Rangers make 15 selections on day two of 2012 First-Year Player Draft

Arlington, Texas – The Texas Rangers selected 15 players on Day Two of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.  Rounds 2 through 15 of the draft took place today.  The rest of the draft, through round 40, will be completed on Wednesday beginning at 11:00 a.m. CDT.

Below is additional information on the club’s selections today through the 15th round. The club will send out a final list at the conclusion of the draft tomorrow.

In rounds 2-15, the Rangers selected 15 players.  The 15 players include 7 pitchers (6 right-handed, 1 left-handed), 6 outfielders, a second baseman, and catcher.  Texas selected 11 college players and made 4 high school picks.

CF JAMIE JARMON (83rd overall) – The 17-year-old centerfielder, who turns 18 on June 21, was selected in the 2nd round out of Indian River High School in Dagsboro, Delaware…the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Jarmon was a finalist for the 2012 Gatorade Delaware State Baseball Player of the Year award…the right-handed batter and thrower hit .491 with 6 doubles, one triple, 2 home runs, 21 RBI, and 10 stolen bases…the Millsboro, Del., native was also the 2011 Gatorade Delaware State Football Player of the Year as a dual-threat quarterback for Indian River…led the Indians to a perfect 12-0 record and the Division II state championship in 2011 and earned his conference’s offensive player of the year honor after passing for over 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 1,300 yards and 26 scores…serves as a volunteer firefighter in the community…played in the Canes Baseball program and the Perfect Game U17 National Championship…ranked the no. 92 prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN and no. 133 by Baseball America…is the first Rangers draft pick out from a Delaware high school since RHP Randy Truselo was taken in the 2nd round in 2000…is committed to play only baseball at the University of South Carolina.

OF NICK WILLIAMS (93rd overall) – The 18-year-old outfielder was the club’s second selection in the second round…the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Williams batted .422 with 25 stolen bases this spring during his senior season fro Ball High School in Galveston, Texas…Williams batted .537 with 13 home runs and 30 RBI in 2011 as a junior for the Tors…he was rated by Baseball America as the 100th-best position prospect overall and the 31st-highest at the high school level…Williams has committed to Texas A&M University.

C PATRICK CANTWELL (123rd overall) – The 22-year-old backstop was drafted in the 3rd round out of Stony Brook University in New York, the alma mater of Rangers closer Joe Nathan…the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Cantwell was named to the Coral Gables All-Regional Team on Monday after helping the SeaWolves, the 2012 America East Conference champions and no. 4 seed in the regional, pull off the upset to win the regional and advance to the Super Regionals for the first time in school and conference history…Stony Brook will face LSU in the Baton Rouge Super Regional this weekend…the right-handed hitter was named to his second straight All-America East first-team after batting .306 with 10 doubles, 4 triples, one home run, 27 RBI, 48 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases in 2012…touted for his strong defensive skills, Cantwell threw out 16 runners against just 5 stolen bases this season…was one of 30 candidates for the 2012 LOWE’s Senior Class Award and appeared on the Johnny Bench Award watch list…a graduate of West Islip (NY) High School, Cantwell was also selected by Baltimore in the 39th round (1,175th overall) in the 2011 draft but did not sign.

RHP ALEC ASHER (156th overall) – The 20-year-old right-hander was selected in the 4th round out of Polk County Junior College in Florida, where he went 13-1 with a 1.38 ERA (17 ER/111.0 IP) with 113 strikeouts in 20 games as a sophomore this season…the Lakeland, Florida product garnered numerous accolades in 2012, including All-Suncoast Conference First Team, FCSAA/NJCAA Gulf District All-Tournament Team, Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year, FCSAA All-State First Team, FCSAA State Pitcher of the Year…Baseball America tabbed the right-hander as the 67th-best right-handed pitcher in the draft and 168th among pitching prospects overall…Asher was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 23rd round of the 2010 draft out of Lakeland High School.

OF PRESTON BECK (186th overall) – The 21-year-old outfielder was picked in the 5th round out of nearby University of Texas-Arlington…the left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing slugger batted .335 with 9 doubles, 4 triples, 14 home runs, a school-record 71 RBI, and 45 runs scored in 2012, leading the Southland Conference in homers, RBI, and slugging (.602)…the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Beck also hit a walk-off homer in the 2012 Southland Conference Tournament as well as a grand slam in the Mavericks’ tournament-clinching win…the junior currently ranks T-7th in the NCAA in RBI and T-25th in home runs and was named to the all-Southland Conference first team after producing one of the best seasons in school history…in 2010, Beck became the third player in UT-Arlington history to be named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American…graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, where he was an all-state 6A selection and district MVP, and also pitched…Beck is the 5th UTA product ever chosen by the Rangers and first since SS Larry Hanlon in the 3rd round of the 1991 draft.

