The Tampa Bay Rays just drafted a shortstop who could torment the Blue Jays for years

By many accounts he could have gone No. 1 overall but instead Grady Emerson ended up as the second overall pick during Saturday's MLB draft. With Roch Cholowsky going first to the Chicago White Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays happily selected the 18-year-old shortstop out of Fort Worth Christian High School.

The left-handed hitter grades 55+ in all the major scouting categories (on the 20-80 scale) including hitting (65), power (55) and fielding (60). He's been described as a rangy shortstop that is drawing comparisons Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. That comparison is fair since he was coached by former major leaguer Rusty Greer who also mentored Witt while he was growing up.

The reason he may be a thorn in the side of the Blue Jays is the fact that he just already feels like a Rays player. He puts together quality at-bats, makes good swing decisions and can barrel the ball to all fields. Scouts believe he's got 25-home run power at the big league level thanks to his impressive exit velocity and bat speed. Not to mention he launches balls during batting practice and finished second in the High School Home Run Derby.

Blue Jays have never fared well against Rays' pesky players

It's well known among Blue Jays fandom that the Rays are just perennial tormentors of Toronto. Even last year when the Blue Jays were American League champions they only managed a 6-7 record against them. This season, the Rays currently lead the AL East with a 55-37 record (going into Jul. 11) in a year where they were expected to be perhaps the third or fourth best team in the division.

Picking Emerson makes a ton of sense for the club, not just because he was, perhaps, the best player available at the time, but the Rays currently have 30-year-old Taylor Walls at the position. Walls was drafted in the third-round in 2017 and made his debut in 2021 at 24-years-old. Since then he has produced a .198/.290/.296 slash line in 554 career games. By the time Emerson is ready to make his jump to the big leagues, the Rays may be ready to move on from Walls as well.

It will be interesting to watch if that also coincides with the arrival of Arjun Nimmala and / or JoJo Parker. Those are the top two prospects in the Blue Jays' system who both play shortstop as well. They are both on a trajectory to be impactful players at the big league level. Watching this trio competing in the same division for years to come would be a treat if they all pan out.

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