Baseball America’s latest staff draft has the Rangers taking a big swing on upside.
With Texas slotted to pick 16th in the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft, set for July 11, Baseball America’s group of prospect evaluators projected the club to land Trevor Condon, an 18-year-old prep slugger from Etowah High School in Woodstock, Georgia. He’s the kind of player who gets people talking: loud tools, obvious talent, and enough rough edges to split opinions.
Condon brings real electricity to the table. He stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 175 pounds, but the frame is only part of the story.
He’s expected to add strength over time, and even now he already shows the kind of bat speed that jumps off the page. His barrel control and ability to generate plus exit velocity help his power play up without a huge physical build.
Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo put it plainly: “He has an endearing hair-on-fire play style.”
That edge shows up all over his game. Condon has drawn Pete Crow-Armstrong comparisons because of his plus-plus speed and the way he can turn that speed into pressure on the bases. He’s the type who makes defenders and battery mates feel him every time he gets on.
He also brings value in center field. His quick-twitch athleticism and ability to cover the power alleys make him a plus defender there, and he looks likely to remain in center as he moves up.
But the swing is where the debate starts. Condon’s left-handed stroke is unconventional, with a noticeable hitch that drops the barrel before he brings it through the zone.
That kind of looping action is exactly what makes some scouts uneasy, especially when projecting how it will hold up against better pitching in the minors. Coaches could try to clean it up, though plenty of high-level hitters have succeeded with unorthodox mechanics.
For now, the swing has worked just fine. Condon has put together a decorated high school resume, earning first-team All-State and Maz-Preps all-star honors while posting a ridiculous .522 career batting average.
Texas would be betting on the raw talent and the room to grow. That fits the broader draft chatter around the Rangers, who have also been connected to other boom-or-bust names. Justin Lebron has been mocked to Texas, while Liam Peterson has been mentioned as the pitching version of a tools-over-production prospect.
The key difference, at least in this conversation, is that Lebron and Peterson are college players with more mileage already on them. Condon is younger and rougher, which makes the risk obvious. It also gives him more runway to develop, which is why some might view him as the safer long-term play.
In Other News...
Rangers Fans Are Suddenly Rethinking A First Round Pick
Justin Foscue has gone from a name attached to frustration to one that is starting to look a lot more interesting for the Rangers. The 2020 first-round pick has taken a real step forward in 2026, hitting .290/.363/.570 with seven home runs over 43 games, a stretch that has forced a fresh look at a player who once seemed stuck after a rough start in the majors.
The turnaround matters because it changes how Texas can think about a former top pick whose early big-league numbers had left plenty of doubt. Foscue is no longer just a prospect story or a reminder of past struggles, and his work against left-handed pitching has made him more than a feel-good rebound candidate. The bigger question now is how much of this surge the Rangers can count on going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers May Have Landed The Draft Bat They Couldn't Pass Up
The Rangers added a familiar name to their draft haul in the second round, taking Anderson High School shortstop and third baseman Connor Comeau out of Austin. Texas had already shown plenty of interest in the local bat, and the appeal is easy to see: Comeau is viewed as a high-end hitter with a polished offensive profile, the kind of player clubs are willing to wait on because the bat gives him a real chance to move quickly.
Comeau is listed as a shortstop, but the long-term fit in Texas is more likely to be at third base, where the Rangers can keep his bat in the lineup and let the defense settle in behind it. He also arrives with the kind of reputation that made him hard for the front office to ignore, even with the uncertainty that comes with a high school hitter, and now the organization gets to see how that profile plays out once the real development work begins. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Draft Strategy Is Finally Starting To Look Like A Real Edge
For a franchise that spent years searching for a draft formula it could trust, the Rangers are starting to see real return on the first-round bets theyve made since 2019. Josh Jung has become a lineup fixture, Justin Foscue has grown into a useful on-base presence, and Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker are no longer just names attached to draft-day intrigue. Even Cole Winn has found a lane in the bullpen, giving Texas a broader base of homegrown depth than it has had in a while.
That matters now because the Rangers are heading into the draft with the 16th overall pick and a front office that can point to a recent track record instead of a hope-and-pray philosophy. The bigger question is whether this run of hits is the start of a true organizational edge or just a strong stretch that still needs one more impact player to make it feel complete. [Read more 🡒]