You may or may not think Kumar Rocker was a reach at third overall, and personally it's not the pick I would have made even with the discount, but you cannot deny the brilliance of this class as a whole especially given that they did it without a second or third round pick. They found an incredible amount of talent despite not making their second pick until #109, and that means I have to give massive kudos to now ex-GM Jon Daniels. After scooping up all that premium talent in the first five picks, the Rangers went an interesting route the rest of the way by giving just $7,000 to their eighth, ninth, and tenth picks combined, followed by drafting a slew of JuCo and high school players on day three. They got all four JuCo arms to sign, but landed just one of the five high schoolers on day three and let the other four get to campus. In all, it was a very pitching-heavy class that featured only five bats in total, one of which didn't even sign and two of which combined to sign for just $2,000.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
1-3: RHP Kumar Rocker, Tri-City ValleyCats. My rank: #36.
Slot value: $7.59 million. Signing bonus: $5.2 million ($2.39 million below slot value).
We pretty much all know about Kumar Rocker's wild ride to pro ball, but let's recap it real quick just in case anybody has been under a rock. The son of former NFL player and current Philadelphia Eagles defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, Kumar was one of the top high school pitchers in the country in 2018 and had significant first round interest. He wound up at Vanderbilt instead and quickly became one of the most famous players in college baseball with a tremendous freshman season highlighted by a 19 strikeout no-hitter against Duke in the Nashville Super Regional, and entered the 2021 draft cycle as a leading candidate to go first overall. While he was dominant more often than not that spring, he was just inconsistent enough under that top-of-the-draft spotlight to slip to the Mets at tenth overall, who initially offered him a $6 million signing bonus. However, the two sides disagreed over his post-draft physical and the Mets pulled the offer and informed him they would not sign him under any circumstances, effectively barring Rocker from affiliated baseball. He underwent minor arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder in September, then instead of returning to Vanderbilt for his senior season, he opted to train independently and signed with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the independent Frontier League. He got on the mound for five closely watched starts in June and July, posting a 1.35 ERA and a 32/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 20 innings and rocketing himself back up draft boards even as news of his September surgery broke. We all knew that Rocker would be one of the biggest wild cards in the first round, with rumored interest throughout the middle of the round but with many teams being scared off by the shoulder surgery, and he wound up going about ten picks ahead of where most expected his ceiling to be. His $5.2 million signing bonus, while more than $2 million below slot value at third overall, was roughly equivalent to slot value at ninth overall. So where does that leave us now? Kumar Rocker, who turns 23 in November, is naturally one of the most advanced pitchers in the class. His fastball velocity has been inconsistent, hovering close to 90 at times in 2021 but also touching 99 at others, with average riding life that can play a bit true and get hit when it's over the plate. His slider got slurvy at times last year, but at its best, it's a devastating plus-plus pitch that sends even the most disciplined hitters flailing at it. He also shows a shorter, harder cutter that looks like an above average pitch, while his changeup lacks deception and has been hit hard at times. Everything was at its best in his controlled outings in 2022, leading many teams including the Rangers to feel comfortable that his inconsistencies last spring were much more of a blip on the radar than anything representing his long term reality. Rocker also pounds the strike zone and while his control is ahead of his command, both looked very sharp with Tri-City. The 6'5" righty is also extremely physical and moves well on the mound with a competitive demeanor, giving off the proverbial vibe of a staff ace. Now the reason he fell out of the first round range on my board is his shoulder. It looked completely healthy in 2022, but between the inconsistency of his stuff in 2021 and the minor surgery shortly thereafter, it's far from guaranteed to hold up. Shoulders are notoriously unpredictable and if something goes wrong, the fix is often much more complicated than Tommy John surgery, but the Rangers are clearly comfortable with his medicals and are ready to have him join former Vanderbilt teammate Jack Leiter in Arlington sooner rather than later.
4-109: RHP Brock Porter, Orchard Lake St. Mary's HS [MI]. My rank: #16.
Slot value: $560,200. Signing bonus: $3.7 million ($3.14 million above slot value).
