2026 MLB Draft Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

The players

No one will dispute the pop for Ryder Helfrick, who showed that asset off with great force throughout his college career. Helfrick was one of the top college home run threats among catchers, with 33 home runs over his final two years in Arkansas, as well as 11 during the 2024 Cape Cod League season to tie the league lead.

He also took plenty of walks, and that has continued during his brief pro career to this point. The one thing to watch is just how much swing-and-miss there will be in his game as Helfrick progresses.

Arizona also had another first-round pick, which they used on Georgia high school pitching prospect Blake Bryant. Bryant flashed mid-90s velocity as a high school prospect, as well as a slider and curveball that give him a base to work with, as well as a changeup. You can see projectability here, with a 6’6” frame and a relatively fleshed-out arsenal for a high schooler.

The Diamondbacks went back-to-back with ACC players in the second and third rounds. Carson Kerce may have been one of the more under-the-radar hitters from a deep Georgia Tech team this past year. But Kerce was an anchor for the Yellow Jackets, as he finished second on the team with 91 hits, 11 of which were home runs. The junior walked almost as many times (34) as he struck out (37).

Brayden Dowd, the club’s third-round pick, walked 51 times over 51 contests for Florida State. The junior outfielder also tallied 10 stolen bases to go with his 10 home runs.

From there, the D-Backs loaded up on college pitchers.

The Missouri Tigers have a well-documented history of producing Major League pitching talent, and Josh McDevitt will look to follow that trend. As a junior with the Tigers, McDevitt struck out 102 over 79 innings since this season, not an easy accomplishment in the SEC.

Mid-90s fastball that plays up, coupled with a couple of breaking balls for McDevitt.

Xander Mercurius was one of the big freshman phenoms on the 2026 Oklahoma baseball team this year. But his older brother, LJ, helped keep things together in the rotation early on in the year, before the freshmen took over. LJ wound up being the OU strikeout leader this season, with 103 over 83 innings.

A transfer from UNLV, Mercurius’ fastball can touch the upper-90s. His heater has the kind of carrying action that Xander possesses, although the elder Mercurius doesn’t have that cutting action that his younger brother showed. LJ can work hitters with a low-80s changeup, coupled with a slider.

Left-hander Micah Worley was one of several interesting pitching prospects in the NYC/Long Island area. Big fastball that sat in the mid-to-upper-90s, which helped him net 93 strikeouts over 69.1 IP with the Stony Brook Seawolves.

Arizona finished out the top half with two proven college hitters: Paul Schoenfeld and Chris Katz. Schoenfeld had 83 hits and 26 stolen bases for West Virginia in his senior season, while Katz had 23 home runs for a Mercer team that just missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

Mason Steele, the club’s 10th-round pick, struck out 68 over 75 innings this season for UAB. Fastball that capped out at 94 MPH late last season during the AAC Tournament, along with a slider that had a lot of action to it.

One last thing: the D-Backs went over $600,000 over-slot to get 11th-round pick Cody Boshell. Big first baseman with pop and an uppercut swing. However, Boshell was an older high school draft pick at 19 at the time of the draft, which can work against some due to how teams model high schoolers.