Baseball America 'staff draft' has Rangers drafting polarizing prep slugger

The Rangers will pick 16th in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft, slated to begin on July 11. The organization will have several talented young ballplayers to choose from. Baseball America's "staff draft" compiled of well-versed prospect analysts, has Texas going with Trevor Condon, a raw high school slugger who has drawn mixed reviews despite his obvious talent.

Condon, a high school prospect out of Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia, is only 18 years old, so he is an extremely raw talent that has tremendous bat speed for a teenager, but his unusual hitch/load swing has many scouts concerned that he may need an overhaul when he reaches the minor leagues.

Trevor Condon is a raw, electric power hitter who plays with tremendous energy that Rangers fans would love

Condon is not a big guy, standing 5'11" and weighing 175 pounds. Naturally, he will add muscle mass over the next several years as he will be 18 years and 6 months old at the time of the draft. He maxes out his weight and generates extraordinary bat speed through the zone. He also has a high barrel rate, which allows him to hit for power and achieve plus exit velocity without being physically imposing.

Condon has drawn comparisons to the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong with his combination of plus- plus speed and developing power. His "hair on fire" style of play makes him fun to watch as he uses his speed to make things happen on the basepaths by applying pressure to opposing pitchers and catchers.

His quick-twitch makeup and ability to track down balls in the power alleys make him a plus center fielder, and he is likely to stay there at the next level. He has already signed to play at the University of Tennessee, so he has other options if he is not satisfied with his draft position.

The biggest concern with Condon right now is his unorthodox, looping swing and whether it will be a viable approach when he starts to see better pitching at the next level. The left-handed hitter has a pronounced hitch where he drops the barrel of the bat before delivering it through the contact area. Hitting coaches may want to tweak his swing, but then again, some of the best hitters in the league don't have what you would call typical swing planes.

His unusual swing may be something they don't want to tinker with, as it has served him just fine so far on his way to first-team All-State and Maz-Preps all-star honors and a ridiculous career high school batting average of .522.

Rangers' scouts presumably would love the raw skill that Condon brings to the table. At the same time, they realize that he, like any 18-year-old prospect, will require some work to have him prepared to adapt to the many different styles of pitching he will see when he reaches the professional level.

Texas has been linked to a couple of other boom-or-bust prospects throughout, suggesting that Chris Young is looking for upside over a stable floor. Justin Lebron has been one such player commonly mocked to the Rangers, while Liam Peterson represents the pitching equivalent of tools over production.

The difference between those two prospects and Condon is that they're both experienced college players, which in a way makes their rawness more risky. There's no doubt that Condon's floor could also be extremely low, but he has more runway to grow, which ironically could make him the safer pick over time.

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