Texas Rangers select Michael Hauschild in Rule 5 draft

The Texas Rangers selected righthanded pitcher Michael Hauschild from the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 draft this morning.

Texas did not lose any of their own players in the Rule 5 draft.

Hauschild, who turns 27 next month, was a 33rd round pick of the Astros in 2012 out of the University of Dayton. He has spent the bulk of the last two seasons in the rotation of AAA Fresno, putting up a 3.33 ERA in 227.1 IP, with 200 strikeouts against 67 walks and 13 home runs allowed.

Hauschild is a ground ball pitcher who, according to T.R. Sullivan, will compete for the fifth starter spot in the Rangers rotation. A Rule 5 pick has to either stay on the major league roster all season, or be placed on waivers and, if he clears, be offered back to his original team. It seems unlikely that Hauschild will stick on the major league pitching staff this season, but stranger things have happened.

In the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Rangers selected lefthanded pitcher Matt Smoral, righthanded pitcher Zack Bird, and righthanded pitcher Fernando Miranda. There are no roster restrictions for these players, so the Rangers can keep all three without issues of where to place them, etc.

Smoral is a former supplemental first round pick, and Bird was a guy who appeared on the Braves’ top 30 prospect lists in seasons past. Both have major control issues, and I’m guessing the Rangers figure they can take a flyer on them and see if there’s anything there they can work with.

Miranda pitched in the Mexican League last year, and has just a handful of innings in the United States.