OF ROYCE BOLINGER (216th overall) – The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Bolinger batted .392 (93-237) with 15 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs, and 11 RBI over 56 games for the Bulldogs as a senior…the 93 hits by Bolinger established a new Gonzaga single-season record…the Scottsdale, Arizona native led Gonzaga in nearly every offensive category, while earning All-West Coast Conference first-team honors…he was a 3-year letterwinner in baseball at Chapparral High in Scottsdale, earning All-State and Scottsdale All-City honors as a senior…he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 45th round of the June draft following his senior season…his father, Monte, played baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system and uncle, Russ, played football for the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.

2B CAMERON SCHILLER (246th overall) – The 22-year-old infielder was selected in the 7th round out of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma…the switch-hitting senior batted .306 with 14 doubles, 8 home runs, 51 RBI, and 43 runs scored in 2012 to lead the Golden Eagles to their 15th consecutive Summit League Tournament championship…at 6-foot, 195 pounds, Schiller was named a third-team preseason All-American entering 2012, the Prescott, Ariz., native earned first-team all-Summit League honors as a senior, and was named a candidate for the LOWE’s Senior CLASS Award…transferred to ORU following his sophomore year after leading Yavapai College in Arizona to back-to-back regional championships in 2009-10…graduated from Prescott (AZ) High School, where he was first-team all-state…father, John, pitched in the Giants organization.

RHP CODY KENDALL (276th overall) – The 22-year-old right-hander was selected in the 9th round out of Fresno State University, where he went 4-4 with a 4.99 ERA (34 ER/61.1 IP) and 39 strikeouts over 21 games/5 starts as a senior for the Bulldogs this season…earned Academic All-Western Athletic Conference as a junior in 2011, finishing with a 2.85 ERA and undefeated record (6-0)…was a 2-year letterwinner at Clovis East High School, garnering All-Conference, All-Valley, and Co-MVP honors…has an older brother, Chris, who is a Navy Seal.

RHP JOHN NIGGLI (306th overall) – The 22-year-old right-hander was drafted in the 9th round out of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia…the 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior led the Flames with a  9-4 record, 2.17 ERA (25 ER/103.2 IP), and 68 strikeouts in 16 games/15 starts…started the Big South Conference Tournament title game, where Liberty lost to Coastal Carolina…transferred from College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., after his sophomore season, when he was a unanimous selection on the all-Central Valley Conference first team and the CVC Pitcher of the Year runner-up…graduated from Tulare Union (CA) High School, where he was the 2008 Eastern Yosemite League Pitcher of the Year…Niggli is the first Liberty product drafted by Texas.

RHP CASEY SHIVER (336th overall) – The 21-year-old out of Southern Polytechnic State University in Georgia was the club’s 10th round selection…the 6-foot-2, 175-pound righthander was 9-4 with a 3.17 ERA over 15 games for the Hornets in 2012…also attended Gordon College, going 6-4 with a 3.56 ERA and 4 saves over 21 games/9 starts…was a 2-year letterwinner at Loganville High School, earning All-State and All-County selections in 2009. 

RHP ERIC BROOKS (11th round) spent 2 seasons at the University of Houston before transferring to McLennan Junior College…RHP KEONE KELA (12th round) was a 29th round selection by the Seattle Mariners in the 2011 draft, but did not sign…LHP SAM STAFFORD (13th round) was a second round selection by New York–AL in the 2011 draft, but did not sign and missed the 2012 college season after undergoing shoulder surgery in February…was part of the 3-man rotation that led Texas to its record 34th College World Series appearance in 2011…OF KWINTON SMITH (14th round) has committed to play football at the University of South Carolina as a wide receiver…played in the Offense-Defense All-American Game at Cowboys Stadium last December…OF JAMEIS WINSTON (15th round) was ranked the no. 59 prospect entering the draft by Baseball America…was rated as the no. 1 high school quarterback recruit in the country by ESPN, and has signed a letter of intent to play football at Florida State University in the fall.