Rays projected to take Alabama standout with second pick in 2026 MLB Draft

Back in December, the draft lottery set the order for the first round of the 2026 MLB Draft. Teams know where they are picking and can start putting their big board together. 

The Chicago White Sox are the lucky team that will be selecting first overall, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Minnesota Twins. Rounding out the top five includes the San Francisco Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Luckily for the Rays, they already have a sense of what will happen before them. Many analysts have had the White Sox taking UCLA's Roch Cholowsky for a while now, and he has gotten out to a hot start this season. 

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Rays projected to take Alabama standout with second pick in 2026 MLB Draft

With Cholowsky set to be the No. 1 pick, the Rays can assess the field without having to worry about another team taking their pick. 

There will be loads of talent to choose from, so the front office has to decide whether they feel more comfortable going the high school or college route. They went the college route last year, and Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter believes they will do the same again this year, drafting Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron.

"While he doesn't have the same overall polish or elite-level hit tool, Lebron is a better athlete than Cholowsky with louder raw power. After slugging 30 home runs his first two seasons at Alabama, he is hitting .300/.449/.750 with eight long balls and 15 steals through 16 games this year. More importantly, he has trimmed his strikeout rate from 24.2 to 14.1 percent, and if that trend continues in SEC play, he will cement his status as a top-five pick."

While he is not as polished as Cholowsky, he is a better overall athlete, and his raw power cannot be ignored. He is off to a solid start this year, which should only help the Rays feel more comfortable that he is a No. 2 pick.

More MLB news:

• It's becoming more and more clear who the White Sox will draft first overall
• Twins linked to the top high school draft prospect with third overall pick
• Giants projected to take UC Santa Barbara's ace in the 2026 MLB Draft
• Pirates linked to Georgia Tech's big-time slugger as a potential first-round pick
• A's projected to take one of the top HS prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft