Chris Young came into the draft with one clear mission: breathe life back into the Texas Rangers’ farm system. On the surface, he may have already landed a centerpiece in first-rounder Gio Rojas, the top lefty in the class who somehow made it to pick 16. But the Rangers might have found their most intriguing value much later in the day.
That case starts with Brody Bumila, the third-round pick out of Bishop Feehan High School in Massachusetts. At six-foot-nine and 255 pounds, the left-hander brings a rare kind of power.
His fastball has hit 101 mph, and as an 18-year-old, he’s already shown the kind of arm strength that turns heads. His low three-quarters delivery also draws a familiar comparison: Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
Bumila’s stock was far higher than where Texas got him. MLB Pipeline had him at No. 23 on its big board, which makes it all the more striking that he was still available when the Rangers made the 89th pick.
Baseball America had him at No. 64.
That kind of slide usually points to a problem, and in this case the concern is serious.
The lefty had internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his left elbow in 2025, and he has since suffered additional damage to that same UCL that may require another surgery. That means Bumila won’t be back in action anytime soon, and the injury history is enough to make the risk obvious. Still, in that part of the draft, Texas was betting on upside.
And the Rangers kept stacking it. Between Rojas and Bumila, they added Connor Comeau, a prep bat who could end up being one of the best pure hitters in the class. That gives the organization a very different look than it had coming in.
Texas also used its fourth and final pick of the day on Mississippi right-hander Hudson Calhoun at No. 117, its first college selection of the draft. Calhoun brings a deeper arsenal than most of the pitchers taken around him, with five legitimate pitches: a four-seamer, curveball, slider, cutter and changeup. He worked mostly out of the bullpen, but he should get a shot to start.
There are some control issues in his game, which keeps the ceiling from getting too lofty. But Calhoun may offer a safer floor than the others in the class, giving the Rangers a little balance alongside the high-upside swings they took earlier.
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 🡒]