Rojas is the highest high school pitcher selected by Texas since 2018
Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today selected left-handed pitcher Gio Rojas from Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) High School in the first round (16th overall) of the 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
The 19-year-old Rojas went 11-1 with a 0.58 ERA (6 ER/72.2 IP) and 124 strikeouts against 17 walks in 13 appearances for Stoneman Douglas this spring. He pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in the 2026 Florida Class 7A state championship game, helping the Eagles capture their sixth consecutive state title. Rojas was named the Broward County 7A-5A Pitcher of the Year by the Miami Herald for the second straight season, also earning the honor after his 2025 junior campaign in which he posted a 13-0 record and 0.72 ERA (7 ER/68.0 IP).
Rojas was a member of the Team USA 18-and-under National Team in 2025, earning All-World Starting Pitcher distinctions at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in which the United States placed first. The 6-foot-4 southpaw tossed 11.0 scoreless innings in the tournament, including a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts against Korea and 4.0 scoreless frames vs. Panama. Rojas began his Team USA tenure in 2024 when he was invited to the 16U/17U National Team Development Program.
The Rangers selected a high school pitcher with the club’s initial pick in the draft for the first time in eight years, when Texas selected right-handed pitcher Cole Winn from Orange Lutheran (Calif.) High School with the 15th overall pick of the 2018 MLB Draft. Rojas is the first left-handed pitcher chosen with the Rangers first pick since Cole Ragans was selected 30th overall from North Florida Christian (Fla.) High School in 2016.
Rojas becomes the highest draft selection in Stoneman Douglas school history, a program that has produced several Major League players including first baseman Anthony Rizzo (2007 6th round by Boston), left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo (2016 3rd round by Washington), and outfielder Roman Anthony (2022 2nd round by Boston). The Rangers have now selected three Stoneman Douglas products in the last eight drafts since 2019, most recently 2024 5th-rounder Devin Fitz-Gerald, whose father Todd is the head coach of the Eagles program.
MLB Pipeline tabbed Rojas as the top-ranked high school pitcher, 2nd-ranked pitching prospect, and 8th-ranked overall prospect entering the 2026 Draft. He was also named Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball in both 2025 and 2026, an award previously won by Alex Rodriguez (1993) and Andrew McCutchen (2005).
The 2026 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continues this afternoon and evening with a total of 135 selections expected to be made through the Fourth Round Compensation Picks. The Rangers are scheduled to have three more selections tonight: pick no. 54 at 4:03 p.m. CT (second round), no. 89 at 5:35 p.m. CT (third round), and no. 117 at 6:15 p.m. CT (fourth round; all times are approximate). The Draft will continue tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. CT with rounds 5-20, concluding at approximately 6:45 p.m. CT. The club will have pick no. 149 overall in the fifth round and will then select 14th in each of rounds 6-20 to finish the draft.
