First 5 rounds: Cole Winn (1-15), Owen White (2-55), Jonathan Ornelas (3-91), Mason Englert (4-119), Jayce Easley (5-149)
Also notable: Jax Biggers (8-239), Cameron Simmons (15-449), Austin Becker (37-1109)
The Rangers have never been a team to gravitate towards safe picks, so the five straight high school picks at the top of the draft make sense. They love high ceiling, athletic players, and while first rounder Cole Winn doesn't fit that mold when compared to other high schoolers, their other picks do and this was a typical Rangers draft, if a bit pitching heavy with three of their first four and five of their first seven picks being pitchers. They got good value, too, which is tough to do when you're only taking high schoolers.
1-15: RHP Cole Winn (my rank: 9)
Winn began the season as a player likely go to in the 25-40 range, but a big spring pushed him way up into the top half of the first round on most boards. The 6'2" righty is from Colorado but transferred to national powerhouse Orange Lutheran HS in Southern California to get more exposure, and it paid off. Winn throws his fastball in the low to mid 90's, adding a very good slider and a good changeup, all of which he commands well for a high schooler. His stuff doesn't scream top half of the first round on paper, but he maintains it deep into starts and his feel for pitching is considered to be very good. His delivery is clean, and I had a good gut feeling about him before his rapid rise in the spring; he simply knows how to get the job done at a young age. Winn signed for $3.15 million, which is $588,500 below slot.
2-55: RHP Owen White (my rank: 54)
If Winn wasn't your typical Rangers pick in that he's more polish over stuff, White is just the opposite. The 6'3" righty from high school a little ways outside of Charlotte, North Carolina is all stuff and no polish. At his best, he sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, throws a tight curve, a hard slider, and a good changeup that all together make a very good, deep arsenal that would be able to keep hitters off balance late into games. Those are the positives. On the flip side, he doesn't always have his best stuff, and even when he does, he typically fades during his starts and it's not his best anymore once the middle innings roll around. He throws with effort as well, which combined with the lack of consistency and longevity within starts would look to point him towards a future in the bullpen. With his deep arsenal, though, the Rangers will try to fix his inefficiencies and mold him into a high end starter. It's a risky pick, but it could pay off big time if everything breaks right. White signed for $1.25 million, which is $7500 below slot.
3-91: SS Jonathan Ornelas (my rank: 57)
I really like this pick for the Rangers. Ornelas, a high schooler out of the Phoenix area, is a high ceiling shortstop with a lot of plusses and a lot of minuses. He has a long, whippy swing from the right side that already generates tons more power than you would expect from a skinny six footer, and with that skinny frame, he should grow into additional power as he matures. Because the swing is long, he sometimes struggles with contact, though I'd expect him to make just enough to tap that power consistently. While he's not a defensive whiz, he looks to have a decent chance to stick at shortstop depending on who tries to push him off the position in the Texas system, though he should end up as a good defensive third baseman if he doesn't stick at short. It's a risky profile, but for the third round, I think Ornelas offers very good upside with enough of a chance to reach it that it's more than worth gambling on. He signed for $622,800, right at slot value. Through eight games in the rookie level Arizona League, he is slashing .233/.343/.400 with a home run, seven stolen bases, and a 13/5 strikeout to walk ratio, though the sample is so small that none of it really means much.
4-119: RHP Mason Englert (unranked)
I didn't get a chance to rank Englert before the draft, though he likely would have cracked my top 100 if I had. He's a hometown guy, attending high school in Forney, Texas, right on the eastern edge of the Dallas/Forth Worth metro. Englert is a 6'4" righty with a low 90's fastball with sinking action, and he also throws a slider, curve, and changeup. None stand out as plus, though the slider has good break and the curve has good shape. With an easy delivery and enough present control to make it all play up, he profiles as a starter at the major league level, though he'll obviously have to earn his way up and make adjustments along the way. He signed for an even $1 million, which is $535,300 above slot.
Others: 8th rounder Jax Biggers, aside from having the best baseball name since Jeter Downs, played shortstop for Arkansas. He was better as a sophomore (.338/.423/.498, 4 HR, 30/30 K/BB) than as a junior (.280/.388/.382, 4 HR, 31/38 K/BB), though he was playing through a broken finger on his left hand this year. With average all around tools, he profiles as a utility infielder, but the plate discipline is great and should help him reach that floor. On top of that, the grit he showed in both hitting and playing defense with that broken left index finger is certainly a positive. 15th rounder Cameron Simmons is unlikely to sign, but I see him emerging as one of the top senior draft prospects in the 2019 draft. The UVA outfielder had a huge sophomore season in 2017 (.352/.432/.563, 9 HR, 40/23 K/BB) before missing the entire 2018 season with a shoulder injury. When I saw him play during that sophomore season, he actually looked like a top 50 pick, showing all five tools and just looking smooth doing it all. Anybody who knows me knows that as Virginia Tech student, I'm not too fond of UVA, but I'm looking forward to seeing what a healthy Simmons does next season. 37th rounder Austin Becker almost certainly doesn't sign, as he had the talent to go in the top 100 picks but looks set on attending Vanderbilt. The Columbus, Ohio area high schooler is a 6'6" righty that ranked 85th on my list and throws low to mid 90's with an inconsistent curveball and a changeup with some run. He pitched well on the showcase circuit with that curveball flashing plus often, but his command got away from him in the spring as he struggled to find his release point consistently, and his stock dropped. Hopefully, the Vanderbilt coaching staff can clean him up and make him a first round pick in 2021.
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