Texas Rangers' 2012 Draft - Day Three: Loading Up on Arms

It is done...

3 days...40 rounds...1238 picks...and baseball is ready to begin learning the names, faces, and talents of it's 2012 crop.  The draft, which last 10 rounds shorter than in previous years, had many storylines unfold.  As for the Rangers, "Drafting up the Middle" and selecting "Best Player Available" was for the second straight year the drafting strategies.  39 of Texas' 43 picks were for a pitcher, catcher, middle infielder, or centerfielder.

Here are Texas' picks from Round 16 - 40:

16th Round (516th overall) - Janluis Castro - 2B - HS - 5-9 - S-R

17th (546th) - Charles Moorman - C - HS - 5-11, 200 - R/R

18th (576th) - Ryan Harvey - RHP - JR - 6-2, 220 - L/R

19th (606th) - James Smith - RHP - JUCO - 6-3, 205 - R/R

20th (636th) - Joshua McElwee - RHP - 5yr/SR - 6-4, 220 - R/R

21st (666th) - Jacob Lemoine - RHP - HS - 6-4, 195 - R/R

22nd (696th) - Travis Dean - RHP - SO - 6-6, 220 - R/R

23rd (726th) - Coby Cowgill - RHP - JR - 6-1, 200 - R/R

24th (756th) - Chase Mullins - LHP - HS - 6-6, 230 - L/L

25th (786th) - Gabriel Roa - SS - JUCO - 5-10, 180 - R/R

26th (816th) - Austin Thrailkill - LHP - JUCO - 6-4, 210 - L/L

27th (846th) - Ryan Bores - RHP - JR - 6-3, 190 - R/R

28th (876th) - Joseph Burns - LHP - SR - 6-0, 200 - L/L

29th (906th) - Brandon Kuter - RHP -  JR - 6-7, 220 - R/R

30th (936th) - Barrett Serrato - OF - SR - 6-2, 185 - L/R

31st (966th) - Zachery Brill - LHP - HS - 6-6, 215 - L/L

32nd (996th) - Alex Young - LHP - HS - 6-3, 180 - L/L

33rd (1026th) - Ryan Burr - RHP - HS - 6-4, 210 - R/R

34th (1056th) - David Lyons - C - SR - 6-0, 200 - S/R

35th (1086th) - Brad Stone - LHP - HS - 6-3, 170 - L/L

36th (1116th) - Sterling Wynn - LHP - HS - 6-2, 175 - L/L

37th (1146th) - Matthew Withrow - RHP - HS - 6-3, 210 - R/R

38th (1176th) - Zachary Fields - 1B - HS - 6-5, 245 - R/R

39th (1206th) - Tevin Johnson - OF - HS - 6-3, 190 - R/R

40th (1236th) - Paul Schwindel - RHP - 5yr/SR - 6-5, 220 - R/R

Not hard to see that the Rangers went very heavy on attempting to re-stock their minor league arms.  Concentrating heavily on college arms between rounds 18 - 29.  Highlighting a few of the selections:

Ryan Harvey - RHP - Seton Hall Univ., finished his junior year with a 6-4 record, 3.04 ERA, over 77 innings pitched.  He struckout 90 this season, but walked 43.  James Smith - RHP - South Carolina - Sumter, had an amazing season going 10-1 with a 1.13 ERA over 79.2 innings.  He struckout 101 and walked 35, though against JUCO talent, still shows plus-command. 

My favorite two picks from this draft were 27th rounder Ryan Bores and 32nd rounder Alex Young. Ryan Bores - RHP - Kent State, was selected with the 846th pick, last year as a sophomore-eligible draftee he was taken with the 804th pick...by the Rangers.  Per Rangers director of amateur scouting, Kip Fagg, "Our scout, Roger Coryell, liked Ryan the year before we took him...[Last year] We couldn't reach an agreement.  This year, being his junior year, he lost a little bit of leverage. He felt it was time for him to come out and we were able to reach an agreement."  Bores, who is still pitching in the Super Regionals currently has a 9-2 record with a 3.29 ERA, he has struckout 63 and walked 15 over 98.1 innings.  Interestingly seven picks later the Rangers selected Bores catcher, senior David Lyons.  Lyons on the season so far has 10 HRs, 41 RBI, and a .523 SLUG.

Alex Young - LHP - Carmel (IL) HS, was selected with the 996th pick, and was consdiered by many as the top pitching prospect out of the state of Illinois.  Though his fastball only sits between the high 80s and low 90s, he complements it well with a plus-curveball and a plus-change.  Commanding all the pitchers and learning to mix them better will help Alex's stock, but his current commitment to TCU hurt it more.  This won't be an easy sign for the Rangers.

All-in-all it feels like a successful draft, but then again how often does a team finish a draft and feel horrible about their picks.  I'm very happy with the Rangers selections and think there are some very promising, high-ceiling prospects. 

The next step is signing them, the deadline this season is July 13th.  Players that do come to an agreement with the Rangers will be assigned to the Arizona Instructs to begin learning the "pro game."  Those that don't, mainly high schoolers, will move on to their collegiate seasons.  But as we have learned, with Mr. Bores, the Rangers can still draft and sign a player later on.