin to yap about which teams had the best overall draft even though every single player selected will still be a year (or, in most every case, years) away from actually having a shot to contribute at the big league level.
Because the Reds unexpectedly made a playoff appearance last year, albeit briefly, they don’t pick until 18th overall this year. Between that, having zero Compensation Picks from losing a free agent to a big enough contract elsewhere, and landing a Competitive Balance Round B pick (instead of Competitive Balance Round A after Round 1), their overall draft bonus pool of $10,758,500 ranks as just the 17th highest in the league this year. How that impacts their strategy of drafting high school talent vs. college talent remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they swing big with their first selection and then backfill in rounds 7-10 by drafting college seniors who’ll only command minimum bonuses to sign.
We’ll find out beginning Saturday afternoon!
