Chris Young defies tradition with surprising Rangers first-round draft pick

The Rangers have strayed away from the mold of the past six years and selected a high school propsect as the organization's 12th overall pick in Gavin Fien.

Fien is the last high school first-round draft pick since they selected another California kid in Cole Winn back in 2018 with the 15th overall selection that season. Texas has taken collegiate players ever since starting with Josh Jung.

Selecting the 18-year-old prep infielder 12th overall is a mark that Texas's clear target is building back their farm system to the point where they can be ready to compete with fresh, new set of faces in 5-6 years time.

Who is Gavin Fien?

A surprising pick, Fien is six-foot-3 shortstop from Great Oak High School in Temecula, California and was ranked as MLB.com's 22nd overall prospect heading into the night.

Committed to the University of Texas, Fien grades out as an average prospect at 50 grade with a slightly above average arm, which could play well as a middle infielder.

During Fien's senior year at Great Oak, he played in 30 games, hitting .358 with five homers, six doubles, a triple and 24 runs scored. In his prep career, Fien hit .378 in 91 games dating back to his freshman year in 2021-22.

Fien's scouting report says the right-handed hitter has plenty of bat speed with an ability to be a consistent line drive hitter. He has the potential to provide coverage at third base, shortstop and maybe even first base the deeper he gets into his career. While the power is not there yet, his build gives him opportunities to grow that part of his game.

What does this mean for the Rangers' future?

This is a surprising pick. Not just the fact that Chris Young and the Rangers' front office went against the grain of the past collegiate options but more about the selection itself.

It was highly thought of that Texas would go with either a collegiate pitcher or a shortstop from the high school ranks. Mock drafts prior to Sunday's draft had Texas grabbing either Steele Hall (drafted 9th to Reds), Kayson Cunningham or Daniel Pierce.

The drafting of a player in the high school ranks sort of hints at Texas having what they need for the immediate future timeline of the next two to three years. As an 18-year-old Fien will need some time to develop and so the Rangers will also be able to take their time in his development.

It also helped that going with a collegiate pitcher like Oklahoma's Kyson Witherspoon would have garnered a bit more player pool. They could find a way to get Fien under slot to save pool money for their other picks.