The 20-round 2026 MLB Draft will take place Saturday and Sunday. UCLA baseball boasts 23 players who could be selected in the First-Year Player Draft, meeting the draft’s eligibility requirement of being at least 21 or spending at least three seasons at a four-year university. Players who’ve just graduated high school or are coming out of junior college are also eligible.
Ahead of what might be UCLA’s most highly anticipated draft since 2011 – when Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer went first and third overall, respectively – Daily Bruin Sports senior staff Kai Dizon profiles the 23 players who could hear MLB commissioner Rob Manfred call their name.
This is the second of a three-part series.
Junior third baseman Roman Martin
2026: .333/.446/.549 with nine homers, 53 RBIs and no stolen bases in 60 games
Career: .321/.437/.512 with 21 homers, 136 RBIs, seven stolen bases in 159 games
Martin’s growth and production at UCLA have largely gone overlooked, a result of hitting behind junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky and junior first baseman Mulivai Levu in 2026.
But it cannot be overstated.
I still remember when he made three errors at third base in two games as a freshman. Maybe it was Cholowsky’s glove, which Martin started using his sophomore year, but come 2026, the third baseman proved capable of playing the hot corner and making the throw across the diamond.
Martin didn’t show the pop a lot of front offices might look for in a third baseman who hits cleanup.
But he’s done everything he’s been asked to, and I don’t see that trend ending anytime soon.
It wasn’t just his defense – Martin cut his strikeout rate from 31.5% as a freshman to 19.4% as a junior while increasing his slugging percentage by 94 points.
Perhaps he can look unassuming with his sports glasses and gold chains.
But when UCLA needed a run in the bottom of the ninth in its first elimination game in the NCAA regionals, Martin delivered a game-tying blast.
Prediction: Selected in rounds 4-6.
Junior right-hander Justin Lee
2026: 3.26 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and 2.8 HR/9 over 19.1 innings pitched across 23 relief appearances
Career: 6.35 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 6.5 BB/9 and 1.5 HR/9 over 90.2 innings pitched across 77 relief appearances
Lee had the most turbulent Bruin career of all 23 draft-eligible Bruins.
Perfect Game ranked him No. 95 in the class of 2023 out of high school, only for him to spend most of his freshman year on mop-up duty.
He ended 2024 strongly, however, with 6.1 scoreless innings over his final four appearances, including a strikeout of 2024 No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana.
He was the Bruin closer to open 2025.
By the end of the year, though, he seemed more like a last resort.
But Lee worked his way back into the mix in 2026. Suddenly, his fastball began to hit triple digits and find the strike zone.
He regained enough trust to pitch in high leverage situations.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Lee put together a consistent season as a Bruin in 2027. But at the same time, Lee said his goal was to get drafted this weekend, and I bet there’s at least one MLB organization that feels like it can crack the code on the right-hander with a triple-digit fastball.
Prediction: Selected in rounds 4-7
Junior catcher Cashel Dugger
2026: .251/.378/.382 with five homers, 39 RBIs and no stolen bases in 54 games
Career: .258/.390/.349 with eight homers, 72 RBIs and no stolen bases in 145 games
Dugger’s draft stock might’ve reached an all-time high earlier this season. The glove-first backstop had a .310 batting average and .494 slugging percentage across his first 87 at-bats.
But over his final 104 at-bats, his marks cratered to .202 and .288, respectively.
Even if Dugger’s bat remains suspect, a catcher who can handle himself behind the dish will only be passed over so many times.
And his arm may be more impressive than anything he can do with the bat.
Dugger threw out just 15.2% of the 33 runners who attempted to steal a base on him in 2024. In 2025, Dugger improved to 22.9% of the 35 runners.
But in 2026, Dugger was lethal enough to stop runners before they even got started.
Just 16 runners attempted to snag an extra 90 feet off Dugger last season, half of whom were sent back to the dugout.
Prediction: Selected in rounds 6-8
Junior right-hander Cal Randall
2026: 3.19 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 16.5 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 and 0.9 HR/9 over 31 innings pitched across 34 games
Career: 3.43 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 13.9 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9 over 63 innings pitched across 66 games
Randall cut down on the leg kick he had out of high school, but the on-the-mound antics and dominance skyrocketed.
After an ugly start to 2026 – which included an outing where he walked the only two hitters he faced and another where he walked the only hitter he faced while also throwing a wild pitch – Randall became one of the premier arms in the Bruin bullpen.
Take away that appearance with back-to-back walks, and Randall’s ERA shrinks to 2.61.
But even for general managers and scouts who aren’t into skewed data, it’s hard to shy away from a right-hander who can throw as hard as anyone in the ballpark.
Prediction: Selected in rounds 2-4
Junior left fielder Dean West
2026: .277/.418/.417 with seven homers, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 58 games
Career: .298/.446/.413 with 11 homers, 89 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 144 games
At 5-foot-10, West is going to get overlooked in the draft.
Chances are, few front offices are going to count on West’s 2026 power stroke holding up in the minor leagues.
But West shone brightest when being underestimated – as seen by his five outfield assists.
And the left fielder is a talented hitter – you don’t consistently get an on-base percentage north of .400 by accident. He was the leadoff man his second game as a freshman, started just 12 games that year, and then hit .320 as a sophomore in 66 games.
Plus, MLB’s adoption of ABS only gives teams more reason to give West a chance.
Prediction: Selected in rounds 7-9
