{"id":367080,"date":"2026-07-09T17:49:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367080\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:49:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:49:18","slug":"mlb-draft-see-mentality-of-area-standout-grady-emerson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/367080\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB draft: See mentality of area standout Grady Emerson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fort<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Christian shortstop Grady Emerson during practice Feb. 23 in North Richland Hills.<\/p>\n

Bob Booth<\/p>\n

Special to the Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Christian standout baseball star Grady Emerson is projected to be selected early in the MLB draft, which will start at noon Saturday.<\/p>\n

With a signing bonus that could surpass $9 million hanging in the balance, there\u2019s a lot on the line for an 18-year-old kid fresh out of high school. MLB draft analysts are divided<\/a> on whether he\u2019ll be taken first by the Chicago White Sox or second by the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just trusting in God\u2019s plan, you know?\u201d Emerson told the Star-Telegram in June after being named Gatorade National Player of the Year<\/a>. \u201cAt the end of the day, God has a plan. I\u2019ve had a very great season, obviously. I\u2019m just trusting in what teams want and what teams see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Christian baseball players and head coach Rusty Greer are photographed with Grady Emerson, the 2026 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, at Fort Worth Christian High School in North Richland Hills, Texas, on June 3, 2026. Charles Baggarly Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

If he doesn\u2019t end up where he wants in the draft, Emerson acknowledged that he could head to Austin to play for the Longhorns. All major projections predict him to be taken within the first two picks, but he said he\u2019ll try to enter the draft with a clear mind and, regardless of the outcome, accept whatever plan God presents.<\/p>\n

\u201cTexas is obviously a great option,\u201d Emerson said. \u201cWith coach [Jim] Schlossnagle and coach [Troy] Tulowitzki.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emerson, who lives in Argyle, was originally committed to the TCU Horned Frogs and flipped his commitment to Texas in November 2024. Ahead of his senior season, he transferred from Argyle to Fort Worth Christian.<\/a><\/p>\n

Emerson continued to hit .532, leading the Cardinals to the TAPPS Division II state championship game.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Christian short stop Grady Emerson picks up an infield grounder during baseball practice at Fort Worth Christian School in North Richland Hills on Feb. 23, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

With his high school career behind him and the draft approaching, Emerson said he is simply trying to stay in shape and mentioned he is working on speed, agility and strength at Zero Limits Performance, a baseball development gym in Southlake.<\/p>\n

He is also working on his swing with Brandon Sherrard, his hitting coach, who has worked with MLB standouts such as two-time MLB All-Star Trevor Story.<\/p>\n

Beyond the game, there is also a fair amount of pressure and outside noise to navigate. Emerson, however, has several mentors he can lean on as he handles the draft chaos.<\/p>\n

Fort Worth Christian head coach Rusty Greer, a nine-year MLB veteran, has helped him with the mental side of professional baseball, and connected him to someone who has shared a similar path: Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.<\/p>\n

The Greer-Witt bond goes back to 1995, when Bobby Witt Sr. and Greer were teammates on the Texas Rangers, and it continued through generations. Greer said Bobby Witt Jr. is one of his son\u2019s best friends.<\/p>\n

Witt Jr., who attended Colleyville Heritage High School, was drafted second overall<\/a> by the Royals in 2019. On top of having a similar draft projection, Witt Jr. and Emerson are both shortstops who grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and were both named Gatorade National Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

The Fort Worth-area phenoms are the only two high school players to be named semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award<\/a> in the honor\u2019s 48-year history. The Golden Spikes Award is given to the top amateur player in the nation.<\/p>\n

\"Former Former Colleyville Heritage shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is now with the Kansas City Royals. Matthew Smith Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

Greer set up a lunch with Emerson and Witt Jr. in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got to fire off questions at him,\u201d Emerson said. \u201cI was so thankful for that opportunity, having a guy like [Witt Jr.] who has been through [the draft] and is doing some amazing things in the game right now. He\u2019s someone I also looked up to since I was about 9 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo sit down, hear his journey and hear what helped him throughout it was the biggest part for me. Being able to take that in my own game and my own life, I think, was a huge step for me in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

In terms of play on the field, Emerson said on MLB Network<\/a> that he tries to emulate Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager.<\/p>\n

\"Emerson Emerson has said that he tries to emulate Rangers shortstop Corey Seager in his play. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always tried to do stuff the way [Seager] did it,\u201d Emerson said. \u201cWhether it was a left-handed swing, or the way he approaches just being a shortstop. \u2026 Watching his game, seeing the fluidity and everything he does, I just try to implement that into my game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the more I do that, the more I feel like a big leaguer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emerson has already showcased his talents on the worldwide stage, becoming the first USA Baseball player to compete on multiple 15U and 18U national teams. It\u2019s been a long journey for the young shortstop \u2014 one that has required many sacrifices.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t begin to count how many birthday parties he\u2019s missed,\u201d said Brandon Emerson, Grady\u2019s father, in Season 2 of \u201cThe Prospect,\u201d<\/a> an original docuseries from GameChanger and MLB Network. \u201cHe\u2019s just never really had the chance to do a lot of that, because he was so focused on baseball. I think it\u2019s done a lot for his career, to get him prepared for whatever is next for him, but it certainly was not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In \u201cThe Prospect,\u201d Grady Emerson acknowledged that he keeps up to date with the latest draft projections but tries not to let it shape his mentality or approach to the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t let [projections] get to me ever,\u201d Grady Emerson said. \u201cI really try to tune it out as much as I can.\u201c<\/p>\n

If he does hear his name called during the draft, Emerson said he knows what his reaction will be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely going to have the biggest smile ever on my face,\u201d Grady Emerson said.<\/p>\n

\"Fort Fort Worth Christian shortstop Grady Emerson during baseball practice at Fort Worth Christian School in North Richland Hills on Feb. 23, 2026. Bob Booth Special to the Star-Telegram <\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly<\/a><\/p>\n

Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n

Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360\u2019s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Worth Christian shortstop Grady Emerson during practice Feb. 23 in North Richland Hills. Bob Booth Special to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-367080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}