The Rays have agreed to a $9.75 million deal with shortstop Grady Emerson, whom they selected with the No. 2 overall pick in this year's Draft, a source told MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis on Wednesday. The club has not confirmed the deal.
Emerson's deal is the highest Draft bonus in history for a high school player, and the second highest for any player, behind this year's No. 1 overall pick, Roch Cholowsky.
Asked how quickly he hopes to move through the Minor Leagues and join the Rays, the 18-year-old Emerson from Fort Worth (Texas) Christian School set an aggressive timeline.
“My goal is to be in the [Majors] by 20 years old, so maybe a year and a half, two years,” Emerson said. “I want to prove that I can develop. I really trust in this Rays organization to develop me and to put everything they’ve got into me, just like I'm gonna do for them.”
It’s a lofty goal for a player with potential to spare. Generally considered to be the best pure hitter and the prospect with the highest ceiling in this year’s Draft, Emerson is the Rays’ highest selection since they had back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in 2007 (David Price) and ’08 (Tim Beckham).
The Rays are enamored with Emerson’s ability to hit, and they were thrilled to land the 6-foot-3 left-handed batter between the White Sox taking Cholowsky first overall out of UCLA and the Twins selecting Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third. They had been in contact with Emerson for a long time, led by the work of area scout Chris Hom, and they sealed a strong relationship about a month ago with a private workout and dinner with him and his family.
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Emerson has a tremendous toolset that is reminiscent of Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. In fact, after Emerson transferred from Argyle High School to Fort Worth Christian, Texas, he came under the tutelage of one of Witt’s former mentors: former Major League outfielder and current Fort Worth Christian head coach Rusty Greer. Emerson has even said he considers Witt a mentor after meeting him while Witt was in high school in nearby Colleyville.
“Even though he might not realize it, he's been a huge influence on me,” said Emerson, who noted he received a congratulatory text message from Witt on Saturday. “Getting to watch him, getting to see how he goes about his business, it's kind of set the standard for me, especially with Rusty being my coach.”
Emerson was named the 2026 Gatorade Player of the Year for Texas and also the National Gatorade Player of the Year. In May, he was named a semifinalist for this year’s Golden Spikes Award, becoming only the second high school player since 1948 to be nominated for the prestigious honor, joining Witt.
Defensively, Emerson is a rangy shortstop with an ability to make difficult plays look easier than they really are. MLB Pipeline considers him a “lock” to remain at short in the big leagues, and he’s expected to add value on the basepaths as well.
“My dream is to be like a Bobby Witt Jr., win a Platinum Glove and Gold Glove and all that stuff,” Emerson said. “Overall, I think I’m just a hard-working player who’s going to impact the game on both sides of the baseball.”