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Texas Rangers: Third pick in 2022 MLB Draft a consolation for lost season

BySeth Carlson|
ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 1: Eli Morgan #49 of the Cleveland Indians pitches to Andy Ibanez #77 of the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field on October 1, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - OCTOBER 1: Eli Morgan #49 of the Cleveland Indians pitches to Andy Ibanez #77 of the Texas Rangers during the sixth inning at Globe Life Field on October 1, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Sunday marked the end of the 2021 season for the Texas Rangers. And it’s safe to say this won’t be a season we or the organization will remember fondly.

The Rangers finished the year 60-102, their worst record since 1973 and 2021 marked the fifth consecutive losing season for the franchise, dating back to 2017. They last made the playoffs in 2016.

The difference between 2021 and those previous four years, though? There’s a full-scale rebuild going on now instead of trying to push all the chips to the middle of the table and resulting in mediocrity. And Texas will be better for having gone through this process.

One silver lining from this past season? A top draft choice in 2022. That’s right, the Texas Rangers will be selecting third overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, behind the even worse Arizona Diamondbacks (2nd) and Baltimore Orioles (1st).

The Texas Rangers will have the third overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft

That leaves open a plethora of possibilities for the organization to once again add an elite talent to the organization, as they did with Jack Leiter in 2021.

With players like Jace Jung (brother of Josh), top collegiate catcher Kevin Parada, infielders Brooks Lee and Termarr Johnson, former Vanderbilt righty Kumar Rocker and of course, highly-touted high school OF Elijah Green, it would be hard for the Texas Rangers to whiff on this pick. Just as it would’ve been this season with Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Jordan Lawlar and Marcelo Mayer all available with the second pick.

One could do much worse than expect to add an infusion of promising young talent through high draft picks. That’s one of the major benefits of an otherwise unsuccessful season.

With the Rangers farm system making big strides in 2021 as well, the rebuild is in high gear with no plans to slow things down in 2022.

There isn’t much upside to finishing a season with a historically bad result (60-102), but Texas has a chance to make the best of it with another high draft choice next summer.

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