Texas Rangers Draft: Who are the options at No. 2 in the MLB Draft?

The Texas Rangers at a pivotal point in their rebuild. With so many players shinning in Frisco, they seem set up to soon be…dare I say…a winning team? But in order to continue their momentum upward they need to correct their draft mistakes.

The Texas Rangers have been notoriously poor drafters over the years. They’ve struck out at a rate that often defies odds. Finding pitchers early in the draft has been an especially difficult task. Not since C.J. Wilson have they developed one of their own.

Looking at the upcoming 2021 MLB Draft, the Texas Rangers have some tough decisions to make.

Picking second overall, the Texas Rangers can’t afford to muck things up. They have a rare opportunity to add a cornerstone player. And doing so will help them continue on their path to a better tomorrow. But if they botch this thing and miss with the No. 2 pick, they’ll have wasted a pivotal opportunity and possibly doomed the current leadership structure to a front office rebuild of their own.

Jordan Lawler, SS

Jordan Lawler is the hometown kid at a big impact position. He’s arguably the best position player in the draft and has a chance to make the biggest impact of all the players the Texas Rangers consider. He entered the season as the highest rated high schooler and he’s held a top-2 position player designation throughout.

Lawler is an elite prospect who the Rangers have scouted heavily. He has reduced risk and should progress quickly in the Texas system. He’s a good enough fielder with a strong enough arm to stick to SS long-term

Jack Leiter, RHP

Like Lawler, Leiter entered the season with some preseason hype. And like Lawler, Leiter responded well. In fact, Leiter appears to have leapfrogged teammate Kumar Rocker and entrenched himself as THE top pitching prospect in the draft.

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He throws hard, he throws strikes, and he’s usually dominant. At this point he has to be the favorite for the Rangers entering the draft. His ceiling is high and his risk is (relatively) low. The only concern is his size. At 6-foot-1, 200 lbs. he’s not the imposing presence most teams look for.

Kumar Rocker, RHP

As mentioned before, Rocker was the top name in the draft when the season began and someone most Texas Rangers fans targeted on Day 1. But this last year didn’t go great for Rocker and he’s slipped on some draft boards because of it.

Kumar Rocker looks the part. At 6-foot-4, 255lbs, he’s is a hard-throwing ace. His slider is legendary and his numbers are beautiful. The only problem is his fastball took a nosedive this year and that’s led to concern. Perhaps he was just overworked and he will bounce back with a little rest. Or maybe it’s a bigger issue. Either way, Rocker found a way to dominate with his secondary stuff and in the process he’s shown he has a nice arsenal at his disposal.

Who will the Texas Rangers select? We’ll see this weekend but if they consider these three players, they probably can’t go wrong…

• Published on 07/09/2021 at 11:01 AM
• Last updated at 07/08/2021 at 18:05 PM