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Texas Rangers: The 7 Worst First Round Picks since 2000.

Texas has not been very good in the first round and this list will explain the mistakes the Rangers have made over the years.

By Michael Sanders

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Oakland Athletics v Baltimore Orioles / G Fiume/GettyImages
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The 2023 MLB draft is two weeks away. This year's draft will take place July 9th in Seattle. The Rangers will be picking fourth in the draft. This will be the third straight draft they have had a top-five pick. The Rangers have not been so fortunate with first-round picks since 2000. I want to rehash seven of these misses and mention who was still on the board when they made these picks.

2000 Texas Rangers 1st Round Pick-Scott Heard

Lets go back to the last draft of the 20th century and the first one with a year that started with a two. The Rangers were coming off winning their third AL West crown in four seasons in 1999 and also their third first-round elimination at the hand of the Yankees. They had traded Juan Gonzalez in the offseason to the Detroit Tigers and were six months away from signing Alex Rodriguez.

The Rangers had the 25th pick in the first round. Adrian Gonzalez, future Ranger, went first overall. At pick 25 the Rangers chose catcher Scott Heard. The Rangers currently had Ivan Rodriguez catching, but I am guessing they hoped Heard would be ready in 3-4 seasons to take over for Pudge. Adam Wainwright, yes that Adam Wainwright, was taken four picks later by the Atlanta Braves. He would eventually become a legend for St. Louis.

Heard immediately showed potential at rookie ball. He hit .351, with two home runs, and 16 RBIs. He was then put through to Low-A ball to end the season and did not fare as well. Still a successful year in the Rangers' minds. Heard was sent back to Rookie Ball in 2001 and again had success this time a .298 batting average with five home runs. Then was again advanced to Low-A and his batting average there fell to .228, but he still did have five home runs with Pulaski.

In 2002 he spent the entire season at Low-A ball and he had a .213 batting average with eight home runs in 124 games played. In 2003 he was sent up to High-A ball and he increased his batting average to .243 and had four home runs in 79 games played. After that, his career was over.

Scott Heard now is involved in real estate. He has founded the Heard Development Group. According to their LinkedIn page they are "responsible for overseeing all investment and development operations as well as securing debt and equity for projects"