Rangers Make Four Selections on Day Two of 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft
Texas selects four players from high school ranks
The Texas Rangers tonight made four selections on the second and final day of the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The club selected outfielder Evan Carter (2nd round, 50th overall), right-handed pitcher Tekoah (TK) Roby (3rd round, 86th overall), left-handed pitcher Dylan MacLean (4th round, 115th overall), and shortstop Thomas Saggese (5th round, 145th overall).
OF EVAN CARTER (2nd round, 50th overall) - Carter, 17, was a four-year letterwinner at Elizabethton (Tenn.) High School as both an outfielder and pitcher. As a junior in 2019, he was named Super 22 Player of the Year, conference Pitcher of the Year, and earned first team All-State honors. Carter hit .324 with 4 home runs and 27 RBI that season while going 10-2 with a 1.34 ERA and six complete games on the mound, helping his team to a state tournament appearance. The left-handed batter and right-handed thrower has committed to Duke University. Carter also played football at Elizabethton High School for coach Shawn Witten, the brother of fellow Elizabethton alum Jason Witten.
RHP TEKOAH (TK) ROBY (3rd round, 86th overall) - The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Tekoah Roby (pronounced tuh-KOH-uh) paired a 7-3 record with a 1.19 ERA in his junior season at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Fla., earning the 2019 Pensacola News Journal Pitcher of the Year award. The 18-year-old recorded 109 strikeouts against just 10 walks last season while contributing a .384 batting average and 28 RBI at the plate to lead Pine Forest to its first regional appearance in 12 years. Roby, a right-handed batter and thrower, has committed to play collegiately at Troy University.
LHP DYLAN MACLEAN (4th round, 115th overall) – A 17-year-old left-handed pitcher out of Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore., MacLean (pronounced muk-LAYN) was named Oregon’s High School Player of the Year by Prep Baseball Report and Mt. Hood Conference Pitcher of the Year following a standout junior season in 2019. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound pitcher paced all Oregon 6-A hurlers in wins, ERA, and strikeouts last season, leading Central Catholic to the 6-A boy’s baseball championship game. At age 13, MacLean pitched for Oregon in the opening round of the 2015 Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., striking out 12 batters over 5.2 innings in a 1-0 loss to Texas. The University of Washington commit was tabbed by Baseball America as the 2nd-best high school pitcher in Oregon behind Mick Abel, who was selected 15th overall by Philadelphia.
SS THOMAS SAGGESE (5th round, 145th pick) - The 18-year-old Saggese (pronounced suh-GHEE-see) batted .440 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI in 7 games for Carlsbad (Calif.) High School in the shortened season this spring. The shortstop was named Most Valuable Player of San Diego’s Avocado West League as a junior after batting .422 (43-102) with 10 home runs, 26 RBI, and 17 walks against 14 strikeouts. He also garnered first team All-County honors that season and was named to Prep Baseball Report’s San Diego All-Prospect team. Saggese has committed to play collegiately at Pepperdine University.