The Texas Rangers selected prep left-hander Gio Rojas with the 16th pick in the MLB Draft. He wants to hit triple digits with his fastball soon.
Gio Rojas is good. Very good. So good that the Texas Rangers did not expect the left-hander to be available Saturday when their first pick in the MLB Draft, No. 16 overall, came around.
He was rated in the top 10 on many draft boards and considered the top prep pitcher in the 2026 class. When he was still available for the Rangers, they couldn’t get their pick to the commissioner soon enough.
Rojas became the pitcher selected in the first round by the Rangers since right-hander Kumar Rocker in 2022 and the first prep pitcher selected since righty Cole Winn in 2018. Similar to Winn, Rojas moved from Colorado to attend high school in a baseball hotbed.
Similar to the Winn pick, the Rangers were surprised to find Rojas available.
“In my estimation, the best pitcher in the draft,” amateur scouting director Kip Fagg said. “When doing all our preparation, we thought that there was a limited chance that Gio was going to be there, and very ecstatic that he was.”
Rojas, for his part, seemed equally ecstatic — or maybe relieved — that his journey to professional baseball could begin. He said that he fully intends to sign with the Rangers and forgo a commitment to Miami.
He was the first of three consecutive prep players selected on Day 1 by the Rangers, who had been college-heavy in past first rounds.
Rojas’ goal is to find a “groove” early on in pro ball, which appears to translate to finding the right regimen to help him get better than he already is. He went 11-1 with a 0.58 ERA, 13 walks and 124 strikeouts this season with a fastball that topped out at 98 mph.
He wants 100, which he and scouts believe he can reach by adding muscle to his 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame.
“We’re going to start working and do what I got to do to grow, get better and hit the triple digits,” he said.
Rojas also tossed 11 scoreless innings for the Team USA 18U team, which included infielder Brody Schumaker.
Yes, he’s the son of Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, and the two met twice.
“He’s been my boy since,” Rojas said. “I just like his vibe.”
Fagg described Rojas as a low-slot lefty, with a sweeper, a breaking ball and a changeup, and facing him is a “very uncomfortable at-bat.”
He is tested thanks to his time on the big stage — with Team USA, at perennial powerhouse Stoneman Douglas and on the summer circuit. Rojas said his best trait is staying composed, something learned by playing against top competition.
Throw in what Rojas does with his arm, Fagg said, and he has a solid foundation to build up.
“Some kind of competitor, some kind of pitcher, some kind of stuff,” Fagg said.
The Rangers were thrilled with the rest of their day, selecting players they had targeted. Two of them were highly touted high-school players who some believed were draft steals in the second and third round.
First up was Connor Comeau, a shortstop from Austin Anderson High School and a Texas A&M commit who was selected with the 54th overall pick. The third-rounder (89th overall) was another prep left-hander, Brody Bumila, from Bishop Feehan High in Massachusetts.
Bumila is an interesting selection. He’s 6-foot-9 and hit 100 mph, but he needs elbow surgery for the second time. A Texas commit, Bumila told reporters in Massachusetts that he will have surgery next week with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington.
Also, he said that the Rangers offered him first-round money. However it shakes out and whenever he debuts, the Rangers feel as if they landed an elite prospect in the third round.
“It’s just a very, very special, unique talent,” assistant general manager Josh Boyd said. “Getting to meet him at the [draft] combine only added to that because you see what a mature young man he is, very driven, high aspirations and goals for himself.”
The Rangers finally went with a college player in the fourth round, the last pick of the first day of the draft, with Mississippi righty Hudson Calhoun. The draft resumes Sunday with Rounds 5-20.
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com
