Who will the Texas Rangers take 8th overall in the MLB draft?

Nick Lodolo LHP, TCU

Nick J. Faleris & Burke Granger of 2080 Baseball:

The 6-foot-6 lefty has a deep repertoire and has shown improved control this spring, cutting his walk rate in half, while showing impressive swing-and-miss stuff from a tough low slot.

Lodolo has posted a 6-5 record with a 2.48 ERA and a 125:21 K:BB ratio in 98 innings so far this season for TCU. He will be making at least one more start this weekend for the Horned Frogs in the Fayetteville regional as the #3 seed.

Hunter Bishop OF, Arizona St

Brian Sakowski & Vincent Cervino of Perfect Game:

Texas is another team that loves athleticism and the pick remains the same with the Rangers grabbing Bishop at No. 8.

Jim Callis of MLB.com:

One of the most improved players and better athletes in college baseball, Bishop has gone from a .759 OPS and five homers as a sophomore to a 1.313 OPS and 18 [22 and counting] homers this spring.

Bishop has torn it up this season. The Junior has hit .347 with a 1.238 OPS and 22 HR’s, and has reached base at an insane .473 clip. Even though the Texas Rangers have a plethora of outfield prospects in Leody Taveras, Bubba Thompson, Julio Pablo Martinez, Delino Deshields, Willie Calhoun, and others, Bishop could be tough to pass up on if slipping to #8.

Brett Baty INF, Lake Travis HS (TX)

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports:

Over the past few weeks rumors have swirled that the Rangers are looking to cut an underslot deal here, and then use the savings on high upside players with the No. 41 pick (acquired from the Brewers in the Alex Claudio trade) and/or the No. 50 pick (Texas’ second rounder). Baty has a wonderful baseball name and also some of the biggest power in the draft class. The downside is he will turn 20 in November and overage high schoolers have a poor track record in pro ball. Still, Baty is a candidate for an underslot deal, so we have him going to the Rangers.

This would be a surprising deal given that the Rangers have their highest pick in almost four years. To spend it on an overage high schooler just to save a few bucks for a player that likely will not have as much potential as a top ten pick later would be a bit mind-boggling.

Cody Smith

Nick Lodolo, Shea Langeliers, or Hunter Bishop

Personally, I would be thrilled to see any of these guys be drafted to the Texas Rangers. Initially, I wasn’t too high on the them drafting an outfielder with the 8th pick, given that they have a bunch of OF prospects spread out across their farm, but Bishop would simply be too good to pass up.

Nick Lodolo could potentially become the Rangers’ most advanced high-upside prospect by the end of the season, and there is no such thing as having too much pitching in the farm system, especially if something like a Noah Syndergaard trade gets closer to becoming a reality.

Shea Langeliers (C-Baylor) hasn’t been given much attention as being drafted by the Rangers, but I would absolutely love to see him taken by Texas. So far this season, he has hit .304 with seven home runs in 41 games, despite being limited by a hand injury, and coming on strong late in the regular season. His offense isn’t even the best part of his game, as he is a terrific defensive backstop that can hold even the best base thief’s in line.