2019 Texas Rangers draft preview: Tyler Callihan

2019 MLB Draft Preview: Tyler Callihan scouting report

The 2019 MLB Draft is less than a week away — the first round kicks off on June 3, 2019 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #8, their second round pick is at #50, and they have Milwaukee’s competitive balance pick, acquired in the Alex Claudio trade, which is #41.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today, we are looking at Florida high school third baseman Tyler Callihan.

Tyler Callihan is a 6’1”, 200 lb. lefthanded hitting third baseman out of Providence High School in Florida. Callihan is a bat-first guy, getting high marks for both his hit tool and his raw power, and is someone who is described as having “an innate ability to barrel up the baseball...with an advanced approach” at the plate. He also has a decent arm, though he’s slow and doesn’t really have a position at this point. He’s played some infield and has also caught, but it isn’t clear what his position will be long term.

Baseball America has Callihan at #37 on their top 500 rankings, saying his hit and power tools are both plus. MLB Pipeline has Callihan at #35 on their board, and suggests he could be Eric Chavez will less range. Callihan is ranked #30 on the Fangraphs board, while Keith Law has him at #40, with both agreeing he can hit and needs to find a position.

I’m writing up Callihan because he was mocked to the Rangers at #41 in the Fangraphs mock draft today. Keith Law’s most recent mock draft has Callihan going to the Mariners at #20. Jonathan Mayo’s mock draft has the Brewers taking Callihan at #28. Jim Callis’s most recent mock doesn’t have Callihan going in the first round, though he’s mentioned as a possibility for New York at #30, which is where Baseball America’s most recent mock draft has him going.

Callihan is an interesting player from a Rangers perspective. We know they like giving guys who might be able to catch an opportunity to do so, and if Callihan can handle the defensive side of catching, he has the possibility of being a big time prospect. Callihan also turns 19 in June, making him an older high school prospect, something we know many teams are leery of, but the Rangers seem less concerned about. He’s not someone who fits the Rangers’ traditional mold as far as what they use their high picks on, but if they are switching priorities in the draft, particularly with Rahman coming over from the Cubs (where they emphasized hitters with high picks), Callihan would make sense, especially if they think he can hit.

Video: