Early mock drafts point toward Rangers eyeing collegiate talent next summer

With the draft position decided for the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, the way too early mock drafts have started flooded in from publications, scouts and media personnel alike.

It appears that after going against the mold in 2025, selecting high school infielder Gavin Fien 12th overall, Texas will get back to their roots and target a collegiate player during next June's draft.

The Rangers will select 16th overall next year after entering the draft with the 11th-best odds at the first overall pick but eventually falling four slots to 16th on the board. While the highly touted prospects will be well off the board by then, a lot of talent will still remain when Texas is on the clock.

3 early candidate for Rangers to draft with the No. 16 pick in 2026

Eric Becker, SS, University of Virginia

The 20-year-old Virginia Cavalier has lit up the first two seasons of his collegiate career after a winning back-to-back New Jersey state championships in high school. He enters the spring college season as MLB Pipeline's 21st ranked draft prospect.

According to Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter believes Texas will select Becker with the 16th pick after classifying him as one of the best pure hitters among the 2026 draft class. In 95 games, he is slashing .366/.459/.637 with 17 home runs, 98 RBIs, 30 doubles and a 1.096 OPS. In 2025, he started all 50 of Virginia's games at short and was named to the 2025 All-ACC Third Team.

"He played primarily third base as a freshman and also manned the hot corner for Team USA over the summer, and he might ultimately profile best as a versatile, bat-first super utility player," writes Reuter.

Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

For MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis, he believes the Rangers will go with a pitcher on the other side of the country.

The 14th best prospect according to Pipeline, Flora has thrown 122 innings over two seasons with UC Santa Barbara to the tune of a 9-5 record, 126 strikeouts, 42 walks and a 3.69 ERA. While he worked mostly out of the bullpen his freshman year, Flora appeared in 13 games in 2025, starting 11 of them.

The six-foot-five right-hander has a fastball that touches 97 mph, a sweeper that ranges from 79-81 mph and a traditional slider that can top out at 89 mph. He lights up the strike zone and limits the walks with that three-pitch mix and if he continues that chain of succees in the spring, he will be a first-rounder.

Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State

USA Today seems to think Reese will be the 16th pick off the board when the Rangers select their choice on July 11 during the MLB All-Star Break in Philadelphia.

A six-foot-four left handed power hitter, Reese was named the 2025 SEC Newcomer of the Year after hitting 21 home runs, 64 RBIs, 17 doubles and slashed .347/.419/.716 in 222 at-bats with the Bulldogs.

The 18th ranked prospect, MLB Pipeline says Reese has plus-power and can homer to any part of the ballpark, regardless it's against righties or lefties on the pitching mound. His only concern remains his defense, limited quickness, range and average arm.