When asked about the 2021 MLB Draft, Rangers general manager Chris Young joked that the organization doesn’t plan to have the No. 2 overall pick every year.
But this year -- his first as general manager for the organization -- that’s the reality. Texas has a number of ways that it can go with its Draft choice. With the Draft pushed back to July this year, the club has a little more than a month to make a final decision.
“We certainly are excited about the access to talent,” Young said. “We're doing a ton of work on it, but we do not have a final decision made right now. We're going to continue to monitor these players. There's a lot of good talent out there. It's going to be, I think, a strong Draft, and we're excited about the next few weeks. And then we'll see what happens.”
At the start of the season, it seemed as if the Rangers would be locks to take either of the Vanderbilt right-handed pitchers -- Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter -- but a trio of high school shortstops in Jordan Lawlar, Brady House and Marcelo Mayer, along with Louisville catcher Henry Davis, have propelled up Draft boards in the latter part of the high school and NCAA seasons.
Young said that he feels the Draft may be a bit top heavy this year, but it doesn’t matter when the Rangers have their choice of all but one prospective player. MLB Pipeline’s most recent mock Draft has Texas taking Davis, but Young wouldn’t tip his hand on what direction the Rangers were leaning -- college arm or high school infielder? -- with nothing yet set in stone as the organization continues to scout all prospects.
“I think the goal is to identify the player which you think will be the most impactful long term,” Young said. “Certainly, whether you're picking first, second or 30th, you're trying to get the most [impactful] player that you have access to, and so I don't think that's unique, so to speak. Making predictions based on 18-year-olds or 21-year-olds, it’s not easy.”
Lou Gehrig Day
All 30 Major League clubs will celebrate the inaugural Lou Gehrig Day on Wednesday, including special moments, ceremonies and activities for the ALS community.
With the Rangers on the road for the official day, the club will host five families associated with the ALS Society at Globe Life Field against the Rays on Friday. The families will be recognized at the conclusion of the third inning.
The net proceeds of Friday’s Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation 50/50 Raffle will benefit the ALS Society of Texas.
“What he did in his career and how he played the game -- he's known as the 'Iron Horse,'” manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s easy to look at his career and say ‘OK, that made him great,’ but what made him great was just his humility and the way he played the game. He's not just an athlete. To have a day to honor him, I'll wear that with pride. It's an honor just to have that patch during the game.”