For this next Rays Reacts poll, we asked who y’all thought the Rays will draft at No. 2 overall in the 2026 draft, and after a close vote the answer was — for me — surprising!
Has the lesson of Buster Posey come home to roost?
For a long time Cholowsky has been heralded as the top pick in this draft — and he might still be — but it’s become a three horse race in recent days alongside Emerson and Lackey, and the three are typically ranked in that order across the blogosphere.
Put in a similar position where a top ranked catcher was among the top draft prospects, the Rays passed on Florida State catcher Buster Posey to take a top ranked high school shortstop back in 2008, and we all know how that went. Can the Rays let another top flight catcher pass them by almost 20 years later?
For those interested, our friends at FanDuel — who sponsored this post — have a specific “MLB Draft Futures” section with markets like odds for who will be selected with the No. 1 overall pick (and other early picks. Players such as Grady Emerson, Roch Cholowsky, Vahn Lackey, Jacob Lombard, Drew Burress, plus “Any Other Player” can be wagered at the various high draft positions.
The MLB draft is scheduled for July 11–12, 2026 (first round and early picks on July 11 starting at 1:00 PM ET), and the futures markets are live right now.
