Rangers: Three Rule 5 draft prospects team should consider

1) Packy Naughton

Packy Naughton is a 24-year old left handed starter currently in the Los Angeles Angels organization.  He is listed as Los Angeles’ 12th best prospect and could be a valuable pickup for the Texas Rangers.

He spent 2019 between Class A advanced and Double-A, putting up impressive stats in both leagues.

Starting in High-A, Naughton put up an impressive 2.63 ERA with a 5.56 K/BB ratio.  After being promoted to Double-A, he continued his impressive pitching, throwing to a 3.66 ERA through 105.2 innings.  While his strikeout per nine innings ratio fell to 6.9 in Double-A, he kept his walk rate low, only allowing 2.2 walks per nine innings.

With Lance Lynn gone, Kyle Cody is the only starting pitcher left from 2020 with a sub-5 ERA.  While Dane Dunning will take one of the spots in the rotation, the current rotation is weak enough that Naughton could earn a spot given the chance.