2026 MLB Draft Preview: Jack Natili

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PHOENIX, AZ - JUNE 23: Jack Natili #69 bats during the 2026 Draft Combine at Chase Field on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

2026 MLB Draft Preview: Jack Natili scouting report.

The 2026 is less than two 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 University of Cincinnati catcher Jack Natili.

Jack Natili is a 6’3”, 198 lb. righthanded hitting catcher for the University of Cincinnati. Natili went undrafted int 2023 out of high school in Pennsylvania, and played for Rutgers as a freshman before transferring to Cincinnati, where he’s played the past two seasons. A junior, Natili turned 21 in March.

Offensively, Natili is a power-over-hit guy. He has a swing that is geared towards getting the ball in the air, helping him make the most of his plus power. However, his swing is described as getting long, and he can have problems catching up with fastballs. He is described as making good swing decisions, so his issues are less about chasing pitches out of the zone and more about making contact often enough with pitches in the zone.

Defensively, Natili has a plus arm which is perhaps his biggest asset behind the plate. He’s described as having made strides in his work behind the plate, though he’s not considered a particularly strong blocker or receiver of pitches. Nonetheless, he is expected to be able to stick behind the plate. As is the case with most catchers, he has below-average speed.

Natili hit .230/.386/.367 in 183 plate appearances for Rutgers as a freshman, striking out 32 times and walking 12 with 5 homers. As a sophomore for Cincinnati, Natili slashed .338/.451/.556 in 244 plate appearances, striking out 53 times and walking 30 times with 9 homers. He took a big step forward power-wise this year, hitting 19 homers in 276 plate appearances while slashing .339/.424/.674, with 29 walks against 56 Ks.

Baseball America has Natili at #58 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Natili at #87 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Natili at #71 on his top 150 list. Keith Law does not have Natili on his board. Fangraphs does not have Natili on their board. Baseball Prospectus does not have Natili on their top 30 draft board.

Catchers are always in demand. Power is always in demand. Thus, catchers with power are always going to be attractive to teams.

Natili is seen as someone who is always going to have a lot of swing and miss in his game, with the question offensively being if he can handle velocity well enough for him to utilize his power, rather than just being blown away by professional pitchers at the upper levels. The possibility is strong enough for him to likely go somewhere in the second through fourth rounds.

Previously:

Liam Peterson

Tyler Bell

Aiden Robbins

Jared Grindlinger

Logan Reddemann

Cooper Harris

Justin Lebron

Cameron Flukey

Derek Curiel

Hunter Dietz

Logan Hughes

Carson Wiggins

Peyton Bonds

Ace Reese

Sawyer Strosnider

Gio Rojas

Chris Rembert

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