The back half of the MLB Draft is where we leave the bonus pool minimums behind. Some players might sign for pretty decent amounts, but it’s the wild west and most will not demand much compensation to fill the Rays org needs.
Out of their 21 selections overall, the Rays took 17 pitchers, and that includes every pick in rounds 11-20. Here’s how it shook out.
Advertisement
RHP Logan Georges (HS, CA) – 11/323
The star of the show for picks 11-20, he’ll be in line to demand whatever is left of the Rays bonus pool. He’s 6-foot-5.
While Georges has long had size and arm strength, his path to being a high-level Draft prospect was anything but certain. As a sophomore at Clovis High School outside of Fresno, California, Georges blew out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery. He returned to the mound in time for league play as a junior in 2025, then put the injury further in his rearview by throwing at a myriad of summer showcase events, including Major League Baseball’s All-American Game, Perfect Game National and the Area Code Games. While Georges’ senior year has had some ups and downs, he still brings an ideal 6-foot-5 pitching frame to the mound with the chance to have a quality three-pitch mix with excellent metrics under the surface. He’ll throw his fastball in the 92-96 mph range; it can have carry and ride, and he also has a two-seamer with good sink. He’ll flash a plus low-80s slider that can miss bats, giving him an effective sinker-sweeper combination at times. He’s shown glimpses of a very solid 84-85 mph changeup with sink and fade he’ll throw to hitters on both sides of the plate. Georges hasn’t always thrown quality strikes this spring, and at times, things can snowball for him on the mound. He’ll also be 19 come Draft time, which might ding him in some teams’ models. Even so, his stuff and the data behind it could be enough to get teams interested in signing him away from his commitment to Texas Christian.
[MLB Pipeline – 126]
[…] high-spin pitch mix and a chance for multiple plus offerings. His fastball is regularly in the low 90s and has been up to 94-95 mph […] low-80s slider, which has impressive late biting action and easy plus potential. […] solid mid-80s changeup. […] a well-rounded starter profile.
[Baseball America – 288]
RHP Cole Stokes (4YR JR, Florida State) – 12/353
Surprisingly, Stokes is only the third Seminole drafted by the Rays in franchise history.
Stokes is a stuff monster with a pair of pitches that could be plus or better, but his command and pitchability hold him back. Stokes is a California native who spent two seasons with Oregon, then transferred to Florida State for the 2026 season. […] gnarly 22.7% walk rate. Listed at 6-foot-6, 230 pounds, Stokes has a big league frame and a quick, whippy arm that he delivers from a low slot. He throws a turbo sinker that’s consistently in the upper 90s and has touched 97. He pairs the fastball with a mid-80s sweeper with tons of gloveside break. Both pitches are swing-and-miss offerings, but he also has a career walk rate hovering around 20%, which would be unplayable in pro ball. If he can figure out a way to throw the ball over the plate more frequently, he could be a useful weapon in a major league pen.
[Baseball America – 385]
RHP Steven Gonzalez (HS, FL) – 13/383
A prep arm with extension that jumped his fastball into the low 90’s with consistency this season. He’s a Mater Academy HS (Hialeah Gardens in Miami, FL) graduate committed to FSU.
Ben’s take: 3/4 slot, easy mechanics with a fastball in the low 90s and feel for a couple breaking balls. 6’3 frame, projectable.
Advertisement
RHP Mason Bixby (4YR JR, Oklahoma) – 14/413
6′ 7″ 239lbs and 100 mph fastball. What more do you want?
RHP Ashton “Amp” Phillips (4YR JR, South Carolina) – 15/443
Ashton Michael Phillips, a.k.a. Amp, is a 6-foot-1 fireballer with a kick change.
[…] high-energy pitcher whose competitiveness is evident every time he takes the mound. He started his career at Spartanburg Methodist, but missed most of the 2024 season with a back injury, then transferred to South Carolina Upstate in 2025 and South Carolina in 2026, where he added plenty of volume as a starter […] reliable strike-thrower, but is a bit undersized with a compact, slight frame. Phillips averages 92-93 mph and touches 95-96 with his fastball. He has solid command of his fringe-average, slurvy slider in the upper 70s and low 80s, and will mix in a shorter, mid-80s cutter. Phillips has thrown a mid-80s changeup more often in 2026. While he pitched as a starter for two seasons, his size and fringy strikes could allow him to profile better as a reliever in pro ball.
[Baseball America – 342]
RHP Alex Philpott (4YR JR, South Carolina) – 16/473
An intra-SEC transfer from Florida to USC, going from bullpen to starter for his new school, he’s 6′ 6″.
He missed time early in the season with elbow discomfort, but returned to the mound in mid March and posted a 6.51 ERA over 16 appearances and 27.2 innings. […] up to 98 mph in the past with his fastball, though he mostly threw it in the 93-95 mph range in 2026. He has an assortment of solid secondaries, including an upper-80s changeup and cutter, a low-80s slider and a slower curveball in the upper 70s. He’s a below-average strike-thrower, and probably a reliever because of that, but there’s a lot in the tank to work with if a team can help him execute a bit more consistently.
[Baseball America – 463]
RHP McCarty English (4YR JR, Southern Mississippi) – 17/503
English put himself out there this morning hoping for a summer transfer away from USM, but found himself as draft selection instead. His video won’t embed for now, so here’s the link: https://twitter.com/MccartyEnglish/status/2062571192356139365
Advertisement
LHP Nate Smithburg (4YR SR, Oklahoma) – 18/533
A submarine southpaw, standing 6′ 2″ 257lbs, and profiled by Baseball America in “5 Deep Cape Cod League Sleepers With 2026 MLB Draft Upside”:
Fresh off helping Oklahoma win a national championship […] release height of roughly four feet. He generates above-average extension for a pitcher with his delivery and separates himself from most of his demographic with unusual velocity. His fastball sat 90-91 mph and touched 94 with massive armside run, high spin efficiency and movement that creates difficult looks for hitters on both sides of the plate. The pitch dives away from righthanders and runs in on the hands of lefties, generating five whiffs Thursday.
Smithburg complements his fastball with a low-80s cutter […], a mid-80s changeup with negative vertical break and armside run, and an upper-70s-to-low-80s sweeping slider that glides across the plate because of his extreme release point.
Though his high-major track record is limited, Smithburg is unusual even among submarine relievers because of his velocity, extension and assortment of distinct movement profiles. It is a clear bullpen projection, but one with enough deception and bat-missing ability to warrant consideration late in the draft.
[Baseball America]
RHP David Horn Jr. (4YR SR, Middle Tennessee State) – 19/563
6′ 5″ 235lbs, with velo that played up in the Draft League.
RHP Ivan Sabater (HS, FL) – 20/593
This West Broward HS graduate has already reached 95 mh and top spin rates, and stands to add more as a professional.
Read the full article here