2026 MLB Draft Preview: Ace Reese scouting report.
The 2026 is just a few weeks away — the first round kicks off on July 11, 2026 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #16, their second round pick is at #54, and their third round pick is at #89.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today we are looking at Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese.
Ace Reese is a 6’4″, 220 lb. lefthanded hitting junior third baseman for Mississippi State. Born in Plano, Reese, who turned 21 in April, was undrafted and relatively unheralded coming out of Canton High School in Canton, Texas, county seat of Van Zandt County, in 2023. He played his freshman year for the University of Houston before transferring to Mississippi State, where he’s anchored the middle of their lineup the past two seasons.
Reese is a bat-first guy with big time power. Looking at the differing measurements out there for him, it appears he’s gotten significantly bigger in his college career, as BA lists him at 180 lbs. and B-R at 200 lbs., compared to 220 lbs. in the more updated listings. He has good bat speed and plus power, posting what Keith Law calls “elite top-end exit velocities.” He gets dinged for being overly aggressive at the plate, with reports saying he doesn’t make great swing decisions, resulting in an elevated K rate and less than ideal contact when he does make contact on pitches he should probably let go. That said, his swing is geared towards loft and power, with BP referencing “Griffey Jr. swing vibe” because of his “extreme lefty uppercut” swing. BA’s list of the best tools in the draft class has Reese third on the Best Power list for college players.
Reese currently plays third base, and there are questions about whether he can stick at the position. He is not considered particularly athletic and his arm is graded at average, so he may end up at first base, where the requirements from the bat are higher than if he can stick at third. He’s a below-average runner, which makes him a better fit at first base than in, say, left field, if third base isn’t in the cards.
As a freshman at UofH, Reese hit well while manning left field, slashing .278/.395/.506 with 29 walks against 37 Ks in 195 plate appearances. Moving up a level in competition to the SEC as a sophomore with the Bulldogs, Reese played through a toe injury that required offseason surgery, slashing .352/.422/.718 with 21 bombs in 263 plate appearances, walking 26 times and striking out 52 while being the everyday third baseman. He largely replicated that as a junior, slashing .336/.432/.721 with 63 Ks and 41 walks, putting up 24 homers. He also played in wood bat summer leagues the past two summers and performed fairly well there.
Baseball America has Reese at #12 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Reese at #21 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Reese at #21 on his top 150 list. Keith Law has Reese at #49 on his board. Fangraphs has Reese at #6 on their board. Baseball Prospectus has Reese at #26 on their top 30 draft board.
In the June 8 Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Reese going to the Marlins at #14. The BA staff draft on June 15 has Reese going to the D-Backs at #15. Jim Callis’s June 4 mock draft has Reese going at #14 to the Marlins. Jonathan Mayo’s June 11 mock draft has Reese going at #19 to the Guardians, but mentions him with several other teams drafting in the teens. Jim Callis’s June 18 mock draft has Reese going to the Marlins at #14, but mentions him with several other teams in the middle of the first round. The June 25 Callis/Mayo mock has Reese going to the Marlins at #14. Keith Law’s May mock draft doesn’t have Reese going in the first round. Law’s June 10 mock draft also doesn’t have Reese going in the first round. Kiley McDaniel’s May 29 mock draft has Reese going to the Guardians at #19. Kiley McDaniel’s June 18 mock draft has Reese going to the Brewers at #25.
Lefthanded power is always in demand, and it wouldn’t be surprising to me if Reese is off the board before the Rangers pick. He’s put up big power numbers in the best college conference two straight seasons, which makes him attractive. Yes, there are concerns about his contact rates, and he could end up at first base long-term, but if the contact rates were better and he was a near-lock to stay at third base, he’d be off the board in the first five picks.
I’m not sure to what degree he’d be a fit for the Rangers. Texas has tended to emphasis hit tool over present power with their draft picks, looking for guys with contact ability who they think can develop power, versus someone like Reese, who needs to make adjustments to improve his contact ability and better allow his power to play at the next level.
Jake Burger went 11th overall as a power hitting third baseman in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2017 who had questions about whether he would stick at third base and about how well his hit tool would play in the pros. It is a very imperfect comparison — Reese gets better marks for being lefthanded and performing in a better conference, as well as having less concerns about his build — but that sort of low-OBP, high-power 1B/3B result is something you could see from Reese.
Previously:
vs 
vs 
vs 
COVERS INTEL: Chicago ranks seventh in homers and 
