While we were watching Chris Sale beat the flu and the Athletics, the 2026 MLB Draft pools were released. The draft order was finalized in December, now we get the pools. The Braves will receive a pool of $15,870,800 for the picks in July’s Rule 4 Amateur Draft. That’s up from $9,081,100 from last year. So that 6.8 million dollars more. Having a lousy injury-plagued season and receiving a Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick by promoting Drake Baldwin, last year’s Rookie of the Year, has its benefits.
The Braves will have the seventh highest pool in 2026. Teams almost always outspend those allotments by 5 percent, which is the maximum that teams can spend until incurring penalties. So that would give the Braves $16,664,340 to work with. They have three picks in the top 50 by owning the 9th, 26th, and 48th. That Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick was pushed forward 5 picks due to competitive balance tax infractions by the Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Dodgers. For example, the Dodgers will have less than 4 million to spend on this year’s draft, but I don’t know that they care.
The minor league staff willl have a much better idea of who the Braves will be able to take. My understanding is that the juiciest position player position are typically found in the top ten. The Braves pick ninth, but waiving around that PPI pick money might lure a better prize than that pick location might suggest. So if you’ve been pining for a hot position player prospect, this might be your year.
Info on all the teams is here, and the order of the draft pools is below. But it’s exciting news, and maybe the Braves will find a new star come July.
Draft pool amounts:
Pirates: $19,130,700
Rays: $19,009,300
White Sox: $17,592,100
Twins: $16,929,600
Cardinals: $16,612,300
Royals: $15,954,000
Braves: $15,870,800
Rockies: $15,557,600
Giants: $14,080,400
Athletics: $13,840,300
Astros: $13,712,700
Diamondbacks: $13,603,100
Orioles: $13,114,000
Guardians: $12,573,900
Nationals: $12,278,300
Marlins: $11,960,100
Angels: $11,755,400
Reds: $10,758,500
Rangers: $10,219,200
Cubs: $9,644,100
Padres: $9,479,000
Tigers: $9,165,100
Red Sox: $8,219,200
Mariners: $8,218,200
Brewers: $8,042,900
Phillies: $7,773,000
Yankees: $7,342,800
Mets: $6,730,900
Blue Jays: $5,543,100
Dodgers: $3,951,900
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