Rangers 2026 MLB Draft: Picks, bonus pool, and everything else you need to know

The 2026 MLB Draft is nearly upon us, with the first round kicking off tomorrow and rounds 5-20 taking place on Sunday, July 12. Chris Young and the Texas Rangers will be tasked with revitalizing a farm system that has been pillaged by trades in recent years, including shipping last year's first-round pick, Gavin Fien, and four other highly rated prospects to the Washington Nationals for Mackenzie Gore over the offseason.

The club's top prospect, Sebastian Walcott, ranks among the best in baseball, though he's missed the entire season thus far with an elbow injury. Texas has gotten good news recently that hints at an accelerated return for the prized youngster, but the system as a whole is lacking in both high-end talent and depth, resulting in a downgrade from No. 24 in the preseason rankings to No. 27 during Baseball America's July update.

That leaves Young little margin for error when the Rangers are on the clock, and past history tells us that he will consider all options and won't be pigeon-holed into selecting one sort of prospect or another.

Rangers 2026 MLB Draft: What is Texas's draft bonus pool and where are they picking in the first round?

By virtue of the Rangers' mediocre 81-81 record in 2025 and being a three-time luxury tax offender by a mere $380,966, Texas will own the 16th overall pick in the first round.

The Rangers did not earn any compensation picks for losing qualified offer free agents, nor did they receive any Prospect Promotion Incentive picks. As a result, they are left with their full complement of draft picks, nothing more, nothing less. Their bonus pool of $10,219,200 is the 18th-highest allotment in the league and is calculated by tallying the assigned slot value of each of their assigned picks.

Who are experts predicting the Rangers will pick?

The experts are all over the map in predicting what Young will do in the first round. You have some projecting the Rangers target two-way high school prospect Jared Grindlinger. Texas has some recent history with two-way youngsters, drafting Josh Owens in the third round last year and signing Seong-Jun Kim out of South Korea last May.

There's the potential for college arms like Liam Peterson from the University of Florida or Hunter Dietz from the University of Arkansas to grab Young's attention. On the hitter side, University of Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron and University of Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell, with the former representing a high-ceiling, low-floor gamble and the latter being a safer if less exciting pick.

TCU outfielder Sawyer Strosnider leads the way for a number of collegiate prospects the Rangers could pluck from their own backyard. Meanwhile, Georgia prep star Trevor Condon could be another thrilling target.

The options feel endless, and Young's past tendencies don't shed much light on which way he's leaning.

Complete list of Rangers' 2026 MLB Draft picks

• First Round - No. 16
• Second Round - No. 54
• Third Round - No. 89
• Fourth Round - No. 117
• Fifth Round - No. 149
• Rangers pick 14th in every round from rounds 6-20

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