Signing Kumar Rocker for well below slot value opened up an opportunity for the Rangers to make a massive splash with Brock Porter, who signed for the highest bonus ever for a player outside the top one hundred picks. In fact, that $3.7 million payday he received to skip out on a Clemson commitment is between the slot values for the 17th and 18th picks, so nobody is mistaking his slide down to the fourth round as having anything to do with talent – there are many teams and most draft boards that considered him a first round pick. Porter has a tremendous combination of arm strength and polish, making him another potential future ace in a system that is getting deep in pitching. He sits comfortably in the mid 90's with his fastball and has touched triple digits on occasion, with enough stamina to hold that velocity deep into his starts. His breaking balls need more refinement but the feel for spin is certainly there, with a loopy mid 70's curveball with plenty of depth that just needs to add some power as well as a harder, shorter slider that looks like a true plus pitch when he snaps it off just right. Porter's best offspeed pitch is a plus changeup with huge fading action that can even work up in the zone, rounding out an arsenal that could, a few years down the road, feature four plus pitches. The 6'4" righty's delivery is clean, athletic, and repeatable, albeit with some head whack, and his average command is extremely impressive given how hard he throws. The main drawback in this profile, at least for some teams, is his age, as he turned 19 more than a month before the draft and is more age appropriate for a college freshman than a high school senior. Still, it's hard to imagine the Detroit-area native as anything but a high end starting pitcher.
5-139: OF Chandler Pollard, Woodward HS [GA]. My rank: #96.
Slot value: $418,500. Signing bonus: $418,500.
This has a chance to really, really pay off for the Rangers. Chandler Pollard had a Washington State commitment in the bag, but surprisingly signed with the Rangers for slot value here in the fifth round. He's an exceptional athlete that moves extremely well on both sides of the ball, with plenty of projection once he gets into the Rangers development system. In the box, he shows extremely quick hands that produce plenty of bat speed, with the long arms and legs to create natural leverage from his 6'2" frame. He does need to get stronger to tap more power, but I definitely see it in him and he could get to above average in time. Pollard's hit tool is unproven, as he rose to prominence more this spring against Atlanta-area competition rather than over the summer against showcase competition, but he has shown the ability to get to balls all over the zone and do damage. On the other side of the ball, he's a plus runner that played a lot of shortstop in high school, where his glovework was a bit raw, but the Rangers drafted him as an outfielder and where he has a chance to stick in center field. Pollard has a lot of work to do to reach his lofty ceiling, but the natural ability is absolutely there and his projection and athleticism make for excellent building blocks. He has played two games so far in the Arizona Complex League, going hitless with a pair of strikeouts in five at bats while adding a walk.
6-169: OF Tommy Specht, Wahlert Catholic HS [IA]. My rank: #122.
Slot value: $314,400. Signing bonus: $450,000 ($135,600 above slot value).
A year ago, the Rangers drafted a catcher named Ian Moller in the fourth round out of Wahlert Catholic High School that stood out on the showcase circuit but struggled in game action. This year, they grabbed another Wahlert Catholic alum who also showed well on the showcase circuit before struggling in the spring. Tommy Specht is a physical, athletic outfielder that draws some parallels to Zac Veen, albeit not quite at his level. He takes big, explosive swings from the left side, with the potential for plus power as he matures. He made a lot of loud contact over the summer, but he wasn't always consistent and that was certainly the case in a slower spring. The Dubuque, Iowa native is also an above average runner with a plus arm, and he has a chance to stick in center field or become an asset in right field. Additionally, he's more than a year younger than Brock Porter in the same class and has a great head on his shoulders, giving him plenty of time to develop and the tools to do so. The Rangers are bought into the explosive tools he showed over the summer, and they hope he'll regain that form once he gets into their development system. There is a ton of upside to be had here at the relatively modest price of $450,000 to sign away from a Kentucky commitment, and Specht has so far picked up two hits in ten at bats with six strikeouts to two walks through three games in the Arizona Complex League.
7-199: RHP Luis Ramirez, Long Beach State. My rank: #138.
Slot value: $245,000. Signing bonus: $250,000 ($5,000 above slot value).
