2026 MLB Draft Preview: Gio Rojas scouting report.
The 2026 is less than two weeks away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first
three picks. Today we are looking at Florida high school pitcher lefthanded pitcher Gio Rojas.
Gio Rojas is a 6’4″, 190 lb. lefthanded pitcher out of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Rojas turns 19 today. He is committed to the University of Miami, though it appears unlikely he will actually hit campus.
Rojas has a quality fastball that sits in the mid-90s and has touched 98 with high spin. BA says his size and athleticism are such that he has the potential to reach triple digit with his fastball as he matures. He has a slider as his primary secondary, with big movement and high spin that gives high school batters fits and results in a lot of swings and misses. His third pitch is a changeup that, as is the case with most high school pitchers, he’s rarely had to use, and which will need work.
Rojas is tall and athletic, with what is describe as a clean three-quarters delivery and very good arm action. He has good control for a pitcher of his age and with his stuff, and per MLB Pipeline, he commands his fastball well to both sides of the plate. The total package gives him top of the rotation potential.
Baseball America has Rojas at #17 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Rojas at #8 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Rojas at #14 on his top 150 list. Keith Law has Rojas at #25 on his board. Fangraphs has Rojas at #9 on their board. Baseball Prospectus has Rojas at #22 on their top 30 draft board.
In the June 8 Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Rojas going to the Royals at #6. The BA staff draft on June 15 has Rojas going to the Cubs at #23. The BA mock draft 5.0 of June 29 has Rojas going to the Braves at #9, but also mentions the Rangers as a possible landing spot for him. Jim Callis’s June 4 mock draft has Rojas to the Braves at #9. Jonathan Mayo’s June 11 mock draft has Rojas going to the D-Backs at #15. Jim Callis’s June 18 mock draft has Rojas mocked to the Braves at #9. The June 25 Callis/Mayo mock has Reese going to the Braves at #9. Keith Law’s May mock draft has Rojas going to the Padres at #21. Law’s June 10 mock draft has Rojas going to the Angels at #12. Kiley McDaniel’s May 29 mock draft has Rojas going to the Royals at #6. Kiley McDaniel’s June 18 mock draft has Rojas going to the Padres at #21.
I was debating whether to include Rojas, given that he’s generally expected to be off the board when the Rangers pick at #16. BA mentioning him as a possibility for Texas in this latest mock draft led me to decide to write him up.
When I read the reports on Rojas, I think he won’t get out of the top 10. However, teams have gotten much more leery about taking high school pitchers in recent years — Keith Law mentions that only six different teams have taken a high school pitcher in the first round in the last four years. The Rangers haven’t taken a high school pitcher in the first two rounds since 2018, when they took Cole Winn and Owen White in the first two rounds.
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