Rays have a different view of MLB draft with No. 2 pick, but same plan
With the Rays holding the No. 2 pick in next month's draft, you might think amateur scouting director Chuck Ricci's job has been simpler this year.
Decide on your top two, wait for the White Sox to make the top pick, you've got your guy.
"I mean, it sounds easier," Ricci said Friday. "Ask me on draft day."
The Rays have been preparing intensely for this decision since the winter meetings draft lottery, when - with the magic touch of 2020 World Series standout Brett Phillips as their team rep - they moved up to second in the order.
(Record-wise, they would have picked 10th, but due to MLB rules limiting teams' lottery appearances they were slotted seventh.)
The Rays haven't picked this high since 2008, when they took Tim Beckham No. 1. Yes, while passing on Buster Posey, Eric Hosmer and some others of note. In the 17 drafts since then, they've only picked in the top 12 once, taking Brendan McKay fourth overall in 2017.
The day after the lottery, Ricci - who took over as director for the 2023 draft - messaged his scouts and staff to tell them their prep work would be no different with the higher pick and to proceed as planned.
"I just said, ‘Hey, we have a really good process, and this isn't going to change the process at all,'" Ricci said.
Six months later, and with four weeks to go, he said, "it's been business as usual."
The only significant difference is that the Rays have concentrated on a smaller group of players in terms of meetings (including with family and personal coaches), attending games and workouts, and doing deep analytical dives.
With a $10,507,000 slot value for that pick, as part of an overall $19,009,300 pool for their 21 picks, they understandably want to be as thorough as they can.
"In that sense, I think it does make it easier," Ricci said. "Does that equal success? Not always."
But that group is not as small as you might think.
For weeks, there has been consensus among the national draft experts - Baseball America, ESPN, mlb.com, The Athletic - on a trio of players clearly at the top of the draft, usually ranked in this order: UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, Fort Worth (Texas) Christian High shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey.
But there is now chatter of other scenarios - some legit, some planted for negotiating purposes, some invented - and that may get louder leading up to draft day.
(Plus, there is always a possibility that late word could surface of an injury or off-field issue with a top player, causing a shuffle of plans.)
The latest mock drafts offer less certainty about the top three, suggesting other players could be in that mix, such as UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora (the No. 1 pitching prospect) and Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell (who the Rays took 66th overall out of high school in 2024 but didn't sign).
Baseball's draft is different, as teams have a set pool of money for the 20 rounds, plus additional picks awarded for assorted reasons, that they can spend however they want (and go over for a penalty fee).
For example, a team could cut a deal with a lower-ranked player in the first round for a below-slot bonus, then use the "savings" in later rounds to overpay players who, not coincidentally, discouraged other teams from taking them by demanding above-slot bonuses or otherwise not signing.
The Rays have some flexibility with the benefit of a competitive balance-round pick at No. 33, and then their second-round pick at No. 49, third at No. 85 and so on through the 20 rounds.
"With the Rays, we spend our pool money," Ricci said. "It's our No. 1 way to acquire talent. So whatever you do up top is going to be how you react the rest of the draft - whether you spread that money out, if you spend it more on the first three picks, or you carry money (not spent on the top pick to use on lower-round picks.)
"There's a lot of different ways to be productive. We have over $19 million to spend throughout the draft, so you want to use it wisely."
What you don't want to do, Ricci said, is "to pin yourself" into a certain philosophy or commit to an "exact plan" of who to take when.
"Then all of a sudden someone's there or someone's slipping, maybe because of their financial demands, and with our pool money you want to be able to react as it goes," he said. "Yes, you've got it down to maybe four or five guys at this time, but that doesn't mean that 33rd pick, that 49th pick, and after that, that you can't be very creative. We plan on spending every penny of that pool money."
Plus, as Ricci also stresses to the staff, "all these picks are important, and they come with opportunity and upside for the organization."
The Rays on Friday hosted a workout for draft prospects at Tropicana Field, their fifth of the week at sites around the country. Over the next few weeks, they will continue to meet with players and conduct individual workouts. Then they'll attend the June 22-27 MLB draft combine in Phoenix, Arizona, which includes interviews, on-field workouts, and medical, strength, conditioning and performance evaluations.
"We're pretty close to the finish line," Ricci said. "We feel like we're in really good shape with knowing these players."
So how close to the 1 p.m. start of the draft on July 11 will they know who they will pick?
That likely will come down to whether the White Sox make their intentions known by striking a pre-draft deal with the top pick.
"It could be the night before, it could be right up until (the start)," Ricci said. "I think it depends on what happens ahead of you. It depends on finances. There's just so much that plays into it that you just have to be very flexible and ready to go a bunch of different directions.
"The biggest mistake you can make in scouting, whether you pick No. 30 or you pick 2, is to kind of settle on one player too early. You have to just let it play out and be prepared to go a lot of different directions with different players, and not be afraid to do that."
Past precedent
The Rays have had a top-five pick nine times previously; here's who they chose, and their career WAR:
1999: OF Josh Hamilton, 1st, 28.1
2001: RHP Dewon Brazelton, 3rd, -3.1
2002: SS BJ Upton, 2nd, 16.5
2003: OF Delmon Young, 1st, 3.2
2004: RHP Jeff Niemann, 4th, 4.3
2006: 3B Evan Longoria, 3rd, 58.9
2007: LHP David Price, 1st, 40.2
2008: SS Tim Beckham, 1st, 3.9
2017: LHP/1B Brendan McKay, 4th, -0.1
Source: baseball-reference.com
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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 8:24 AM.