Thought of as a late day two candidate entering the season, Luis Ramirez came out of the gate red hot with dominant outings against Mississippi State, Sacramento State, and Hawaii, allowing three runs (just one earned) in 25 innings over his first four starts, rocketing as high as second round consideration. However, he went down with a shoulder injury after that fourth start in mid-March, missed three weeks, and wasn't nearly as effective when he returned, allowing eleven runs (seven earned) and walking seven in 8.2 innings over his next three starts. Long Beach State shut him down again for good, and he hasn't pitched since. In all, he had a 2.14 ERA and a 38/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 33.2 innings, but those numbers were 0.36 and 28/4 before the injury. As I mentioned with Kumar Rocker, shoulder injuries are extremely unpredictable, and it's hard to know what to make of the situation. He ranked #80 at Prospects Live, #118 at Baseball America, #138 on my board, and #143 at MLB Pipeline but teams passed him up until pick #199, and they presumably have more information on his medicals than these publications do (certainly more than I do), so I wouldn't exactly take that as a good sign. Still, when Ramirez is on the mound, the stuff belongs well within the top one hundred picks. His fastball sits in the low 90's but can touch as high as 98, with nasty running and sinking action from a high three quarters slot that generates a ton of ground balls. He adds a big slider with deep break and an above average changeup, making for a very good three pitch mix. The Los Angeles native commands his fastball very well but can get a little more scattered with his offspeed pitches, so once he gets back on the mound, that should be a point of emphasis. He has the luck of a durable #4 starter with a solid 6'2" frame, though obviously that's a question mark until he gets his shoulder back to full strength.
11-319: LHP Kohl Drake, Walters State JC. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $175,000 ($50,000 against bonus pool).
The Rangers have quite a few pitchers from DFW in their system, including Cody Bradford (Aledo), Mason Englert (Forney), and Josh Stephan (Grand Prairie), and they'll add another one in Kohl Drake. Drake grew up in Sachse about 18 miles northeast of downtown and attended Wylie High School one town over, but he's played baseball all over the country. After beginning his career at Arkansas Tech, he transferred across the country to San Joaquin Delta JC in California in 2020, then after the shutdown moved all the way back across the country again to Walters State JC in East Tennessee. It was there that he finally came into his own, putting on a show this spring with a 1.93 ERA and a 160/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 93.1 innings. That included three different outings with at least thirteen strikeouts and one against Columbia State JC in which he struck out sixteen over seven shutout innings. Now, the Rangers will bring the well-travelled lefty back home. Drake sits around 90 with his fastball with some riding life, drops in a solid curveball with deep break, and adds a solid changeup as well. He commands it all very well, having cleaned up his delivery considerably at Walters State, and was able to dice up JuCo hitters across the South. Now hitting pro ball, he's going to need to add a few ticks of velocity across the board, both to his fastball and offspeed stuff. Though he turned 22 on the first day of the draft, he remains very projectable at 6'5" and could probably throw a little harder in a pro development program. If he can, he has the ingredients of a back end starter, and one that knows his way around the Metroplex to boot.
18-529: LHP Justin Sanchez, Monsignor McClancy HS [NY]. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
Justin Sanchez represents a sleeper in this class, signing away from a USF commitment for $125,000 in the eighteenth round. He only sits in the upper 80's with his fastball, topping out around 91, adding a two-plane slider with deep, late break as well as a fairly advanced changeup. Though he doesn't throw particularly hard now, the 6' lefty doesn't feature much effort in his delivery and can land all three of his pitches for strikes to both sides of the plate, so he's very advanced. With his all-around game in a very good spot to start out, he can focus his attention on adding velocity and power to get pro hitters out. You also don't typically see too many kids getting drafted out of New York City high schools, but Monsignor McClancy in Queens is on a good run lately, also having churned out second rounder Quentin Holmes (Indians) and fifth rounder Charlie Neuweiler (Royals) in the 2017 draft.
19-559: RHP Grayson Saunier, Collierville HS [TN]. My rank: #144.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: did not sign.
Grayson Saunier did not sign in the nineteenth round, which I think was smart on his part, and will head to Ole Miss to try to build his stock. I think he has a very good chance to do so, with an extremely projectable 6'4" frame, plenty of latent arm strength, and present pitchability that he hasn't been able to showcase much while batting injuries. Saunier does not show consistent velocity, sitting in the upper 80's at times but also reaching back for as much as 96 at others, and that's probably a result of those nagging injuries. He shows great feel to spin both a slider and a curveball, and adds an advanced changeup as well to round out a balanced arsenal. The Memphis-area native has a very athletic delivery and repeats it well, leading to above average command when he's at his best, and that combined with his projectability portend to plenty more velocity in the future. If Saunier can get stronger and stay healthy at Ole Miss, I have no reason not to believe he'll be a top three round pick or better in 2025.
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