2012 Draft Preview -- Stryker Trahan

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...

The latest player we're examining is Stryker Trahan, a high school catcher from Acadiana High School in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Stryker Trahan scouting report: Stryker Trahan is a 6'1", 215 lb. high school catcher from Lafayette, Louisiana. Keith Law's early May top 100 list had Trahan at #24, after having been as high as #15 on his list earlier in the year, and Baseball America has Trahan at #27 in their most recent rankings.

BA's latest mock draft has Trahan going #26 to the Diamondbacks, three picks ahead of the Rangers. Law's first two mock drafts have Trahan going #19 to the Cardinals, with the pick they got for losing Albert Pujols to the Angels (and with the pick the Rangers would have gotten for losing C.J. Wilson if the Angels hadn't also signed Pujols...oh, the irony).

Trahan hits lefthanded and is seen as having significant power potential. ESPN's analysis of Trahan projects his future power grade at 60 and his throwing arm at 65, giving him a package reminiscent of much-hyped current Rangers prospect Jorge Alfaro. Trahan was ranked more highly coming into the year, but reports indicate he's been disappointing this season, particularly defensively. Some reports indicate he has the tools to stay behind the plate, while others apparently believe he'll have to move to right field, where his bat will obviously have to be a lot stronger in order for him to have value.

Why could Trahan be a fit with Texas? The Rangers, under Jon Daniels' watch, have made targeting catchers a priority, whether via trade (Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Max Ramirez), in the Latin American market (Alfaro), or in the draft (Kellin Deglan). Several pieces have suggested that Trahan's tools could make him a steal in the latter part of the first round or in the supplemental first round, and I think that the opportunity to take a catcher with the upside Trahan has, both offensively and defensively, would make him a good fit for Texas.

You can check out video of Trahan here.