​ARLINGTON — Who among us hasn’t indulged one day only to have to tighten the belt the next? The Rangers embraced that reality on the second day of the MLB Draft, as assistant general manager Josh Boyd described after the club concluded its selections Sunday. They had made some big moves with Day 1 picks and will need to allocate a substantial portion of their bonus pool to secure them.
On Saturday, the Rangers used their first three selections on left-handed pitcher Gio Rojas (Stoneman Douglas, Fla.), shortstop Connor Comeau (Anderson, Texas) and left-handed pitcher Brody Bumila (Bishop Feehan, Mass.). Because at least the first and third picks are expected to require first-round money to sign, the club’s spending elsewhere was naturally constrained.
Rojas was picked 16th overall, a slot with a designated value of $5,051,900. Comeau went 54th, a slot valued at $1,805,300. Bumila was taken 89th overall, with injury concerns prompting the offer of “first-round money” to forgo his commitment to Texas, according to The Boston Globe. The smallest first-round designated slot is $3,696,000, and when you add the designated bonuses attached to the first two picks, the trio could push past $10.5 million in total value. The Rangers’ overall pool stands at $10.2 million to spend. While teams may exceed their pool at a penalty, there’s little room for improvisation here, even with savvy negotiations.
Thus, among the Day 2 selections, specifically Nos. 5–10 where designated bonus values still apply, only one appeared on Baseball America’s top 500 list. Boyd noted that after Saturday’s selections, the Rangers’ draft team regrouped to reconfigure the board while still targeting “Rangers players.” “I think what stands out most is the relationships the scouts have with the players,” Boyd said. “To be able to pivot as quickly as they did, to make the numbers work, and to still secure quality. For me, that’s what shines—the ability to pull that off so rapidly.”
On Sunday, the Rangers added Penn State first baseman Michael Anderson with the No. 149 overall pick in the fifth round to begin Day 2. Listed by Baseball America as the No. 263 prospect, Anderson has pitched in only two games since his freshman year. The Rangers plan to develop him as a two-way player. The 22-year-old slashed .358/.470/.742 with 20 home runs at Penn State this season, and after undergoing an internal brace procedure, the organization expects to focus on polishing his hitting before he resumes pitching.
Texas’ full 2026 draft class is below. The round-by-round breakdown reflects the team’s continuing balancing act between premium talent and budgetary constraints, as they aim to maximize return on their early investments while keeping the rest of the pipeline stocked with potential impact players.