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Rangers open draft with left-hander Gio Rojas for Little Elm

Texas selected high-school left-hander Gio Rojas with the 16th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

Tessa Esparza

July 12, 20261 min read

Baseball draft - illustration, Jake Team LLC
Baseball draft - illustration, Jake Team LLC

Little Elm, Texas — The Texas Rangers selected left-handed pitcher Gio Rojas with the 16th overall pick in Saturday's opening round of the 2026 MLB Draft.

MLB reported that Rojas has reached 98 mph with his fastball and also throws a sweeping slider and changeup. He completed his senior season with a 0.58 ERA over 72 innings and 124 strikeouts.

Rangers amateur scouting director Kip Fagg said the club had prepared for several outcomes and was ready when Rojas was still available at its selection.

Rojas, 19, pitched at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. MLB Pipeline ranked him eighth among draft prospects and identified him as one of the leading left-handed pitching prospects in the class.

Texas continues its draft work Sunday in rounds five through 20, adding players to its player-development system.

Little Elm is within the North Texas fan market for the Arlington-based Rangers, who made Rojas their first selection of the draft.

Sources:

https://www.mlb.com/rangers/news/rangers-select-gio-rojas-with-no-16-pick-in-2026-mlb-draft

https://www.espn.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers

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Tessa Esparza

Tessa Esparza covers Little Elm high school and area college sports.

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