Taken in 5th round, La Cueva's Blomker says he'll turn pro immediately

Meet Dylan Blomker, professional baseball player.

The former La Cueva product was selected in the fifth round by the Chicago Cubs on the second day of the 2026 Major League Baseball draft on Sunday.

Blomker, a hard-throwing, right-handed pitcher, went No. 159 overall.

“Honestly, if you would have asked me before the draft, the team I wanted to go to, the Cubs would have been my answer,” Blomker said.

And the 18-year-old told the Journal on Sunday afternoon that he would be bypassing a college career at LSU to turn pro immediately. He said he expects to sign his contract before the end of this upcoming week, which would translate into appearing in a rookie league before the end of the month.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Blomker worked out for the Cubs last month. He didn’t hear his name Saturday during the first four rounds, but he didn’t have to wait long on Day 2.

Blomker said he knew about an hour before the pick was officially announced that Chicago was the team drafting him.

“It was a pretty cool moment,” said Blomker, who admitted to having watched the MLB Network’s announcement of his selection “countless times.”

The Cubs, he added, were the first MLB team to initiate contact with him last summer.

“They had liked me from the beginning,” Blomker said.

In March, the Cubs gave Blomker a tour of their spring training facility in suburban Phoenix when La Cueva was in town for a prominent prep tournament.

According to MLB.com, the draft pool value for the No. 159 pick is $441,300, although that is not set in stone. The Cubs spend more than their overall bonus pool every year, MLB.com reported. (Their overall pool number is a shade more than $9.6 million.) Every pick in the top 10 rounds has an assigned value.

Multiple factors went into Blomker’s decision to turn pro.

“Pro ball was my best bet,” he said. “That’s where I can succeed the most. The money has to come into play, too.”

With this draft ends 13 years of waiting for this moment for Blomker.

“It’s pretty crazy,” he said. “Pretty cool that I’m able to live out my dream of being a professional baseball player at 18 years of age. This is my job now.”

Of the entire draft experience, he added: “It was a lot more stressful than I would have hoped. There were definitely some bumps in the road, but it made me tougher and it made me realize the business side of things before I got into it. … These last two days have been unreal, something I’ll never forget.”

Jack Byers of Artesia, a RHP like Blomker, was drafted in the 17th round by the Detroit Tigers. He went No. 516 overall. He has signed with the University of Arizona.

From the state’s college ranks, one Lobo and one Aggie were drafted.

University of New Mexico left-handed pitcher Cooper Corkrean went No. 539 overall, to Kansas City in the 18th round. New Mexico State pitcher Jack Turner also was drafted by the Tigers, in the 10th round, No. 306 overall.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.