Zion Rose 2026 MLB Draft Profile

Prospect: Zion Rose
Position: Outfielder/Catcher
School: Louisville
Year: True Junior
Bat/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6-1/200

Background

Born May, 26, 2005 (age 21) to parents Karin and Shaun Rose. A native of Chicago, Ill., Rose spent the first three years of his prep career at Brother Rice High School. As a junior, he earned an All-State selection after hitting .496 with four home runs, 39 RBIs, 12 doubles and 31 stolen bases. For his senior season, he opted to play for Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. There, he hit .395 with four homers, 26 RBI, nine doubles, four triples and 10 stolen bases, helping IMG Academy go 25-0 and win the 2023 MaxPreps national championship.

Coming out of high school, Rose was a consensus top-100 prospect, ranking as the fifth-best catcher in the Class of 2023 by Perfect Game - as well the No. 75 overall prospect. He committed to Louisville over Vanderbilt as a freshman in high school, and due to his firm commitment to the Cardinals, he went unselected in the 2023 MLB Draft despite being a highly-regarded high school prospect.

Not only did Rose see the field early at Louisville, he was one of their best players during his true freshman season in 2024, even earning First-Team Freshman All-American honors. Playing in 44 games while starting all but one (mainly at DH), he slashed .380/.455/.584 with five home runs, 32 RBIs, nine doubles, five triples, 19 walks and 10 stolen bases. His .380 batting average was the best in the regular season among power conference true freshmen, and his .396 BA in conference play was the second-best in the ACC.

Rose made the permanent switch to outfielder as a sophomore, playing most of his games this season in left field. Starting all 66 games, he took home First-Team All-ACC honors following a 2025 season that saw him slash .310/.396/.552 with 13 homers, a team-best 67 RBIs, 16 doubles, three triples, 31 walks and 31 stolen bases.

That summer, Rose made the Collegiate National Team for USA Baseball, and took part in the USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series. Across those five games, he went 5-for-20 with two RBIs and three stolen bases.

For his junior year, Rose had to miss roughly the first month of the season due to an ankle injury. But when he came back from that injury, he was one of the best players in college baseball. In just 36 games and 35 starts, he slashed .417/.491/.646 (with his 1.137 OPS being second on the team to Tague Davis) and collected six homers, 47 RBIs, 13 doubles, a triple, 19 walks and 24 stolen bases. He not only earned another First-Team All-ACC honor, but did enough to secure a Second-Team All-American nod from Perfect Game.

Scouting Report

MLB Draft Prospect Rankings:

• MLB.com: No. 31
• The Athletic: No. 22

Strengths

• Rose has great ability to hit for both contact and power at a high level. His bat-to-ball skills are very high, especially against fastballs, and he routinely produces exit velocities well over 100mph - as his average EV was 104.6mph.
• In terms of raw athletic traits go, Rose is one of the top prospects in this year's draft class. This translates extremely well out on the base paths, as he has 65 career stolen bases in college, and he has the wheels to be able to play center field when needed.
• He has a very good overall feel for the strike zone, and has made progress as time goes on. Had more walks (19) than strikeouts (15) during his junior season, and is even in both areas (69) throughout his collegiate career.

Weaknesses

• As good as Rose is spreading the ball out from foul pole to foul pole, his pull side ability leaves a little to be desired because of the follow through on his stance.
• Defense is good, but it's not great. Had a .949 fielding percentage out in left field (two errors) this past season, and has just a career .952 fielding percentage in college. Arm strength doesn't match what you'd expect given his frame.
• Rose does need to work some on both his launch angle, and his pitch chasing when deep in the count. While he has a great approach at the plate, he turns walks into groundouts more than you'd like him to (10 GIDP in 2025, three in 2026).