Grady Emerson and the Tampa Bay Rays came to an agreement on a signing bonus on Wednesday, July 22. The high school prospect from Texas signed with the Rays for $9.75 million.
Emerson was selected second overall in the 2026 MLB Draft. The pick value at number two overall this year was $10.51 million. Regardless of Emerson’s deal being at underslot value, it is the highest signing bonus ever for a high school prospect in the draft. It is also the second-highest signing bonus ever for any prospect in the draft.
The highest bonus ever went to the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky. He signed with the Chicago White Sox for $10.35 million.
Emerson and Cholowsky’s deals shattered the previous MLB Draft signing bonus record. That record was held by Wake Forest’s Chase Burns and Georgia’s Charlie Condon at $9.3 million. Both of those players were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, with Burns being selected second overall by the Cincinnati Reds and Condon being selected third overall by the Colorado Rockies.
Emerson and his high school baseball career
Leading up to the 2026 MLB Draft, Emerson moved past Cholowsky to take MLB Pipeline’s spot as the number one draft prospect.
The shortstop played high school baseball for Fort Worth Christian High School in Texas. In his senior season, he had a .508 batting average and had a .915 slugging percentage. Emerson also had eight home runs, 56 RBIs, and scored 61 runs in his final season of high school baseball.
Recently, Emerson was honored at the 2026 ESPYs Awards in New York City and won the Gatorade Best Male Player of the Year. This award at the ESPYs is given to the top high school athletes.
Emerson is joining the Tampa Bay organization that contains a fellow former number one high school player from Texas. The Rays’ top farm system prospect, Theo Gillen, was also ranked as the number one high school player in Texas in the class of 2024.
Gillen was selected in the first round with the 18th overall pick by the Rays in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Much like Gillen, Emerson should be a fascinating and fun prospect to monitor. According to MLB Pipeline reporter Jim Callis, he is “the best pure hitter in this draft.”
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PHOTO: A cow nose stingray swims in tank over the outfield of Tropicana Field before a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles Friday, April, 8, 2022 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Scott Audette)
