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2021 MLB Draft: Here are the Texas Rangers draft picks for the 11th through 20th rounds in the draft:
11th round — JoJo Blackmon, Florida HS outfielder
JoJo Blackmon is a 6’0”, 183 lb. 18 year old lefthanded hitting and throwing outfielder out of Escambia High School in Florida. He is a University of Alabama-Birmingham baseball commit who also played wide receiver in high school.
12th round — Jackson Leath, University of Tennessee pitcher
Jackson Leath is a 6’1”, 192 lb. righthanded pitcher out of the University of Tennessee. He turned 22 years old last month, and was the #238 prospect in the draft last year per BA. This year they have him at #448. He was at Blinn College in Texas before transferring to Tennessee, where he threw 18.2 innings over 5 games in 2020, striking out 29 against five walks with a 1.45 ERA. In 2021 he missed most of the year with a hamstring injury, pitching just 6.1 IP with 0 runs allowed, 8 Ks and 2 walks.
BA has him as having a reliever profile with a low-90s fastball and a “power breaking ball.”
13th round — Thomas Ireland, Polk State College pitcher
Thomas Ireland is a lefthanded pitcher who turned 19 last month and who is listed at 6’1”, 170 lbs. Ireland had a 5.37 ERA with 85 Ks in 63.2 IP over 14 starts and two relief appearances, according to the school athletic website. He was a 2020 high school graduate out of Regina, Saskatchewan. Canadian players are the new OBP.
14th round — Tucker Mitchell, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota catcher
Tucker Mitchell is listed as a 6’1”, 210 lb. righthanded catcher. He’s 20 years old. According to B-R he had 16 PAs with a 527 OPS for Florida Atlantic in 2020. He graduated high school from the IMG Academy. He apparently tore shit up with the bat in the Draft League.
State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota has produced a number of major leaguers, incidentally, including Ron Washington, Glenn Davis, Rick Langford, former Rangers Dave Moates, Keith Smith, Johnny Grubb and Nick Goody, and Callix Crabbe.
15th round — Evan Elliott, Lethbridge College (Alberta) pitcher
Continuing with the Canadian theme of the draft, Evan Elliott is a 20 year old 6’3”, 210 lb. pitcher out of a junior college in Alberta, Canada. He pitched at Lethbridge College in 2021. He graduated high school from some school in Toronto in 2019. He also played for the Kokomo Jackrabbits in the Northwoods League this summer and is apparently a University of Iowa commit.
16th round — Ryan Ure, Eaton, Colorado, high school pitcher
Ryan Ure is a 6’7”, 230 lb. lefthanded pitcher out of Eaton, Colorado. He turns 19 next month. He’s apparently an Oklahoma State commit. I can’t find much else on him.
17th round — Michael Alfonso, Key West high school pitcher
Michael Alfonso is a 6’3”, 205 lb. righthanded pitcher out of Key West High School in Florida. That’s about all I’ve got on him.
18th round — Kyle Larsen, Florida high school pitcher
Kyle Larsen is a 6’2”, 240 lb. righthanded pitcher out of TNXL Academy in Florida. The TNXL Academy has a page on him that has a picture, his pitches, their velocity, and their spin rate you can check out here. Dude looks like he’s 30. He apparently just turned 18 though. The TNXL Academy appears to be a sports academy a la IMG Academy.
19th round — Will Taylor, South Carolina high school outfielder
We wrote about Will Taylor here. He’s a very highly regarded outfielder who almost certainly is going to school. But the Rangers drafted him and have his rights if something can be worked out.
20th round — Joseph Montalvo, Florida high school pitcher
Joseph Montalvo is a 19 year old righthanded pitcher out of Central Pointe Christian Academy in Florida. He’s listed at 6’2”, 185 lbs. He’s committed to Eastern Florida State, per Perfect Game.