The Perfect Game Junior National showcase brought together hundreds of players from the 2026 class, with many of the top ranked players in the country in attendance.
The event, held at the East Cobb complex in Marietta, Ga., is the first major showcase of the summer for 2026 players. Many of those players committed to colleges prior to the rule changes the NCAA implemented last year preventing coaches from contacting players prior to Aug. 1 of their junior year. But several of the top players remain uncommitted and should be priority targets for the top schools in the nation when Aug. 1 arrives.
From an MLB draft perspective, multiple players stood out as potential early-round picks in a couple years, including Grady Emerson (the No. 1 player in the class) and shortstop Jacob Lombard.
Here are 40 players who stood out at PG Junior National, with reports on each player and videos included.
Grady Emerson, SS, Texas
Emerson showed why he’s the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class. The TCU commit checks nearly every box you can ask for in a 16-year-old shortstop and is the best pure hitter in the class. It starts with a sweet lefthanded swing that gets on plane early, taking a tight turn of the barrel with the hand-eye coordination needed to square up all pitch types throughout the strike zone. Emerson controls the zone and stays extremely consistent with his hit-first approach. But when he did let it loose during batting practice, he showed that his power has jumped a notch from where it was a year ago, with one ball landing off the right field scoreboard during batting practice. He plays with a slow heartbeat, maintaining a calm, relaxed approach in the batter’s box and playing a smooth, under control game at shortstop. He’s a plus runner who showed clean actions, soft hands, a quick transfer to a strong arm with good body control and instincts for the position. We’re still a couple years away from the 2026 draft, but Emerson looks like a player who will be in the mix to be a top five overall pick.
Jacob Lombard, SS, Florida
Lombard was already a good prospect—he’s No. 5 in the 2026 class—but compared to last year he looks bigger, stronger and faster. The son of Tigers bench coach George Lombard and the brother of Yankees 2023 first-round pick George Lombard Jr. , Jacob is more advanced than his brother was at this age. He has an outstanding baseball IQ that stems…