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Posts by Kiley McDaniel

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2026 MLB draft rankings: Top 85 prospects, mini-mock draft The top of the 2026 MLB draft is coming into focus. Here's who your team could be targeting this summer.

Top 85 draft rankings + 13-pick mini mock draft!

Notes on a GM in to see a potential 1-1 this week and other team connections.

After press time, I confirmed prep RHP Coleman Borthwick hit 100 multiple times last night; move him up a bit in your mind. www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

3 days ago 4 2 0 1
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2026 MLB predictions: Our hottest hot takes two weeks in From a shocking NL East champion to a 50-homer slugger you probably haven't heard of yet, our experts go bold with their early predictions.

Our writers dropped their hottest takes two weeks into the MLB season. Mine was two fallen former top prospects that I think are primed to break out www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

1 week ago 2 0 0 0
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College baseball midseason 2026: Top players and teams halfway through the year From LSU's struggles to Landon Hairston's impressive year, checking in on college baseball's top storylines midway through the year.

I jumped in on a mid-season college roundtable, covering top and surprising teams, players, and prospects www.espn.com/college-spor...

2 weeks ago 0 0 0 0
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Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin's MLB debut: What to know Pittsburgh is calling up MLB's No. 1 overall prospect. Here is what makes the shortstop so special.

I dove deep to tell you how good Konnor Griffin is, what to expect immediately, what he may struggle with, and if I think he can stay up all year www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 weeks ago 2 0 1 0
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2026 MLB ace rankings: Baseball's best starting pitchers Who is the sport's most dominant pitcher right now? We rank the elite, with the help of MLB scouts and execs.

I ranked the 11 big league aces (and noted the near misses) and you’ll agree with all of my conclusions www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
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2026 MLB predictions: Playoffs, World Series, MVPs and more Can the Dodgers three-peat? Will Skubal and Skenes win another Cy Young? Our experts make their predictions for the 2026 baseball season.

Projecting the whole playoffs and the award winners, featuring all of our baseball experts www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

3 weeks ago 1 0 0 0
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Top 100 MLB prospects for 2026: Griffin, McGonigle, more Where do stars of tomorrow such as Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle land as we rank baseball's best young players?

CF Justin Crawford has been told he’s made the Phillies Opening Day roster, per source.

Crawford is the 69th-ranked prospect in the sport on my latest top 100: www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

4 weeks ago 6 0 0 0
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MLB 2026: Top breakout players for all 30 teams From veterans in new roles to former top prospects ready to reach new heights, here's who we expect to level up.

I projected a big league breakout player (and some other solid candidates) for all 30 teams: www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

1 month ago 5 0 0 1

RHP Zack Littell and the Washington Nationals are in agreement on a contact, sources tell me and Jeff Passan.

Littell threw 186.2 innings last season with a 3.81 ERA for the Rays and Reds.

1 month ago 6 0 0 2

Kentucky SS Tyler Bell has been cleared to hit and run the bases for this weekend's games against the Citadel, per source. The next step would be clearance to play the field.

Bell was 27th on my most recent draft rankings www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

1 month ago 4 1 0 0
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2026 fantasy baseball picks: MLB rookie, prospect rankings Kiley McDaniel provides his rankings of rookie-eligible players for their potential fantasy contributions during the 2026 baseball season.

I wrote a deep breakdown of every relevant rookie through a fantasy lens www.espn.com/fantasy/base...

1 month ago 1 0 0 0
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2026 WBC: Contreras, McLean among MLB prospects to watch The 2026 World Baseball Classic is loaded with household names, but also some MLB stars of tomorrow.

There are a ton of prospects on WBC rosters, including a slew of players on my recent top 100, a possible first round pick in July, and a number of posting/FA targets. I break them all down: www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

1 month ago 2 0 0 0
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2026 MLB draft rankings 1.0: Top NCAA, high school prospects We rank the top draft candidates now that a new college baseball season is underway.

Every year I do a draft top 50 rankings after the opening weekend of college baseball.

Today, I did a top 64 rankings for some reason, with a full rundown of what scouts think about this draft class and key prospects www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 4 0 0 1

you have created my favorite use of AI: more baseball stats and graphics!

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

As others have reported, California prep LHP Jared Grindlinger reclassified from the 2027 draft class into the 2026 draft class today. This comes over a month after the deadline, but Grindlinger got a waiver from MLB.

My draft rankings are going up tomorrow; more on him to come.

2 months ago 3 0 0 0
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Coastal Carolina RHP Cameron Flukey will not make his scheduled start this weekend, per sources. It is a precautionary measure and the issue is not with his arm.

Flukey is a projected top 10 overall pick for the 2026 MLB Draft.

2 months ago 5 1 0 1
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College baseball 2026: Top storylines, POY picks and MCWS predictions Our college baseball experts break down the upcoming season and what they're most excited about.

Forgot to post this, but on Friday before the season started, our college baseball crew teamed up for this roundtable season preview www.espn.com/college-spor...

2 months ago 2 0 0 0

Kentucky SS Tyler Bell injured his left shoulder last night diving for a ball on defense. He’s out indefinitely, per source.

Bell is a projected 2026 first round pick. He went unsigned out of high school as the 66th overall pick in the 2024 draft by the Rays.

2 months ago 4 2 0 4

They’ll be hearing from his father

2 months ago 3143 345 31 4

yes and also his underlying numbers are stronger than his surface stats.

he's also at a part of the list where you could argue for a lot of players, so your point is also generally correct.

2 months ago 1 0 1 0

South Carolina LHP Jake McCoy underwent successful Tommy John surgery yesterday in New York City with Dr. Christopher Ahmad, per source.

Last season, McCoy struck out 77 batters in 60 innings over 14 starts as a sophomore. He was up to 97 mph last season and hit 98 in the fall.

2 months ago 2 1 0 0
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2026 top 10 prospect rankings for all 30 MLB teams Who is rising in every major league farm system? Kiley McDaniel digs in.

Top 10 prospects for each of the 30 teams is up and that concludes the winter prospect suite of content! www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 2 0 0 0
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2026 season predictions for MLB's top prospects Which young players will do big things on the diamond in the year ahead? Our experts weigh in.

Today my colleagues joined me in making bold prospect-related predictions for 2026.

Team Top 10s are filed and coming tomorrow! www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 2 0 1 0

right-handed hitting 1B with 35- or 40-grade bat to ball, a fine but not great approach, and good but not great raw power.

2 months ago 1 0 0 0

and here's my ranking of each farm system 1 through 30 with dollar values so you can see how quickly your team can rise www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 10 0 2 2
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And today, prospects ranked 101-200, with superlatives from this group in lieu of 100 more scouting reports. Tomorrow: farm rankings! www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 10 1 1 3

more coming over the next week:

- prospects 101-200 with superlatives
- farm rankings
- top 10 prospects by team
- bold predictions

2 months ago 8 0 0 0
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Top 100 MLB prospects for 2026: Griffin, McGonigle, more Where do stars of tomorrow such as Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle land as we rank baseball's best young players?

It's Top 100 Day!

The article is stuffed with 25,000 words of tool grades, scouting reports, and notes on the metas that teams are using to find value in scouting and development www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/...

2 months ago 16 2 1 6

Over 25,000 words in the form of this year's Top 100 prospect list have been handed to the editors.

2 months ago 9 0 1 0

I'm sure Mets fans don't care much about this right now, but...

I'm finalizing the Top 100 and farm rankings and it works out that, by a tiny margin (i.e. subject to change), this trade takes the Mets farm system from #1 ranked to #6...and also moves the Brewers from #6 to #1.

2 months ago 33 9 3 0