The Rangers continued to build depth in their farm system on Day 2 of the 2023 MLB Draft on Monday, making heavy investments into the pitching staff of tomorrow.
The Rangers selected four consecutive pitchers in Rounds 4-7, and five of Texas’ seven Day 2 picks overall were pitchers, signaling that the team is preparing for the arms race of the future.
“We got some power arms for sure,” Rangers senior director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg said. “I don’t think that’s something we went out and decided that we were going to focus on, but it just kind of worked in our favor in that way.”
With their first Day 2 pick, the Rangers selected right-hander Skylar Hales of Santa Clara University in the fourth round (108th overall pick). Hales, 21, played three seasons at Santa Clara and 2023 was his most successful campaign to date.
Hales went 6-5 and recorded 69 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings (mainly in relief), earning Second-Team All-WWC. He is one of seven Division I pitchers who have touched 100 mph on a radar gun in a game this year, according to D1 Baseball, and his four saves were the second most on the Broncos.
One of the hardest-throwing arms in this year’s class, Hales has the upside to be a flamethrower out of the Rangers' bullpen down the line. He’ll have to learn to limit hits, though, as he allowed 55 hits in as many innings last season, but the potential for him to be a strikeout specialist should intrigue Texas.
In the fifth, the Rangers selected University of Miami right-hander Alejandro Rosario with the 144th pick. Rosario was a Top 100 prospect after he reclassified to graduate from high school in 2020, but the combination of the shortened Draft as a result of the pandemic, questions about his profile and his commitment to Miami caused him to go undrafted.
Now, after three seasons at Miami, Rosario is Texas bound. From a sheer pitching arsenal perspective, Rosario was worthy of being a first-round talent, but his lackluster collegiate tenure (6.53 ERA in 38 starts) led to him tumbling down the Draft board and into the hands of the Rangers.
The right-hander has touched triple digits with his fastball and averaged better than 95 mph on the offering this spring, but his heater lacks movement and was probably hit more than it should. He also mixes in a slider and a changeup that both register in the mid-80s.
Rosario is a bit of a project pick but one that could make the Rangers look very smart down the line.
“You could probably say he’s been a bit of an underachiever [at Miami] but we’ve all seen flashes [of his potential]. We’re excited about getting him with us and working with him to see what he’s got. He’s got premium stuff and he’s a premium athlete and we’re excited about him.”
In the sixth round, Texas continued to stockpile arms and selected Florida high school right-hander Caden Scarborough with the 171st overall pick.
Scarborough, 18, played third base and the outfield in addition to pitching in high school, but he projects to make his mark on the mound at the next level.
Texas added another arm in the seventh round and selected Izack Tiger from Butler County Community College with the 201st overall pick.
During his COVID-shortened 2019-20 freshman season, Tiger appeared in seven games with the Grizzlies and made a team-high six starts. He pitched 30 1/3 innings, earning a 2-2 record and compiling a team-best 2.37 ERA.
This past season, the 6-foot-2 Tiger started 14 games for the Grizzlies and compiled a 9-3 record with 94 strikeouts in 77 innings.
After Tiger, the Rangers took a brief break from the pitching pool of the Draft and selected catcher Julian Brock of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (the No. 122 Draft prospect per MLB Pipeline) and Palomar College outfielder Quincy Scott in the eighth and ninth rounds, respectively.
Then, to close out their Day 2 selections, the Rangers nabbed yet another pitching prospect and selected right-hander Case Matter out of the University of Washington in the 10th round (291st overall pick).
Matter, 21, was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention this past season after recording 34 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings. Matter made 19 appearances this spring and ranked ninth in the Pac-12 with five saves.