Top High School Player In The 2026 MLB Draft Class

Welcome back to our offseason scouting series for the 2026 draft class. In this series, weâ€ll be examining some of the top players in the class by getting into the weeds with video, data and reporting as we prepare for the 2026 spring season. You can find all of our previous offseason scouting installments here. Today, weâ€re taking a look at Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson.

Emerson is the top-ranked high school player in the 2026 class and No. 2 overall, behind only UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky. He has a lengthy track record of high-level performance with Argyle (Texas) High, but transferred to Fort Worth Christian High in North Richland Hills, Texas, for his senior season. This summer, Emerson became the first USA Baseball player to play for two 18U national teams and two 15U national teams. He helped lead the 2025 18U national team to a gold medal as the teamâ€s leadoff hitter and starting third baseman. Originally a TCU commit, Emerson flipped to a Texas commitment in November 2024. 

Body & Swing

Listed at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, Emerson is a lean and projectable lefthanded hitter. He has some present strength in his lower half, but looks like a player who is going to add plenty of good mass in the coming years. Heâ€s a high-waisted player with a narrow frame, and he doesnâ€t seem likely to add the sort of strength that would eventually force him off an up-the-middle position. 

Emerson has an extremely balanced and repeatable swing. He has a slight crouch and a slightly open setup with his feet, and he features very little movement with his hands in his pre-pitch load and during the swing itself. Emerson starts his hands around his back shoulder and takes a simple, small leg kick to get started with his lower half. His hands make a bit of a down and back move in his load before firing the barrel through the zone with a slightly uphill path.

In two-strike counts, Emerson gets marginally wider and deeper into his lower half, but his swing is remarkably consistent from pitch to pitch and when looking at BP or game film. His head is incredibly steady throughout the swing, showing no up-or-down movement that would otherwise disrupt his timing or vision. He consistently finishes his swing in control with good balance. 

Overall, Emersonâ€s swing is direct and repeatable with no wasted movement. He looks like a natural hitter. 

Approach & Contact

Emerson amplifies his smooth hitting mechanics with strong swing decisions and above-average hand-eye coordination.

He recognizes pitches out of the hand at a high level and understands the strike zone. Emerson has consistently walked more than heâ€s struck out throughout his career, and heâ€s confident spitting on pitches just off the plate. He rarely swings and misses and has shown an impressive ability to barrel the baseball in any quadrant of the zone. He uses the entire field and is both capable and willing to hit the ball where itâ€s pitched. 

In 297 plate appearances logged by Synergy Sports, Emerson has managed an 18% miss rate and 18% chase rate. When looking at only 2025 logged events, it’s a 23% miss rate and 17% chase rate. 

Like most high school hitters, Emerson will need more reps against consistent 90+ mph velocity. His miss rate jumps against pitches in this category, and in a 106-pitch 2025 sample, he slashed .207/.324/.276 with a 27% miss rate against those pitches. However, at the 2025 Area Code Games—not accounted for in this sample—Emerson looked entirely unfazed against mid-90s velocity. 

Emerson has traditionally been a patient and selective hitter who gets on base at a high clip. With the 2025 18U National team, he hit .346/.526/.423 with a team-high eight walks and four strikeouts. 

Power

While Emersonâ€s pure hitting ability stands out more than his raw power, he has made strides in this department in recent years. 

Almost all of the power Emerson does show comes to the pull side. He will flash solid pullside power in batting practice, and he also finished second in the 2025 high school home run derby. In games, however, heâ€s more of a gap-to-gap hitter who will collect more doubles than home runs.

Overall, this is the piece of Emersonâ€s game that requires the most projection. He should be able to grow into at least average in-game power production—roughly 19-22 home runs over the course of a full pro season—thanks to his physical projection, bat speed and feel for the barrel. 

Speed

Emerson is a solid runner, but not a burner. Heâ€s been a plus runner at times, and when underway, he can turn in impressive run times. At Perfect Gameâ€s National showcase, his 60-yard dash was good for 23rd among 226 total runners.

Throughout the summer, many of Emerson’s in-game home-to-first times clocked around the 4.20-4.25 second range, which are average to fringe-average run times for a lefthanded hitter. Occasionally, he’ll take a few steps to get going out of the box. 

Fielding

Emerson has experience all over the infield, but heâ€ll begin his career as a shortstop and should have the tools to stick there and be a good defender. Heâ€s an instinctive shortstop with soft, reliable hands and the ability to make impact plays going to both his left and right.

Emerson’s internal clock is advanced. He understands when he has time to set and fully load up for throws and when he needs to get rid of the ball quickly. His exchange is quick and deft, and his footwork around the field is rock solid. He takes good angles to the baseball on slow-rollers and has also done a nice job positioning himself effectively to make plays while ranging to his arm side deep in the 5-6 hole.

Emerson is not the flashiest defender youâ€ll see at the position, but heâ€s extremely reliable and does have the sort of athleticism that allows him to make an occasional highlight-reel play while diving on a ball up the middle. 

Arm

Emersonâ€s arm looks like a clear plus tool.

His ability to generate velocity on throws across the infield from a spot deep in the hole is advanced for his age and level. He gets great carry on his throws when he needs to and has the requisite arm strength to make throws from any position on the infield. At third base, heâ€s made a number of impressive throws while working away from the first base bag to his arm side.

Emerson seems equally comfortable throwing while on the run for slow rollers or while ranging up the middle from the shortstop position. He can throw from multiple arm slots when necessary and is adept at throwing accurately while on the run or after making a spin on a challenging ball that pulls him far towards his glove side.

In Summary

Emersonâ€s pure hitting ability drives his profile. He possesses one of the most impressive hit tools in the 2026 class, and it gives him a chance to be a legitimate plus hitter. But heâ€s also an advanced, instinctive and well-rounded player without many clear holes in his game.

The largest disagreements about Emerson could revolve around his power projection and questions about how much impact heâ€ll get to at physical maturity.

Still, itâ€s hard to not see a hitter who will be able to provide batting average and on-base value while sticking at shortstop. Next in an impressive line of recent Dallas-area prep shortstops that includes Bobby Witt Jr. (2019, 2nd), Jordan Lawlar (2021, 6th) and Jett Williams (2022, 14th), Emerson should go in a similar overall range on draft day next summer.

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