Texas Rangers Day Two draft picks

Texas Rangers Day Two Draft Picks: Day Two of the MLB draft is today, and the Rangers are making their selections for rounds three through 10 this afternoon.

In Round Three, the Rangers picked Matt Whatley, a catcher from Oral Roberts. Whatley is ranked #110 on the Baseball America top 500 list. His offense has regressed this season from his first two years in college, but he’s described as BA as an “above-average defensive catcher with a long track record of offensive production.” Callis and Mayo have Whatley at #104 on their list.

Interestingly, Jose Trevino, the Rangers’ top catching prospect in the upper minors, was also an Oral Roberts product.

In Round Four, the Rangers picked Ryan Dease, a RHP from “The Next Level Academy” in Longwood, Florida. Dease is #381 on the BA top 500, #57 in the state of Florida per their list, and is described as a “classic projectable prep righthander.” He’s an upper-80s guy that one would hope will add some velocity. Like supplemental first rounder Chris Seise, Dease is a Central Florida commit.

In Round Five, the Rangers picked Jake Latz, a lefthanded pitcher from Kent State. Latz was a redshirt in 2015, pitched 8.1 innings in 2016, and sat out 2017 as a transfer, so this is similar to the Rangers’ selection of Cole Wiper a few years ago, where they are betting on a guy who has little game action for several years. Baseball America has him at #361, saying he’s a low-90s guy with a curve, change and slider.

In Round Six, the Rangers picked Noah Bremer, a righthanded pitcher out of the University of Washington. Bremer is ranked #354 on the BA top 500 list, and is described as a “gamer” who throws around 90 with a “solid-average curveball.”

In Round Seven, the Rangers picked Joel Urena, a lefthanded pitcher from Monroe Community College in New York. Urena is listed at 6’5”, 250 lbs., and was drafted in 2016 out of high school by the Mets in the 27th round. Interestingly enough, he’s also still just 17 years old.

In Round Eight, the Rangers picked Tyreque Reed, a righthanded hitting first baseman out of Itawamba Junior College in Mississippi. BA has him at #471 on their list, saying he has 70 raw power and impressive numbers this spring, but against weak competition. Reed is listed at 6’1”, 260 lbs., and while I can’t find a birthdate, he graduated high school in 2015, it appears.

In Round Nine, the Rangers picked Tanner Gardner, a switch-hitting junior outfielder from Texas Tech. That’s about all I know about him.

In Round Ten, the Rangers picked John King, a senior LHP from the University of Houston. He is probably going to be signed for a nominal bonus, with the savings to be applied to the rest of their bonus pool for over-slot amounts to other picks.