Dodgers fans must know these potential 2026 MLB Draft targets at Pick No. 40

There is no organization in baseball that has figured out how to win with less draft capital than the Los Angeles Dodgers, and 2026 is their most extreme test yet. Pick 40 in the 2026 MLB Draft on July 11 comes with a $2,504,200 slot value and a $3,951,900 total bonus pool, the smallest in the entire draft by a significant margin.

How The Dodgers Got Here — and Why Their Capital Deficit Is Historic

The Dodgers exceeded the second CBT surcharge threshold, which under the CBA moved their first pick back 10 spots — from No. 30 to No. 40. But Los Angeles didn't stop there. Signing Edwin Díaz cost them their second and fifth-round picks. Signing Kyle Tucker cost them their third and sixth. The result: two picks in the first six rounds — No. 40 and No. 132 — and six total in 10 rounds.

Damon Fitzpatrick, the Dodgers' VP of Amateur Scouting, told Baseball America: "We're a little bit used to it at this point. Obviously, this pick structure is more extreme than we've had." His strategy: "We're really just focused on lining up our favorite 40 players — our job is to line up the 40 players who we think are going to have the 40 best careers in the big leagues."

This organization has turned draft disadvantage into habit before. Emmet Sheehan, drafted in the sixth round in 2021, posted a 2.82 ERA in last year's rotation. Justin Wrobleski, taken in the 11th round that same year, was a World Series hero. Dalton Rushing went 40th overall in 2022 — the exact pick Los Angeles owns again now. The Dodgers don't need the first pick. They need the right one.

Where the Dodgers' farm system has biggest needs ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft

Depending on which outlet you trust, the Dodgers rank second (MLB.com, Keith Law, Baseball America) to tied-for-first in quality depth (ESPN's Kiley McDaniel counts them alongside the Rays with 18 prospects graded above 40 FV). The top four prospects — Josue De Paula (Pipeline No. 15), Zyhir Hope (No. 27), Eduardo Quintero (No. 30), and Mike Sirota — are all outfielders and three of the four are international signings. MLB.com calls it "the best collection of outfield talent in the league."

That last point matters: the Dodgers operate with a different relationship to the draft than most organizations, consistently trusting their player development infrastructure to find value across international markets and later rounds — not just on day one in July.

But Dodgers Digest captured the honest counterpoint: "The system's pitching talent could use a boost. A lot of their best hitters are unproven or have flaws, the pitching in the system has fallen off, and injuries have stagnated a bunch of potentially impactful prospects." McDaniel added that 2026 "might be a light year for the Dodgers introducing impact rookies, but that should start up again in 2027."

For a franchise picking 40th with only six total picks, the emphasis on upside over safety isn't a preference — it's a structural necessity. Let's dive into some of the names circulating the Dodgers camp.

Potential 2026 MLB Draft targets at Pick No. 40 Dodgers will be watching

Jensen Hirschkorn, RHP — Kingsburg High School, Kingsburg, CA Hometown: Kingsburg, California | Bleacher Report Mock 4.0: Pick 40 to Los Angeles | MLB.com: No. 5 prep pitcher nationally

Kingsburg is a small Central Valley town 30 miles southeast of Fresno, and it is currently producing what scouts are calling a generational talent. Hirschkorn is a 6-foot-7, 205-pound right-hander committed to LSU but openly "50/50" about signing professionally: "I'm just going to see how the spring plays out and have fun." His head coach Jim Cranford has been equally blunt: "Any team will be getting another dominant pitcher like Paul Skenes. He's the best one I've coached in 40 years."

Baseball America ranks him 35th overall and the No. 1 prep pitcher in California, with a fastball sitting 92-95, touching 96, and backed by an 81-83 mph slider with consistent shape and a firm 86-89 mph changeup, all thrown for strikes out of a high three-quarters slot with steep downhill plane. His junior season: 5-1, 1.66 ERA, 65 strikeouts in 33 innings. MLB.com has him fifth nationally among prep arms. His father is longtime Fresno Pacific head coach Oscar Hirschkorn, meaning the bloodline runs straight through the San Joaquin Valley. A projectable California prep arm with 40th-pick upside — and the Dodgers own that pick right now.

Tegan Kuhns, RHP — Tennessee Hometown: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania | MLB.com: No. 43 overall | Pick 40 option per MLB.com Dodgers draft preview

If the picking from California route isn't available, the Dodgers have a college arm linked directly to their pick that offers a different kind of value. Kuhns is a 6-foot-3, 189-pound right-hander from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, who turned down the 2024 draft to pitch for Tennessee and is now a draft-eligible sophomore. His freshman season was uneven — 5.40 ERA, 40 strikeouts in 36.2 innings — but his Cape Cod League summer told the more important story: three starts with Brewster, 20 strikeouts, one walk, and a 1.35 ERA against the country's best college competition.

His fastball averages 94 mph and has touched 98, and his high-spin upper-70s curveball eclipses 3,000 RPM at its best — a wipeout pitch when he's locating it. His frame still has projection, his fastball command is advanced, and the secondary refinement he showed on the Cape is exactly what the Dodgers' player development staff is built to maximize. He's not a California kid, but he's a college arm with legitimate upside and a clear developmental path — exactly what pick 40 needs if the prep board clears first.

One More California Name Worth Knowing

Logan Schmidt, LHP — Ganesha High School, Pomona, CA — ESPN ranks him 22nd overall and BA's Staff Draft 2.0 sent him to the Padres at pick 21 as a 6-foot-4, 215-pound California left-hander from Villa Park committed to LSU who touches 97 and will still be just 17 on draft day. He almost certainly won't reach pick 40. But Schmidt is the California storyline that mirrors everything the Dodgers would want in Hirschkorn — a projectable young arm from their own backyard — and his name is worth knowing for exactly that reason.

Also Connected to Pick 40 in Mock Drafts

Coleman Borthwick, RHP — South Walton HS, Santa Rosa Beach, FL — Bleacher Report's Mock 3.0 sent Borthwick to the Dodgers at 40. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Auburn commit touched 98 mph this spring and sits inside the top 15 on most national boards. If he slides to 40, Los Angeles would be getting a first-round ceiling arm at a significant discount — though that landing depends on a meaningful board slide.

Trevor Condon, OF — Etowah HS, Woodstock, GA — Perfect Game's Mock 2.0 had Condon falling to the Dodgers. A rising outfield prospect who jumped 16 spots in BA's April update to No. 25 overall, his athleticism and potential center field profile have evaluators excited — though the Dodgers' outfield depth in the system makes this a ceiling play rather than a need pick.

The Bottom Line

The Dodgers are making history at pick 40 — just not the kind anyone celebrates. The smallest pool in the draft, two picks in six rounds, and a franchise that has never let draft constraints stop them from building a contender.

California is answering loudly this spring, with Hirschkorn in Kingsburg leading the charge and Kuhns providing the college alternative if the prep board clears first. This organization has turned sixth-rounders into World Series heroes so pick 40 is just another chance to do it again.

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