The Texas Rangers today selected outfielder Aaron Zavala in the second round (38th overall) of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Zavala, 21, was named 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year after batting .392/.525/.628/1.153 (78-199) with 9 home runs and 38 RBI as a senior at the University of Oregon, finishing with the nation’s 5th-highest on-base percentage. The 6-foot, 200-pound Oregon native also ranked among Division I leaders in walks (T6th, 50) while leading his conference in batting average. His 50 walks and 64 runs were program records for a single season. Oregon finished the 2021 season ranked as the no. 19 team in the country.
Zavala, a left-handed batter and right-handed thrower, prepped at South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. He was named Oregon’s 6A Player of the Year and Greater Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior in 2018, when he batted .561/.656/.939 with 6 home runs, 19 RBI, 19 doubles, 55 runs, and 29 walks.
Zavala is the Rangers’ second draft selection, as the club took right-handed pitcher Jack Leiter out of Vanderbilt University with the second overall pick in the first round last night. Texas has 8 more selections (rounds 3-10) today on day two of the draft, which concludes on Tuesday beginning at 11:00 a.m. CT with rounds 11-20. The Rangers will have the second pick in each of the remaining rounds.