Texas Rangers First Round Draft Picks: Where are they Now Part 2

We finished yesterday with the 2007 picks, so we will move on from there. I noticed a trend in yesterday’s article that the Texas Rangers don’t seem to hang on to their first rounders. They use them to bring in other players or they just don’t work out. Sometimes I think that is because scouting is not good, but I don’t think that is it in the Texas Rangers case. They have had a bunch of first round picks that have made it to the majors, just after they were traded. The Texas Rangers just seem to use their first rounders to bring in players that they want. Lets continue our look at the last ten years.

2008: Justin Smoak – Smoak was taken eleventh over all and did wind up making it to the majors rather quickly. Smoak was the future first baseman of the Texas Rangers until they decided to trade him along with Bevan to the Mariners to rent Cliff Lee. Smoak is still in the majors with the M’s, and he flashes a good bit of power, although he has had batting average trouble in his career. I feel like he was a good pick and he will be a major league first baseman for a long time.

2009: Matt Purke – Purke was drafted with the fourteenth overall pick in ’09 but never would up signing with the Texas Rangers, instead he decided to play college ball at TCU. He was eventually drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2011 in the third round, wound up having Tommy John surgery and has never made it to the show.

2010: Jake Skole, Kellin Deglan, Luke Jackson and Mike Olt –We all remember Mike Olt, who is now a Chicago Cub. He was a highly touted third base prospect, but the Texas Rangers didn’t really have room for him on the team with Adrian Beltre manning third. Olt and Profar were once considered the two untouchables, but the Rangers wound up trading Olt.

Jake Skole is still in the Texas Rangers system, playing at Frisco. The outfielder is batting .225 so far in 2014 for the Rough Riders. Jackson is also playing at Frisco right now, and he is 2.80 ERA in 11 starts.

Jackson is a name that most Rangers fans have heard of, as he is a highly touted pitching prospect.

Kellin Deglan is currently at Hickory and is making his way up through the ranks. He is batting .232 at A ball. He was at Myrtle Beach last season, but has gone back to the Crawdads this season.

2011: Kevin Mathews and Zach Cone – Matthews is at Hickory and is sporting an ERA of 4.38 in 15 starts. The 21 year old LHP is developing and it will be a while before we even see him at Frisco.

Cone is playing outfield this season for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and struggling a little bit. The 24 year old is batting just .180 in 38 games so far. I expect to see him stay at the Myrtle Beach level and continue to develop.

2012: Lewis Brinson, Joey Gallo and Collin Wiles – Brinson is a very highly thought of center fielder in the Texas Rangers organization and is currently tearing it up for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Brinson is a name that most Texas Rangers fans have heard. He is currently batting .282 for the Pelicans, which is saying something since he has struck out 30 times in just 103 at bats,

Wiles is currently developing down in Hickory for the Crawdads, and the RHP has an ERA of 5.49 for the club.

Gallo is a name that is familiar to almost all Texas Rangers fans since he had such an amazing May for the Pelicans. Gallo is batting .320 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI. Although we won’t see him for until 2015 at the extreem earliest for the Texas Rangers, he is an exciting prospect to keep an eye on.

2013: Alex Gonzalez and Travis Demeritte – The Texas Ranger took a RHP and a short stop in the first round of last years draft. Both are currently way down in the farm system, as it was just last season that they were drafted.

So there is your list of Texas Rangers first round draft picks from the last ten years and where they are now. Hope you enjoyed it!