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Continuing with our preview of some players that the Texas Rangers could be looking at with their picks at #29, #39, and #52...
As I said last year when doing this drill, this would be a lot easier if the Rangers were picking higher, and neither of the Rangers' first couple picks were guys we'd ever talked about before the draft. Still, we'll take a look at a few of the intriguing names that could be in the mix for the Rangers, and see who might be out there...
This afternoon, we look at the player the Rangers selected at #29 in the Minor League Ball mock draft, and the player that Keith Law had the Rangers taking in his first mock draft in early May, high school RHP Zach Eflin.
Zach Eflin scouting report -- Zach Eflin is a righthanded pitcher from Hagerty high school in Oviedo, Florida. Eflin is listed at 6'5", 200 lbs., with a fastball that touches 97 while usually sitting in the low-90s, along with a changeup that Baseball America calls "one of the best in the prep ranks." Eflin is ranked #31 overall in Baseball America's draft rankings, and #14 in Keith Law's top 100 ranking.
Frankie Piliere has a scouting report of Eflin up here, and calls him "projectable" and "athletic," two of the words that you hear a lot with pitchers the Rangers are in on. Piliere also has praise for Eflin's curveball, and as we discussed with Duane Underwood yesterday, the Rangers seem to like righthanded prep pitchers whose breaking ball is a curve, as compared to a slider.
Baseball America's latest mock draft has Eflin going to the BoSox at #31, and Keith Law's latest has Eflin going at #20 to the Giants. Eflin's draft stock has apparently been hurt by the fact that he missed some time with triceps tendinitis, but Law says his stock his shooting up now.
Eflin is a pitcher who fits the profile of what the Rangers seem to look for in an upper round prep pitching prospect, and if he's still on the board when the Rangers pick at #29, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Texas grab him.
Below is some video of Eflin: