2026 MLB Draft: Dodgers select South Florida RHP Ethan Sutton, Campbell RHP Camden Wimbish, prep SS Max Irving, Houston Christian C Luke Bard, Illinois LHP Zach Bates in rounds 16-20; plus a look at the class in full

Bruce Kuntz 07/12/2026 MLB Draft Leave A Comment

(Via South Florida Athletics)

We are into the final five rounds of this year’s draft (and with the CBA situation, who knows, maybe the last rounds 16-20 ever; I hope not) as the Dodgers hunt for hidden gems.

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The Dodgers took South Florida right-hander Ethan Sutton with their 16th round pick. Sutton had a bumpy journey to reach a very good spring for USF this year. He went to Georgia out of high school and threw only three games as a freshman before requiring Tommy John surgery that held him out through 2025.

Sutton returned to the bump working mostly in relief for South Florida this spring and looked electric. He was named to the NCBWA Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch list and finished with nine saves, pitching to a 4.31 ERA and 27% strikeout rate. His raw stuff is the big draw as it has continued to improve since getting healthy.

Sutton’s fastball sits 94 mph and touched 97 this spring. The big standout: He got down the mound with seven feet of extension with a -4.3 degree vertical approach angle. The four-seamer also features 16 inches of induced vertical break and 13 inches of arm-side run, really looking like a potentially excellent fastball especially if he found any more velocity on it. The 6-foot-3, 215 pound hurler also throws a slider and a changeup that both show promise, but he will have to be signed away from a transfer portal commitment to South Carolina.

Rankings:

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The Dodgers took Campbell right-hander Camden Wimbish in the 17th round. Although his surface numbers were rough, there were some good things going on under the hood this spring, and Wimbish has shown decent stuff on the Cape this summer.

Wimbish’s fastball sat 91 mph with 18 inches of induced vertical break this spring. He got down the mound for 6.7 feet of extension and had a -4.8 degree vertical approach angle, offering a couple of metrics that the Dodgers may have liked. His arsenal was completed by a cutter that sat at 86 mph and a curveball that forced a 39% whiff rate with -10 inches induced vertical break.

The 6-foot-2, 220 pound right-hander found his way to Campbell after barely appearing across two seasons for North Carolina State. He was in the zone a lot this spring, potentially too much, as he finished with a 5.61 ERA. The Dodgers will look to translate some of his unique release characteristics to success on the field.

Rankings:

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Going back to a prep bat, the Dodgers took shortstop Max Irving in the 18th round. The 6-foot, 190 pound switch-hitter had a monster senior year for Montverde Academy High School in Florida, batting .474 with a .622 on-base percentage.

Irving is already fairly filled out and packs a punch from both sides of the plate, although his left-handed swing looks a little more fluid. He was born in Aruba before playing his junior and senior seasons of high school for Montverde Academy.

The Dodgers have now taken three prep bats in this year’s draft. If they want to keep Irving, they’ll have to sign him away from a commitment to South Florida.

Rankings:

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The Dodgers drafted Houston Christian catcher Luke Bard, the son of Dodgers bullpen coach Josh Bard, in the 19th round. Bard spent all four years of his college career at HCU, including a breakout senior season that saw him post a 131 wRC+ this spring.

Bard cut his strikeouts down and upped his batting average to .345 this spring. He finished with a .393 wOBACON, although that came with a .318 xwOBACON because a lot of his hard-hit contact was on the ground. No matter, it was a productive senior campaign, as he also ran an 89% in-zone contact rate.

There aren’t stats to quantify it, but you have to imagine this pick comes with confidence in Bard’s ability as a catcher to lead a pitching staff. He is probably already familiar with some of the players that his dad has coached for L.A., so it should be a smooth transition to the pros for Bard, at least in a comfortability with the organization sense.

Rankings:

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To round out the class, the Dodgers made Illinois left-hander Zach Bates MLB’s 2026 Mr. Irrelevant by taking him in the 20th round. Bates didn’t appear for Illinois this spring due to injury but had a strong campaign pitching in relief in 2025.

The 6-foot-2, 195 pound southpaw was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection after totaling eight saves and a 2.83 ERA last year. He followed that up by posting a 2.41 ERA across 11 games on the Cape that summer. Looking at his 2025 pitch data, Bates’ fastball sat 92 mph with 16 inches of carry and 13 inches of arm-side run.

Alongside the heater, Bates deployed a slider as his main secondary. It had plenty of depth with -7 inches of induced vertical break and 14 inches of sweep, and he fooled hitters while landing it in the zone often enough for a 37% called strike rate. If the Dodgers want to add Bates as a get-healthy and grow relief project, they’ll have to sign him away from a commitment to Nebraska in the transfer portal.

Rankings:

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That does it for the Dodgers’ class. The list of 2026 draftees in full:

RndPickNamePositionB/TClassCollege/CommitmentPick Value
140Bo Lowrance3BL/RHS SrVirginia comm.$2.5M
4132Russell SandeferRHPR/R4YR JrFlorida$575k
7223Charlie WestLHPL/L4YR JrUConn$260k
8253Miles GosztolaLHPL/L4YR JrOregon$218k
9283Kyeler ThompsonOFR/R4YR JrTexas Tech$201k
10313Devin BellRHPR/R4YR SrOregon$191k
11343Cody NewLHPL/L4YR JrCal. Baptist$0
12373Gavin Van KempenRHPR/R4YR SrEast Carolina$0
13403Caleb JohnsonSSS/R4YR SrJax. State$0
14433Ryne RodriguezLHPL/L4YR SrHouston$0
15463Aemed NasserOFL/LHS SrOklahoma comm.$0
16493Ethan SuttonRHPR/R4YR JrSouth Florida$0
17523Camden WimbishRHPS/R4YR JrCampbell$0
18553Max IrvingSSS/RHS SrSouth Florida comm.$0
19583Luke BardCR/R4YR SrHouston Christian$0
20613Zach BatesLHPR/L4YR JrIllinois$0

It was an overall pitcher-heavy draft, with only three college hitters taken in the class compared to 10 pitchers. The only prep selections were all three hitters and are unlikely to all be signed.

The priority will go to 40th overall selection Bo Lowrance, who may very well demand a signing bonus above his $2.5M slot value. If that happens, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see 15th rounder Aemed Nasser and/or 18th rounder Max Irving go unsigned.

For the most part, the college players taken should hang around slot value, although a couple of them have big commitments in the transfer portal to slightly worry about. 16th round pick Ethan Sutton has a transfer commitment to South Carolina and 20th rounder Zach Bates is committed to transfer to Nebraska. It’s possible those two cost a little more depending how much they’ve accepted in their collegiate NIL packages.

This class revolves around the swing-big decision to draft Lowrance 40th overall despite a limited bonus pool. I’m not critiquing the choice, as I think it’s a good one, but it forced the Dodgers to be more conservative with safe-to-sign college selections throughout the rest of the class. They still were able to find some arms with intriguing traits, including a pair of rehabbers in the 11th and 12th rounds, as is the Dodger draft tradition.

The draft pick signing deadline is Monday, July 27th at 2 p.m. PST. We’ll have to wait and see how much of this class the Dodgers can lock down, with a particular focus on assuring they sign Lowrance as their clear top prospect of the 2026 draft.

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About Bruce Kuntz

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Long Beach State journalism student in my fifth year of covering the Dodgers and their farm system.
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