Grady Emerson Was The Rays’ 12th Top 10 Pick. How Did The Others Fare?
The Tampa Bay Rays chose shortstop Grady Emerson, the 2026 Gatorade National Player of the Year, with the No. 2 selection in this year's draft. Emerson, an 18-year-old Texan, was the Rays' first top 10 pick since 2017 and 12th overall. Tampa Bay hit it good with the likes of Evan Longoria and David Price. A few other picks were far from stellar, including one who did not make it past Double-A.
Thanks to a fortunate draw during MLB’s draft lottery at the Winter Meetings in Orlando, the Tampa Bay Rays had the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. The club used the selection to choose high school shortstop Grady Emerson, the 2026 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Emerson, an 18-year-old Texan who spent his senior season at Fort Worth Christian playing for former Rangers’ outfielder Rusty Greer, hit .532 (42-for-79) with seven homers, 50 RBI and 31 stolen bases in 28 games. He joined Royals’ shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. as the only high school players to be named Golden Spikes Award (nation’s top amateur player) semifinalists since the award’s inception in 1978.
This year marked the 12th time and first since 2017 that the Rays had a top 10 pick. Below is a glimpse at how the previous such selections fared and the amount they signed for. Emerson had yet sign as of July 15. Shortstop and No. 1 pick, Roch Cholowsky, signed with the White Sox for a reported $10.35 million.
It is easy to wonder what might have become of McKay’s career if not for the injuries. A collegiate sensation at Louisville where the lefty was regarded as one of the best two-way prospects of all-time, he signed for what was a record bonus of $7 million. The Pennsylvania native made his much-anticipated MLB debut in June 2019, and what a debut it was as McKay retired the first 16 Texas Rangers he faced and allowed one hit in six innings. As a pinch-hitter later that season, he hit his first home run. Unfortunately, that was his only season in the big leagues as a torn labrum in 2020 commenced an injury-riddled slide. McKay last played with the Rays’ Double-A affiliate in Montgomery in 2024.
The Georgia high school sensation had all the tools while hitting at least .500 as a junior and senior. Beckham made his MLB debut with the Rays toward the end of the 2013 season and hit .247 with 26 homers in 238 games before he was dealt to Baltimore at the 2017 trade deadline. He batted .394 with a 1.063 OPS (six homers) in his first month with the Orioles before hitting .222 in his roughly remaining 200 MLB games with the O’s, Mariners and Twins.
Price’s bonus was part of a deal he signed that guaranteed $8.25 million. A little more than a year after signing, the Vanderbilt product recorded the final out of the 2008 ALCS. In 2010, the southpaw won 19 games and was second in American League Cy Young voting to Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. Two years later, in 2012, he went 20-5 with a 2.56 ERA and won the award. Price is top three on Tampa Bay career lists in every major pitching category, including wins (82, second) and strikeouts (1,065, third).
Price was traded to Detroit in 2014 in a deal that included minor league shortstop Willy Adames coming to Tampa Bay -- Adames was dealt in May 2021 to Milwaukee in a deal that included Drew Rasmussen coming to the Rays – and he would also take the mound for the Blue Jays, Red Sox and Dodgers. Price had a career mark of 157-82 with a 3.32 ERA.
The face of the Rays for a decade, Longoria was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2008 when the team reached the World Series for the first time. The three-time Gold Glove Award winner, who was selected out of Long Beach State, is Tampa Bay’s all-time leader in several categories, including games (1,435), home runs (261), RBI (892) and runs (780).
Longoria was traded to the Giants for two players (Denard Span, Christian Arroyo) and a pair of minor leaguers following the 2017 season and completed his career with the Diamondbacks in 2023. A .264 career hitter, he slugged 342 homers and drove in 1,159. Longoria’s No. 3 was retired by the Rays last weekend.
A Rice University product, Townsend was also selected eighth overall by the Orioles in 2004 and turned down a $1.85 million bonus. He decided to return to the Owls for his senior season only to sit out the year because he had signed with an agent. His brief professional career was plagued by injuries and twice needed Tommy John surgery. He never rose above Double-A.
Unlike his Rice teammate noted above, Niemann made it to the big leagues. Listed at 6-foot-9 and 285 pounds, the righthander made his debut with the Rays in 2008. He went 36-21 in his only three full seasons (2009-11) before injuries derailed his promising career in 2012. A fractured leg shut Niemann down for four months that season and he exited his first post-injury appearance due to a bum shoulder. He never pitched again.
After a 20-year-old Young debuted in 2006, he played in all 162 games in 2007 while batting .288 with 93 RBI and placed second to Boston’s Dustin Pedroia in AL ROY voting. He was dealt to the Twins that offseason for pitcher Matt Garza and infielder Jason Bartlett. Young’s best year with Minnesota was 2001 when he drove in 112 runs. Injuries soon took a toll on Young, who played for three other teams and briefly returned to the Rays at the end of the 2013 season. He hit .283 with 109 homers in 10 MLB seasons before completing his professional career in Mexico and Australia.
Upton was in the majors only two years after hitting .641 as a senior at his Virginia high school. His first full season with the Rays was 2007 when he hit .300 with 24 homers and 22 stolen bases. Upton then reeled off three straight seasons of 40-plus thefts. He was with Tampa Bay through 2012 and is second on the franchise’s career chart for stolen bases (232), fourth in games (966) and hits (910) and fifth in home runs (118). Upton went on to play for the Braves, Padres and Blue Jays, with whom he played his last MLB game in 2016. He was a .243 career hitter with 164 homers and exactly 300 stolen bases.
The product of Middle Tennessee State was 22 when he debuted in 2002, and his MLB career was over at 26. In 54 appearances (41 starts) over four seasons (2002-05) with Tampa Bay, Brazelton was 8-23 with a 5.98 ERA. In 253 innings, he walked 142 batters, plunked 20 and struck out 136. His final shot in the majors was with the Padres in 2006, and he recorded an ERA of 12.00 in nine appearances.
Tampa Bay selected Baldelli out of high school in Rhode Island. He reached the majors in 2003 and had a productive first two seasons while combining to hit .284 with 152 RBI. He missed all of 2005 with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and hit .302 after returning two months into 2006. Injuries limited him to no more than 150 at-bats in his final four seasons, including one with Boston. Baldelli, who was a .278 career hitter in 519 games, was a Rays’ coach (2012-18) before managing the Twins for seven years (2019-25) and compiling a 527-505 mark. He is currently in the Dodgers’ baseball ops department.
Blessed with immense talent, Hamilton was a two-time Gatorade national player of the year as a high schooler in Raleigh who never played for Tampa Bay. Injuries, substance abuse and suspensions plagued his tenure in the organization’s minor league system and ultimately led to Hamilton, who signed for a what was a record bonus, stepping away from the game for three years. He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007, won a batting title and MVP with the Rangers in 2010, slugged 43 home runs with Texas in 2012 and played a pair of seasons in Anaheim before returning to the Rangers for his final MLB season of 2015. Hamilton hit .290 for his career with 200 homers and an .865 OPS.