ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays signed shortstop Grady Emerson, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft, to a $9.75 million signing bonus — the highest Draft bonus in history for a high school player and the second highest for any player, behind only No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky.

Emerson, an 18-year-old left-handed hitter from Fort Worth Christian School in Texas, set an aggressive timeline for his arrival in the big leagues. “My goal is to be in the [Majors] by 20 years old, so maybe a year and a half, two years,” Emerson said. “I want to prove that I can develop. I really trust in this Rays organization to develop me and to put everything they’ve got into me, just like I’m gonna do for them.”

The 6-foot-3 shortstop is the Rays’ highest selection since the franchise had back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in 2007 (David Price) and 2008 (Tim Beckham). The Rays selected Emerson between the White Sox taking Cholowsky first overall out of UCLA and the Twins selecting Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third. Area scout Chris Hom led the team’s pursuit, which included a private workout and dinner with Emerson and his family about a month before the Draft.

Emerson’s toolset has drawn comparisons to Kansas City Royals superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. After transferring from Argyle High School to Fort Worth Christian, Emerson trained under former Major League outfielder and current Fort Worth Christian head coach Rusty Greer, one of Witt’s former mentors. Emerson said he considers Witt a mentor after meeting him while Witt was in high school in nearby Colleyville. “Even though he might not realize it, he’s been a huge influence on me,” Emerson said, noting he received a congratulatory text message from Witt on Saturday. “Getting to watch him, getting to see how he goes about his business, it’s kind of set the standard for me, especially with Rusty being my coach.”

Emerson was named the 2026 Gatorade Player of the Year for Texas and the National Gatorade Player of the Year. In May, he was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, becoming only the second high school player since 1948 to be nominated for the prestigious honor, joining Witt. MLB Pipeline considers him a “lock” to remain at shortstop in the big leagues.

“My dream is to be like a Bobby Witt Jr., win a Platinum Glove and Gold Glove and all that stuff,” Emerson said. “Overall, I think I’m just a hard-working player who’s going to impact the game on both sides of the baseball.”

Emerson is expected to be officially introduced as a member of the Rays on Saturday at Tropicana Field.