OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss pitcher Taylor Rabe was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the Competitive Balance-A Round as the 30th overall pick of the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday.
Ole Miss pitcher Taylor Rabe has been drafted!
RHP Taylor Rabe has been drafted No. 30 overall in the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Congratulations to Taylor! Hotty Toddy! pic.twitter.com/bD6oIBGrIm
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) July 11, 2026
Rabe, a six-foot-five right-handed pitcher, exploded onto the scene for Ole Miss this past season. He has two seasons of pitching with the Rebels under his belt, and he posted a combined 3.7 ERA with 92.1 innings pitched. This past season, his best by far, he posted a 3.55 ERA and came up with some of the most clutch pitching the Diamond Rebels saw all season.
Rabe was originally a solid reliever for Ole Miss, but some shakeup within the bullpen prompted head coach Mike Bianco and pitching coach Joel Mangrum to send him out to start. He would quickly become one of the team’s best pitchers. The Greenville, S.C native is only 21, just finishing his sophomore season with the Rebels. He is a strike thrower, as he relies on the fastball, and he has the ability to locate his other pitches within the strike zone as well.
With the 30th pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Kansas City Royals select RHP Taylor Rabe from Ole Miss. His 2026 numbers:
11 Starts | 76 IP | 3.55 ERA | 3.75 FIP | 34.2 K% | 4.9 BB% | 29.3 K-BB%
Ranked 40th on MLB Pipeline’s Big Board, he has excellent command and 3 above…
— SleeperRoyals (@SleeperRoyals) July 11, 2026
Rabe’s throwing motion is perhaps his best quality. The motion never changes and is easily repeatable, allowing him to truly make the most of every pitch that he throws. An aspect of his strike throwing that catches scouts’ eyes is the fact that he also only has a seven strikeouts to walks ratio — meaning for every walk he gives up, he records seven strikeouts.
Rabe has the potential to be an excellent mid-rotation starter in the majors with perhaps an even larger upside as a truly elite reliever. It will be interesting to see how his development plays out in the Royals organization. Kansas City has developed some good pitchers, with Cole Ragans being the star for them. Much like Townsend with the Cubs, however, he enters a farm system with that does not possess a ton of quality pitching. He should slot nicely into their system and could rise very quickly to become a solid starter for the Royals.
Congrats to Taylor Rabe, who became the Rebels’ clutch starter late in the season — someone who will be truly missed on the team!
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Luke Dunavant
Luke Dunavant is a junior at the University of Mississippi, majoring in Journalism, with an emphasis in Sports Media and a minor in Sports Management. He is originally from Hernando, Mississippi, and graduated high school from Magnolia Heights. His favorite sports are basketball, football, and soccer. Growing up, he played baseball, football, and soccer at different points, immersing himself in the world of sports. He tries to always bring the same passion he had playing sports into covering them.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source therebelwalk.com ’
